A Beginner's Challenge..

So, you got a bike? Now what? Whether it's your first time on your 'new ride' or not, there's always a little more out there. That's the first thing to make note of. The possibilities and opportunities to find yourself amongst a group of individuals with the same interests and goals is one of the most intimidating and challenging parts of getting out there and becoming comfortable. So, let me introduce a few local organizations and chapters that may just be the avenue you're looking for to acquire your ultimate experience.






COLUMBUS OUTDOOR PURSUITS
Columbus Outdoor Pursuits (COP), is a volunteer based organization that aims to prepare and educate individuals for in outdoor recreation around the area. This group of individuals provide some of the greatest group rides and guided tours in the area. They commonly host rides to Der Dutchmen and find themselves the Big Brother of all of our riding newbies. So, once you decide to break away from the bike path, look up one of their SEVERAL weekly rides and get out there. Check out their website at http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/index.php.

TEAM IN TRAINING



Maybe you have heard of them? Talk about a true motivational tool. Push yourself to the limits and get inspired as you meet indivduals with more than a story to tell. Team In Training is a program that helps to support athletes to accomplish their goals, anywhere from a half-marathon, 100 mile bike ride, or a hike through the Grand Canyon. You can do it all? Ready for the cherry on top? Reach your goals, but exceed them. Find yourself among people touched by Leukemia and Lymphoma, as you race for a cure and raise money and awareness. As for cycling, become involved in a program that goes to Lake Tahoe annually. Ride through the abundant, captivating evergreens and around the crystal clear blue waters as you see hundreds of riders from all parts of the country supporting the same cause. Local chapters are forming, inquire about meeting a coach, go to an information session, and find yourself in an amazing adeventure a year from now.



PELOTONIA
As a second year event, this little guy takes the cake as it has rejuvenated cycling in Columbus on SO many levels. Pelotonia is a grassroots event hosted annually to raise awareness and money for the mission in ending our battles against cancer; all types, all kinds. As a new event to the area, it is exhillarating to see the ambition and determination among so many of our customers. Kudos to you all! In addition, if you have any interest in riding or volunteering, simply visit www.pelotonia.org!



Coolest part? Let roll: support you in all adventures. Mention your affiliation and save 10% on all accessories within our stores. After all, we like to know you're riding your bike. Love it, Give it a name.

My Choice is Sram

If you knew me, you would constantly hear me comparing Sram to Shimano and giving my personal opinion on the benefits of Sram in the road biking world, specifically for women. So why do I love Sram so much? It’s fairly simple, they lead the industry in: ergonomics or comfort, simplicity, performance, weight and price.

So first let us examine the ergonomics or the shape and comfort of the Sram shifters. The most recognizable comfort fact that the Sram shifters have to offer is their smaller and more form fitting hoods. The hoods feel particularly comfortable in comparison to Shimano for those with smaller hands, which would include, we the women of the biking world. In fact, the original design of the Sram shifter was designed specifically for smaller handed people. Also if you have ever ridden with Ultegra or Dura-Ace, you will notice the bulky nature of the shifters. A particular nuisance for me comes with the placement of my middle finger under the levers. It tends to kill me after a long ride or a race. The Shimano shifters are extremely rigid and have hard edges that cause chaffing and sometimes even small scratches to my oh-so sensitive hands.

Next, and still in the shifter category includes Sram’s reach adjust feature. This allows any rider to customize their and brake and shift levers. This is especially important to we female riders because, as we know, the bike industry is male dominated, especially in the performance category. This means most of the industry cater their products toward the male clientele, but not my friends at Sram. They thought of us, they know our hand reach is shorter and our fingers, not quite as long, and so they have given us the ability to make an adjustment to accommodate our needs. Thank you Sram, for your kindness.

Moving onto simplicity. Most of what makes Sram simple and even more comfortable is their patented DoubleTap system. Sram has separated itself by leaving the two lever system behind, eliminating the problems of engagement that come from having a brake and shifting lever combined. If you are riding with Shimano and on a tough climb, you will notice a natural tendency to rock your brake lever inward in which case you are unable to upshift. With the DoubleTap shifting system, the upshift is a quick rapid tap motion while the downshift on the same lever is a longer but elegant sweeping motion in the same direction. It is also easily accessible from your hoods or your drops and on those climbs I referred to earlier or in a sprint, it allows you to pull against the levers without sacrificing the upshift. Some days, I think Sram has thought of everything.

As you can see, performance, comfort and simplicity at times overlap, but there are a couple performance specifications that stand out, for example, the zero-loss function. This refers to the zero-loss of movement when you push on the lever for an upshift or a down shift. At this moment, the cable is immediately engaged and no movement is lost. In between a shift on many other systems, there is an annoying middle ground when your chain is trying to switch places on your rear cassette or on your front chain rings. However, with Sram gear changes are instant and precise. I will say that this may sacrifice a bit of smoothness but the benefit of a clear shift outweighs that minor downfall, and you will be a believer like me after you put a few miles on the Sram system. The other performance option that has to be addressed is what Sram calls the “Exact Actuation” technology. This refers to the 1:1 actuation ratio (shifter cable travel : derailleur movement). Exact Actuation simplifies and stabilizes the balancing act of the rear derailleur hang design, the tight cog spacing, and the exact cable tension, causing for a simple index shifting system that stays precise.

The weight and price are two that we can group together for 1. the reason that there is not a lot to say and 2. this article is probably getting overwhelmingly long for the reader. Essentially Sram components have carbon levers vs. alloy and every piece of the group set is lighter than the equivalent Shimano system. Sram is cheaper, simple as that. It costs hundreds of dollars less than Shimano and gives you excellent performance. The only problem is that Shimano group sets are currently coming on most complete bikes. I am a political person in my private life, and if there were an issue that I wanted you to fight for, I would tell you to call your Senators and other public officials. In this case, I say, call your favorite bike manufacturers and tell them that you want the option of Sram on their complete bikes. Let’s all help each other out on this one.

roll: Princess

If you have ever been into our shop, you have either heard, smelled, or worked with Heidi Shilling. It's true, she has been around since the beginning and adds to the heaping dinner helping of personality to the roll: crew. Heidi has been racing and in the shops longer than even Dante can remember! Along with her fire red hair, comes a whiff of excitement, passion, and commitment to the sport and people that surround her. She races in the Expert class, and is a great addition to the COMBO Race Team powered by roll:! Heidi will begin contributing to our women's blog about the experiences she has! Yay!



Contributed by Heidi Shilling:

There has been a storm in my mind for over a year now. Last year I showed up to Mohican mentally and physically unprepared. I did everything wrong before the race including replacing a 9 speed chain with a 10 speed chain. After missing the podium by a few minutes, I promised myself that this year would be different. I have been training smart and steadily improving. My race season so far has gone well. I felt confident but nervous. Anything can happen in a race this long.



I arrived at the hotel the night before to watch my teammates in a full on pre-race frenzy. Last minute bike repairs, tire changes, tube patching, talk of strategy, beer drinking, burping, farting, blah, blah blah, bru ha, ha, testosterone fest. I just put my number plate on and lubed my chain. That's all, I was ready to roll:. Much to my surprise I fell fast asleep that night. I dreamed that I was riding under a waterfall. When I woke up the rain was coming down in sheets. It fell for hours and stopped right before the 7am start.

The race begins, I'm redlining from the start, just short of heart attack. My goal is to beat as many riders as I can into the woods. I hit the trail and get immediately stuck behind a crowd going nowhere fast. The trail is squishy. slick, messy, suck all of your energy MUD. No surprise, this was going to be an epic sufferfest. I weeble I wooble but I don't fall down, except for the steep downhill,I slide sideways down and bust my 2 month old scab open AGAIN! We quickly enter the State Forest and I hear someone yell, "way to go girls". Girls? Who is behind me? It's Bridget Donovan. She chases me all the way to the first aid station. I blow through it. I finally get to my favorite part of the trail. Even wet and slick it still has flow and is super fast. I felt good. I began to pass rider after rider. I felt great. Then came the shocking inner thigh cramps. I could hardly keep the pedals turning. I was worried, this was too early for cramps. Then I came upon the dreaded hike a bike. It seemed like an eternity climbing up that hill. One foot in front of the other, my heart pounding out of my head, death march. Finally at the top, I experience more mud, cramps, and rain. I'm no roadie but I can't wait to hit the road! Down some crazy water bars, raging river crossing, up a suck your shoe off climb and finally road, sweet road! Wait a minute how could I forget? Some of these road climbs are killers. I can't get to Aid Station 2 fast enough.



I finally arrive at that little oasis and see my happy teammate, Jeremy. I think I might have growled at him, Sorry Jeremy! I refueled and hit the trail in less than a minute. It's all a little bit blurry from here. I went back and forth with a group of guys. They would pass me on the road I would pass them on the trail. I hit the Wilderness Trail with a sense of urgency. I know this trail, I have done a few solos on it. I pick off a few more riders. They tell me the leader is just a few minutes ahead! This thought fills my head. I forget about the cramps, rain, mud, and bike that no longer wants to shift. My goal was to bridge the gap, she beat me by 45 minutes last year. Now I'm close...real close! This thought carries me to Aid Station 3.

When I arrive my teammate, Gary, whisks my bike away while I get my water bottle filled and grab a PB&J with my muddy paws. I'm off riding on a bike that is fully functioning!!! I'm sore and tired but down right giddy bursting at the seams with happiness. Thirteen miles to go, more climbs, cramps, rain, mud, raging stream crossing and long stretches of road. Pedal dammit, this is it! I hit the last 6 miles with a renewed sense of energy. Not in my body, but in my mind. The thunder rolls across the sky, I laugh! The sky opens up and dumps. I'm in the waterfall of my dream, riding downstream. My brake pads are gone, there is so much mud in my eyes, I can barely see. This is one wild ride. I come off of the trail into the campground. This is it! I blow through the last water crossing, it covers most of my bike. Somehow I make it through. Just a little more! Hello Finish! Hello pint glass!!! Oh, Happy Day!

All in all, an Epic race, just so happens to be one of my best! Second Place ! My Teammates did well too. Jake got 3rd in the 100k singlespeed. Jon almost beat his time from last year despite the conditions. Trent tore it up and finished with a fast time. Greg, Jeff, and Tom endured the elements and finished strong. Pat and Jayson rode their hearts out and last but not least Jeremy finished 100 miles on a rigid singlespeed! Go COMBO Race Team! Red Dragons!!!

Ladie's MTB Clinic!! (ANOTHER CHANCE!)

Hey Ladies-
Unfortunately, the ride was rained out last weekend. The good thing? The clinic has been rescheduled! The NEW details are below, take note, and be there!

WHAT? MVMBA Ladies 2nd Annual MTB Clinic
WHERE? John Bryan State Park
WHEN? June 19th 10a-5p (Sign in starts at 9a)

Need registered? Hop onto www.bikereg.com and get everything taken care of!
Questions? Give our shops a call!

It's like a new pair of shoes!

That's right, roll: has done it again, by teaming up with Felt Bicycles to offer our customers an unrivaled experience in product selection and knowledge. The difference? You have options. Whether you like them or not, they are there, and that's where we come in. With companies like Felt, Giant, Niner, and Electra- we have the opportunity to offer you an unparalleled and varied product selection, while still maintaining your favorite roll experiences such as our roll:perfect fit program and customer service priorities.

Back to Felt, just like your son's new girlfriend - or the new girl at work, you wanna know the background story. Where do they come from? What's there deal? Hey, it's human nature to question, so let me make this easy for you.

Felt is the last name of the founder, who would rather go by "Jim". Jim made a name for himself as a highly qualified mechanic for Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki. During his prime, he helped Johnny O'Mara (a motocross SUPER star) build his first triathalon frame, as he began cycling to increase his core strength and stability. I'm sure neither of them knew O'Mara would go on to win the California State Championship Time Trial that following year. From there, Jim went on to work for Easton Sports as a product engineer. His first big project was to create a frame for Easton sponsored, Paula Newby Fraser. This project lead to the birth of the B2, which Paula road to her 4th Kona Ironman that year.

"Felt’s reputation as a guy who understands how to go fast was sealed. Working with Easton, Felt would go on to build bikes for duathlon’s winningest athlete, Ken Souza, mountain bike legend John Tomac, and Ironman strongman Wolfgang Dietrich. Any bike builder on the planet would kill to have such a collection of athletes on their resume"

Think about it, to have your name on a bicycle, you have to have faith in your product. Just imagine. We believe Felt offers a unique experience to our customers and correlates very well with the foundations of roll: As a staff, we are stoked to offer this to all of you! Come in and chat with us!

NEW Google Attempt!

Yes, they've done it again. Google now introduces an ability to map out your bike rides from Point A to Point B. Interesting, eh? Even better, they color coordinate the routes based on their congestion and safety rating. They also allow you to provide feedback on the directions and accessibility after riding them. Interested? Check it out at maps.google.com/biking.

Sure, it may not be perfect.. but it does beat some of the other programs and mapping tools, and offers a good effort at making commuting a little more do-able! Have any other programs that are just great for trip planning? Let us know!

New and ELECTRA-fying rides at roll:

Introducing our new line of specialty bicycles- Electra, a perfect fit for our family, as we see for yours.

The company hails out of Vista, California and was founded in 1993 By Benno Bänziger and Jeano Erforth. Bänziger was raised in the Swiss Embassy in East Berlin and grew fascinated with California and action sports. When he was a teenager, he began designing and manufacturing snowboards in Germany. Bänziger moved to California after graduating with a degree in graphic design, founded his own firm, Projekt Design, in 1990 and began working for companies such as K2 and Adidas. He had originally planned to start manufacturing snowboards or skateboards, but found that those markets were dense with competition, it was then when his attention shifted his attention to bicycles, Wooo Hooo!

Bänziger told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “The one thing I found when I looked at cycling in the US was that everything was some kind of sport, but very few people used bikes for fun or for transportation. I wanted to introduce the ‘having a bike in your life’ factor, as opposed to ‘being a cyclist.'"

In 2003, the company introduced a major new design: the Townie. This bike’s superb innovation was what the company calls “Flat Foot Technology,” now more widely known as the 'crank forward' design. When the rider is sitting on the saddle, his or her feet can still stand flat on the ground, which feels safer and more comfortable for some riders. The design also allows riders to get full extension when they pedal, which is crucial in comfort. The design combines aspects of the cruiser frame with some of the geometry of recumbent bikes, moving the pedals forward and the keeping the saddle back.

Yes, that's right- Miley Cyrus rides an Electra :) Come in and check them out!