Velocite bikes

Assuming all goes well with the fund raising, I'll be riding Velocite bikes next year at RAAM.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first when a friend told me about Velocite. "Just another company selling generic carbon frames with nice paint jobs" I thought. Somewhat out of character though I withheld the decision as to whether I would use their bikes at RAAM until I had actually ridden one.

I'm happy to admit that I was completely wrong (although the paint jobs are nice). The frames are made with Velocite's own designs, molds and production processes and the complete bikes are far from generic. I've been using one for about 6 weeks now. It's at least the equal of any bike I've ever ridden and is substantially better than most... including bikes that cost more than twice as much.

Velocite bikes are unashamedly made in Taiwan. For me this is a very good thing. Taiwanese manufacturing is among the best in the world. The fact that Velocite don't feel the need to hide behind any "Made in Italy" or "Made in the USA" quasi-xenophobic marketing hype shows thier confidence in thier products. The company is based in Taiwan, which gives it good oversight of the manufacturing.

Velocite only make a limited range of bikes, all of which are designed to be the best they possibly can be for the purpose they're intended for.
For RAAM I'll be using the lightweight Geos model in the mountains...

This is the model I'm curently on. For the (fellow) Weight Weenies out there, it tips the scales at 6.2kg with a Sram Red build.

Everywhere else I'll be on the aero Helios.

I haven't yet received the Helios. On paper though it seems to fit the bill. It's aero and reasonably light, and Velocite seem to have addressed the achilles heel of aero road bikes by not compromising on stiffness.

Some other cool Velocite stuff that I'll be using is the incredible full carbon SCS saddle. It weighs a paltry (genuine) 115g and is possibly the most comfortable saddle I've ever used. It's a perfect illustration of the fact that it's the shape of a saddle that makes it comfortable.

I'm also quite excited about the prospect of being able to work with Velocite on some prototype products, including a time trial frame that is under development and their wheel range.

Speaking of which, this quote on the Velocite blog about the testing of some of their new wheels pretty much sums things up for me:

"Any scientific, or purportedly scientific data that cannot be verified by a third party due to lack of a documented experimental method is normally declared invalid. Withholding the detailed experimental method information and claiming proprietary secrets also invalidates the experiment and any data that the experiment provided. This of course does not stop anyone in the bicycle industry from claiming empirical (data driven) superiority of their products because data sells, even though it may be about as scientifically valid as astrology."

blog.velocite-bikes.com/2011/08/new-carbon-matrix-rims-and-super-noir-wheels/

No bullshit. Just really good bikes.

Velocite-Bikes.com

PS. In case you were wondering, the name Velocite is Latin: (imperative) move; set in motion; urge on, invoke. It was an order given by Roman commanders equivalent to the modern "quick march".

Please allow me to introduce myself

I realised that in my excitement at having a blog up and running (yes, I realise that I am perhaps the last person on earth to have a blog) I very rudely neglected to introduce myself.

I'm a mild mannered international civil servant by day... and a mild mannered international cyclist by night (and day).

Late in 2008 I decided to attempt the Race Across America (RAAM). RAAM is, in essence, a very long time trial. The race starts on the Pacific coast in California and finishes 3,000 miles later on the Atlantic coast in Maryland. The clock runs continuously, and riders are not allowed to draft.

I first heard of RAAM when I was in my early 20s. This was around the time I started racing bikes- first mountain bikes and then on the road. One to two hour cross-country races and criteriums were a world away from ultradistance cycling. I couldn't fathon how anyone could complete RAAM, let alone be competetive in it. I thought that RAAM racers must be incredibly gifted athletes, and, of course, completely insane.

Over the years I naturally progressed though endurance sports. Bike racing was always a mainstay, but I also did some adventure racing, then some marathons, which lead to ironman triathlon. As I completed more races, and gradually got faster, I realised that the majority of the performance differences between non-professional endurance athlets are the result of application, not ability.

So, 15 years after first hearing of RAAM I got to thinking about it again, in a new light. Cycling is what I really love doing, and rather than keep training for ironman, perhaps I could use RAAM as an excuse to focus just on riding my bike. A lot.

With the acquesience of my partner, Karolina, I decided to enter the 2010 edition of RAAM. First though I needed to qualify. In July 2009 I entered the Swiss Radmarathon, a 720km race around Switzerland. Up to that point my longest ride had been around 250km. Supported by Karolina and sandwiches I finished 10th and qualified. To get a little more experience later that summer I did the 1070km Swiss Tortour, and finished 8th. My final preparation race was a time trial in Italy, the 24 hours of Montello, which I won. I was now ready for RAAM.

As the banner says, I placed 3rd, and was awarded the Rookie of the year, King of the Mountains and King of the Praeries prizes.... but I'll save the details of that for another post.