An Update

Firstly I apologise for not writing anything lately, but this is simply because not a lot has been going on. Actually that's a lie, I've done a bit. I did a Lincs League road race which went very well, up until the second to last corner when some idiot chopped me up and I lost a lot of places, and then the same thing happened in the sprint. Nevermind.

I did a smaller club road race last week too, which didn't go great because I hadn't been feeling well for a while and it definitely showed. I pulled a bit on the front but then on the second lap round was forced to draft or get dropped. So to make up for it I pulled from the last turn up to a few hundred metres from the line, just to say I did something, which I did: Joe Moore managed to launch himself from my pull and finished first from our scratch group. Unfortunately we didn't manage to catch group 1, which meant my apprentice Danny came second in the sprint from his breakaway group, which I was delighted about.

A quick update on the tyres, as I have now both trained and raced on them in very wet conditions and I must say there were brilliant. Naturally you don't lean as much in the wet but I didn't find myself having to restrict my movement, I was able to ride relatively normal on them even in slippery conditions, so the Continental Attack/Force tyres definitely get the thumbs up from me after ticking all the important boxes with ease.

To end on a high note, I did a club ride on Sunday, after a 3 hour ride on Saturday in the blistering heat we had, and it went very well. On the way back we came across the wolds (hills are never a bad thing). After trying to launch a little attack up one hill I was marked out by Big Ed thanks to a warning from Grommett, but on a much bigger hill when we had some good speed, I went for it, and dessimated the group, whilst climbing in a stunningly large gear of about 53x14. Coming into Waltham there is a nice flat straight road so I thought why not have a sprint? So I did. That also went well. So a few minutes later I did another one at Toll Bar. Again it went well. It was a good ride, had everything I wanted, hills and sprints. Can't complain.

Product REVIEW ~ Continental GP Attack & Force Tyres

I tear came to my eye as I found that one of my Schwalbe Stelvio clinchers had a gash in the sidewall, leading to the tube protruding from it. They were a great set of tyres, and I'd go as far to say they were the best road tyres I had seen and used. I had previously used Bontrager tyres but they weren't terrible supple or grippy. The schwalbe's were a different story altogether, they were supple, easy to put on and take off, good grip, especially on the corners owing to their totally separate cornering compound.

But...on to the new tyres. I had been reccomended the Continental GP4000 tyres by my friend Mat, but since a pair of them would in fact come to more than the twin pack of the even better Attack and Force combination tyres, I thought I would save a bit of money and get a better tyre out of it too. And a better tyre I got!

The tyres are different to one another in most respects, with the exception of the same Black Chilli compound used in them. The front tyre, where most grip is needed, is a thin 22mm thick as opposed to the standard 23mm, and has a specific grooved pattern on to increase grip further. Whereas the rear tyre is unusually wide at 24mm and is made for prolonged life to prevent wear.

To start with, obviously, you have to put them on, which is a feat in itself. You'd think for someone doing a complex degree that putting the tyre on with the tread the right way round would be easy, except there is no diagram on the box showing you which way or where to find out which way round to put the tyres on. After studying the way the tread goes and trying to reach a logical conclusion as to the way they should go (I was right by the way), I found that there is in fact a little tiny arrow with the word "rotation" next to it, pointing which way on the tyres go. So I set about putting them on. They weren't quite as supple as my outgoing Schwalbe tyres but since they were brand new I imagine they will get better after a few miles if I have to change a tube.

Now for the ride. I had the fear that with a narrower front tyre I would lose a little control and that the wheel would be a little more inclined to drift. I couldn't have been more wrong. Continental have got this tyre absolutely right. The grip on the corners is as much as my old tyres, and that's without pushing them, which I am a bit weary to do on the first ride, so they may prove to be even better. They are narrow, and therefore offer a noticably lower rolling resistance compared to any other standard tyre.

The rear tyre, being 24mm, I expected to have a high rolling resistance and be a little sluggish on the road. However I noticed no difference between it and my outgoing tyre. In fact it may have an even lower rolling resistance.

The rear tyre helps the bike feel well planted on the road without offering a new source of friction, whereas the front tyre is grippy and so lively that it is a delight to tip into a corner.

When I've got some more miles into them, and some more varied surfaces and some nice descents and bends which is where cheaper tyres tend to give in, I will report back. I have a race on Wednesday so we shall see how they fare in that...

Another Day Another Dollar

I only got 60 odd miles in yesterday on the club ride, and apart from regular training not a great deal else has happened so stay tuned as I'm about to give you lucky people a new product review!...