The 2017 Salsa Vaya has some updates over previous model years, and one of those is the introduction of a Claris 8 speed build. The bike is being sold as a “road adventure and light touring bike.” I started looking to build up my own touring bike out or Eloise – my vintage Motobecane. As the price point for the SRAM build I was looking at crossed $1000 I started to recall my long unfulfilled desire to own a Surly Long Haul Trucker. That lead me to my favorite local independent bike shop Huckleberry Bicycles. The staff there, continuing their long run of really good service and sound advise, turned me on to the Salsa Vaya.

The cyclocross and gravel scene is influencing all aspects of the cycling world, and the Salsa Vaya Claris is no exception. Stopping power is provided by Hayes CX mechanical disc brakes front and rear. These required a bit more force on the brake levers than I expected to stop the bike, making me wonder how well they will perform in a fully loaded descent. For commuting around town, however, I was able to quickly adapt.

The ample frame and fork clearances provide more than enough room for even the knobby 700x40C WTB Nano tires my build came with. And as a touring bike it is adequately equipped with the appropriate number of eyelets and braze-ons. There are midpoint braze-ons on both the inside and outside of the forks, and a mount point on the bottom of the down tube.

All Vayas have front and rear clearance for 700c x 50mm tires, or 700c x 45mm with fenders. Dress up your Vaya with some knobby treads or take comfort to the next level with the current crop of high-volume road tires on the market.

http://salsacycles.com/culture/vaya_updated_for_2017_in_stock_now

One of the first things I did was mount my trusty Tubus Cosmo rear rack. This stainless steel rack will probably outlive me, and serves me well both for carrying camping gear and the daily commute. Fitting the Tubus on was a little tight, with the forward tube of the rack hitting against the bottom of the seat stay. While Tubus has a solution to this in the form of a bolt-on extension, I opted to keep my rack as low on the bike as possible. There is absolutely no issue with the disc brake clearance however.

The Tubus Nova lowrider rack for the front is still on order so I’ve yet to see how that will fit on. I’m not really expecting any problems though.

The first word that came to mind when I started riding the bike was comfortable. The compliant steel frame and relaxed geometry, coupled with the high volume 700x40C tires made for an incredibly smooth ride. Even the pothole laden San Francisco streets felt smooth. The fairly upright frame geometry puts you in a riding position that is relaxed. I feel like I could sit and pedal this bike all day – exactly what you need in a touring bike.

The other surprising first impression I had was that the bike felt fast. I have a general expectation that a touring bike will be… sluggish. That was not at all the feeling I had on the first couple of rides. Once I mounted my Garmin it became apparent that the bike is not truly that fast. But the overall sensation was of a bike that is just plain fun to ride. I’ve also got a pair of Continental Touring Plus tires on order to use for the daily commute and paved road touring that will undoubtedly speed things up a bit.

I would very much caution against ordering one online without riding it first though. The geometry and riding position make this difficult to size by the numbers. I normally ride a 52cm road bike, but it took a 54 or 55 to feel comfortable on the Salsa Vaya.

This is quickly turning into one of my favorite all-around bikes. It is a solid ride that manages to feel both comfortable and sporty. I can’t wait to get this thing loaded up with camping gear and head out on some gravel mountain roads.

If you’ve been living in a car-centric world like most of the US, this picture guide to bikes for car owners can help you understand the different styles. Bikes are just as varied – and maybe more so – than cars. That can make selecting a bike a bit confusing, especially for first time buyers. Most of us have ridden a bike as a kid, but if there has been a gap of a decade or more since you have thrown your leg over a bike, then you are probably in the “first time buyer” camp. When you are a kid you probably just begged your parents for whatever the other kids had. As an adult your decision making process is probably a bit different.

Or maybe not…

At any rate it can be helpful to think of the different bikes in a context of something you already know – different cars. So, here’s your picture guide for bikes. A side-by-side cheat sheet.

Photo Credits

• ^{Bugatti Veyron: By M 93, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18977524}
• ^{Pinarello Dogma F8: By Glory Cycles from Greenville, SC , USA – Pinarello Dogma F8 with Shimano Dura Ace Di2 and Enve 6.7 Wheelset, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35770697}
• ^{NASCAR: By Brian Neudorff – Flickr: 2012 Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20447454}
• ^{Specialized Time Trial Bike: By Sander.v.Ginkel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33669142}
• ^{Supercharged AMC Javelin: By CZmarlin – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4734163}
• ^{Fixie: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8barbikes/17879972211}
• ^{VW Golf GTI By Thomas doerfer – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11485173}
• ^{Cannondale CAAD 10: By Tonidigital – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19150934}
• ^{2014 Honda Accord: By EurovisionNim – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46186672}
• ^{Urban Commuter Bike: Public Domain. https://pixabay.com/en/bike-city-bicycle-transport-town-755308/}
• ^{Mazda MPV: By Mytho88 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3248663}
• ^{Xtracycle EdgeRunner: From manufacturer.  http://www.xtracycle.com/edgerunner-27d-2016/}
• ^{Ford F150: By Bull-Doser – Own work., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41140621}
• ^{Bakfiets style cargo bike: CC BY 2.5, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11449277}
• ^{Winnebago: By Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia – Minnie Winnie, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25652128}
• ^{Fully Loaded Touring Bike: By Keithonearth – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12780229}
• ^{Ford Model T: By LibertyGroup25 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31039900}
• ^{Pennyfarthing: By Agnieszka Kwiecień (Nova) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14059}
• ^{Grave Digger Monster Truck: CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=142563}
• ^{Fat Bike: Ross Del Duca / JustAnotherCyclist.com}
• ^{2005 Jeep: By Tranquilize at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Sreejithk2000 using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10471719}
• ^{Specialized Epic Mountain Bike: By Cartemere – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10324181}

Call me Jeremy, because I spoke on reddit the other day. And I got the expected backlash. This was augmented by the fact that I spoke about… wait for it… bike helmets. Nothing will get folks worked up as quickly as bike helmets and cyclists rolling through stop signs. But I just can’t seem to keep myself out of helmet discussions.

However, I just happen to be the type of guy that can find value in someone telling me I’m a complete idiot. And in this case the “value” was this blog post.

The reddit post was positioned as a PSA (that’s Public Service Announcement for those of you not into TLAs.) The original poster (That’s OP, which is also a TLA, only it is spelled out as two letter acronym and never as TLA) related a story about how he had crashed and got a laceration on his face. His advice as a result: “Wear your helmet.” Then in the comments, someone had to offer this pearl of wisdom:

Unfortunately the more we ride bikes, we are all going to crash at some point.

Some dude(tte) on reddit

My aversion to the culture of fear that tries to paint cycling as inherently dangerous kicked in. Therefore I, of course, had to offer a counter-perspective:

Funny how no one ever says “The more we walk, the more we are going to trip over something and hit our heads. Be sure to wear a helmet while walking!”

The reddit user formerly known as PleaseTrollMe

I walked away from the keyboard smug as a bug in a rug. Someone had been wrong on the internet and I’d set them right.

…until someone responded to my comment.

But, much to my surprise, the response didn’t use a single profanity. It didn’t feel ranty. It actually had the air of being well thought out. It made a point. I felt certain that the comment was actually made by a rational, sane, level headed reddit user.

If we walked 15-25 mph they probably would.

Reasonably sane reddit user

Huh…. Ok…

The comment, while sounding very commonsensey, actually points to one of the great misconceptions about bicycle helmets. Well, actually two misconceptions. First, it assumes that helmets are designed to protect against 20-25 MPH impacts. Second, it assumes that the speed you are traveling changes the force with which your head hits the road if you do crash. Let’s look at both of these.

Bicycle helmets may not be protecting you from what you think

In the US, bicycle helmets are currently required to meet standards laid out in the late 90’s by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Commonly referred to simply as “The CSCP,” the standard legally applies to all helmets sold in the United States after March 10, 1999. And the standard is extremely straight forward:

The CPSC standard uses a lab test drop of 2.0 meters on a flat anvil and 1.2 meters on a hemispheric and a curbstone anvil.

http://www.bhsi.org/standard.htm#CPSC

Wait… a drop of 2.0 meters?!?!?! That’s right. Helmets are tested by placing them on a head-like thingy full of accelerometers and other measuring devices, and then dropping them from a height of 2 meters. Not rushed towards. Not impacted with. Simply dropped. You can get those images of crash testing cars out of your head. A helmet is simply dropped. The 2 meters is about 6 1/2 feet for those that find metric numbers weird. Or about the hight of a sort of tall person. So the test is equivalent to a standing person simply falling over backwards.

For many of you this will seem absolutely ridiculous. After all, except for the inevitable first fall while learning how to use your clipless pedals, it is rare that someone simply falls over on their bike. Instead, we go flying over the handlebars, or keel over sideways while pedaling.

But that takes us to our second misconception.

Your head doesn’t hit the ground in the way you may think

Physics can be hard and counter-intuitive. This was demonstrated plainly when astronauts on the moon recreated Galileo’s famous drop experiment. On the moon, in the absence of air to produce drag, a feather and a hammer both fell at the exact same speed. Which for many people feels like it contradicts what their “common sense” tells them.

But back to our 25 mph cyclist. Well, equally counter-intuitive for some is the fact that the speed your are riding at has absolutely no relevance to how hard your head hits the road. I’m sure there are some of you reading this that are now jumping on the “This guy is actually JustAnotherIdiot” train. Of course you hit your head harder when riding at 25 MPH! Actually no, you don’t.

First off – obviously here I’m talking only about an individual crashing in a way that causes their head hits the road. Ride your bike 25 MPH straight into a brick wall then yes, your head hits the wall at 25 MPH (more on this below.) However, when you crash your head actually only hits the ground due to the force of gravity. Your forward momentum is completely different from your downward momentum. Since the impact force is due to the downward pull of gravity only, you are, in fact, sustaining exactly the same impact you would if you were simply standing and fell over. There is a reason that bike helmets are tested by dropping them from 2 meters. That accurately simulates the actual impact forces in the most likely impact scenario on your bike – smacking your noggin on the tarmac.

And that is precisely why, in all seriousness, I repeat:

Funny how no one ever says “The more we walk, the more we are going to trip over something and hit our heads. Be sure to wear a helmet while walking!”

Usually about this point in the conversation someone will state something along the lines of “Well I’m sure the helmet manufactures make helmets better than these bare minimums.” In response I usually counter with challenge: Find me a single bicycle helmet ad that makes any claims about the safety or effectiveness of their helmets. I know I’ve never found a single one. Car manufactures tout the safety of their models constantly – even putting graphic, slow-motion video of crash tests in their commercials. Bike helmet ads seem to center around light weight, aerodynamics or style only.

The absence of the mention of safety in bike helmets ads is not accidental. The truth is the kind of protection that so many people mistakenly believe their helmets provide isn’t achievable in a light weight, airflow friendly package. To protect agains a concussion, for example, you’d need the equivalent of a car’s crumple zone around your head. A concussion is caused by your skull stopping abruptly, but your brain inside your skull continuing to move and smacking agains the inside of your skull. To prevent this, you need something to absorb the impact and slow the rate at which the skull stops. In plain terms, a whole lot more styrofoam that is soft enough to absorb the impact.

By not mentioning safety in their advertising the bike helmet manufactures get to take the benefit of all the false assumptions people make about bike helmet protection, without making any specific claims at all. There is no reason for helmet manufactures to say anything about safety, because the vast majority of the population already mistakenly believes that bike helmets provide a whole lot more protection than the actually do.

So next time you feel the urge to perpetuate the idea that it is ridiculous to ever ride a bike without a helmet, consider that you are assuming precisely the same risk every time you stand up in your living room.

I sure wouldn’t have thought of it. But putting a disc  on the crank of a fixed gear bike is, for the most part, just as good as putting it on the back wheel. At least, that was the idea that SyCip Designs bikes had on display at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

While the astute among you will note that this setup will do nothing if your chain breaks, that is no different than the forces at play on bikes with only a track hub.

According to quotes, “The crank will never turn fast enough under braking to heat the rotor…” This makes sense if you think about the gear ratios involved, and addressed one of my early concerns about this setup.

If nothing else, it is creative thinking. And that is innovation.

There is, at least for me, something about lugged frames that evokes all of the classical beauty of the bicycle as art. I don’t mean to diminish from the absolute skill and craftsmanship that goes into non-lugged frames. But every time I see carefully accentuated lugs on a handmade bicycle, it just seems to underscore the attention to detail that is the very embodiment of “handmade.”

This year’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show didn’t disappoint in the area of beautifully detailed lugged frames.

Claudio Bellon, of Bellon Handmade Bicycles, started my NAHBS off on the right foot with his beautiful display.

Métier Vélo was on hand to remind us that not all that is lugged is steel, with their “3D-printed titanium lugs to join carbon-fiber tubes into light, strong, tough, repairable, and beautiful performance frames.”

Shamrock Cycles showed us why their website is hosted at LugOfTheIrish.

Oh… and in case you forgot. Carbon is lugged. too. Thanks for remind us Calfee.

Sacramento local builder Rex Cycles had lugs galore. Rex Cycles also showed how this was all put together. He also took the award for “Best Fillet” of the show.

And further demonstrating his mastery of the lug, Steve Rex can not only fillet but finish with paint.

And last but not least, Formigli showed us the Italian influence with their slight, yet detailed, lugged frame.

Fat bikes have been a common theme at the North American Hand Made Bike Show. And this year continued that tradition, including a fair number of small framed youth models.

Among those showing up with a fat bike for the kids was the Fort Collins, CO builder Oddity Cycles. While their adult bikes were noteworthy, I’ll have to admit that this single speed fat bike for the kids pretty much dominated my attention at their booth.

Seen above in front of its “older sibling,” the frame geometry provides a reasonably proportioned wheelbase to support the fat tires, while still maintaining a low saddle and stand over height. This is a setup that would seem to last a couple of years at least for a single child. Flexibility to support a wide range of rider sizes is always a challenge in the youth bike market.

The single speed drivetrain lets your younger or less experienced riders focus on what is important – having a blast overcoming challenging terrain – without needing to worry about gear changes. And of course the parent’s don’t have to worry about derailleur adjustments either.

Disc brakes were a common sight at NAHBS, and pair well with the increased gripping power of a true fat tired ride.

I’ve been out of the habit somewhat lately, but I’ve maintained a list of online sources that I routinely scan through for story ideas for here (JustAnotherCyclist) and VeloReviews. In addition to my list of the usual suspects, I also rely on a few Google Alerts to help throw in some variety.

Every once in awhile I find cycling related post in my Google Alerts emails from National Public Radio (NPR) sources. Usually these are stories about the environmental impacts of cycling, or the apparent dangers of cycling, or stories regarding key cycling related transportation legislation. I was a bit surprised, however, to find an article about a particular pro cyclist. An article that would have fit in just about any cycling magazine, blog or website you can imagine.

The story is about Movistar cyclist Nairo Quintana, and his potential in the upcoming Tour de France (oh…. is it that time of year again??)

He began biking to get to high school. The return trip was a 10-mile uphill slog. That didn’t deter Nairo Quintana. Sometimes he’d even attach a cable to his sister’s bike and haul her up the mountain with him.

The story is actually really good, and focuses on the personal side of things (as many NPR productions do.) But I have to be honest, I just didn’t expect to find a rider’s piece on NPR.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m a fan of NPR. This isn’t an insult of them. It just never occurred to me that they would actually focus on the sport and the athletes. So give it a read: “The Cycling World May Soon Bow Down Before Nairo Quintana“

Speed and competition seems to exist in some form in all of us. I’m willing to bet that even the most casual of casual cyclists has, at some time, felt the urge to go faster than someone or something in their vicinity. It seems to be a universal constant. For some, that urge is a lifelong passion, and those folks have come up with amazing ways to make the bicycle go faster and faster.

The bicycle, at certain speeds, is actually the most efficient form of travel known to man. Like all moving things on earth, aerodynamic drag changes that equation pretty quickly – requiring ever-increasing amounts of energy to go faster. For this reason, aerodynamic improvements are often a primary focus. This has the nasty side effect of making some of the fastest bicycles in the world not really look much like bicycles.

Taken to the extreme, this can result in 80+MPH speeds driven by human power alone of flat ground. But that doesn’t mean you have to take it to this extreme to gain an advantage in aerodynamics. Kids somehow instinctively know to duck down to go faster on a bike. Pros, like the Optum Pro rider pictured above, will spend hours in wind tunnels perfecting every detail – the position of the rider on the bike, seat height, head position – to shave precious fractional seconds off of their time trial speeds. And every-day cyclists can show gains too.

The Lightning F-40, marketed as the fastest bike available for sale, is such a thing. The F-40 applies the same world record setting concepts, but in a more approachable and rider friendly form.

But again, kids instinctively know how to go faster. When getting low isn’t enough and going as fast as possible is your goal, gravity is your best friend. You can take a regular bike, find the fastest, smoothest, steepest slope possible, and go faster yet. That will get you up to 138 MPH – the current downhill record.

Unfortunately the quest for speed – in any form – always seems to result in catastrophic failures and dramatic video. Luckily Eric Barone survived the horrific looking crash in the video at left. All the better, because another human instinct seems to be to love watching our heroes fail, and pick themselves up and carry on.

But if you want to go really fast? Cheat. Or shall we say – enhance your performance. One way to do it is to almost completely eliminate the aerodynamics from the equation by having some vehicle drive directly in front of you. OK OK. So this is actually motor-pacing, and it isn’t cheating per se, as the records there are specific to the motor-pacing crowd. But still… you’re using fuel to power a car that is breaking the wind for you. But hey – it allowed Fred Rompelberg to get up to 167 MPH. Pedaling. On a bike.

And then there’s this guy:

]]> https://justanothercyclist.com/2014/02/14/fastest-bicycles-world/feed/ 1 4256 https://justanothercyclist.com/2011/03/11/softride-solo-700/ https://justanothercyclist.com/2011/03/11/softride-solo-700/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:03:58 +0000 https://justanothercyclist.com/?p=1968

If you’ve never seen a Softride, or bikes that look like it, you might be wondering what’s going on here.  No, this isn’t a folding bike.  Rather, it belongs to a class of bikes known as beam bikes.

Beam bikes place the seat on a beam that attaches to the frame near the head tube and suspends the rider over the rear wheel without a seat tube or other support.

There actually are a few different manufactures of this frame design, many of them competitive.  They had a growing following in the 1990’s among the time trial and triathlon crowd, up until the UCI got involved.  In 1999, the UCI banned beam bikes – or more specifically, any bike without a seat tube – from competitive events, declaring them an unfair advantage.

The particular beam bike pictured in this article is a Softride Solo 700, and it is currently doing duty as a commuter bike.  It belongs to Mario, who picked it up from the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen.

The concept of a beam bike works well for a commuter.  On the solo 700, for example, the beam is made of carbon fiber.  It is, essentially, a long shock absorber that helps isolate the saddle from the road vibrations and bumps.

Softride is no longer manufacturing bikes and closed the doors on their Bellingham, WA beam bike operations in 2006.  However, they seem to still have a very active following among owners and riders.

Softride invented and popularized carbon beam bikes. For a brief time, Softride was the fastest growing bike company. Their bikes consistently set records and won Ironman triathlons. After the UCI banned beam bikes from competition, Softride quit bike production in 2006

One of the first questions you may have is how to adjust the saddle height.  If you look closely at the mount point of the carbon fiber beam (pictured above) you see that it is in fact a pivot point.  This allows you to rotate the beam and raise or lower the saddle compared to the pedals.  In addition, the saddle itself offers adjustments of both rotation (nose up/nose down) and fore-aft placement.  Ultimately you actually get a large amount of adjustment potential.  Some, however, state that these adjustments can be more difficult to get dialed in right compared to a more traditional seat tube design.

Be sure and give Mario a wave if you see him cruising around Sacramento.  Cheers for being a bicycle commuter, and cheers for helping to keep a part of cycling history alive.

Video posted to Look Cycle TV’s video stream on YouTube shows the new Look 695 – the latest crown jewel in the Look bicycles lineup – in action.  Notes on the video advertise:

695 : technological revolutions that maximize performance.
ZED 2 Crankset: Unequaled stiffness to weight ratio. Unparalleled
performance. The all new LOOK C-Stem and HSC 7 FORK: Unrivalled
stiffness and light weight, adjustability, and precision handling. [sic]

The folks over at CyclingNews.com have some of the technical specs in their article.  You can watch the video for yourself:

Update: On July 27, Bikerumor.com posted more detailed specs of this bike.