One of our teammates, Walt, suggested that we focus on situational awareness this week. You can wear bright colored jerseys, hi-viz socks, and have front and back flashing lights, but sometimes that’s not enough. Here are three tips to help you be safer on the

Thus far this year I’ve offered a variety of suggestions to make your bike lighter and faster. However now it’s time to focus on the elephant in the room – your own body weight. Losing as little as 5 or 10 pounds can make a

Most new bikes today come with aluminum alloy wheels. There’s nothing wrong with aluminum alloy wheels, they are strong and lightweight. However just like with bicycle frames, carbon fiber, although pricey, has some advantages. Carbon is Lighter Entry level carbon wheels are about 10% lighter

I’m sure most of you have your own methods of riding in the hot and humid weather of North Carolina. Here are few that I have learned over the years: The higher the heat and humidity, the lower the oxygen content in the air. So

We’ve had lots of questions about resuming TeamCBC group rides. We know we are now in Phase 2 of re-opening NC. And, we know that riding solo or in small groups doesn’t quite replace the camaraderie of our social rides. After careful consideration and deliberation

There was a time not too long ago when 23mm wide tires were the standard road tire. Many pro racers used 21mm or even narrower, but now most of them ride 25mm. If wider tires were really slower, why would they ride on them? First

We all clean our bikes (well, most of us), but are we doing it often enough and doing it right? If you’re on gravel or trails, you may need to wash it after every ride. However if you’re riding on the road, you should clean

Whether it’s cycling, running or swimming, the one characteristic that is common to most professional athletes is how relaxed and smooth they look. I remember watching Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones at our neighborhood pool years ago. When he dove into the pool the water

As you know, jerseys and shorts can be expensive. Therefore you really don’t want to throw them out if they’ve been torn. If the tear is by a seam you’re probably going to have to sew it (yeah, right) or find someone to sew it

A couple weeks ago I explained, in theory, how a tire with a better rolling resistance can help you ride as much as 1 mph faster. I compared my current tires, Continental Gator Hardshells, rated at 20 watts/each with Continental Grand Prix 5000 tires which

Dear members of TeamCBC, It has been nearly two months since we suspended our organized group rides. Although some communities are beginning to relax their “stay-at-home” orders, there is still a long way to go. As an USA Cycling member organization we will continue to

It may seem obvious, but if your saddle height is wrong, you may develop knee pain. A general rule states that if the pain is in the front of your knee, your saddle is too low. If the pain is towards the back of your

Are the tires that came with your bike the right tires for you? Buying tires for a bike can be more complicated than buying tires for your car. There are dozens of choices, so maybe the best thing to do is ask your favorite bike

The reason you find so many conflicting answers to the question, “What is the ideal cadence?” is because there is no one ideal cadence for everyone, all the time. The best cadence for the moment depends on a number of interacting variables which change not

What cadence do you pedal? I’ve read that 80 rpm’s is ideal, in a lab. However we don’t ride in a lab, we ride outside with all kinds of factors. So I decided to get some real life numbers. Since many of you have cadence

Now that you’ve followed my advice and bought some new pedals on-line from one of our sponsors, how do you change them out? First of all, you’re going to need an 6mm or 8mm hex tool depending on the pedal. This is basically a very

So you just spent thousands of dollars on a new bike and it didn’t even come with pedals, why is that? The answer is that there are many different types of pedals and, to keep the price down, the bike companies leave it up to

This past week someone told me that I should get longer crank-arms. They said that I’m always riding in the higher gears and quickly top out going down hills. Being a mechanical engineer, it made sense to me that a longer crank-arm would produce more

This week we dusted off our old Twitter account, @team_cbc. Please follow us if you’re on Twitter. We will be tweeting and retweeting the latest news and updates in our cycling world. Stay Safe. Rick Bunnell President, TeamCBC

With group riding officially suspended, for the next few weeks I will focus on tips those riding solo can use. So, tire pressure, it’s easy, just fill your tires with 100 psi each and you’re done, right?  Well, not necessarily. There are actually several factors.