Poor College Kids' Road Race

Held on Jan 31st, 2009 start near Los Olivos CA. This is a 34 mile out-and-back (17 each way) course and the 50+ group did one lap. Here's the scoop: sit in until the climb on the return. The total climbing was 1800', which is neither trivial nor particulary much. It starts with a steady uphill for about four miles. A word to the wise, if you race in a big group (over 75 riders) you'll really want to be near the front at the beginning and the turnaround. The road is sufficiently narrow that team tactics can come into play. The 50+ group kicked up the pace in the last part of the outbound climb and and a few folks tried to ride off the front. We were all back together before the turnaround.

The road is narrow at the turnaround and if you're more than ten riders back you'll find yourself queueing up at 2MPH while a bunch of guys sprint back the other way. This is both ruthless and reasonable. The 50+ category is small enough that organizers don't care if you're a CAT5 rider. In particular, the race entry fee on this occasion included a one-day license (you are welcome for the subsidy, really!) The whole topic is enough for a separate blog, so more later. With about 5 miles to go you hit the real climb, even though it's only five minutes, it shatters the group. The finishing straight is way too narrow for any kind of group, so the way to deal with this is to go like crazy on the climb and hammer it home.

The Good:

• Nice location.
• Organized.
• It's a road race!

The Bad:

• Parking (suggest taking spot soon after turnoff and sign reading "park off road").
• A long way from civilization (2.5 hours from LA area).
• Gnarly full-stop turnaround.

The Ugly:

• Narrow road for a field sprint.

Review of MicroSHIFT shifters

Specifically I bought the MicroSHIFT (that's what's printed on the brifters) brifters and rear deraileur. I have a compact FSA system with the FSA front derailleur. As far as installation is concerned, just follow the directions - nothing fancy. Adjustment, same deal - no surprises. The big surprise is that you can buy a brifter that even works at all for the price I paid ($119/pr). Nashbar claims MSRP at $199, but I've never seen them at full price. The rear derailleur was $29 ($59 MSRP). One thing I did do was replace the incredibly crappy pulleys with Shimano ones. Performance pulleys (11T sealed bearing) would be first choice and I'll make that change later.

Shifting is Campy-style, but without the refinement. There are large and small paddles used separately for up and down shifts and the brake lever is old-school and isn't involved with the shifting. The paddles are plastic and the overall appearance is unexceptional, without looking too cheap. With the exception of the 34-->50 front, shifting is precise and quick if somewhat noisy on occasion (clack!) Going from the small to large ring on a compact is never pretty, but this is the only shift I'd rather have my old (9s) Ultegra for. The effort is high and the response somewhat slow and occasionally a second push is necessary. Trimming works, but I seldom use it since I'm set up for racing.

Under racing conditions it's never let me down, but I haven't had to upshift the front under pressure. When you think about it, that doesn't come up all that often in a race when a 50x21 combination is easily obtainable. I'm on the big ring a lot, with the compact you'll find people do that. Unfortunately, there's no way to say anything about durability or reliability at this point. I have to say I like the Campy shifting better than Shimano. It's nice to have a brake lever that doesn't move sideways, speaking as an old-timer I never gotten used to that.

Even though the shifting is Campy-style the appearance is more Shimano-esque. The brake cables are hidden, but not the shifting cables. The pull ratio is 2:1 (Shimano) so the brifters should work. I don't know if Campy is different, but something deep inside tells me that Campy buyers won't be interested.