New Lights from Exposure

The complete family, something for everyone


Full range of optics

Exposure has unveiled a couple of new lights for the coming new season. The Toro and Diablo are all-new lights, dispatching with multiple small LEDs in favour of a single P7 emitter. Well, we say "single", the P7 actually contains four emitters but on a single chip. That leads to some interesting optical challenges to throw an even, useable beam, and Exposure has custom optics that combine diffusers, reflectors and lenses to produce what it reckons is the most even spread of light out there.

While the Toro and Diablo use the same 700 lumen emitter, the Toro has a three-cell battery while the Diablo uses just the one. That gives the Toro three hours runtime on full power, 10 on the middle setting and 24 on low, with the Diablo having one, three (and a bit) and eight respectively. The Diablo's dumbbell design gives the central section the same diameter as the existing Joystick despite having almost three times the output, and its low weight makes it eminently suitable for helmet mounting. The Toro is designed with handlebars in mind. One of each, then...


Diablo


Toro

All of these lights have Exposure's Smart Port socket at the back, which can be used to connect an array of piggyback lights, tail lights, aft-pointing flashers, remote switches, extra batteries and so on, as well as being where you plug the charger in.

Highs and Lows

Well Saturday didn't go according to plan. I posted a DNF for the race, but new PB's for 1min and 5min. The race was held from Tharwa to Apollo Road and return with four laps in total. The first time over Mt Tennant I hit 664w for 1 minute

and 389w (481w normalised) for 5 minutes.

I managed to get off the front once back on the flat with a bike shed rider... we worked to stayaway for about 18k, before being reeling back in just after the top of Mt Tennant for the second time. I drifted to the back and tried to recover before we went back over Mt Tennant again.
The third time up, my legs exploded and I called it a day with nothing on the line (My still registered with a Sydney club). Initally I was a bit bummed till I looked at the file and saw the number and magnitude of the efforts I made during the race.
I didn't end up racing the TT on the Sunday due to lack of motivation, with this week being about training.

The Unexpected
Got the call today from my Mum, seems my Nana is on deaths door so I may be making a trip back to NZ for the funeral.

Lazy Days

Well I'm had this week off work due to time accrued, so it's been all about doing SFA and riding my bike when I want...kinda like being a pro but with no pressure.
Have caught up with things around the house that I have been putting off for a few weeks, put in 3.5hrs around Stromlo yesterday 'cause I can and the weather was stellar.
Today's about opening the legs up for the ACT road champs tomorrow, probably be 20x 30sec efforts to get the racing feel back.

Drilling it

Sunday was the XC race at Sutton Road, with a chilly wake up to -5 degrees. Packing of an extra large bag of kit, thick Assos thermal jacket, 3/4 bibs, thermal undervest, light short sleeve and arm warmers, and my virgin long finger assos gloves. I made the decision on the previous Friday to race christen the Ventana, it's now set up with alonger set of legs (120mm Fox RLC forks) rather then the hardtail. The pre-ride of the course confirmed my choice with El Salt eating up all the bumps and not feeling slow up the long drag to the finish. The Suunto said that there was approximately 95m of climbing per lap, not epic but I knew it would snap the legs of all but the top 3 in Sports B over 4 laps. The gears weren't shifting right so a last minute tweak before the call up to the line.
While waiting for Paul to start his normal spiel about playing nice with the other children, I notice a dad and his two kids struggling trying to do some last minute wrench work on the kid's bike. So I rolled over and offered to help, seems the boy had been out and tweaked his rear derailleur dropping the spring. Dad had attempted to fix it but attached the spring incorrectly. It took me about a minute to realise what Dad had done, so there I am half listening to Paul drone on and for once hoping that he keeps going so I have a couple more minutes to get this spring reattached wrestling with the spring and a leatherman tool. After about 4 attempts I get the spring hooked on the correct post and then start tuning the gears....30 seconds later and we're done! Just as Paul is finishing and it's time to roll to the bottom of the hill for the start.
The proceeding grades are let off, my nemisis Luke Chapman has promoted himself up to Sport A so that's one less person to worry about. We get the call up, and I set myself up on the left hand side for a clear run up the hill. Announcer calls "Go" and we are off. The first 10 pedals strokes and no one has gassed it up the hill, so I hit the jets! Knowing that it's crucial to get a good position into the first single track section for the proceeding fire road grind. Leading around the corner and into the single track, I ease slightly to recover as I know someone is going to gas it up the next fire road climb. Now I can say from being here previously this is a huge mistake and if punch it this early you probably won't recover. Sure enough Tim Lawley jumps me, giving it death to create a gap into the next section. Riding like it's the last lap and not the first he soon disappears into the tree's of the next section. At this stage I'm just keeping it steady not panicking, I know this course has a nasty sting in it's tail if you gas it too early. 1/4 of the way through the lap Sean Martin kicks past on a fire road section so I have someone to follow through to the bottom of the loop.
I sit behind Sean as the course turns from rolling/ downhill to uphill climb/ grind. I can see that he is having trouble the leg's aren't spinning but grinding but I am determined to use him for all he's worth. At the top of the climb, I jump Sean and skip across to Tim who we have managed to peg back, he's now well and truly paying for his first laps burst. I get across the gap and recover as we cross the finish line for the first time. I come around Tim to lead through the first section and onto the fireroad...and that's the last time I see anyone. Slowly opening the taps up fire road and I'm gone, applying pressure on the up-hills and relaxing on the flat, the strategy works no ones coming back. Crossing the line at the finish the gap is out to 50 seconds and I have myself my first MTB win in about 14 years.

Post Race Analysis
Looking at the output file from the race powers up by 10w for the same heart rate. Comparing this race to the previous the PE was only about a 7.5 where as the Sparrow race was about a 9.

Confession Time

Confession time
"O Madonna del Ghisallo, it has been 3 months since I turned a crank on a road bike in anger... and it showed on Saturday"
I rocked up to race the Canberra Cycling Clubs Iron Mike race from Stromlo. The race is held in memory of club hardman from the early 80's, Mike Paral.
The Iron Mike is regarded as one of the toughest race on the Canberra calendar. At 50km per lap, the race is held on a demanding undulating course that includes four major climbs per lap, including the 3km climb back out of Uriarra.
Before the race I was considering whether to sandbag a bit and enter B grade, or man-up and race A. I decided that if there were 1 or less Drapac riders A grade otherwise B grade from me.
I rode out to the start a gentle 15k along the bike paths to warm-up until I thought I was going to cut it a bit fine and hammered the last 3k to the start to find a line 20 deep. Seeing no Drapac riders, I signed up for A grade. Getting the call while still unloading the pockets and trying to pin your number on is never good for the nerves put I held it together and managed to get a bit of extra time as someone punctured on the start line.
The roll out and first 10k was a cruise basically till be hit the climb out of the crossing for the first time, the it was full noise up the climb and along the next 5k of rolling road. And this is where my lack of road racing showed, after being pinned in the gutter for the 5k across the top the legs gave the rest of my body the big two fingers and exploded leaving me waving good bye to the bunch as it cruised off into the distance. As I was riding along by myself I started to think do I just turn around and head for home or wait for B grade and hook up to the back of them for the rest of the race?
I decided to hard the f&*k up, I waited for B and jumped on the back of them rather then all it early. In time we picked up another couple of A graders who had been spat including Brad Morton who sifted with on the back of the bunch till the final time out of the crossing back to Stromlo.
I really felt for the B graders there towards the end....as the gaps started opening we would sit there not help, wait till it got big enough then jump the gap and leave some poor bastard stranded. This was especially true on the final climb out of the crossing and up the 3 sisters. There were 4 B graders left chasing 2 just off the front with tagged on the back not helping. The fourth rider lost it on the final rise up to the top, with the gap just at a marginal 30 metres cresting the top. I'm sitting behind, trying to encourage this poor guy to keep it together, keep focused and he'll get back. Amount 500m after the top of the climb, he let's out a loud scream of "F&*k" and sits up. I rather sheepishly say "Sorry" and jump him to close the gap and ride off the other three.
All up it was a great workout/ blow out before the XC race at Sutton Road on Sunday, 130k and 250TSS for the day.

Dilemma!

Hardtail or Dually...for the XC race on Sunday?

I'm leaning towards the Dually, info is the track has been ripped up by the motocross guys. So I'm think it's going to be faster and slightly less painful on the Dually.

It never rains...it's a flood

Well things started going downhill late last week, the car got pinged for havng worn tires so had to pay to get them replaced. Sunday, I punctured while out training on the MTB (One of the only times I didn't have a spare! f%^k) so had to rim it home....very slowly. Got home and the wife informs me the coffee machine has sh@t it's self again... here is hoping they replace it this time. Riding to site today my ipod bounced of the back pocket and then across half the road before coming to a stop. My helmet light dieing halfway through and then to top the day off some c^&t stole one our work signs.
To put how stupid this is into perspective... these signs are approximatly 1.5m wide by 1m high. The person that took it actually spent the time to unscrew the sign face from the frame and put it into their vechicle cause it probably wouldn't fit.
After this effort for the last couple of days, I decided riding home wasn't the best course of action...I would have probably been run over.

Training
On a more important note the training is going great, the loads on the increase...just need a bit more racing to get some more speed into the legs. CORC have a XC race this weekend at Sutton Road. And next weekend in the ACT road champs with the road race on the Saturday and the TT on the Sunday.

Shout out
Goes to Big Jase on his second place for young old bastards, at the 24hrs of Adreneline....with a broken wrist no less! have a surf over to his blog for all the details