The bar is high!  I’ve worked in the bike industry the past 25 years and have been blessed to own some of the best bikes in the world.  That said, my new custom Enve is the best yet!
 
The bespoke bike is a result of the perfect fit, dialed geometry, optimum frame design, and custom selected components. 
 
Performance / Ride Quality:  I have ridden over 1500 miles on my custom Enve.  Everything from fast Naples Velo group rides to the Multisport World Championships in Australia.  The bike just disappears under me, I become one with it.  This is the highest compliment I can make of a bike.
 
The fit and balance is perfect.  When cornering at the limit, I feel the tire’s contact with the road and carve a perfect line.  Riding In a tight – fast peloton I feel confident.  Jumping out of a corner or the bike accelerates fast and smooth.
 
Bike Fit and Design:  Perfect fit and balance are what should happen when you match great bike fitting, with excellent frame design and build execution.  I did the fitting and Enve provided the custom geometry, design and build.
 
You may ask could I get this ride quality from a manufacturer’s stock frame?  It’s possible, but in my personal experience, the answer is no.  I’ve tried, but I never get the perfect ride from a stock bike, and I have from several great custom bikes.
 
It’s possible that your perfect fit geometry is an exact match for a stock frame and parts spec.  But more likely changes are needed to achieve your perfect fit.  For example, stems come in 10mm increments.  What if you need 5mm less or more?  With a custom bike the geometry can be designed to the millimeter. 
 
In my case, my long legs require a 59cm bike for seat tube and most brands offer either 58 cm or 60cm.  And at 65 years old I need a higher bar height than a Pro-Tour racer, but not as high as a comfort oriented “all-road” bike.  In the past I have owned, 60 cm bikes and used shorter stems, but those bikes never felt as responsive or handled perfectly.  Same with 58 cm frames with spacers added under the stem to get the right stack height.  And I don’t like the look of a bike with a lot of spacers, or a short or angled up stem.  At the end of the day, it comes down to having your weight centered and balanced perfectly on the bike.
 
And the ride quality is not just from getting the fit right.  It also is determined by the frame design.   For example, bottom bracket height has a big effect on the balance and center of gravity of the bike.  This height is selected by the designed to match how and where the bike will be ridden.  Interestingly enough, (and this is rarely considered) changing to a tire width can adversely affect the bottom bracket height and handling.
 
If a bike’s bottom bracket height is optimized for road racing with 28mm tires, and you use 32mm tires, the center of gravity will be higher which will negatively affect cornering and descending speed.
 
Conversely if your bike was optimized for 40 mm gravel tires, it will have longer chain stays and a longer wheelbase, and the bike won’t be as responsive as a racing road bike.  In this case if you changed to 32 mm tires the bottom bracket height will be lowered, potentially causing a crank clearance problem when corning at the limit.
 
Bike manufacturers also design bikes to have an optimum “trail” (the horizontal distance from where the front wheel touches the ground to where the steering axis intersects the ground), which effects the handling of the bike.  Racing road bikes need to be responsive and handle quick for tight pack riding and have shorter trail than gravel, or mountain bikes.
 
On a gravel bike we are constantly bouncing around from rocks and uneven terrain.  In this case longer trail is used to tone down the handling, so we aren’t constantly correcting (or likely over-correcting) for all the imperfections from the terrain.
 
Enve’s stock bike geometry table illustrates this.  Their 58cm road bike (Melee) has 56.5 cm trail with a 27mm tire.  Their 58 cm gravel bike (Mog) has 62.4 cm of trail with a 40mm tire.  Yes, even the size of the tire changes the effective trail.   For the Mog a 35mm tire has 61.1 cm of trail and a 44 cm tire has 62.8.  You can really feel this difference in trail.
 
My custom Enve has a 73mm bottom bracket drop, is optimized for 28mm tires and has 43mm of fork rake and 58mm of trail.
 
The take-away is that with frame design, there are many small differences in design (even tire width) that have a big impact on bike handling and stability.  All these factors need to be considered when creating (or buying) the perfect bike.
 
The perfect trail is subjective, and is dependent on where you ride, the surface, the tire size, and your skill (and taste) as a rider or racer.  Bringing this all back to a custom bike, you can have your bike designed to match all the attributes you desire.  Custom Enve bikes can be built to have road racing trail, all-road or in-between both.

HANDMADE IN THE USA
 
Of course, even if the manufacturer nails the geometry, it doesn’t mean the bike will ride great.  This is where engineering, experience and design come in.  Headquartered in Odgen, Utah, Enve Composites has been a leader in carbon technology since 2007.
 
Sue and I had the opportunity to tour Enve’s manufacturing facility and join many of their staff in the epic Grodeo gravel race from their factory.  Enve’s technology, passion and cycling culture came shining through.  I am proud to have my bike designed and hand built in Ogden, Utah!
 
Esthetics:  This is the fun part!  With custom you don’t have to ride a bike that looks like thousands of others.  You can pick your colors and paint scheme.  For mine I picked a red, white and blue theme as I was racing for Team USA in the World Triathlon Multisport World Championships.  It was more than just picking the colors and fade scheme.  I got a call from, Joaquin Herrera an old colleague who now manages Enve’s custom program.  He was with their head painter, and they asked if I wanted some depth and metallic added to the colors.  I said I did and asked if they could incorporate this depth not only to the red and blue, but to the white as well.
 
The result was gorgeous.  Outside the colors have amazing depth, and it is so cool how the blue fades into the red.  And having the stem, handlebar, spacers, seat post, and water bottle cages painted to match is just over the top.  I also picked custom white decals for the wheels to pop with the painted white logos on the frame, bars and stem.
 
Components and Wheels:  Technology is constantly advancing and part of the “best yet” is a result of selecting state of the art parts and components.
 
The biggest advancement in recent years has come from wheel and tire design.  Thanks to the added tire clearance from the switch to disc brakes, Pro Tour racers are now racing on wider carbon rims and tires 28 or 30mm wide.  Tubeless tires at lower air pressure have become the norm.  This setup is not only much faster, it offers better traction and comfort and in my experience less flats than a traditional tube and tire setup.
 
With Enve custom you get your pick of any of their excellent wheels!  Look no further than, Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar to see a hot setup!  He normally rides Enve’s SES 4.5 for climbing courses with 30mm tubeless Continental GP5000 S TR tires.  I choose the slightly deeper and more aero SES 6.7 for Florida riding.  These wheels just sing with tubeless Vittoria’s 28mm Corsa Pro tires.  I weight 150 pounds and on good dry roads I’ve been running 65 psi rear and 60 front.
 
It was fun to choose the exact component part spec as well, right down to the crank length size and gearing.  I choose Sram’s awesome new Red group in a 2X setup with 172.5 cranks with a power meter.  This may seem subtle, but I choose a bigger than normal 50 tooth large chain ring, which is perfect for our fast Florida group rides.  I find most of the time I’m more in the middle range of my cogs with less chain angle, and when it comes to that tail wind sprint I don’t spin out.
 
With Enve custom you also get to choose either a one-piece bar-stem combo or from any of their fantastic bars with an in-route aero stem.  I chose the Aero Road bar which have a medium flare, and allow for a custom clip-on aero bar, which I needed for one of my races at the World Championships.

​Custom or Semi-Custom is NOT More Expensive! 
 
An Enve custom is not more expensive than a top-level Trek or Specialized road bike and you get to pick the exact components, wheels, saddle, bar and stem that you want.
 
Custom can even be less expensive.  For example, if you bought a Specialized Tarmac for $14,000 and had to swap out the bar-stem for the correct size, that costs an additional $600 plus the labor to re-cable the bike and bleed the brakes.
 
Worth the Wait!
 
If you are reading this blog, I suspect that you have already own several bikes and are looking to up your game.  I can assure you that an Enve custom will be your dream ride, and it’s worth the wait!
 
Here is the process:

• Schedule a consultation and bike fitting.
• Pick your components and paint scheme.
• We submit a custom bike form to Enve.
• Enve designs your bike. (This takes 1-2 Weeks)
• We will review with you and sign off on the design.  We need a deposit to cover the frame and Enve parts at this time.
• Enve Builds Your Frame 8-10 Weeks.
• We build your bike and do a final fitting.

 
In conclusion, my Enve custom has elevated my cycling, and I love that it’s one of a kind, designed to fit my body, style and taste!
 
Enjoy your ride!
 
Greg
 
 More Info on Enve Custom

• Why custom Video
• Custom aerobar extension video,
• https://www.naplescyclery.com
• Custom Enve Paint Booth
• Naples Cyclery Enve Page

In this podcast, Greg explains the importance of bike fitting, and also how custom can be the perfect option, and not be more expensive than top tier "boxed" bikes.

PEDALS, the most underrated cycling component!

​Contact points are extremely important on a bike.  Your Saddle, handlebar and pedals make a huge difference to comfort, and efficiency and ultimately speed.  This blog post will focus specifically on pedals and feature the new Look Keo Version 4 Blade pedal.
 
Pedals are perhaps the most underrated cycling component.  The cleat interface, and position effect biomechanics as well as ease of entry and disengagement.  And because of inertia and rotating weight, nowhere except for the rim of a wheel, is weight more important (which is why I’ve never been a fan of power pedals).
 
Look invented the clipless pedal in 1984, and after reading the technical and marketing data I was anxious to test the latest version of the Keo Blade pedal. 
 
This is the fourth iteration of the blade pedal design, which creatively replaces the spring (for release) with a piece of flexible carbon fiber.  This saves weight and adds to an aero streamlined design.  It’s important to note, that the release tension can only be changed by replacing the carbon “spring”. Look uses an 8 tension on the entry level blade pedal, 12 on the mid-level, and 16 on the high-end ceramic-ti version (cyclists who require low entry and release tension should use no higher than the 8-tension spring).
 
Look claims their latest design is 2% more aero, lighter, has a larger stainless steel contact area and it’s more balanced design is easier to engage.  There are three options…

• Blade:  Carbon body, only 115 grams each, retail $174.
• Blade Ceramic: Adds ceramic bearings, retail $254
• Blade Ceramic Ti: Adds ceramic bearings and a titanium axle, only 95 grams each, retail $389.

 
Interestingly, Look compared their new blades to the competition in respect to power to weight.  They factored in the contact surface area and the weight of the pedal and cleat.  This was perhaps a creative use of statistics, but really there is no arguing about the weight and the benefit of a wide and large contact area for stability. 
 
I’m very familiar with all road pedals on the market and have spent years riding each.  They all have pros and cons.  About 3 years ago I switched from Speedplay Zeros to Time as the force to engage and release was wreaking havoc on my chronic Achilles tendinosis (from running).
 
No complaints with Time, other than I feel Sram has done a poor job or marketing and innovating since they purchased Time pedals several years back.
 
Yesterday I tested the Look Ceramic Blades and instantly felt an improvement.  First, the cleat contact was more stable, very positive with no rocking.  Second, I did find the pedals easier to enter with a very positive engagement.  And finally, the pedal rotation was smoother, likely from the ceramic bearings, and balance of the pedal.
 
These factors added up to smoother – faster pedaling.  Big improvement!  I’m switching to these pedals!
 
My takeaway is that even with pro level pedals, we get lulled into the feel of what we have.  In my case the degradation of the bearings, cleats and pedal surfaces was so subtle day to day that I didn’t even notice.  You owe it to yourself to give these pedals a try! 
 
We have the new Keo Blades in stock, and I have a demo set if anyone wants to give these a try.
 
Enjoy the ride!
 
Greg

Light, Fast and Lively!

Working in the bike industry for 25 years I’ve been blessed to be able to own and ride the best road bikes in the world.  I wish I still had some of my favorites, a Colnago C40, and a custom steel Serotta come to mind.

​One characteristic that those bikes shared is a liveliness, especially sprinting and climbing out of the saddle.  Something that I don’t feel in most of top shelf bikes today.  They are stiff, can be light, are way more aero, but they are not lively.
 
The new Tarmac SL8 has it!  That lively and light feel!
 
Before I get into the heart of the review, I think it’s best to explain my interpretation of comfort and liveliness.
 
Comfort: Perfect comfort is when you become one with the bike, and it disappears under you.  I feel this has a lot to do with the right bike fit and setup, and the right amount of stiffness.  If the bike is too stiff it is hard to relax, and ride supple.  If the bike has too much “flex” it moves in ways you must correct to control the bike.  In both cases too stiff or too flexible the bike is fighting you. 
 
Liveliness:  A slight flex that springs back when under a hard load.  For example, when sprinting or climbing hard out of the saddle the frame flexes slightly and springs back.  I find when there is the perfect balance of liveliness the slight spring or snap back helps my sprinting and climbing.
 
Specialized has an excellent white paper that explains the factors they targeted to achieve the optimum “State of Speed” for the new SL8.  Using the characteristics below, they benchmarked the SL8 against the previous Tarmac SL7, the aero Venge, and the light and comfortable Aethos. 

• Lightness
• Speed on Climbs
• Speed on Flats
• Comfort
• Responsiveness

 
Specialized surpassed their target bikes in all categories except for lightness and comfort where the sub-UCI weight limit Aethos was slightly better.  When considering speed and the UCI weight limit, the SL8 was the clear leader.
 
CLEAN LINES
Aesthetically I love the clean lines of the Tarmac SL8.  Almost minimalistic.  By comparison Trek’s Madone looks downright hefty.  The down tube and top tube are reasonable in size, and seat tube, seat post and seat-stays almost disappear when looking from the back. 
 
TEST RIDE
 
I had the opportunity to test ride two levels of the Tarmac SL8.  The first was a Tarmac SL8 Expert during a Specialized demo day at our shop.  The second was a series of rides on our S-Works demo bike.
 
Frankly I wasn’t blown away by the SL8 Expert level Tarmac.  The frame had a lively feel, was fast handling, but the heavy Sram Rival component group and Roval 38 wheels took away from the speed and feel.  I currently ride the deeper aero Roval Rapide CLX wheels, and they hold sustained high speed much better.
 
Specialized spec says a 56cm Expert level Tarmac weighs 17.2 pounds, so that puts it around 18 pounds with pedals cages and flat kit.  Not exceptional.  If I compare published weight for a 58cm frame and fork (size I ride) the Expert/Pro level 10R is 4.69 ounces heavier than the S-Works 12R frame and fork.  This is not really a huge difference.  Most of the weight over the 15-pound S-Works is coming from the heavier components.  I voiced my opinion to the Specialized demo rep, that I felt demo days are awesome, but they did this bike a disservice by picking the Expert specced bike.  The Pro level would have been more representative to the audience this bike is targeted at.
 
Fortunately, we were able to buy a 58cm S-Works demo bike.  I have been able to get some quality rides on this bike and it totally changed my impression.  This is hands down a pro racing bike!
 
The S-Works version has a 12R carbon frame and fork and Specialized lists the weight at 15 pounds 1.6 oz for the 56cm with the Shimano DuraAce spec.  The S-Works model is also the only spec that comes with the more aero Roval Rapide integrated bar/stem cockpit.  It also comes with excellent Roval Rapide CLX II wheels.
 
When evaluating any bike it is important to set it up to match your optimum bike fitting coordinates.  In this case I had no problem matching the seat’s XY position.  The bar height was good, but the bar XY reach was 10mm too short.  The 58cm frame was specced with a 44/110 bar stem combo.  I typically need a 120mm stem with this size bike, and most 58cm bikes come with a 120mm stem.
 
My first impression on the S-Works, was how light and lively the bike felt.  Agile and responsive, not overly stiff.  During some longer group rides the bike’s speed and change of speed surprised me a few times.  I had to drag the brakes not to overlap wheels until I got used to it.  This was certainly related the aerodynamics of the frame, wheels, and one-piece bar/stem.  I did a few flat-out sprints and the bike has that lively “snap” and was noticeably faster in my initial jump, than my current bike.  Great acceleration, love it!
 
As expected, the cockpit felt cramped with the bars being too close.  This became painfully obvious on a 85 mile group ride.  I also need (based on my shoulder width) and prefer a narrower bar that the stock 44’s.  Narrower bars are also better in respect to aerodynamics. There is a fix, but it is quite expensive.  Specialized offers 15 bar stem configurations (only 6 are not sold out) at the cost of $600.  Add another $200+ for labor to remove the old bars, route the cables, bleed the brakes, and add new tape.
 
But a bike at this price point should fit perfectly (as I explained above this is critical to comfort).  So, it’s worth doing a bike fitting before purchase to determine the size and bar/stem needed for your bike.  Or if you have a bike that fits great great I can take XY measurements off your current bike to see what is needed to match your new bike. 
 
Both BMC and Pinarello (with the Dogma) allow us to pick the bar/stem combo to match the rider’s fitting needs when we order a frame or even complete bike.  Specialized really should do this with the S-Works bikes.
 
CONCLUSION
 
The Tarmac SL8 is an awesome all-around racing bike!  The performance is hard to beat.  The Tarmac SL8 Pro has been our go-to racing bike in the $8000 price range.  And the S-Works has that magical feel offered by only the very top tier of racing bikes.
 
Come in and test ride one today and see for yourself.  We have a 54, 56, and 58 demo S-Works in stock and a 54, and 56 Pro.  A pro bike fitting is included with a road bike purchase.
 
Enjoy the ride!
 
Greg

We are excited to announce our new Heritage Jersey celebrating our support of the local cycling community for 27 years!  The retro themed jersey had our logo, Rest, Ride Repeat theme, and “97” which was the year we opened the shop. 
 
Our history is even printed on one of the inner pockets.
 
We partnered with Safetti to design and manufacturer this premium jersey.  The fabric is light and breathable, perfect for our climate.  The cut is club fit and the size runs true.  There is both a men’s and woman’s fitted jersey option.

We also have matching high quality bib shorts to complete the kit.
 
You can buy these at the store, or online.  They make the perfect cycling gift!

It's been stimulating being part of the new management team at Naples Cyclery.  Over the past year, we kept what worked, added fresh ideas, and changed what wasn't working.

One aspect of the bike industry that is dear to my heart is bike fitting.  I genuinely appreciate a bike that fits perfectly, and over the past 20 years, I have honed my bike fitting skills with thousands of bike fits.

For my customers, a bike fitting has always been an integral part of a road, gravel, or tri-bike purchase. 
Both pre-purchase to determine the bike models, sizes, and setup that will be ideal.  Then, our mechanics build the bike to match the bike fit data, followed by a final fitting when the customer picks up their bike.

When I came to Naples Cyclery, I felt the fitting studio, located in a cargo container inside of Fit and Fuel, was a hidden gem.  But I quickly learned in practice the space wasn't optimum.  The studio was dark and claustrophobic and had the added challenge of getting bikes and customers in and out of the container.  During the weekend, the container door was often totally blocked by the band.

With the restaurant's renovation to Bicyclette Cookshop, I was asked to relocate the fit studio into the bike shop.  I welcomed the idea.  The challenge was finding a suitable space that worked with the flow of the store.

I immediately thought of a space that was under-utilized in our store's prime retail square footage. 
When you walked in the front door, there was a boxed in area (floor to ceiling) that had slatwall for merchandise, and a storage area behind it.  The crazy thing is that the storage area blocked the front windows in that half of the store.  There was even a door hidden there!

I imagined removing the wall and opening the space to let the light in.  We would build the fit studio behind a half wall.  I marked out the space needed on the floor with painter's tape to confirm the change wouldn't disrupt the store traffic flow.

​I initially thought of having an angled wall that got wider as it went back, but Sue hated the idea, and we settled on having a rounded wall to smooth the flow.  This idea was better as it gave me even more space for the fit studio.  We discussed this with contractor Gus Barragan (who is also a cyclist), and he said no problem!

Gus and his team did a fantastic job converting the space!  

Our store now looks much bigger and has way more light.  Since the change, I've been super busy with bike fittings, with many fits tied to new bike sales.  It's a perfect space as it is separated enough to have privacy with the client I'm fitting, but it also allows other customers in the store to become intrigued about the process.  When they ask me about bike fitting, many hardcore cyclist enthusiasts say they have never had a bike fitting and question if they are even on the right size bike.

I love that bike fitting is now visible in our operation and has become a focal point.  Recently, Edwin Navez, the CEO of Assos Switzerland, visited, and he complimented us on our fit studio.  We share the same philosophy of the importance of bike fitting and even talked about the interrelationship between the saddle, bike short chamois thickness, and the impact on seat height.

It is so true that the optimum cycling experience is not just from the bike; it's also the fit and even the clothing.

Please email if you would like to schedule a bike fitting or want a free new bike consultation.

Enjoy the ride!

Greg Pelican