Bike Box Alan Review

For some time I've considered my options and the pros and cons of both soft and hard cases. Soft ones provide less external protection and potentially make the rear derailleur and hanger vulnerable. On the flip side, they are cheaper, lighter and some even have excellent compartments for wheels.

 “A hard case that not only is user friendly, but also turns heads at the airport and makes you feel like a travelling pro.”

After crawling the web for a while, I came across Bike Box Alan (www.bikeboxalan.co.uk) from the UK. The boxes look stylish, put an emphasis on toughness and are sold over the Internet at a reasonable price. There are many colours to choose from and the website has examples of pro themes such as HTC Highroad, Sky Procycling and Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek. The sky is the limit when it comes to customising the Bike Box Alan!

Enve 45 Carbon Clincher Wheelset

Since taking delivery of the SL4 late last year I'd been running my old Easton EC90 SL 38mm carbon clincher wheelset. While a very good wheelset, the Eastons were getting a little tired so I thought it was about time for a new set of wheels.

I wanted to take a step up from 38mm to 45mm and my first choice was a set of Zipp 303 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers. After taking a look at the Zipps I wasn't convinced and had heard some mixed reviews about the ongoing maintenance required on the Zipp hubs.

Tom Boonen Wins 2012 Paris-Roubaix

Seems like it was only this time last week (literally) I was writing a post about Tom Boonen winning a major one day classic in the Tour of Flanders.

A mere 7 days later and Boonen has further stamped his name into cycling history by winning the 2012 Paris Roubaix to complete the Flanders-Roubaix double.

In what seemed like a suicide move, Boonen attacked off the front with 58 kilometres remaining. Despite a chasing group including the much fancied Juan Antonio Fletcha and Alessandro Ballan, Boonen stayed away to take a record equaling fourth Paris-Roubaix victory, an honour he shares with the great Roger De  Vlaeminck.

What an exciting race it was to watch. I'm so happy to see Tom back aboard a Specialized and at the top of his game.

~VL

Photo Credit: Sirotti

Tom Boonen Wins the 2012 Tour of Flanders

You would have to have been hiding under a huge pile of Belgian waffles to miss the news that cycling rockstar and 2012 winning machine Tom Boonen has taken victory at this year's Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen).

Back to his winning best this year, the great man has shown what a class act he is when it comes to the one day spring classics. This win takes his Tour of Flanders tally to three (2005, 2006, 2012), which goes together nicely with three victories at Gent-Wevelgem (2004, 2011, 2012) and three at Paris-Roubaix (2005, 2008, 2009).

Totally Rad Friday - Venge Abuse

Oh dear... not sure what to make of this poor Green Jersey Venge found on Weight Weenies earlier this week.

I feel so sorry for this Venge, it never even stood a chance!

Single speed, check. Flat bars, check. Shallow alloy wheels, checkity check. What else can we do to ruin this?

I have to say, streamers on the bars are a nice touch, would have been better in green.

More 'bad' than 'Rad' with this one I'm affraid... have a great weekend.

~VL

Sufferfest - Taka's 2012 3 Peaks Challenge

Last week our resident Wolfpack doctor, Stephen 'Taka' Chan completed the 2012 3 Peaks Challenge. He was kind enough to write an account of his experience.

3 Peaks Challenge:

The ultimate cycling sufferfest in Australia

Last weekend I survived one of the most challenging cycling sportifs in Australia, if not in the world. This 235km circuit encompasses the Victorian Alpine National Park, including climbs to a couple of the most picturesque Alpine resorts Victoria has to offer - Falls Creek and Mount Hotham.

The Victorian Alps has been the training ground of the new GreenEdge Pro Tour team and other Australian Pro riders this past summer.

@BadenCooke (GreenEdge) tweeted:

Custom Build: Specialized Project Blue Tarmac

These days with the ever growing popularity of cycling it's getting harder and harder to individually distinguish yourself and your bike from the rest of the pack. No matter where you turn there is always somebody nearby with a bike that looks very similar to your own pride and joy.

That being said, you can imagine my delight when I came across this customised sky blue Specialized Tarmac while trawling the internet recently (most likely searching for evidence to support my many conspiracy theories).

Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge at Total Rush

Was in the LBS yesterday getting the finishing touches put on my new S-Works SL4 when something caught my eye. There in all its glory was the first customer delivered S-Works McLaren Venge in Australia.

Specialized Rib Cage Carbon

A new bike deserves new cages and you know what they say... you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink from old bottle cages!

~VL

Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 at Total Rush

I was down at the local bike shop earlier this week when this awesome Specialized Tarmac SL4 caught my eye.

In standard guise the SL4 looks as tuff as pair of old boots; adding a pair of lightweights just takes it to a whole new level.

Of late I've been hatching a plan to pick myself up a low end Tarmac as a wet weather trainer; but I have to admit that as I get ready to hand over the old 'hard earned' I am very temped to throw in a few more dollars and get one of these instead.

~VL

S-Works Project Black Venge at Total Rush

Down at Total Rush, Richmond on Saturday for the morning bunch ride to Mordialloc and back when Skinny Luke goes and busts out this awesome S-Works Project Black Venge.

Miniature S-Works SL3

I was playing around with my Canon S95 yesterday testing out a few different settings before an upcoming holiday.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the tilt shift-esque 'miniature' effect. It makes the SL3 looks like a little toy.

~VL

Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge

Hey, remember when the Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge bounced on to the scene with a sonic boom back in March!

The Venge hit the ground running in a pretty big way when Matt Goss won Milan San Remo on the Venge's first professional outing; and Mark Cavendish has (at the time of writing) taken 4 stage wins aboard the Venge at this year's Tour de France in his pursuit of the overall green jersey.

It kind of seems to me that after all of the initial hoo-haa on its release, the hype surrounding the Specialized McLaren Venge is dying down a bit and the impact of this ridiculously awesome bike is fading away into the background... probably overshadowed somewhat by Specialized's release of the S-Works SL4.

Why don't you take a couple moments out of your busy day and cast your eyes (and heart) back over the McLaren Venge... you can't tell me you don't think this thing is awesome!

I'm hanging to see one of these bad boys in the flesh... hopefully somebody will be kind enough to let throw a leg over one!

~VL

Photos courtesy of Specialized Bicycle Components and bicycledesign.net

Specialized Tarmac SL4 Frameset

Not quite the S-Works... but I think I just fell in love!

Photo courtesy of bikeradar.com

~VL

Specialized Shiv at the 2011 Tour de France

I have never thrown a leg over a time trial bike, yet somehow I instinctively know that I would be absolutely rubbish (more so than I normally am) if I ever tried to give one a go.