FLASH-POINT BLOG ARCHIVE: Jan 2006

At long last I managed to get out on the road with my FP40s, which have been sitting in my house since December. After a bit of a false start where I had to get a replacement rear wheel from the folks at Zipp followed by snow or brutally cold days, the weather cooperated just enough to allow me out on the road. Rain for the last two days had done a reasonable job of clearing away all the snow and although it was still raining, the 45-degree weather was too good to miss.
For the weight-conscious, the wheels weighed in as follows (before rim strip, tubes and tires):Front: 743g Rear: 921g
Not the lightest set of clinchers - even deep rim - but not overly heavy either. I raced last year with a set of American Classic AC420s - similar in profile but several hundred grams lighter. As such I swapped out the cassette off the ACs and decided to ride these on my race bike for a bit of a comparison. The weather is still bad enough to warrant some less-than svelte tires, so I put a set of Conti Gatorskins on the wheels. These aren't light and they don't roll like a set of race tires. Due to time constraints and the worsenning rain, I cut the ride down to 30 miles over rolling terrain - no real hills but constant little ups and downs. I didn't try and real sprinting this time out, but kept the ride to a faily decent speed averaging about 22mph for the ride. The wind on the way back was a constant cross-wind slightly from the front. I could feel the FP40s tug once in a  while in response to a gust but nothing that caused any anxiety and certainly nothing that I wouldn't have expected from a rim with this profile - less in fact. This is when I started to notice that the extra weight compared to the AC420s was actualy quite favorable. The FP40s felt very stable and even with the Gatorskins rolled very nicely. In those sections where the wind was helping, the wheels felt very good indeed - I began to wonder what a set of the 60s would be like in a time trial with its even deeper profile.
Moving away from stop signs the wheels tracked well and felt eager to get up to speed - although, as I mentioned, I wasn't doing any sprinting. I didn't really put any power through the pedals during the ride and so there wasn't even the chance to notice any flex. When the weather gets better, I may take these to the local track to see how they feel on the banks of a velodrome. Braking, even with the wet conditions, felt secure. The Dura Ace brakes have always been good but the braking surface of the rims afforded a good contact point and the look of the "grooves" in the rim didn't seem to reduce the contact surface at all. On getting back to the house I noticed that aside from having a good 3-hour bike clean in front of me, the rear wheel needs a slight truing before the next ride - nothing unusual considering I didn't even check it before going out for a first ride.
First impressions have been very favorable. I'm not sure if these will see much action in the crit races I'll do, but right now I'd have no qualms about taking them out to a road race. Aside from a few decent climbs in Wisconsin, there aren't too many races in my area where the extra weight compared to wheels like the Easton Ascent II, AC350s, etc. would tell - certainly not at my level!, so these may end up being a very good semi-aero road race set - April will see my first road race of the new season so we'll see!
Since I can't put more than one image in the entry, here are a few pictures I took:Front: http://www.flash-pointracing.com//ridersource/0562321001138585734.jpgRear: http://www.flash-pointracing.com//ridersource/0057271001138585849.jpgRim: http://www.flash-pointracing.com//ridersource/0254079001138585926.jpg

Well, the weather cooperated enough that I finally got my 60's on the road. I probably could have written sooner, but I don't have a jacket to ride in!! I've been to a few bike shops trying to find one, but so far, my search for a nice insulated jacket has come up empty.

I had planned to get the wheels on the road today, but I woke up to the sound of rain. I know they called for AM rain here in the Atlanta area, but they said it was mainly going to be in North Georgia--way up north. I went back to sleep for a little while, and when I got up (for good), the rain was gone, and the sun began to come up. OK--enough for the weather, now for the ride!!

I rolled the bike out onto the street and started my spin. The first thing I noticed right out of the box (or the driveway) was that my bike handled a lot better than in the past. I'm sure it has to do with some changes that I made to the setup (raising the seat just a little), but I am almost sure that it has something more to do with the wheels. I know that with my Zipp340's my handling was twitchy, and with my Mavic Cosmos, the handling seemed lazy. The Flashpoint 60's are perfect--right in between, giving a nice, smooth ride along the way. The ride I like to take is out on Linecrest Road here in DeKalb Co., GA. It's a nice straight road with a few short climbs along the way. The road is a little rough in some spots, but not too bad. Along the way, the Flashpoints responded well--when I got out of the saddle or when I just cranked along on the road. On one section of road ( a small descent) I saw 32.5 mph. That was faster than the Mavic Cosmos that came with my bike, and a little better than my Zipp 340's.

Just a quick note to touch base and let everyone know that I'm still out there and pedaling squares like never before.  As winter has come and seems to be staying here in Indianapolis, I've been forced to spend more and more time on the rollers this season.  Granted that has been good for me I'm sure, but it would be nice to get outside every once in a while. 
I did manage to get two hours in a week ago while the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold, but other than that, the view from my kitchen window is all that the Flash Point 40's that I'm riding have seen. 
In general, the wheels have held up just fine, even in the couple of cold weather rides that I have been out on, I have yet to have a serious problem.  I did have a double flat early on this year and managed to limp the wheels back in safely with out any damage.  So, needless to say, I'm ready to be off the rollers and back out in warm weather on the road. 
I'll keep you all posted, but unfortunately, the roller rides aren't quite as exciting as my adventures out on the road. 
See you soon.

UPS was bringing a nice package today. the wheels are here. first action: take a look of the weight.
front wheel: claimed 804gr, real 845grrear wheel: claimed 984gr, real 1'010gr
but they look very solid. with this weight, they should be stiff and solid. i hope i can test them at saturday.
have a nice ride....

Just a quick note to say hi to everyone and thanks to the
Flash-Point team for the sponsorship opportunity. Really looking
forward to riding the FP-60s and writing about it here.
Bring on the springtime!

Let's get this blogging started...... :)
It appears I'm the lucky Flashpoint Fanatic, as I've actually had my very own set of FP-60s for quite some time now and have had ample opportunity to check them out.  What a great set of wheels!  I got them right at the end of racing season, so I haven't had a chance to race them yet, but they have been great for training.  I've been adamant about not training on my Zipps, so having the aero Flashpoint wheels for the fast training rides has been awesome!
I've ridden them pretty much non-stop since September, until the weather turned super snowy/icy/and windy - which made the deep dish a bit difficult to manage.  However, Indiana weather has somehow decided to be nice to us cyclists lately, so I've been able to put my Flashpoints back on and log lots of road miles over the past month or so.
Also, not only am I lucky enough to have a sweet new pair of wheels, but I just (last week) got an amaaaazing new Roark to put them on!  (see pic).  Man do they look great with the bike!  I switched to 10 speed, so I still have to switch up the cassette on the rear FP-60 before I can ride it, but the front one has officially survived a super hard and hilly training ride this weekend!
The "ramp up the training for next season" has officially begun, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Flashpoints play a role!
Well, back to the schoolwork, but it's supposed to be over 50 this afternoon so a ride is definitely on the agenda!
 

I am almost out the door - going on vacation!Just wanted to leave a few words and catch up when I'm back.First off all, a big THANK YOU to the Flash-Point crew, this sponsorship was a huge surprise!Got the wheels before Christmas; my co-workers were really impressed ("Wow!").The folks at my LBS as well, by the way.I actually made it to ride with the Flash-Points twice already (toes frozen, but who cares in this case)...more in the next post!

Wow...my first entry into the wonderful world of blogging!!Well,
with a day off from work, I knew the box from Indianapolis would show
up when I was not there. After working what seemed like a zillion
hours with no sleep, I was happy to be back in Atlanta after covering a
story in Miami. I was driving home from the airport and called my
office. My man Sam told me that there was a big box there for
me....awwww yeah!!! I got some sleep and picked up the box the
next day...inside, a brand spanking new pair of Flash-Point
60's!! These wheels are awesome looking--nice shiny resin
on the carbon, shiny aluminum rims...real nice. I think my
faithful Zipp 340's are jealous. I quickly got a pair of tubes
and tires so I can get these puppies on the road. I got the tube
and tire on the rear with no problem (had an SRAM 9 speed cassette
installed), but the front gave me a little trouble. I used
tubes with an extended valve, and it seems that the front rim has
a piece of the carbon that may have come loose, and was blocking the
hole for the valve. Of course, when I tried to put the valve
through, it broke! I ended up getting a tube with a normal valve
(duh!) and used the extenders that came with the wheels.
So, I ended up using a long valve on the rear with the valve extension and  I'm using a regular valve on the front.  Even with the extender it's a little short, but hey....it works. Voila...success!!  I'll hopefully be getting these guys on the road this
weekend!!

..... i would like to give you my first impressions of the wheels. but i'm still waiting for them. i would take some time to ship to europe.

Just wanted to say hi. I will be blogging as soon as I get my wheels and the snow is gone. Can't wait to test those Workingman's Zipp's.