A New Look

The BB*VP racing team will be sporting a new kit later this season. Thanks to Tony and Eric Nelson who have been working on this project for the past two months. They came up with a fresh design, while keeping the classic look. They went through many variations and came up with two that we brought to our sponsors Beverly Bike & Ski / VeePak inc. to get the OK

So here it is, let us know what you think?

Choose Your Weapon

Overkill or Preparedness? Call it what you may, but personally and as a team we are leaving nothing to chance this 'cross season. I myself am bringing no less than four sets of wheels and a pit bike to each race. As a team we will probably have enough spare parts to build a bike at each venue.

Cyclocross certainly takes its toll on both man and machinery. Since Jackson Park we have gone through 3 chains, one front wheel, and a seat post. And most of that has just been during practices, without any crash induced damage. Therefore, we have vowed to have extra chains, seatposts, wheels, cassettes, binder bolts, etc., etc available to us to ensure our race doesn't end prematurely. There were even rumors of a mechanic coming to support us each race. How PRO would that be?

I might even take a cue from Paulo and bring an extra pair of shorts along. 'Cross is too much fun to have to stand by on the sidelines as the race goes on without you. Why let a mechanical get in the way when a little foresight and planning can save your race. When every race counts and points are on the line, a little preparation goes a long way. Call it obsessive, or call it ready. The choice is yours.

By the way from left to right: Michelin Mud 700x30, Maxxis Larsen MiMo 700x35, Tufo T-30 PRO 700x30, Vittoria EVO XN 700x32. Damn, we need a tire sponsor! Any takers?

BBVP Becomes Presenting Sponsor at Oakbrook

We are excited to announce that we have become the presenting sponsor of the Illinois State Championships Road Race on Saturday August 23rd. Through the commitment of our sponsors Beverly Bike and Vee Pak, Inc., BBVP has been able to help the sport of cycling in Illinois grow and prosper by supporting major races during the 2008 season.

For a full schedule of the days events check out the races homepage here

A Geat Start To SuperWeek

The residents and fans that braved the heat and humidity last night were treated to a spectacular kick off to SuperWeek. The pace was high from the first lap, and those caught off guard were quickly shot out the back. The race also made quite a few men richer last night with primes offered every few laps, my guess being that a few thousand dollars were given away in primes alone. Rahsan Bahati (Rock Racing) took advantage of the veritable ATM at the finish line and collected his fair share of primes himself. Meanwhile, Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing) was working the group that he was in, and taking advantage of the primes as well. Since the entire course was wired with a PA system, the two Rock Racing teammates were able to cheer for one another as their prime wins were announced even though they were seperated by half a lap.

Eventually a ten man break formed and lapped the field, causing a bit of confusion everytime the came as you weren't sure if you were looking at the leaders or not. In the end it came down to two sprints, one for the break and the second for what remained of the decimated field. The first sprint was for 11th, and Rahsan Bahati easily took that, then about a minute later the field came charging with Sterling Magnell just pipping local boy Chad Hartley from Jittery Joes.

As for us, BBVP had a great time highlighting a great race and great neighborhood. Our sponsors, Beverly Bike & Ski and Vee Pak, Inc. truly made this a spectacular race to be remembered for years to come. We would also like to thank all the other individuals and organizations that helped to make the race possible especially BAPA. Finally, a last big thank you goes out to all the volunteers that gave up their evening to help ensure a safe and succesful event. See you all next year!

BBVP Makes Television Debut

This morning marked the teams television debut with an appearance on Fox News Chicago morning show "Good Day Chicago". We were asked a few questions about SuperWeek which is kicking off tonight in Beverly at 6pm at 107th and Longwood Drive.

We were thrilled at the chance to be able to not only highlight the teams participation in a great event, but also to give our sponsors a little exposure as well. While the camera man was filming, they also snapped a few photos of our moment in the limelight.

BBVP Announces 'Cross Team

As the 2008 cyclocross seasons draws ever nearer, BBVP would like to announce that we have created a cyclocross team to contest the Chi Cross Cup Series. If everyone stays healthy and injury free, we will be starting 10 riders at the September 21st Jackson Park event. The 2007 'cross season was our inaugural season and typically saw just three of us toeing the line after Jim suffered an injury at the Carpentersville event.

No doubt having up to ten riders starting each event should help to tip the odds in our favor. And since the official countdown has begun and we are looking at about 90 days until the first race, we are in the process of setting our goals and building our training plans. As the road season progresses and ultimately winds down, we will begin to hold "unsanctioned" training events, with more info to come as the time and place becomes known.

On another note in order to help defray the costs of racing and travelling as a team, the BBVP 'Cross Team is seeking additional sponsors. I know for a fact that members of the cycling industry periodically check out or webpage for info, and if there is anyone who would care to step up and help out, we are open to that discussion.

The 2008 BBVP Cyclocross Squad will consist of:

Elvis Falbo
Tony Rienks
Damon Nelson
Jim Jacobs
Joe Castello
Dan Bomben
Sergio Moreno
Patrick Morgan
Jorge Cerritos
Bob Murray

Team Issue

As a team, we have been extremely fortunate to find two sponsors who have been more than generous with us. Beverly Bike & Ski and Vee Pak, Inc. have been great to us all year long, never batting an eye or turning down a request, no matter how large.

This week saw the team recieve their new cycloross bikes courtesy of Paul at Beverly Bike & Ski. We will be racing the 2008 season on Cannondale's Optimo. So far it looks like these will be incredible bikes. Aggressive geometry, a stiff frame and a few component switches will ensure a few podium finishes for the boys from Beverly this fall. It looks as though these bikes can be built up into the 16 lb range, surely this can only help us build on last seasons successes.

The other important factor we will each be able to look forward to this fall will be the fact that we can each have a pit bike available to us now that we have the new bikes. Pit wheels is one thing, but having the option of taking a fresh bike half way through a muddy race should pay dividends. Also on order for most members for the fall will be 'cross skinsuits. While not a huge technical advantage, you can never be too comfortable. Too bad 'cross season is 102 days away, but who's counting right?

Registration Now Open For Willowsprings TT

The registration for the Willow Springs stage of the HomeMade Pizza Co. Chicago Time Trial Series hosted by Beverly Bike-Vee Pak, Inc. is now open. The race will be held in Willow Springs, Illinois on Sunday June 15th and will also be the closest TT venue to downtown Chicago. This will be a great course in that it features several hundred feet of climbing over the two lap 30k course. The climb up Flavin Road is nearly 1.5 km long at an average grade of 6%, and KoM points will be awarded to the top finishers. This will also be the most picturesque course of the series as it winds throught the Forest Preserves, but it may be hard to notice the scenery when you are buried in your pain cave!

Since it will be Fathers Day, I suggest you sign up soon so that you can secure an early start time to keep Mom and the kids happy. For more info contact the HomeMade Pizza Co. Chicago Time Trial Series

Beverly Bike-Vee Pak to host CTTS Stage

I learned a long time ago that if you want to see change, you must be change. So with that philosophy in mind Beverly Bike-Vee Pak, Inc. Racing Team has signed on to host the Willow Springs Stage of the Chicago Time Trial Series on June 15th. As a team we will be responsible for course set up, corner marshalling, timing, as well as registration and scoring.

The Chicago Time Trail Series is an exciting new series for the 2008 season put together by Steve Hansen from North Branch Cycling. The series will consist of 6 30k individual TT's throughout the Chicago area. Riders will be scored in each race based on their finishing times, and an overall series winner will be announced at the culmination of the series in August. The CTTS is currently working on sponsors for the series to help pay for the prize purses as well as merchandise sponsors.

The goals of the series are to increase the exposure of perhaps the most difficult cycling discipline in a new and unique way. The CTTS hopes to build a start house with a ramp such as seen in big European stage races. Also, because the series will be a USAC sanctioned series, valuable upgrade points will also be available.

If you have never done an individual TT then 2008 is year for you! The CTTS will have races every month from April through August. For info check out www.chicagott.com

Final Equipment Selections

Today we locked in some selections for wheels, hoods, and tape colors. Hopefully everyone will be happy with the choices, but probably not! We are going to split the wheels between the Spinergy Xaero Lites with red PBO spokes, and the Spinergy Carbon Stealth SS. We felt that this was a nice mix of wheels for crits. road races, and even time trials. On race day they will be available on a first come first served basis, however will make sure everyone can use them at least once, if not many more times this year. SRAM cassettes will also be purchased for all race wheels, so that every wheel will have an 11-23 on it. Keep in mind, these wheels are for race day only, we want them to last at least on full season.
An executive decision was also made on the hood/bar tape colors. We would like everyone on the A squad to go with the red SRAM hoods and red SRAM bar tape for a unified look. We will also encourage either a white or red saddle. Personally I like the "euro trash" white saddle myself. Wait did I say "euro trash", I meant PRO!

Decision Time

Now that we have finalized what wheelsets we will be getting from Spinergy, we need to decide what color spokes. Should we be total dorks and go with something that matches the bikes? Spinergy offers the PBO spokes in several colors including white, black, red, yellow, and blue. Since our frames are going to be painted white with blue stickers and red trim it seems we have three different colors that would work. Now its just a matter of deciding, easier said than done in some cases. SRAM is also offering us the choice of colored hoods in both red and white. I like the idea of white hoods, but am afraid that they will just become instantly filthy. Sure if we had a team mechanic to scrub down the bikes after every ride the white hoods might make sense, but I don't see that happening. The other thought we were floating around was red hoods with red tape, or red hoods with white tape, or red hoods with blue tape. I know this sounds really bogus, but we want the bikes to look good. Hmm what would a PRO do?

SRAM FORCE GRUPPO

Mark McClusky
Review: SRAM Force Road Gruppo
Courtesy of the very nice folks at SRAM, and especially their media person, Michael Zellmann, I was able to get a chance to ride their new Force group of road components. The high-end component market has been dominated by Campagnolo and Shimano for the 20 years that I've been riding bikes -- in fact, SRAM's gruppo is the first full road group that's been released in that period of time.
Armed with a lovely Specialized Tarmac SL equipped with the Force components and Roval full-carbon clincher wheels, I hit the roads in Northern California to see if Force is a legitimate challenger to Shimano's Dura Ace and Campy's Record line.

The crankset is a lovely piece, wrapped in very pretty carbon fiber. The chainrings are shot-peened, and have a nice grey color to them. Although you can't see them, the bearings for the bottom bracket are outboard, similar to Dura Ace.
I had no compaints with the crank/bottom bracket combo. It was plenty stiff, certainly for the amount of power I can generate. There was no creaking or play in the bearings, and the build seemed very solid. Frankly, there's not a lot that can really go wrong here, and SRAM didn't make any mistakes.

One real problem I've face with my bike (equipped with Dura Ace) is getting it to shift well on a compact crankset. Especially on the way from the large to the small chainring, it's very prone to throwing the chain completely past the chainring, and onto my bottom bracket. Which sucks.
I was very impressed by the front shifting on the Force. There's one front mechanism that's used for either standard or compact chainrings -- but there's a clever way to lower it to make sure that the tolerance is right for the size you're running. Also, the cage is wide enough that there aren't any trim settings to mess with. You just get it to the right chainring, and forget it. All in all, a major upgrade for me.

In the back, shifting was equally good. There was a very solid feel -- some might argue inelegant. With Dura Ace and Record, you sometimes aren't quite sure if your shift has finished; by the time you're trying to sense it, it's already over. But with Force, there's a very positive action, almost a THUNK, that lets you know for sure. Some people might not care for it, but I like it.
The other nice thing is how unfussy it seems. I feel like after (or during) most rides, I'm tweaking my cables just a bit, trying to insure that upshifts and downshifts happen with the same speed, and equally smoothly. After adjusting the rear once, I didn't have to futz with it at all, even after swapping out the cassettes, which I have a hard time imagining with Dura Ace. One of the things that SRAM is touting in their marketing is that each shift requires the same amount of cable to be pulled (unlike the other groups), and from my testing, that consistent mechanical action does show some benefits.
Not pictured here is the SRAM cassette -- I had to wuss out and put on a 25 in back for the hills around here. SRAM is going to be shipping an 11-26 rear cassette, which is great news, I think. Perfect for compacts in tough terrain like NoCal.

Here's the cockpit. Like Campy Record, all the cables are under the handlebar tape, leading to a nice, clean look. It's a little hard to tell from this shot, but the left and right hoods are sculpted differently, and are canted slightly to fit the hand -- they were comfortable while on the hoods, and provided a good platform on top. They're a little smaller than the Shimano hoods, a similar size to Campy.

In this closeup of the left brake lever, you can see the cant I was talking about.
The shifting on Force uses what SRAM called Double Tap. A small inward movement of the lever downshifs to a higher gear, a longer throw upshifts into a smaller gear. It's was actually completely intuitive -- imagine using the upshift lever on Record for all the shifts, but just tapping is slightly to get bigger gears. Seriously, it sounds much, much more complicated than it rides, and I didn't find myself having to think about it at all, even after just a few miles.

I found the brakes to be really nice looking, especially the cutout in the top arm. Modulation was very good, and the action at the lever was smooth and controlled. Stopping power was harder to evaluate for me, as I was riding a test bike with carbon rims, and therefore had cork pads, and not the standard pad that SRAM ships for most wheels.

Another look at the calipers, this time up front.
Overall, I was really impressed by Force. SRAM's done a ton of work and research to get this right, and it's a hugely ambitious undertaking. It's certainly right there with the top of the line from the big two, and I'll definitely consider it when I need new gear.

SPINERGY IS IN FOR 2008

It looks like we may have finalized everything with Spinergy. We still have to decide which wheels we will be using next year but we know for sure we will be getting 8 pairs of wheels. While the Stealth wheels are pretty sweet, I think we will probably go with the Xaero Lites which are a more practical wheelset. Not bad for a few phone calls and a couple of e-mails back and forth. Now we just have to come to a consensus as a team and figure what tires we should all be riding on. I guess that is n't too big of a problem to have though, all things considered.

More Good News for 2008

So far 2008 has gone pretty well for the Beverly Bike-Vee Pak, Inc. Racing Team. While we haven't actually competed we have had some victories.

The first was being recognized by USAC as a team. To do this we had to host either a race or a non-competitve ride. We chose to host a cyclocross training ride at the Dan Ryan Woods on February 10th. Hopefully there won't be any snow on the ground, otherwise we may have to fight off a bunch of 8 year olds with sleds!

We also recieved a sponsorship deal from SRAM! While we won't be riding the RED Group in 2008, it does look like we will all have the Force Carbon groups on our bikes. Ed and Jose from SRAM came out to the shop one Thursday evening and put on quite a presentation. They brought one of their neutral support bikes, all 3 gruppos and a few other toys for us to play with. Needless to say, we were like a bunch of kids in a candy shop.

While the deal is still in the works, it looks like we may have also secured Spinergy as a sponsor as well. It is a bit too early to say for sure, but things are definately rolling along with them. We also recieved word that SIBEX Sports would sponsor us for our 'cross season. Apparently, if you just ask people are willing to give you stuff. Who knew? As of today, our sponsors now include: Beverly Bike and Ski, Vee Pak, Inc., Cannondale, SRAM, and SIBEX. Now if we could only find a sponsor for seat posts and handlebars, looks like I have a little more work to then.

Once the team hears from Spinergy, we will also be placing our order for our team kit from Champion System. The kit should arrive in time for our first race of the year which will be Hillsboro-Roubaix.