New S-Works Shiv Di2 getting built up today. Come & check it out

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S-Works Shiv Di2

We ignored UCI rules and designed the Shiv exclusively for triathlon: with unmatched aerodynamics, the Fuelselage integrated hydration system, and a huge range of fit adjustability. The S-Works FACT IS 11r carbon frame, Zipp 404 wheels, and Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain make the S-Works an ultralight, crazy fast package.

Features

  • The ultimate frame for all distances of triathlon, this S-Works FACT IS 11r carbon frame with OSBB is optimized for crosswinds and the most aerodynamic race-ready frame anywhere
  • S-Works FACT carbon monocoque fork with crosswind-optimized airfoils is stiff and stealthy for precision steering and max speed
  • Specialized S-Works FACT carbon OSBB crankset with TT chainrings, removable carbon spider, and ceramic bearings, combined with state-of-the-art Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting for ultralight, smooth performance
  • Fuelselage™ integrated hydration system keeps your fluids hidden inside the down tube for ergonomic fueling and optimal aerodynamics
  • New, fully adjustable, Specialized Carbon Aerobar with semi-integrated aero stem adjusts to fit any rider
  • Stiff, light, contoured Body Geometry Romin Evo Pro saddle positions the rider for optimal power transfer and comfort
  • Lightweight, Shiv FACT carbon aero seatposts are reversible, with 12.5mm and 37.5mm offset options, for wide range of saddle fit (both included)

Project Black Venge a bit too plain? Taking deposits for Limited Edition Venge WC 46 Frames

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S-Work Venge WC 46

If you are in to the latest and greatest of the Specialized Bikes and Frames, you will know the Venge is where it is, at the moment.

The Project Black Frames whilst rare now, will prove to be popular for 2012. The McLaren Venge will be something to covet, but at $18000 might be out of your budget.

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Hampton Cycles will have something for you

The WC 46 Frame to commemorate Cav's World Championship win and the 46 years since Briton Tom Simpson won it last will only be available in small numbers - 10 in Australia.

The Black on Black with Chrome highlights through the inside of the Chainstays and seatstays and forks, Is just that little bit different. Stealth with a touch of Bling.

Contact us on 03 9521 8700 or email info@hamptoncycles.com.au to secure your frameset.

$4499

Just think how good this frame will look built up.

 

Leigh

Read here about Specialized S-Works Turbo tyres and why the latest are so much better

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S-Works Turbo mounted to my awesome ENVE 45 clinchers

I have trained on, raced on, recommended Conti GP4000S tyres for the past 2-3 years with great all round durability, relatively good handling and speed to their durability. In my opinion no other tyre I had tried ticked all 3 boxes as high as these Clincher tyres.

I had tried the previous edition Specialized S-Works tyres last year and managed to get 2 different punctures in 2 days on a brand new pair. Not what my faithful Conti's had ever done. Hey it might have been bad luck, but they definitely werent going to be for me for an everyday tyre. Sure the S-Works seemed to handle better than the GP4000S's but I wasn't keen on changing tyres every 1000kms or so.

My 2012 S-Works Venge came with the Specialized S-Works tyres as standard on them and I just figured I would ride them until they cut up and wore out. Hey who throw's out new tyres?

I was really impressed with how they handled again and their feeling to me, of low rolling resistance and speed whilst still being comfortable to ride on. I had put in 1000 odd kms and was surprised to see they were still cut and nick free both front and rear and hadn't missed a beat. This through the wet weather that Melbourne had through winter, that usually destroys my tyres.

2000kms in and Damo and I were both commenting on how much better they were than the last time we tried them. So I did a little research and remembered meeting a German guy last year at a Specialized launch and that he had previously worked at Continental as their R&D guru. the penny dropped, these were his new tyres for Specialized. Wolf Vorm Walde is his name so I googled it and came up with this interesting little interview that Jared Gruber did with him at Peleton magazine

Place http://pelotonmagazine.com/Chatter/content/18/849/Wolf-Vorm-Walde in your browser if the link doesn't work.

Now almost 3500kms in, still no punctures, the back tyre is starting to show signs of debris having a go at the tyre and is starting to square off a bit. Super impressed with them thus far and have absolutley no hesitations in recomending these to anyone wanting a high performance Racing tyre that you can leave on to train with.

The 2 items on my bike that I am most attached to and would never thought I would change are my Specialized Romin saddle and what were my GP4000S.

With these new tyres -No more GP4000S for me.

Leigh

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700x23c standard.

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Suppliant 220 tpi with Blackbelt Puncture protection is working for me.

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The biggest cut in the tyre and its still didnt puncture!

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Hard to show the squaring off.

 

These babies RRP at $99 each but at Hampton Cycles we are doing introductory pairs at $140. Come in and give them a try. You wont be dissappointed.

 

Green S-Works Venge Frameset in store only 10 in Australia. More Project Black Venge frames too

Green, the colour of the Sprint Jersey at the Tour De France.

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Green, the colour of the bike Mark Cavendish rode along the Champs Elysee to victory to win his first Green Jersey.

Now you can ride the same bike as Cav, Come check it out in store.

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54 cm and 58 cm Project Black Venge frames back in stock. Be quick as these wont last!!!

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@zipp_USA 303 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers Beyond Black in store. Super Limited Availability. Who wants these?

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The Zipp 303 Carbon Clincher Firecrest Profile, Beyond Black Colourway.

Only 15 pairs in Australia at the moment, Better be quick if you want these Bad Boys!

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Buy them before Damo thinks they are his!

Taken from Zipp.com

In the past two years, the 303 has emerged as one of the most formidable wheels in the Pro Peloton, with wins in the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, and more. Its speed, light weight, and utter reliability have been proven in pro cycling's most demanding races.

In 2010, the 303 made history by becoming the first carbon wheelset to win cycling's Cobbled Classics on the brutal roads of both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Its wider rim provided extra durability, and improved aerodynamics. That wider rim led to the development of our revolutionary Firecrest Platform, and now the revolution has come full circle.

The 303 has been completely redesigned with Firecrest shaping. The Carbon Clincher preserves the aerodynamic advantages of its tubular brother, while adding the convenience of a clincher tire. And at just 1498 grams, it's light enough to climb up the steepest gradients with ease.

All of the hallmark characteristics of the 303 have improved with the Firecrest Carbon Clincher. The Firecrest shaping optimizes the aerodynamic profile of both the front half and the back half of the wheel. In addition, Firecrest moves the center of pressure of the wheel backwards, giving the 45mm-deep rim the crosswind stability a box-section rim. At the same time, the 26.2mm-wide brake track allows the clincher tire to take on a wider, more stable shape without compromising rolling resistance. It's faster, simpler, and more stable. Or as technical director Josh Poertner puts it, Firecrest is “lightning in a bottle.”

The new wheels retain all the small details that make Zipp wheels what they are. Exposed spoke nipples sit in the aerodynamic shadow of the rims, keeping serviceability simple without compromising speed. And our signature ABLC™ rim dimples squeeze every last second of performance possible. To complete the package, Zipp has refined its venerable 88/188 hubset, reshaping the hub body, canting the non-drive side flange by 8 degrees and moving the bearing out by 7.5mm to increase overall stiffness and strength. The complete wheelsets come in two distinct colors. The stealthy Beyond Black versions feature black anodized hubs, black spokes, and black decals. The Falcon Grey wheelsets have a more classic look, with gray anodized hubs, silver spokes and white decals.

Total Weight 1498g
Tire Bead Inside to Inside 16.25mm
Brake Track Top 23.34mm
Brake Track Bottom 28mm
Recommended Tire Width 23-32mm
Max recommended rider weight 225lbs
Front Wheel
Weight 680g
Rim Used x45
Hub Used 88
Rim Depth 45mm
Aero Width 28.50mm
Spoke Count 18
Spoke Pattern Radial
Spoke Length 258mm
Max Tire Pressure 125psi
Track Adaptable Yes
Dimpled Surface Yes
Ceramic Bearing After-market
External Nipples Yes
Rear Wheel
Weight 818g
Rim Used x45
Hub Used 188
Rim Depth x45mm
Aero Width 28.5mm
Nominal Tire Bed Width 17.25mm
Spoke Count 24
Spoke Length Non-Drive 258mm
Spoke Pattern Non-Drive Cross
Spoke Pattern Drive Radial
Spoke Length Drive 246mm
Max Tire Pressure 125psi
Track Adaptable No
Dimpled Surface Yes
Ceramic Bearing After-market
External Nipples Yes

Glenvale Crit with @cccyclingclub @c_ports @lsd_snr @hampton_cycles @stalds

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Damo @ DeLuca discussing Tactics - DeLuca I am going to attack all day, Damo Uh Oh!

After rolling up to Sandown on Tuesday night for my first A grade race it was time to back it up with a Sunday morning crit at Glenvale.  Shop owner Damian Jones and Craig Porter made up the Hampton Cycles contingent ably assisted by Leigh 'I'm not ready yet' Schilling who spent the morning behind the camera lens and filling his two young daughters with Coke (hopefully his wife reads this blog!)

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Proof of the Coke intake

 

The sun was out, the conditions were great and when I rolled up and received $45 prize money from last year's B grade effort the day couldn't have started any better.  How quickly things can change....

 

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Quality Field just here

Standard pre race routine saw Ports and I warm up with a ride down to Glenvale where we hooked up with Damo just before the race. As soon as things got underway it was obvious that this was going to be a much harder race than my first A grade one 5 nights earlier.  An early break leapt away and the chase was on with the rest of the field being worked over in an attempt to bring things back.  This was where things started to go to custard.  After moving forward to be near the front of the chase group I found myself sitting second wheel and next thing I'm looking around to see a gap opened up behind and we are half way across which seemed like a good idea at the time but not for long. 

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Muzza realising his mistake about here

Next thing it's my turn on the front and feeling obligated after following the wheel for a while I gave it everything in an attempt to get across what was left of the gap.  This wasn't B grade which I soon realised as I made little impact on the gap and had no choice but to retreat to what would hopefully be the safety of the bunch.  Wrong again - with lungs burning I slotted back in and battled away for another 5 or so laps but the effort had cooked me and it was game over.

 

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Ports copping a spray from DeLuca for dropping the wheel - Who needs friends?

 

From the comfort of the side of the road I watched Damo turn himself inside out in a break of 10 that worked hard in an attempt to stay away and Ports working overtime to maintain good position in what was a strung out bunch in pursuit. 

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Damo starting to suffer

Some big efforts from the chasers saw them reeled in only to see another break go clear which would prove to be the winning one.  The bunch tried hard to pull them back and a big turn on the last lap from Ports was only enough to bring the bunch to within 50 metres at the find bend but it wasn't enough and the break held on with 2006 Commonwealth Games Points Race Gold Medallist Sean Finning taking the chocolates. 

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Ports giving it a last ditch effort to chase down the break

If there was any consolation the CV of the winner highlights the quality of the field and it's not a bad effort for a few old dads to be going around in what is some of the most competitive crit racing around.  Looking forward to keeping my nose out of the wind in the next outing.

 

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Wokka Showboating - He loves the camera whilst Stalder drives it as usual

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Damo & Ports trying to recover

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DeLuca on another attack

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Damo trying to hold on

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Ports turn to showboat - 2 hands on the bars in a corner mate

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race report by Muzza

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Damo looking pooped

Look what we built week - Project Black Venge

The third of the bikes this week is simple... its black. Nothing more was really required in the brief.

At this stage the still rare Project Black S-Works Venge is a sight to see, I am guessing by the enquiries we are getting you will see a few more of them around the streets.

A set of Zipp 404 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers was in need........ Black - Check

SRAM Red groupset is it available in Black? - Check

Carbon Bars Black? - Check.

Saddle in Black  Check

Bartape yes we have that in Black - Check

Pedals - Sure, Dura Ace Carbons are Black- Check

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Check it out? She is nice and stealthy

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Clean and Aero and Black

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SRAM Red Black.

Cant wait to see you out on it mate!

Look what we built week-Tarmac SL4 Di2 Saxo Bank

What a joy it is to work in the bike industry when you get to help clients build up their dream bikes and you are having as much fun and enjoyment about the whole process as they are.

This Saxo Bank Build kicked off a couple of weeks ago with a phone call and a simple question asking when are they available?

Well the when was answered so we got to work. The client had a set of wheels in his soon to be posession for this build, the rest of it was still up for some discussion and recommendations.

We talked through the groupsets, crank options, pretty quick decisions here. Di2 and those popular S-Works Carbon cranks.

Bar and stem moved from Zipp Contour to Vuka Sprint, Speed stem and SL145 to the Specialized S-Works shallow and S-Works stem.

Saddle was easy - S-Works Toupe Carbon in white.

A little more bling was needed so the choice to add in some Ceramicspeed jockey wheels in the oh so out of colour Red and the White cable outer and anodized red Brake cable ends. White Bar tape just finished it off nicely.

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Pretty sure this is Tim's Favourite build this year.

The paint details on this frame is quite something, its pretty simple from some angles but intricate from others.

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This machine weighed in at 6.4kg with pedals and cages in a 56cm with the Zipp 404 Tubs on it. Cant wait to see where it ends up with those Lightweights?

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The lighter wheels, saddle, chainrings, jockey wheels all add up to be a S#%t hot looking bike. Different enough to stand out, but not to the level that in 1-2 years it looks out of date.

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He was almost convinced to get the Enve 45's as well until his other wheels showed up.

Cant wait to hear how she rides

 

Look what we built week-Tarmac SL4 Di2 Race Black

Scott wanted a Venge, like many of us fell in love with everything the Venge stands for - Speed, Power, Strength, Masculinity. It just oozes that stuff, but Scott likes to climb, he likes to cruise, he doesnt want to feel older after he gets off the bike, than before he got on it. His home turf is rough chipseal roads that meander through the hills of the Mornington Peninsula

We had several discussions about some options and recommendations and came up with what you see below.

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The reason we went for the Tarmac was for its all round capabilities, Its super stiff BB, Incredibly light and stiff, yet still compliant frame and its ability to smoke it up a hill. Whilst softening out some of the body jarring bumps on those back country roads

Tipping in at 6.6kg without pedals, (bottle cages were added after the photo) This Shimano Di2 marvel was specced almost exactly the same as the soon to be released out of the box bike. The only way that was going to happen was if we built it.

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Justin adding some finishing touches.

In the end it looks amazing, the ever popular Matt Black Frame, contrasted with different shades of black and white rather than colour keep the overall appearance clean but striking.

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Internal cables keep it clean and simple.

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Glossy Black highlights to break up all that Matt Black set the frame off.

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Clean exit point for the Di2
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2012 design Roval wheels, stiffer than before, The increasingly popular S-Works Satin Black crankset with Compact Rings for those hills this beast will be tackling. Di2 Battery kept low but accessible.

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The man meets his machine during his BG Fit where we tuned this baby to fit him like a glove. Sorted out a sore hip issue, discovered a small leg length discrepency, and allowed him for the first time to not feel like he was squashing his man bits when reaching the drops.

Look forward to hear how she rides, was a pleasure to build both from concept to reality.

2011 Australian Masters 2 Road Race Report Ballarat by @c_ports with Gus

Race report

Saturday 8th September

 

A rare opportunity for a Saturday morning sleep in. My ride was showing up at 9.00am.

Fellow shop rider Angus McDonald and I were all set for a road trip to Ballarat for Australian Masters Road race. Driving over the Pentlands the weather wasn’t doing much to encourage us, it remained dark and gloomy threatening rain. I had vivid memories of last years race, strong cross winds hail and rain, Ballarat can be a nasty place this time of year.

We eventually found our way to the course after briefly getting lost amongst the network of farms and poorly sign posted country roads, the course this year circled Lake Learmonth and the breeze off the lake was so cold. Because of our poor navigation we were a little pressed for time and the much needed warm up, never eventuated.

The race this year was very well organised, a good section of closed roads, neutral spares and plenty of people on hand to assist with registrations and commissioning.

Thankfully for Gus and I the initially pace was easy going, being a new course to many of us, I believe most of the field was keen to site the climbs on the first lap. We were destined to do 6 laps. Each lap almost 16km in length. The first 6 km gradually rolled over two climbs no more than 3%.

The breeze was in our favour, coming in from the North West it was on out tails for the more open parts of the race which pushed the down hill speed upwards of 60 to 70kph each lap.

The second lap the race began to find it’s rhythm.

We’d had a stern warning from the commissaries’ before the race about team tactics but thankfully no body really had a strong team or support. Most riders where there with their own interests or just didn’t have the strength in the team to influence the pace.

Many times throughout the next few laps riders rolled the dice at the top of the second climb, the strong field though never willing to give the leaders more than 100m. It wasn’t until 3 to go that some of the favourites really starter to show their cards. None more heavily marked the Cycleworks Tom Leaper. Tom’s reputation was his un doing and in a lot of ways would be the theme of this race.

Angus made some very strong contributions on the 3 lap, forcing the tempo and stretching the group over the climbs.

Some of the strong riders tried using this lift in tempo to mark their attacks, but the attacks were well covered, often by the same 5 or 6 guy’s. Nobody really had the interest or maybe the legs to push on with the attacks, the tempo would drop and the back third of the field would regain position.

 

At this stage Angus and I where very well placed, waiting patiently to pounce on a dangerous move.

Tom Leaper was the catalyst for almost every move in the final two laps, with a few notable exceptions. What Tom needed was a second rider to counter attack his moves, but no body wanted to go off the front with Tom, me included, knowing all to well he’d leave you buried 2km from home.

I did however roll the dice once in riding across a gap to join 6 riders 100m up the road, but we too were slowly pulled back in by small groups of riders.

Eventually this trend continued until the final lap, on the down hill a few riders rolled the dice and went for gold a few km’s from home. The bunch had this under control, maybe too much under control, everyone wanted to be on the front for the final narrow 1.5km. Angus and I both had terrible position in the pack and everything we moved on was closed out or ran out of road. It wasn’t too long until the inevitable happened. A touch of wheels and bars and riders were sent scurrying into the grass, this was my way through!

Quickly I moved forward about 20 riders but I was sitting on the outside, the commotion had sparked the front 20 riders into an early sprint, still more than 800m to go and we were already up on our gears and hitting 60kph. Heads where dropping and riders were loosing form, I took the safest option and road an outside line the whole way on a left hand sweeper. I knew a podium was out of reach, but I desperately wanted to finish on “same time” so I stuck to the saddle and pushed around as many riders as I could.

Credit to the podium, it was a day where only a strong sprinter would prevail.

As it turned out, both Angus and I rode as well as we’d hoped, we both had an influence on the race at times and we were always prominent in the group. The weather warmed up considerably and most importantly we both stayed up right.

A race like this one only builds your confidence and keeps you keen for the next opportunity.

That opportunity will be for us, Shepparton in two weeks.