Check out this excerpt from the feature documentary, Victorian Cycles-Wheels of Change, produced and directed by Jim Kellett.
Author Archive | Brett
Introducing the Road Snob Icon
With use, the various parts of your bicycle will begin to wear out. As this occurs, you have two options: The first is to replace the part with one of a similar quality, the second is to upgrade.
Hence, the Road Snob:
You will see the Road Snob icon on reviews of the finer option. Like the Thomson seat posts, stems and collars, or the Specialized S-Works shoes, items marked with the Road Snob Icon will reflect a certain quality, cost more — and often come in a fabric bag.
Specialized Footbeds and Torch shoes
Do you have a bunion or two? How about a Morton’s Neuroma? Do your feet tend to swell when they get warm? Does cycling give you numbness or pain in the bottom of your foot (also known as Hot Foot)? Have you noticed that your arches aren’t what they used to be? If, like me, foot issues plague you, it’s likely that the heels we wore (or are still wearing) are part of a bigger problem that I will not even attempt to address in this review.
What I will go out on a limb to tell you is that before you buy a pair of cycling shoes, you owe it to yourself to try a pair made by Specialized.
Specialized has teamed together with Andy Pruitt from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine to develop shoes that are actually engineered for cycling. Specialized manufactures the only cycling shoe on the market with a patented arch support system. They spent considerable time and money in their body geometry lab to deserve my accolades.
Specialized understands that feet, like people, are all different. They even recognize that your left foot might be different than your right, and came up with a diagnostic tool to help determine the correct level of support. 
Their “arch-o-meter,” is a big heat sensitive pad that you stand barefoot on, for a minute or so, and then compare the impressions from your feet to a chart, which suggests which level (there are three) of support you need for your shoes. You can use this heat sensitive pad to get a relative idea of whether you need red, blue or green footbeds. However, if you haven’t ever had a bike fitting, then now might be the perfect opportunity to have a trained BG bike fitter evaluate the correct level of support for your feet.
The three levels of Specialized’s BG (Body Geometry) footbeds attempt to further improve pedaling efficiency with these key components:
- Longitudinal Arch-This keeps your foot supported, like a board, for even and direct pressure throughout the pedal stroke.
- Metatarsal Button- A “button” placed under the metatarsals alleviates compression of nerves and arteries that occur naturally, when the foot flattens during cycling. This button disperses the pressure that can cause hot foot from the additional flow of blood to the area.
- BG Shims- These plastic shims are included with every footbed purchase and help to further customize support when there is evidence of forefoot varus or valgus.
Additionally, all BG footbeds have ventilation holes under the areas of the arch and toes.
Women’s BG Torch Road Shoe
Cost: $115.00
This is Specialized’s mid-level shoe that still retains their BG patented design. It has a wide enough toe box for my ever-growing bunions. The shoe weighs less than others I’ve worn (Sidi, Pearl Izumi and Shimano), but is still heavier than the more expensive BG models with full carbon soles.
The Torch’s construction is solid with a stiff injection molded sole, two Velcro closures and one “M lock SL buckle” for secure closure. The shoes can be easily loosened with a simple click to the red button, even while cycling, but, the M lock and SL buttons sometimes get a little sticky while trying to get fully in and out of the shoe.
The shoes are designed with ventilation holes on the underside (in front of and behind the cleat attachment points) as well as with mesh areas on the synthetic uppers, which ventilate the feet and help minimize swelling. Specialized’s Torch Road shoes fit both SPD and 3-bolt cleat systems and are available in black with crimson accents, or white with lavender accents.
Prior to wearing these shoes, I rode with custom orthotics, designed for walking, (not cycling) and suffered from hot foot and foot fatigue.
I’ve been wearing the Women’s BG Torch shoes for the past five months with the blue (level two) footbeds and no orthotics. Initially, I noticed a decrease in pain, as well less Hot Foot. Over time, the pain returned suggesting the need for footbed replacement.
My BG bike fitter suggested that since my footbeds were worn both in the heel and metatarsal button but not the longitudinal arch, perhaps it was not making sufficient contact with the shoe while pedaling. I’ve since moved to the +++ level (green) insoles for maximum support. Additionally, I have considerable varus forefoot angulation, which significantly decreased my biomechanical efficiency and contributed to a loss of power. He added shims to the insides of my shoes for additional support. Consequently, my legs are not as wobbly and I’m transferring more energy into the pedal making me more efficient and faster.
These are the best cycling shoes I have ever worn. My feet stay cool and comfortable. However, for even more comfort, and a lighter weight shoe, I would strongly consider the women’s BG Pro Road Shoe ($260.) or the Women’s BG S-Works Road shoe ($350.) if either are within your budget. If not, try adding a pair of footbeds to your current road shoes to see if you can extend their life and make them more comfortable.
As a side note, my son’s foot pain persisted with 5 different pairs of cycling shoes, until he got a pair of the Men’s S-Works Road Shoe. Now he consistently reports that his feet have remained pain free.
The added cost of these higher end shoes is significant, but, how often do you expect to buy a new pair of cycling shoes, anyway?
Ritchey Handlebars
Why would I spend time discussing handlebars when your bike already comes with a pair? A set of alloy handlebars weighs about 50 grams less than a large potato. We’re talking about something so light it almost seems silly to discuss, right? Wrong.
Handlebars in widths less than 40 cm were not even available until around 1998. Even now, some ten years later, only a handful of companies produce them in size 36 and 38 and Ritchey is one of them. In 1999, Ritchey also introduced their “Ergonomic” or “anatomic” handlebars, designed to support more natural hand positions in the drops, and tops of the bars. Ritchey’s WCS Logic II alloy handlebars felt great in my hands. So why, after going to the trouble of wrapping them with pretty pink tape and riding with them for a week, did I upgrade to a set of carbon bars, costing nearly five times as much? It wasn’t because they weigh less. The difference between the two is only 10 grams–a mere fraction of the weight of 8 oz of water. Although carbon fiber is lightweight, it’s also strong and can be molded into shapes otherwise unattainable with alloy without substantially increasing weight.
However, the most important reason carbon fiber is used for handlebars is comfort.
If your bike is mostly aluminum, which has a notoriously stiff ride, and you’re riding more than 40 or 50 miles at a time on surfaces paved with chip seal, or those resembling an old-fashioned washboard, you’ve felt the hum in your body long after you gotten off your bike. This “road buzz” is the reason you might seriously consider investing in carbon fiber handlebars. Carbon fiber, well known for its shock absorptive, vibration dampening quality, is nothing short of miraculous. Adding carbon fiber to your bike as a fork, seatpost or handlebars, will definitely improve the quality of your ride.
Are these handlebar choices just another trend in excessive bicycling consumerism? Until recently, I thought so. Each woman has her own preference for shape, size, and manufacturing material. But remember, comfort should be your first consideration. The best way to decide what’s right for you, after determining your correct handlebar size, is to get your hands on as many bars as possible– not always an easy task.
Ritchey’s handlebars offer an ergo design with just a little extra room to move around. I love the ergo bend in the curve as it matches the same position of my hands with a slight angle forward and down.
They also offer an ergo carbon alternative with a slightly wider, flattened top bar for upright riding comfort. Both of these bars gave me a feeling of confidence and control especially while in the drops. Many racers still prefer to ride with alloy bars. In the event of a crash, alloy will bend rather than shatter and they’ll still be able to ride. I don’t know about you, but if I crash and either shatter or bend my handlebars, chances are I’m not pedaling anywhere. I ride a Rodriguez that offers a good deal of shock absorption (it’s made of S3 steel), and I have ridden with Ritchey WCS Carbon Evolution handlebars on rides of extended distances on unpredictable road surfaces. Switching from alloy to carbon was simplified by the calibrated transition lines on the carbon drops for even brake lever placement. Check out Ritchey’s website at www.ritcheylogic.com and read about their innovative president and lead designer, Tom Ritchey, who first taught himself to build frames as a teenager thirty years ago. He still logs 10,000 miles a year on his bike. I’m impressed. For a comparison of different handlebar options and how to determine your correct size, click here!
