Last year we reviewed the Specialized BG S-WORKS Road Shoe and generally had great things to say. A few weeks ago, I was tightening the BOA lacing system on my left foot and the plastic lace that slips around the BOA ratchet nob---completely snapped. Crap! As you can imagine, the shoe was rendered useless until I could find the time to see what BOA could do for me.

Yes, of course BOA had something to help me out. And as I quickly found out, $10 less expensive than the Specialized option (included each company's lowest shipping fee). A few days later, I received the parts in the mail and am ready to install.
Stay tuned, for a post on my installation experience. The video looks a little complicated...

UPDATE:
After receiving my BOA replacement kit, I went to work replacing my lace and dial.
For the most part the included instructions were a nice reference point, but I found this video on specialized.com and used it as my primary step-by-step guide.

While the video makes the process seem simple as demonstrated by the young Specialized wrench, it took me about twice the time it took as referenced in the video. Why? The holes that route the cable through the dial mechanism are extremely small (as they should be) and don't allow for smashed cable ends. I have an old pair of wire snips that mangled the end of the cable and it took me 10 min to file down the ends of the cables to fit appropriately.
Once I was able to route the cable through the system, the process was quick and as described in the video.

Overall, the process was cheap, quick and painless. My recommendation is to buy a few extra kits to keep on hand for future cable snaps.

In endurance sports such as endurance mountain bike racing there is no substitute for training, fitness, and a reasonable diet and nutrition. Come race day, the training and fitness will only get a racer so far, what can easily make or break a race though is nutrition and hydration.

Training has shown that I can burn through 900 to 1000 calories per hour, and training effort tends to be less than race effort. This means that calorie intake is massively important. There are many ways to get calories but most of them are not convenient during a race. Since I'm not one of the guys off the front I spend a good amount of time eating other people's dust. This leaves a dry gritty mouth, where anything solid such as nutrition bars are hard to eat. Gels are sticky and can upset my stomach especially late in a race. Energy chews often taste good but along with the dry mouth I have choked on one or two before. Trying to replenish 30-50% of my calories per hour has been challenging.

Last year I basically used a different type of product to fulfill my race nutrition needs, a drink, some foods, and salt tablets. This year I have been lucky enough to work with CarboRocket. CarboRocket is an all in one endurance drink that includes calories, salt, and of course H20. Although I have been using the product in training and early season races, I was able to put it to the real test at one of the hardest races of my season at the Gunnison Growler. 64 grueling, always on, technical, high altitude, dry air, windy miles on the BLM Hartman Rocks area of Gunnison Colorado.

This year at the Growler I decided to rely nearly 100% on CarboRocket 333 Half Evil Endurance Fuel for the entire race. I did snack on a Honey Stinger Energy Bar at the 1/2 point mainly to give my stomach something to digest and ease the hunger feeling I had. I also had a small ice cold Coca-Cola at the last aid station mainly because it was there and it was cold, and it tasted really good! But the main course was CR333.

CR333 provided me what I needed all in the form of a good flavorful drink. No need to try to pull a gel out of a pocket, suck it down between breaths, and then try to get the sticky wrapper back into the jersey pocket only to have it come out later when getting another gel. No food wrappers to try to open then also shove in a pocket. No salt tablets container to try to open then to swallow a tablet that sticks to the very back of the tongue refusing to go down the rest of the way. All I had to do was reach down for a bottle and take a drink. I had more time with my hands on the handle bars (absolutely needed at the Growler), and less time slowing to fiddle with stuff in my pockets.

In the end I took more than 30 minutes off my time from last year on a harder course than last year, 64 miles and 7 1/2 hours of non-stop effort fueled by CarboRocket 333 Half Evil and I literally felt "good" at the end of the race (last year I thought I might die at the end of the race, and my body chemistry was so messed up, well I won't go there).

If you are looking for great endurance fuel for a bike ride, a run, or hike, check out CarboRocket, the Epic Endurance Cycling Team is relying on it for our endurance fuel!

Overview

Last year we reviewed Specialized's top-end road shoe, the BG S-WORKS Road Shoe and gave it 4 out of 5 cogs. Now, rarely do we retract our ratings, but after several more months of riding, we hit a fairly dramatic snag. The new BOA Lacing System on the left shoe completely failed. After a few weeks of winding-to-unwind the lace, we simply gave up and shelved 'em. In search of a more simpler approach, we settled on the 2011 Giro Prolight SLX.

Having tried the BOA Lacing System with sub-par results, we felt it was time to stick to the basics. And when you talk about basics with road shoes, you can't get anymore basic than velcro straps. The 2011 Giro Prolight SLX ditches the ratcheting buckles and other mechanical closures that are common among the high-end road shoe category, and instead includes just three velcro straps.

In classic Giro style, they didn't just slap on the straps, they methodically studied the foot's dynamics and placed each strap at the appropriate angle--each with their own role to play. The top strap secures the heel into the cup, the middle strap criss-crosses the metatarsals to anchor your foot in the shoe, and the bottom strap takes up any loose space in the forefoot.

Stiff and light

After two solid months of riding the Prolight SLX, I can difinitively say that they are the lightest cycling shoes I have ever worn. The upper is only 1.1mm thick, made of soft, super-thin Teijin AG100 ultra-light microfiber that feels like your favorite ball mitt (the buttery, supple one you dare not sell). Giro put the size 42 at 205 grams! My size 47's with clips weighed in at a scant 277 grams (each shoe). When compared to the Specialized BG S-Works, the Giro Prolight SLX was 43 grams lighter. And if comfort wasn't enough, the folks at Giro loaded up the SLX with Easton EC90SLX high-grade, super stiff carbon for the sole (the lightest and stiffest sole Giro uses).

Lastly, the Prolight SLX includes an ultra-thin, ultra-light EPP footbed for people that don't need additional support, and their SuperNatural Fit Kit for those who need arch support. Giro makes a big deal of their aftermarket SuperNatural Fit Kit insoles, but to be honest, my feet feel just fine in the standard insole (I have high arches).

The snob in us

Honestly, the shoe made us happy in every way. We road in rain, snow, heat, and walked around the coffee shop enough to feel as though we understood the SLX's. The one small nit we have is that the toe area has caved-in with a small dimple in each shoe. Not that big of a deal, and we think that over time, they will disappear.

Our recommendation

If you are looking for a super stiff, light weight road shoe with minimalist straps and a buttery smooth upper, then the Giro Prolight SLX should be on your list. The $350 (suggested retail) Giro Prolight SLX comes in two colors -- Black and White. They're available in whole sizes from 39-48 and half sizes from 39.5 to 46.5.

Overview

Ok, yes I know, Spring is almost here, but if you have been riding in Colorado the last 6 months, you are a bit gun shy when it comes to the talk of "Spring".  As such, the last 12 weeks we have lived in Rapha's 3/4 Bib Shorts.  To be fair, we are a big fan of the, Rapha Classic Bib Shorts so we had very high expectations of the 3/4 version.  Find out what we thought....

Having spent a great deal of time in Specialized's Roubaix knickers, as well as the Capoforma Roubaix Bib Knicker, we had our pre-concieved notions of a what bib knicker could/should do.  All I can say is that Rapha completely nailed it with the 3/4 Bib Short.  The thermoroubaix fabric accompanied with an internal layer of Thermolite fleece is like riding in your pajama's...the ratty ole' pair that feel like "home".

Of course comfort is a major factor, but how well did they keep us warm? Fantastic. We consistently found ourselves riding in windy weather between 38 and 45 degrees without any inkling of being cold whatsoever. Aside from the exposed bit of skin on our lower shins, the bibs did exactly what they were designed to do.

And how about the chamois? For those that don't own a pair of Rapha bibs, it is hard to describe the absolute density of the Cy-Tech Pad. To us, the Rapha chamois blows away anything from Giordana or Assos--hands-down. So much so, we feel a little spoiled and nervous about switching to warm weather riding bibs.

Our Recommendation

After putting close to 800 miles on the Rapha 3/4 Bib Short, we can say that they are part of our standard winter riding wardrobe. The combination of silky-smooth thermoroubaix fabric and Thermolite fleece with the super cushy Cy-Tech chamois is hard to beat. Our only concern was that the fabric can be a bit slippery under the saddle--something that took a bit of getting accustomed to.

The bibs run around $225 and can be purchased directly from the Rapha.cc site.

Enough with the Christmas cheer...now on with the review.

Overview

To be honest, I hadn't heard much about Cutter as a company, so I did some digging.
Named after the "Cutters" underdog team in Breaking Away, the company's mission states, "The crew at Cutter doesn’t care where or how you pedal—they just wanna make it way more funnerer."
Making everything from apparel, to hard-goods, the company seeks the urban, hipster-commuter as its primary target maket. If you are familiar with the likes of Swobo, or Chrome from Cali, then Cutter will look all-to familiar.

What We Liked

So with all that said, what turned the tide in favor of the Cutter underdog? Price and weight. The Gore Fusion retails for around $400, the Cutter Cyclical at $299. While the price is most certainly something worth considering, the real tide-turner for me was the fact that the Cutter weighs in at 8.5 ounces and easily packs-into itself via the roomy back pocket. The Gore product weighs-in nearly double, and does not possess the ability to pack into itself.

The Snob In Us

Our Recommendation