The Internet of Bikes: 2014 Tour of the Hilltowns

The Tour of the Hilltowns is a mid summer classic road race in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. The race this year was a 62 mile circuit race featuring short steep climbs, long gradual climbs and long and fast descents. I joined Dan Vallaincourt, Joe Lynch, Matt Moon and Troy Barry of the Downeast Racing team for the event. Some seventy riders started the Pro12 race. Conditions were warm and dry with temperatures in the high 70s.  The main feature of the race was the climb on Charlemont Road. This section of the course was steep and pretty long. The field charged up the climb with very little warm up. It was tough and the field shrunk a bit. The more gradual climb that followed featured many accelerations but no one got away. The descent on West Hawley Road has not changed: there are frost heaves and cracks and visibility is poor because of shadows. Speeds touch fifty miles an hour here.  The field hit the Charlemont Road climb hard the second time around and this is where the field shrank to about twenty riders with two riders off the front. These two built their lead to about 20 seconds and were occasionally in view. The field closed this gap in the final kilometers, but the two riders stayed away with lead elements of the field finishing soon after in a down hill field sprint (with me at the rear of the field in 19th position). I was pleased with my efforts during the race and my A-D Superleicht Carbon ran very well throughout. The revised Tour of the Hilltowns is shorter than the earlier 98 mile version, but it is much faster and just as tough. I will not be surprised if they make the race longer next year or find an uphill finish for it somewhere

A-D Superleicht Carbon Limited

A-D Superleicht Carbon Limited reviewed by Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine

A-D Bikes tops the charts with a Superleicht remix

A-D Bikes is the company remixing the iconic Austro-Daimler Superleicht for the twenty-first century and reintroducing it to the global performance racing bicycle market. Masters category cyclist Fred Thomas founded A-D Bikes in 2010. 

"I wanted to race the bike I raced when I was sixteen years old." Mr. Thomas said recently during a test ride with Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine. "Austro-Daimler had long since closed it doors, so I did what BMW did with Mini Cooper." Four years up the road, Mr. Thomas' knowledge of cycling products, experience working and living in Asia and dedication to the sport have come through in the form of the A-D Limited Series frame sets. Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine recently tested the Superleicht Carbon Limited road bike with Mr. Thomas on his 80 mile Tuesday night training ride outside of Portland, Maine. Part of it, anyway. Mr. Thomas rides with the Downeast Racing team out of Brunswick, Maine and thus is riding the hours necessary to compete in the New England Pro 1 2 category. "You have to live the dream if you are going to sell the dream." Mr. Thomas quipped at one point during the ride.    

Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine is impressed. The Superleicht is a stable and comfortable bike to ride and a fine choice for the no-nonsense racing cyclist. It is steady on the downhills, smooth in the corners, responsive in the accelerations and built up with Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 Di2 eleven speed group set and FOS 38T tubular wheels, the bike (50 cm) weighs fifteen pounds (6.8 kg). The Champagne finish respects the original spirit of the brand and we like the way Mr. Thomas has innovated traditional bicycle graphic design by transposing the A-D logo on the down tube. "I wanted to remix the graphics to leverage the beauty of the A-D logo and give the bike a modern voice. Just ten years ago, this kind of graphic touch was not possible." Mr. Thomas says.

The Limited Series improves on the previous generation Superleicht by offering dual mechanical and electronic cable routing compatibility and a BB30 bottom bracket. "The Limited Series gives the consumer more choice of group set and bottom bracket and it is also a lot easier for your mechanic to build." Mr. Thomas points out. Among the features that are unchanged include the A-D 37SL full carbon front fork, the A-D carbon seat post (31.6 mm), the tapered head tube and the Cane Creek 110 Series head set in the blue finish. 

Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine cannot help but think that Mr. Thomas has his work cut out. The market for performance frame sets is very competitive and the secondary market is awash with lightly used brand name performance bicycles. Why buy an A-D? Mr. Thomas puts it this way. "These frame sets are inexpensive premium products that offer better value and better performance than many other frame sets in its class. They are well made and all that you will ever need to be competitive in races and group rides." Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine is inclined to agree and has to say that there is something authentic and essential about the Superleicht frame sets that gives the completed bike a distinctive and classic voice. Perhaps it was that voice that got us out of bed at dawn the next day to fit in one more ride on our Superleicht before returning it.

A-D Bikes runs a standard crash replacement program in addition to the refreshingly simple and innovative  A-D Bikes Cash or Credit program. This allows the original owner of an A-D frame set to return it in exchange for a credit towards a new frame set or a fair market value cash payment. This means that A-D owners can easily extract the remaining value of their A-D frame set without having to deal with Craig's List or eBay. The full line of A-D Limited Series road, time trial and cyclocross frame sets are available at The Chain Station in Brunswick, Maine (Please ask for Jeff Yingling). The frame sets can also be obtained through Fit Werx 2 in Peabody, Massachusetts (Please ask for Marty Miserandino). For customers outside of New England, the frame sets can be obtained through the A-D Bikes Shopify Store. Please call Fred Thomas or Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine directly on 207 221 5151 with any questions. Dealer enquires are welcomed.

By Fred Thomas
Editor
Cycling Pro Road Review Magazine

Tribute to a tt Carbon

I rode my Austro-Daimler tt Carbon for the last time on 29 June 2014. It was a 50 km "time trial" around Cape Elizabeth. The bike was built up in early 2013 by Fit Werx 2 and according to Strava, I put 2,500 miles on it (both road miles and trainer hours I guess). I ran a Zipp 808 on the front and a Zipp 900 Tubular disc for the entire time I used it and used a Stages Power Meter. As with the Superleicht Carbon, I determined that I would not expect anyone to ride and race a bike that I would not race myself. Thus I have been training and racing on the this model since 2012 and can say that the frame set meets a very high standard of performance and quality. I did not have any problems with the bottom bracket or the head seat or the seat post; it was easy to service and easy to build. I won the USA Cycling Nationals Masters Time Trial 45-48 on this bike which is perhaps going to serve as the peak of my career; I won the Maine Time Trial Series on this bike too and managed a few satisfying results in the Pro 12 categories. Besides all that, I simply enjoyed getting out on this bike for my informal "time trials" around the neighborhood. The amusing thing about this bike is that when we were designing the graphics, it became clear right away that using Austro-Daimler lettering on the down tube was not going to work; it just looked funny. The only option was to superimpose the logo on the down tube. Todd Silvia at Bob the Screenprinter worked his magic and it was clear that this was the way forward (the down tube logo is now available on the Superleicht and the Ubercross). Somehow a white band was included around the logo; it was unintended, but it still worked fine. I have replaced the tt Carbon with the tt Carbon Limited which is the same design with a few extra features. I will blog about the new bike soon.

tt Carbon

2013 METTS Cape Elizabeth

2013 USA Cycling Nationals

2014 Killington Stage Race

2014 METTS Freeport

Tribute to a Superleicht

I rode my Austro-Daimler Superleicht Carbon Di2 for the last time on 30 June 2014. Fit Werx 2 built it up in early 2013 with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 derailleurs and shifters, Shimano Dura-Ace cranks and brakes, 3T Rotundo Team bars and a Fizik saddle. I used a variety of wheels during that time including Zipp 303 tubulars, Zipp 202 tubulars and FOS 38T tubulars. I raced and trained 20,000 miles on it. Notable victories on this bike include 2013 Tour of the Battenkill Masters 45 plus and the 2014 Lake Sunappe Road Race Pro 123 in addition to many satisfying finishes (Silver medal 2013 USA Cycling National Championships, 11th place 2013 Tour of the Dragons, 10th place 2013 Tour of the Hilltowns). Epic rides include Mount Diablo double, Sandy Hook Ride on Washington and RideXme to name a few. The bike received heavy use on the rough roads of New England and the numerous dirt road sections in updated New York and Vermont. It held up very well through it all. 

From the very beginning of this adventure, I decided that I would not ask anyone to ride or race a bike that I would not ride or race myself. I feel that I have made good on that decision and can firmly say that the frame, fork and seat post meets very high standards of quality and durability. I did not have any speed wobbles on this bike, I never had a problem with the front fork, the head set, the drop outs or the bottom bracket and it always felt comfortable and stable. I believe that it is as well made as any other bike on the market, if not better. 

The graphics and the finish are another story: I matched the color of my steel Austro-Daimler using a Pantone board and sent that along to my supplier, along with a single schematic showing where to place the lettering. Although I was very pleased with the color, I learned that I have to send over a detailed schematic for each frame size as positioning of logos change with each frame size. Thus when the frame sets arrived I was hung up on very minor details about placement and positioning as well as some minor mistakes. These concerns faded quickly as it was the color that made the greatest impact and I was really the only one who noticed. 

The A-D Bikes adventure continues with the introduction of the Superleicht Carbon Limited. I am very pleased with this frame set both with its features as well as its graphics and I look forward to posting a review about it soon.

2014 Killington Stage Race

2014 Hunter-Greene Summer Classic

2014 Tour of the Battenkill

2013 Tour of the Catskills

2014 Killington Stage Race

2013 Tour of the Battenkill Masters

2013 Tour of the Battenkill Masters

The Internet of Bikes: 2014 Hunter-Green Classic Summer Road Race

The Hunter-Greene Summer Classic road race is a 110 mile road race outside of Windham, New York. It is a 33 mile circuit repeated three times that features some sharp climbs, long straight sections and high summer conditions. I joined Troy Barry, Eliot Pitney, Matt Moon and Dan Vallaincourt of Downeast Racing for the event. Some thirty riders started. Conditions were calm and dry with temperatures in the 70s. The main feature of the race was the early break by Eliot Pitney and one other rider that gained a five minute lead and that held out for the entire race. It was a classic demonstration of panache, group psychology and team tactics. The field did plenty of active riding on the straight sections, interspersed with periods of very slow riding, but never organized a sustained chase. We sat in and watched the chase teams burn up the matches. The power and resolve gradually faded from the field and ensured that the break was away for good. The final push up the climbs thinned out the field a bit and I was able to finish third in the field sprint and eighth overall. It was a great result for me, an epic win for Eliot and a fine demonstration of tactics and strength for Downeast Racing. It was also the last race on my Superleicht Carbon Di2. I raced this bike for two years and had many hours of training and racing on it. There was never a problem and it held up through some very tough conditions. This was a fine event to mark its entry into retirement. This bike is replaced by the Superleicht Carbon Limited. This is the same frame set, but with different features (BB30, dual mechanical / electronic shifting and down tube logo), and an 11-speed drive train and a power meter. It is a fine bike and I am looking forward to the rest of the season racing and training on it.

Ready for its last race

Downeast Racing Team post race image

Packing up for the drive home