Digita issue 11 vol 5 dec 17 procycle

India’s only lifestyle bicycle magazine

Volume 5 Issue 11

KARENG / 2016 / 68421

December 2017

Rs. 100/-

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lusive M e Exc

ar tner aP di

Scott E-Silence reviewed 2017 Road nationals Tawang MTB Challegne Himalayan Mountain festival

Official a n

Inside

Cycling Federation of India

InThisIssue 04

CFINews Saksham Pedal Delhi

IndustryNews Deccan Cliffhanger Papal Touch to Giro Bamboo clothing A Greek Odyssey

ProCycling Mystic North-East Road Nationals Jamakhandi Himalayan Mountain Festival

CityTalk Spirit of Mogli Kataka to Kathmandu

PlanetSaddle The Malanadu Experience Geeta S Rao - Profile

TechCorner The Battle of Plush: Coil vs. Air

Review Scott E-silence

TriathlonCorner Kona Ironman World Championship

CrankActive Take a Spin Along the Devil’s Circuit

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Editor’sNote

The CRANK with ProCycle Team Dear Readers Managing Editor and Publisher Vikram K Limsay Invitee editor Onkar Singh, Secretary General CFI and ACC Edit Desk Dr. Meera Velankar Karthik Gottumukkala Trackside Editor - Triathlon - Deepak Raj Creative and Design N. Chandru Contact editdeskcrank@procycle.in subscribecrank@procycle.in advertisecrank@procycle.in Expert Test Team Karthik Gottumukkala All Rights Reserved By ProCycle and Sports India Pvt. Ltd. Corporate Office and Showroom 226, 1st Main Road, Service Road, Domlur 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bangalore – 560071 Tel: 080 41161902, +91 95380 66695 Website www.procycle.in Follow us on Facebook: @CrankwithProCycle https://www.facebook.com/CrankwithProCycle/ Photo Credits Front Cover - SCOTT Sports Back cover - Chenthil Mohan Printed By Print 2 Last Solutions

Winter chill, nip in the air, bright and sunny…isn’t that a biking weather we like? Feel sorry for the Delhi riders though. What must they be going through with all that heavy smog. Take care guys Talking about smog, it’s a coincidence that we review the SCOTT E-Silence in this issue. The first E-Bike to be reviewed by CRANK ever. We think the E-Bike revolution will come on us sooner than later. We know the purists have a thing or two to say about an E-Bike but we dont mind if it helps put a few more people on the saddle and keep a few nano particle of smog outside our lungs..don’t we?

We bring you stuff from all disciplines this month. The Road Nationals at Jamkhandi, the Himalayan Mountain Festival which is sure gaining in repute every year & the Tawang MTB challenge. Lots happening on the Pro circuit. And there is a lot more outside the Pro Circuit that you will find interesting As always keep those comments coming in…and keep riding Ciao Vikram K Limsay Managing Editor and Publisher

CFINews

Saksham Pedal Delhi

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aksham Pedal Delhi concluded on the 8th of November at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with the men and women competing in criterium races over 45kms and 27kms respectively. The individual races were won by SSCB’s Satbir Singh and RSPB’s T. Manorama Devi. The 2017 edition of the National Championship was hosted by Saksham Pedal Delhi – India’s Premier Cyclothon.

Rounding out the elite men’s podium were Arvind Panwar from RSPB and SSCB’s Krishna Naikodi whilst Manipur’s Sonali Chanu and Kerala’s Amrtiha Ragunathan’s finished with silver and bronze respectively in the women’s elite race.

Elite Men’s – 45kms To mark the occasion Mr. Onkar Singh – Secretary General, Cycling Federation of India, said, “On behalf of the Cycling Federation of India, I would like to congratulate all the medallists at the National Cycling Championship. The 2017 edition had a strong field of the best elite cyclists in the country and continues to showcase the quality of competitive cycling in India. Both Satbir Singh and Manorama Devi are deserving winners. The CFI would also like to thank PCRA, DoIt Sports and Meraki Sport & Entertainment for driving the sport of cycling via a fantastic platform like Saksham Pedal Delhi.”

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• • •

Satbir Singh Arvind Panwar Krishna Naikodi

SSCB RSPB SSCB

Elite Women’s – 27kms • • •

T. Manorama Devi Sonali Chanu

Amritha Ragunathan

RSPB Manipur Kerala

IndustryNews

Deccan Cliffhanger

Ride off This Cliff, to Ride Across America!

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RANK has been routinely covering the premier event organized by Divya Tate and her team. We have seen the event gain popularity year after year

The fifth edition of the Deccan Cliffhanger flagged off on the 4th of November from Forest Trails, Paranjape Schemes, Bhugaon and ended on the 6th of November at Johns Seagull, Bogmalo Beach in. Goa. The Cliffhanger is India’s only RAAM (Race Across America) qualifier, which is seen as one of the world’s greatest feats of endurance A 645-km (400-mile) Ultra Cycling Race, racing over the Sahyadris, from Pune to Goa, the race went from the Deccan Plateau to the Konkan. The Race route covers the high mountains of Panchgani, the dry plains of the Satara-Kolhapur section to head into Karnataka, and finally descends through the dense forests of Anshi Tiger reserve to finish at the Beaches of Goa. Racers had to complete the 643-kms within 32 hours to qualify for RAAM. The Riders will have to race with a total elevation gain of 6000 Mt. The Race Across America (RAAM) is a 5000 - km ultracycling race that goes right across the North American continent, from coast to coast.

This year’s turn out is the biggest an event of this kind has ever received in the country with 36 Cyclists having registered to race SOLO, and 126 have registered to race in 36 Teams at the 5th

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edition on the 4th Nov. Pune which is the hub Ultra Cycling in India, will receive close to 450 people including racers and their crew members The event was brought to fruition with the support of Paranjape Schemes, Cymour Cycling, Tanishq Holidays, Triumph Sportswear and Kingfisher. The race was also graced by the reigning national champion Rutuja Satpute, Guinness world record-holder Michele Kakade and the reigning champion of the event and the first Indian woman to qualify for the Race Across America, Ila Patil.

Nupur 5th edition Woman participant

Sylvan Adams - Pope Francis

Papal touch to Giro d’Italia 2018 Pope Francis has been invited to launch the Giro d’Italia 2018 ‘Big Start’ in Israel

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hilanthropist Sylvan Adams, who recently became an Israeli citizen and is the driving force behind bringing the Giro d’Italia to the country, met a short while ago with Pope Francis at the Vatican. On behalf of the people of Israel, he invited the Pope to launch the country’s most important sporting event ever, delivering a strong message of peace and coexistence to the region and the world. Adams also personally handed the Pope a special message from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking him to give the race his blessing.

At a meeting on the 26th of October at the Vatican, Sylvan Adams, the Honorary President of ‘Big Start Israel,’ invited Pope Francis to launch the start of the Giro d’Italia 2018, which will begin in May with the opening three stages in Israel.

Adams handed the Pope a special letter from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, requesting the pontiff’s public blessing for the

race, sending a strong message of peace, dialogue and coexistence across the world.

In addition, Adams also referred to the recent meeting between the Pope and Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, during which Rivlin invited Pope Francis to visit Israel as a guest of honor as part of the country’s 70th anniversary celebrations.

In his letter to the Pope, Netanyahu wrote: “The fact that the Giro starts in Jerusalem and ends in Rome bears special symbolism, reflected in the historic document ‘Between Jerusalem and Rome,’ a copy of which was presented to Your Holiness on August 31. This event, which is endorsed by the Italian government, will be one of the highlights of the festivities marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel and is part of our joint effort to deepen interfaith dialogue and promote peace.”

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Athlos Bamboo wear

Bamboo Clothing Yeah that’s Athlos

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ravin Dhake took a sabbatical to travel the world and hike, trail run and cycle during his excursion.

By the end of his trip he was disappointed at how the athletic apparel he packed all felt irritating on his skin and retained a pungent odor no matter what he tried. This pushed him to look for a solution.

On inspection he learnt that most what he disliked from regular athletic apparel was because the skin irritation and odor retention in athletic apparel is because of petroleum-based synthetic fabric, like polyester. Then began his journey to find a natural fabric that would breathe well, be comfortable for long hours of wear and be sustainable. That’s when he stumbled onto bamboo fabric. It was sustainable, and easy

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to produce. Here at CRANK we are always excited when we hear about an Indian company trying to do something different and sustainable and does away with the ills of conventional fabric Being an outdoor man himself Pravin designed a range of athletic wear and launched it under a brand name Athlos.

This bamboo apparel is available for both men and women and the range includes T-Shirts, Woman’s racer backs and workouts towels. The products are suitable for heavy runs, yoga, or all-day hikes and been designed keeping comfort and freshness over longer hours of use in mind. The Bamboo fabric stays comfortable even if it is completely soaked in sweat.

It was made with cyclists and triathletes specifically in mind, to be used during, before, and after workouts We at CRANK tested the product and found it stood its ground on all its promises.

Even ace ultra-runner Nirav Patel vouches for the apparel and saying “the soft and flexible T-shirts made of bamboo fiber with odor free silver technology is great for any sports person. The design & colors are simple yet elegant. It was very relaxing experience to wear them” So if Pros can vouch we are certain you are gonna like ‘em! go check them out at www.goathlos.com.s

A Greek Odyssey On Wheels

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indos, the largest mountain range in Greece, will host for the 6th consecutive year on 17-24 June 2018 one of the world’s toughest mountain biking races, Bike Odyssey 2018!

anyone who wants to experience Bike Odyssey from the tourist side to see the picturesque villages and wild beauty of Pindos as a great outing!

Participating athletes will enjoy eight days of mountain bike on the most beautiful paths of Pindos. From the picturesque Smixi of Grevena to the final destination, Nafpaktos of Etoloakarnania, athletes will have the opportunity to cross places of incredible natural beauty, pass through woods, rivers and historic villages and feel the intensity and adrenaline of this epic race.

The race attracts worldwide interest as shown by the countries that have already hosted previous years in Bike Odyssey: Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia, Indonesia, Australia, England, Denmark, Israel, Cyprus, Italy, South Africa, Caribbean Trinidad & Tobago, France, Turkey, Scotland, Sweden.

The organization beyond racing action, gives the opportunity to

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ProCycling

A Ride Through India’s Mystic North-East

By Yogesh Kumar

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as a part of the 5th Tawang Festival, and was the brainchild of the Department of Youth Affairs, Arunachal Pradesh. The department wants to give mountain biking a fillip as the terrain is very much suitable for the sport. It was a first of its kind race in this part of the state.

The month of October saw two back to back mountain biking stage races taking place in Arunachal Pradesh. The first one was MTB Arunachal from 14th-20th October from Menchuka to Itanagar.

Right after that, from the 23rd to the 28th of October, was the Tawang MTB Challenge. Tawang MTB Challenge was organized

Tawang MTB Challenge was flagged-off by the Honorable Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, in Guwahati, Assam on 23rd October. The first stage of the race was non-competitive because of the traffic in the city of Guwahati, allowing the riders to ride at their own pace. There were a total number of 19 participants in this race. Most of them were doing a mountain biking stage race for the first time. It was mostly likely a sort of training camp for them. More experienced riders gave them the tips on the nutrition,

he north east of India has always been a place shrouded in mystery and has enchanted us all with its exotic appeal. This part of the country has some of the most pristine and unfathomable green landscapes. Slowly and steadily, North-East India is coming as a preferred location for outdoor adventure sports and the government of different states are joining their hands together to boost the adventure tourism in their respective states.

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strategies in a stage race, what to do and what not during a stage race and how to recover for the next stage. Romeo Meetei, the Nodal Officer of the race who has 35 years of experience in mountaineering, was the backbone of the organization.

The Tawang MTB Challenge went through some of the most remote regions of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Although it was the first race, the organization didn’t leave any stone unturned to cater to the needs of the participants. It was a six-stage race with the highest altitude of 14,000feet at Sela Pass on Stage 5. Only seven riders could finish that stage because of the low oxygen content in the air and the weather turned very cold post noon.

Buddhist history and it has the second largest monastery in Asia that overlooks the town. Tawang was briefly under China’s control during the 1962 Indo-China war until they voluntarily withdrew and there is a beautiful war memorial in the town commemorating the soldiers who laid their lives during the war.

This race laid the foundation for the upcoming wave of adventure tourism in the state. It was more than just a race, where riders got to visit and meet the local people, some beautiful parts of the state and got touched by the beauty of the state. This race will be organized as a part of the Tawang Festival next year as well with increased number of participants from the various parts of the country

Tawang, located at an altitude of about 2,800mtrs, has a rich

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Photo credits: Chenthil Mohan

road cycling nationals jamakhandi

By Maxwell Trevor

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ollowing the road nationals, CRANK reached out to Maxwell Trevor, a 10-time national champion (19801990), he once also fell just 0.04 seconds off of an Olympic record, to ask for his thoughts on what went down in Jamakandi. And this is what he had to say.

Jamakhandi, the site for this year’s road nationals, was what we hope every venue in future iterations of nationals will be like.

The locals were beyond excited, the town was extraordinarily accommodating and the roads lovely.

With my experience in the sport of Cycling and my observation of the Jamakhandi Road Nationals to the Nationals of my times in the early 80s there were no limitations on the number of events a rider rides. The rider was not focused on one particular event and did not have a specialized training for a single event, but today there is restriction where a rider can only ride two Individual Events and hence they have the opportunity of training and focusing on their selected Events. The number of events in a Road Nationals are few compared to Track Events.

For Track there are a number of Events and in the early 80s and during my time there were no restrictions to the number of events a rider could ride. Hence it was tough for most riders to give their best in any single

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event as the thought was, to reserve energy for the next event, but today riders have the benefit of doing their best as they are focused on just one or two events and the program prepared gives them ample of time to recover before the next event.

If India needs to produce a number of World class riders, I personally feel there should be many more Competitions conducted in India, in a year. Because no matter how hard one trains, nothing simulates a race, the intensity, the tactics, the pacing, are all things that a rider can master only through a lot of racing.

The last week of October had the sleepy town of Jamakandi, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka in a flurry of activity with people lining up the streets to watch the 22nd National Cycling Championship from the 28th-31st. The event was organized by the Karnataka Cycling Association under the auspice of the Cycling Federation of India.

The championship saw an unprecedented turn out of over 600 participants from over 18 states, even the SSCB (Services) and RSPB(Railways) had sizable contingents.

The event was inaugurated by Mr Siddu Nyamagouda(MLA INC). Mr Nyamagouda stayed for the remainder of the event and spent time interacting with the officials and participants, his contribution to overseeing the event and helping it run smoothly cannot be understated.

The Karnataka Cycling Association outdid themselves by providing accommodation and facilities that far surpassed all the previous meets. The bar for has been set for all future Cycling Championships and meets in terms of facilities. The organization of the event was almost faultless and hassle free with even the most minute details looked into. The organizers even went the extra mile to have the road circuit for the 3.3km Criterium washed prior to the event to ensure all loose debris was cleared.

The championship had 23 events over the duration of 4 days in multiple categories.

The RSPB (Railways) took the overall championship in both the men’s and women’s sections.

RSPB Mens Team Time Trial took the gold, clocking 1:13:04.177 beating SSCB by almost two minutes. The RSPB won the Women’s Team Time Trial beating Kerala.

Naveen John from Karnataka, in an outstanding display of performance and stamina, out peddled Mugesh, who proved to be tough competition until the final few kilometers of the 150km Mass Start. Naveen bagged the gold followed by Mugesh who took the silver.

In the Junior Category, Karnataka outshone the competition closely followed by Kerala.

Himalayan Mountain Festival 2017 Photo credits: Gitesh Gupta/ Himalayan Mountain Bike Network

The 4th annual Himalayan mountain festival just wrapped up. The festival is a combination of a BMX jam, a grueling 2-day cross country race and culminated with the Downhill Mountain Bike Trophy, the gnarliest race in the country. We didn’t think words could do this amazing event in this beautiful place justice, so we will just let these pictures do the talking.

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Go, Get Lost in the Spirit of Mogli

By Karthik Gottumukkala

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n the week leading up to mountain biking nationals, an old friend and riding buddy I met in Hyderabad, and was now living in Pune reached out to me and told me that a couple of local riders from Pune were organizing a trail ride to show the riders from out of town some of their local trails. Naturally, I jumped at the invite. There was so much I heard about the trails in Pune and was itching to go check them out.

The Monday after nationals I threw my bike into the back of a cab, grabbed my bags and headed out, not knowing what to expect.

Suffice it to say I was just a little surprised when I arrived at the destination. Sahil, the guy who invited me, gave me Varun Dutt’s number to coordinate with, because it was his place from which the ride was starting. After getting a little lost and a few phone calls to Varun later, we arrived at Varun’s place. His place is what every mountain biker dream’s to build themselves. Nice open spaces, too many dogs to count, a fire pit, and best of all it is right in the

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shadow of a beautiful looking mountain. We set up our bikes and waited for the rest of the riders to show up. When they did finally show up, we said our hellos, filled up our water bottles and set out.

Looking at the mountain from the base, I knew the trails would be good, but calling those trails good would be a criminal understatement. Flowy single-track wound its way up the mountain with stunning views encapsulating us. The climb to the top of the mountain reminded me why I ride a mountain bike. There was nothing on my mind but the trail in front of me and a feeling of content. Nothing else seemed to matter. When I was riding there all that mattered was what was around me, the forest, the rocks, and my bike, in that moment, that as all that existed, and that is a truly meditative experience.

The ride ended with a nice lunch at a small café, after which we all headed back to Varun’s place to rest for a bit before we all had to

leave. When we got back to his place, Varun and I sat down to talk over a cup of coffee. And what I heard, really made me smile, made me wish that more people like him existed, maybe then we’d all ride bikes and no one would have time to do bad stuff.

Varun grew up a city slicker, surrounded by concrete and little else.

As he puts it, he hasn’t taken the most conventional of journeys in life. A chain of events led him to study photography for 3 years in Japan, after which he came back to India and jumped on the DSLR video boom right at the beginning, and did that for 6-7 years. A few years ago he left Bombay for Pune, and it was there that he discovered Mountain biking. And the rest as they say, is history (sorry couldn’t help it, I’m a sucker for a good cliché).

He wants to combine the land from his farm and the adjoining mountain, and create a place, from which he can help grow the sport, he calls this place the Spirit of Mogli. He wants to be able to give people a spot where they can grow, both as people and as riders. To nurture kids just getting into the sport. The idea with Spirit of Mogli is to promote not just the riding, but to develop, promote and nurture a lifestyle that utilizes mountain biking to get people out into, and ultimately closer to nature. Apart from the physical aspect of being out of nature, Varun says there is a huge internal factor at play as well. When the trail changes, you have to adapt, when the trail begins to point down or up, you adapt to overcome, much like in life. If you make a bad move, there isn’t time to stop and pounder, you have to look ahead and persevere. It helps teach

you to stay alert, stay in the moment and be comfortable in the moment.

Mountain Biking, Varun says, is a wonderful tool to understanding life, a wonderful way to understand how to overcome obstacles, to understand how not to give into that mountain you think is insurmountable.

He plans to have a dirt jump spot and a pump track by either the end of this year or early next year. He wants to provide a space, on his property to help and to be able to show the younger generation what mountain biking is, that it goes beyond just riding, and that riding a mountain bike is just as much about the mountain and about nature as is it skills on the bike.

Riding those trials, meeting the people, reminded me why I ride a bike, often times it is easy to lose sight of the why, when you start racing or begin to work towards a goal. When the goal is to shave 20 seconds off of your previous race run or to get that elusive KOM, you sometimes get so occupied by the numbers of it all that you fail to take a second off at the trail head and let that rush of emotions take over, to just allow yourself to feel and remember why it is that you ride.

If you ever find yourself in Pune look up the Spirit of Mogli and go ride with Varun, if you don’t, plan a trip out just ride the trails and to meet the people. I Promise you will not regret it!

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PlanetSaddle

The Malanadu Experience

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he Great Malnad Challenge (GMC) just celebrated its 8th edition this past month, and it has, over those years, evolved from a nice trail ride to one of the most coveted multi-stage mountain bike races in the nation.

Touted as the toughest MTB race of south India, this race is sure to blow your lungs and stretch your leg muscles to the max. The ride covers about 700 KM’s in 8-days and the trail passes through some of the most remote areas of the Western Ghats.

The race began with an 87 km ride staring from Hassan, and ended in the beautiful coffee-estate town of Chikkamangaluru, and ended in the town of Murudeshwara.

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Even if you aren’t one for competitive racing, the GMC has so much to offer, from the comradery that comes with mountain biking, to riding some of the most beautiful trails the Western Ghats have to offer.

Regards of the reason you ride, if you love nature, the GMC is an event that has to be on your bucket-list CRANK has been a proud partner of this event and although touted as the toughest MTB races we think is is also one of the most picturesq. Hope next year you particpate

GEETA S RAO - FORGET FAILURE

You miss every chance to succeed when you don’t try

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eet a woman who cycled 600kms, impressive right? You want to know what makes it even more impressive? Geeta has been battling with polio since she was 3!

It was when she was just three years old, when Geeta S Rao was told by her doctor that she may never walk or even be able to stand again, later she would learn that she had a polio infection that spread to most of her body.

The life that followed was full of pain and struggles for both her and her family. Nonetheless, her family went out of their way to show and explain to Geeta that despite being differently-abled, she could do and achieve all that she wanted to. They raised her like she was any other child, building her self-confidence and independence.

And independent she became, doing everything she ever wanted to, from bungee jumping to paragliding to walk through fire and now being a triathlete and cyclist.

Her journey with cycling began on the 14th of February 2016 when her family brought her a bike. Every time she partakes in a cycling event she always participates in the open category, to show everyone that she is the same.

“If there is a will there is a way. What my parents and loving family taught me is ‘Never allow any kind of your low esteem to rule your life. Always aim for the sky. Don’t accept the life you’ve got, fight for it and above all believe in yourself’”. She says with a smile.

When asked about her athletic goals in life, she said, “So far I have ridden more than 10,000 KMs with a bunch of half centuries, a bunch of centuries, some double centuries, gradually increased the distance and lastly, reached 602 kms at a go, which was my longest ride. This athletic life journey is very adventurous and full of unexpected troubles for me, but I will be unstoppable till the last breath of my life for sure. Setting my eyes to represent India in upcoming international events” She has done it all in the world of cycling, from getting a podium, with a second place finish in the Ahmedabad District championships, to an Olympic distance triathlon in Chennai, to a multi- day stage race through the mountains of the Aravalli rage. For this woman, there truly is no mountain to high or distance too far. ll of us can only hope to be as resilient and strong-willed as Geeta A is every day. So the next time you need some inspiration, all you need to do is look up to Geeta!

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TechCorner

The Battle of Plush: Coil vs. Air

By Karthik Gottumukkala

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t’s time to reignite one of the fiercest debates in Mountain Biking, a debate that has divided people almost as much as when lycra popped up in DownHill racing; what kind of suspension is best? Air or Coil. There was a shift in the industry towards air in past couple of years, but with the rise of the Enduro World Series and with brands like Öhlins testing and releasing a new generation of coil sprung suspension, the debate has reignited.

There is still a lot of stigma around air suspension from the lack of reliability in the early years, but that is definitely no longer the case. One thing to keep in mind is, like most things in life, there is no concrete answer. There is no one size fits all. I am not going to tell you that this suspension is better, or if you ride a certain way, this is what you should run or anything of the sort. I am going to attempt to educate you on the nature of each kind, and from there is for you, the rider to evaluate what they think will better their riding experience. After all, suspension exists simply to make our riding more enjoyable, so the kind of suspension you choose should do exactly that, make your riding a whole lot more fun First off the basics; Coil suspension is, at its most basic, a spring, and much like a spring, it compresses and expands. An air shock, is a sealed container which holds pressurized air, and has a shaft that moves into this sealed chamber, while maintaining the seal, and this pressurized air acts like a spring and pushes the shaft back up. To change sag (how much the suspension goes into its travel with just the weight of the rider) on a coil shock, you would need to replace the spring itself, whereas, on an air shock you would just need a shock pump. ow before getting into the technical aspects of how each N type of suspension works, there are some terms and factors that you will need to understand first. With these you will get a better understanding of how a bike’s suspension works and how suspension designs vary between manufacturers. Below I will list out the terms and attempt to define them as best as I can.

Suspension Kinematics: the suspension kinematics of a bike is the way the rear end of the bike acts when the rear suspension compresses, i.e., how the wheel moves within the frame to compress the rear suspension.

Suspension Ratio: suspension ratio is how much the rear wheel travels compared to how much into the travel the shock moves.

Leverage Ratio: the leverage ratio is when you take the rear wheel travel of your bike and divide it by the shock travel. Let’s say you have a bike with 150mm of travel, and your shock has a stroke of

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57mm, your leverage ratio is 150/57 which works out to 2.63:1, which means, for every 1mm that your suspension moves, your rear wheel moves by 2.63mm.

Rising/Falling Rate: Is when the leverage ratio changes as the shock is compressed and the shaft moves into its travel. Rising is when the suspension ramps up, i.e., the leverage ratio decreases.

Falling is when the suspension trails off, i.e., when the force required to compress the travel decreases the deeper you get into the travel, the leverage ratio decreases when suspension falls.

Linear Suspension: A bike’s suspension is linear when the amount of pressure it takes to compress the shock does not vary through the stroke.

Progressive Suspension: A bike’s suspension is progressive when the amount of pressure needed to compress the shock varies the deeper you get into the travel of the bike.

Shaft Speed: this is how fast the suspension compresses, and is measured in Inches per Second.

Now that you understand the basic terms, lets jump straight into this. Generally speaking, coil shocks work well on trail/all mountain bikes with 10-12% rise, and 18% rise on the Downhill side of things, the pros however would need as much as 30% rise, which is why you sometimes see pros running custom machined swing arms on their race bikes. The reason a certain amount of rise is required with a coil shock is, because they are, by nature, perfectly linear in their travel, (i.e., regardless of where in the stroke or the shaft speed, the coil will react the same way), the suspension kinematics needs to add a certain degree of progressivity to give proper bottom-out control.

This doesn’t mean that air shocks wouldn’t or would work poorly with bikes with this level of rise, quite the contrary actually.

Air Springs with no spacers/tokens will, much like their coil counterparts, have a relatively linear stroke. When you add tokens is when the stroke begins to get progressive. Change in the way the air shock works at sag is pretty much negligible, but at about 50% into the travel is when you will really start to notice the rampup. Basically, with more tokens, you will have higher pressure at bottom-out. Which means, with tokens, the initial part of the stroke, the suspension will be nice and supple, but when you begin to get deeper into the stroke, it becomes more firm, making it less likely to bottom out.

Suspension Kinematics can, to a certain extent, add a degree of

progressivity to the bike, adding some bottom-out control, Dave Wiggle’s DELTA System on the wet-dream inducing EVIL bikes, for example. But a coil sprung suspension can never be as progressive as an air-sprung system.

When shaft speeds increase is when things start getting really interesting in the way an air-shock works. There is this process called the Adiabatic effect, it is when you pressurize air, much like in an air shock, and that air is compressed, like when the shaft moves in on a shock, there is a change in temperature that accompanies this change in volume, but, if shaft speed increase to say, 100 inches per second, there is no time for that compression to lead to an increase in temperature, which results in an increase in air pressure. This is what gives air shocks their playful, poppy feel.

They essentially, give more support at faster shaft speeds, all while behaving much like a coil at slower shaft speeds.

The biggest down side to coil suspension is probably this; if the bike you ride is relatively linear in its travel, and you like either riding super technical terrain or like jumping, you would have to run such a stiff spring to prevent harsh bottom-outs that you would lose a lot of that off the top suppleness that coil shocks are so well known for.

But, on the other side of things, if you are say, racing a multi-day Enduro race and a lot of the racing you will be doing is blind, the consistence of the linear feel of coil suspension might be just that much more predictable in feel to get you that win. Which may go a way to explaining the resurgence of coil suspension in the Enduro World Series.

CityTalk

BCAC rides from Kataka to Kathmandu

E

very time we, at CRANK, receive an email from the BCAC informing us of another event they did, we can’t help but smile. They are always coming up with exciting, very different ideas for rides. Suffice it to say, the BCAC isn’t your average local cycling club that meets for a century ride once a month. The BCAC, from what we can tell at least, is a group of adventure-loving cyclists, who might just be a little out of it.

Sometimes we wonder, what would a conversation that would lead to this decision be? I would imagine one guy would just say to the other, ‘hey, want to ride to Nepal?’ and the rest would just casually say yes and shrug it off, like it were just another ride to the local coffee shop The Bhubaneswar Cycling & Adventure Club (BCAC) is a club that promotes cycling and adventure sports in Bhubaneswar, has recently embarked on yet another adventure. Cycling all the way to a new international destination – Kathmandu in Nepal. With a theme

of “Friendship and Peace”, BCAC successfully completed its annual flagship ride from Cuttack to Kathmandu from 28th September to 10th October 2017.

Eight members of the BCAC took the path less travelled, so to speak, choosing to riding through the dense green forests, unrecognizable roads and steep trails to reach Kathmandu in Nepal. They covered 1502Kms in a mere 12 days while climbing almost 1500+ meters through the ride. This year’s ride was coined as ‘Kataka to Kathmandu – K2K’ for many reasons. The first being Cuttack a city of more than a thousand years has a special significance in the history of Odisha. The second, being the part of Twin-City, Cuttack has to be marked specifically by BCAC on its Annual Calendar and this ride was to sensitize the people of Cuttack to adopt cycling as a healthier, economical and eco-friendly mode of commuting.

CRANK with ProCycle DECEMBER 15TH, 2017

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Review

Scott E-Silence

By Karthik Gottumukkala

L

ike most ‘purist’ riders, I was against the very idea of E-Bikes. I thought that putting a motor on a bike somehow took away from the purity of the sport. I thought there was literally no point in putting a motor on a bike, and like most of these purists, I didn’t know much about them and dismissed them as a gimmick, and to top all of that off, the first iterations of e-bikes were just plain ugly, they were literally just regular bikes with a motor and a battery welded on.

Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised with the Scott e-silence.

You can tell that the bike was built from the ground up with the motor and battery in mind. The bike is very well designed, with nothing, including the large battery and motor, looking out of place.

The battery is very neatly integrated into the downtube and so is the motor around the bottom-bracket shell.

I was still skeptical when I took it out for the first time. I thought the power delivery would either be too strong, or would feel awkward.

What I noticed almost immediately, was how the power delivery felt very natural. Although you can feel the motor propelling you forward, it doesn’t feel sudden or awkward. The power comes and goes in a very linear fashion.

There is a small speedometer mounted on the handlebar on the left side. The speedometer also has 2 buttons with which you can

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CRANK with ProCycle DECEMBER 15TH, 2017

either increase or decrease the intensity of the power delivery. There are 3 modes of increasing power delivery, which are indicated by small squares above the speed reading on the speedometer. The only difference in the three modes is the rate of acceleration. You have to keep in mind that this bike is pedal-assist, which means, don’t expect the bike to do the work for you. You will still have to pedal; the bike will only help you by giving you a nudge.

The bike has a Shimano SLX rear derailleur, which is a fantastic bit of kit and Shimano M365 brakes, which are perfectly fine, but at this price point, I would expect Deore at the least.

The battery charges quite fast, we got a full charge in a little under an hour, and Scott claims a range of 150 kms, I never did test it to its limit, but from what I saw, I would say you could comfortably get 150.

In my opinion, this bike is the perfect city/commute bike. but, at 2.55 lacs, this bike is clearly for those who can afford. A large reason for this high price can be attributed to duties. So lets just hope the bikes are accepted fast and the government incentivizes with a lesser duty. The bike was very clearly designed from the ground up to be a replacement for that second city car or motorcycle you were thinking of getting to get you around town.

The target audience for this bike is definitely very niche, but if you do belong to that niche, you will be very well served.

TriathlonCorner

last page read: “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles!

Brag for the rest of your life!”. And from there it simply spiralled out of control, with IRONMAN races being organized all around the world, and from there races 2400 athletes qualify for the World Championships in Kona.

Kona, with its lava fields is known for its hot and humid conditions and along with the hilly nature of the cycling course makes the entire race very challenging.

In 2017, we had 3 people from India represent and participate in the event who performed well and successfully completed the race overcoming the tough race conditions.

The event has 2 categories namely the Professional and the Age Group. There are 2400 age groupers who participate and then about 100 Professionals who race every year.

2017 event saw the return of both the male and female defending champions namely Daniela Ryf being the 2015 and 2016 female champion. Jan Frodeno was the 2015 and 2016 male champion.

The race for the women’s championship saw Daniela Ryf take control in the bike segment, passing her competitors and running a 3 hr marathon to win the world championship for the 3rd time.

In the men’s event, the Germans have dominated with them winning the last 3 years and also taking over most of the podium spots.

KONA IRONMAN World Championship

By Deepak Raj

F

or more than 30 years, the IRONMAN World Championships has brought the world’s best triathletes together at Kona in Hawaii, the birthplace of the IRONMAN distance.

The inaugural Kona race was conceptualized in 1978 as a way to challenge athletes who had seen success at endurance swim, cycling, and running events. Honolulu-based Navy couple Judy and John Collins proposed combining the three toughest endurance races in Hawai’i—the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim, 112 miles of the Around-O’ahu Bike Race and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon—into one event. So put that in to perspective, 3.8 kms of swimming, then 180 kms of cycling and then 42.2 kms of running.

On the 18th of February, 1978, 15 people came to Waikiki to take on the IRONMAN challenge. Prior to racing, each received three sheets of paper with a few rules and a course description. The

Jan Frodeno was once again the in the mix and doing well until he and trouble in the run with a back and hamstring issue which forced him out of the chase. As a true champion, he battled and still finished the race in 35th spot which most other professionals would have pulled out. When asked he said – “This is Kona. How can you give up?”. Though he was walking for significant periods in the marathon, he was seen supporting his other competitors and willing Patrick Lange to chase down Lionel Sanders who was in the lead and encouraging Lionel Sanders to make sure that he does not let Patrick catch him. It came down to the run and Patrick Lange chased down Lionel Sanders with a 2:40 marathon and break the Kona course record along the way with a 8:01:40 finish time.

Patrick backed up last year’s second position with a victory this year As another year winds down, it is now time for a bit of offseason and then prepare for the next race and work towards getting a few more triathletes from India to the next IRONMAN World Championship.

Name

3.8 km Swim Time

180 km Cycling Time

42.2 km Run Time

Total Time

Deepak Raj

01:22:12

06:10:53

04:16:13

12:07:32

Kaustubh Radkar

00:56:18

07:01:42

05:36:08

`13:46:47

Subramani Venkatesh

01:20:05

05:29:52

03:56:55

10:58:02

CRANK with ProCycle DECEMBER 15TH, 2017

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CrankActive

Take a spin along the Devil’s Circuit

What this crazy race is, and what you would need to do to finish one!

By Vignan Rachabattuni

T

he Devil’s circuit is an obstacle race that runs 5 km through a trail route with 15 obstacles. Most of these obstacles test balance, agility, core strength while some test leg strength and flexibility.

The Devil’s circuit uses the whole body and all the muscles. The run between each obstacle helps to tire out the body so one only has about 60 % of their energy levels when getting to the obstacle.

To some this may sound like torture, but to us cyclists, pain is just plain old fun. So if want something extremely fun to do this offseason, and like challenges, this might be right up your alley.

Training for A Devil’s Circuit is also amazing cross-training for any cyclist.

CRANK got in touch with Dr.Vigan Rachabattuni of Dr.Fitness, a Hyderabad based triathlete, coach and certified crazy person, and asked him how a cyclist could train, and what it would take for a cyclist to finish a Devil’s Circuit race, and this is what he had to say; “Lots of running with focus on short 500 meter to 1.5 km run efforts. Run a lot of intervals with short breaks. As the running

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CRANK with ProCycle DECEMBER 15TH, 2017

improves, adding in pushups, pull ups, and lunges between each run can help as well.

Generally, these are the minimum requirements for one to get through Devil’s circuit quickly and efficiently.

- 30 pushups at a go - 5 pull ups at a go - 30 sit ups - 45 second plank - Able to walk monkey bars for 20 metres - running a 30 min 5 km The Devil’s circuit is very useful for recovery and to get out of the boredom of training for regular races. Tapering for 2 days for this event in an active season can be a much needed breather or break!”

So if you want to get out of the rut of training and want to try something new and exciting, Devil’s Circuit will definitely interest you.

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