Saturday, December 13, 2008

Jamie Whitmore's Road to Recovery


Some of you may have heard that Xterra superstar and all-around great person, Jamie Whitmore, was diagnosed with a tumor on her pelvis earlier this year. She has undergone multiple surgeries to eliminate the tumor, and is now starting the long, but hopeful, road to recovery. During this hardship, Jamie has not only been taxed physically, mentally and spiritually, but also financially. We here at Colorado Multisport wanted to honor Jamie and say how much we appreciate her as a person and athlete. To this end, we also did some fundraising to help her out, and are proud to send her a check for over $750!

Jamie, if you are reading, we all wish you the best in your road to recovery and hope our little donation and thoughts help you get your life back in check. You are an inspiration!

If you would like to help out, please visit Jamie's website and blog at
http://www.jamiewhitmore.com/.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Matt Cooke of Health Net pays CMS a visit


Health Net-Maxxis rider Matt Cooke stopped by the studio for a chat. We helped Matt dial in his sizing on his Cannondale Super Six earlier in the year. 2008 was Matt's second year in the professional peloton after winning the Elite National Championship in 2006.


Matt actually came to the world of professional road cycling by way of a promising triathlon and duathlon career (sound like another of cycling's stars?). Matt has always been accomplished on the bike, but on recent training rides in the hills he's been known to show his finely tuned climbing skills.


'Cookie' recently returned from a training camp in Florida trying to help another Boulder implant, 70.3 star Paul Ambrose, get ready for the 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater. The two did quite a bit of motorpacing in the warm weather of Southern FL.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Greg Bennett swings by


World class triathlon super-star Greg Bennett stopped by the studio for some last minute business on his way out of Boulder for the winter. Greg and his wife, Olympian Laura Bennett, are chasing warmer weather down to Australia for the next couple of months.


Greg shared some of his insights on high-level racing with us. It sounds like many elite athletes are liking where the ITU is heading with regard to their new 'World Series' of racing, awarding the title of World Champion to an athlete that shows ability to perform consistently over time, not at one event.


With snow on the ground in Boulder right now, we might envy Greg and Laura just a little bit and wish we could join their retreat toward warmer weather!


We had the honor of working on both of their Orbea race rigs this past year and can't wait to do it again in 2009!!


New Product Update!


We've received some cool new products this past week at CMS.

First, we were able to order in some of the last remaining Vision Tech Aero Carbon Drinking Systems!! Rumor has it that Vision actually found a box of the last remaining of these tucked away in a corner of their warehouse. We ordered in as many as we could, but supplies are EXTREMELY limited, so hurry in to claim yours! There has been much discussion recently regarding the huge aerodynamic advantages that a bottle system such as this has, placing the bottle in between and parallel with the rider's arms. This is even faster than riding with no bottle at all!! And you need to drink, so this is certainly the best way to carry a bottle!

We've also started to see some of the exciting new Shimano Triathlon shoes. We've got a few pairs of both the Men's and Women's TR-51 in stock, and are expecting more in the near future. Shimano has done a really nice job updating their triathlon shoe line for 2009. On the top of the line TR-70 shoe, they have added a second strap for increased comfort as well as the ability to heat mold the shoe for a truly custom fit. The TR-70 shoe combined with a pair of Sidas Conformables custom insoles molded for you by one of the CMS expert fitters would make for the ultimate in performance and comfort!

We've also been doing some redecorating, which you might have noticed if you have stopped by the studio in the past couple of weeks. The most noticeable change is to our clothing section, which is finally looking great and is very easy to browse. We've got a great selection of the hot F4 custom apparel, including the long sleeve winter jacket, essential for the colder temps we're experiencing at the moment here in Boulder! Come in and check it out!

Also remember that CMS is now proud to be a new Zeal Sunglasses dealer. With all the snow on the at the moment, now is a great time to pick up a pair of Zeal's sunglasses with ZB13 Polarized lenses, perfect for blocking all of that nasty glare! CMS has a great selection of many styles and colors to choose from, be sure to try some on next time you're in the studio!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Power Meters










Power meters are a powerful tool. While there are a growing number of companies offering models that have caught our eye, only a select few are, in our estimation, worthy of your consideration.

There are a few different methods by which the various power meters measure torque, and thereby calculate your power. Strain gauges, strips of wire that when flexed change in their conductivity, are mounted either in cranks, bottom brackets, hubs, or on a trainer unit. While trainer mounted units offer fantastic utility, you will be limited to data compiled during your indoor sessions. Bottom bracket mounted units have had reliability issues in the past. When it comes to all around performance, two makes of power meters have consistently risen above the rest: PowerTap and SRM. Which unit might be right for you? Read on...

We've used both of these industry driving units and they are both excellent options. But both have limitations that one ought to consider when deciding between them. One important question to ask yourself is if you are going to race with power, or limit your measurement to training sessions. We find that some of the best data that you will compile is from racing. Want to see what your power output was just before the group dropped you in your last road race? Want to see how much effort you were exerting in the last 2 laps of the local crit? Need to calculate your LT based off of your results at the state TT champs? Racing with a power meter is an easy way to do all of these things and more. However, some prefer to not be tied to a constantly fluctuating number while they are racing, instead going on feel. No one wants every aspect of their racing to be dictated by their power meter.

The PowerTap is a hub mounted unit. The strain gauges are enclosed into the hub, which is then built into the spokes and rim of your choosing. This makes the unit extremely easy to transfer between bicycles, especially the newer wireless incarnations of the PowerTap. In fact, it is literally as easy as changing a wheel! For athletes who own and train on more than one bicycle, this unit is a pleasure to switch between bikes. The disadvantage to this design is that you are limited to one wheel, a factor to consider if you own and use multiple sets of wheels for different racing and training situation. For example, if you already own a set of super-fast Zipp 808's, you'll have to either have a PT hub built into your 808, and then train and race on it, or purchase an additional hub to have built into a training wheel. The PowerTap displays 3 data meausrements at a glance, and while you can scroll through the current, average, or maximum of any value, you can only scroll through one value at a time.

This brings us to the other excellent powermeter option, the SRM. To be short, the disadvantage of the SRM is the price: $3000 for the basic cranks and closer to $4000 for the Dura Ace or FSA models (which also happen to have 8 strain gauges versus four in the basic model). The SRM has the reputation for being the most reliable unit once the initial setup and installation is completed. We say once the setup is completed because, in our experience, there is almost always some tweaking (for lack of a better word) that needs to be done in order to get the unit functioning (be it adding magnets to the crank sensor, or re-installing USB-driver software to get the download cable to be recognized). It's never very difficult and does not take much time, but on a $4000+ unit it would be nice to not have any hiccups. The SRM displays quite a bit of data at a glance: it has 4 constantly displayed measurements (Power, HR, Speed, Cadence) and a 5th measurement scrolls through time, distance, and altitude. Pressing the mode button shifts each of the 4 main measurements to averages, and another click of the mode button takes the user to the maximum of each measurement. Data is very easy to access on the SRM. The other advantage that the SRM has is that, because it is a crank-based unit, you are free to use whatever wheels you choose. This might make the cost of the unit much more reasonable if you intend to use multiple rear wheels.


The wonderful world of power meter training can be confusing and difficult to navigate at the outset. Feel free to give a call or stop by the studio and the CMS staff will be happy to assist you with these powerful tools!

Friday, December 5, 2008

LOOK Bicycles!!


We are very excited to announce that Colorado Multisport is Colorado's newest LOOK Bicycles dealer! We are going to be focusing on selling their new 576 and flagship 596 triathlon bikes.

LOOK has been in the business of manufacturing carbon framed bikes for longer than just about anybody, and they have a race pedigree to back that up. Most of the testing for the new line was done at the Magny-Cours F1 race track in France, leading to some forward-thinking in their designs.

Right now we have a 576 in the studio. Make sure to come by and check it out!!

Monday, December 1, 2008

CMS Partner Without Limits Productions acquires New Race for 2009!




NEW WITHOUT LIMITS EVENT - HARVEST MOON TRIATHLON, DUATHLON, AND AQUABIKE

Colorado's longest running ½ Iron distance triathlon, The Harvest Moon, celebrates its 10th anniversary on September 12th, 2009. Without Limits Productions is proud to announce that we will be taking over this event, and increasing the field size. The Harvest Moon will carry on all of its great traditions that Racing Underground has established over the last 9 years. In addition, Racing Underground will continue to provide the accurate and efficient chip timing for all our events next season. Registration for the Harvest Moon Triathlon, Duathlon, and 2nd annual Aquabike will open on January 1st 2009! Boulder Area packet pick-up will be at Colorado Multisport during race week, perfect time to pick up those last minute race essentials.