I'm pretty much excited to get the new Hyundai Tucson. This will be released today. I'll try to write about this car as much as I can.

Our family have been very much biased over Hyundai cars for almost a decade now. My father have purchased more Hyundai cars over Japanese brands probably his whole life. He used to be a Toyota guy. He probably still is, having seen him secretly lurking in Toyota's website. But when it comes to comparing values, he ends up getting a Hyundai.

My brother, now a family man, conveniently drives his 2nd generation Tucson (ix35 in other countries) since he was still courting his now wife. All those years, the car was trouble free. I was impressed that he spent a lot less than me on repairs, parts, and gas. I don't even think he spent anything on replacement parts.

Having grown up watching Japanese race cars, I made sure my first car would be something bred from the same house. I drove a Mitsubishi Lancer. It doesn't handle quite like it's four wheel drive turbo charged counterparts but they are connected to the first degree.

Jumping now to the family's Hyundai bandwagon just felt as if you've stepped over the yellow line in the metro platform. It's dangerous but no widow maker.

This model is the GLS variant of the current Philippine Tucson line. We were all set to get the GL version with all the documents fixed and awaiting the release. But there is a problem. The GL comes only with standard keys. The kind of which where, like in the olden days, you stick in the cylinder to unlock. What happened Hyundai? This is a modern car. Even the previous generation has got the remote key.

Another issue that broke our deal with the GL is that it doesn't have the factory back up sensors. As a manly man, who expertly backs up on tight clearances without any electronic help, this is not an issue for me. But eventually it will be, as the wife will also be driving it. I do care more about the longevity of that big rear end. Adding a third party back up sensors are out of the picture. I have this no hole drilling and wire splicing on brand new cars rule. Other than these two issues, we would have been very happy with the GL model.

Going back to the GLS, it doesn't have the bells and whistles as you'd probably see all over the YouTube reviews. This top end variant does not even have the automatic air conditioning you'd read on Top Gear Philippine's review (One would think Hyundai Philippines brought the most spec'd out model  . While it lacks the features you'd expect in a car at this price point, I do favor it being a bit less exuberant electronically. The parts will probably be cheaper, easier to source, and lesser wires to tinker with.

See you on the road

American Classic 420 Aero 3 Weights (Informal)

Hi guys,

We will be informally weighing the 2016 American Classic 420 Aero 3 wheelset. The test subjects have tires, tubes and a cassette installed, of which I don't have the actual weights. We will just subtract the advertised weights from the values that came up from the scale.

Front wheel:

- Continental Grand Prix 4000 SII with about 2,300 kms on them

- Continental Race Inner Tubes. with about 2,300 kms on them

Total weight is 996 grams.
The weight of the tires would be 225 grams as advertised by the manufacturer.
The weight of the tubes are around 65 grams.

The test wheels have no Quick Releases installed. For stock American Classic QR weights, you can check out this entry: http://quezongritty.blogspot.com/2016/08/american-classic-420-aero-3-skewers.html

Less the tires and tubes, the front wheel comes to about 706 grams. In American Classic's website, their front wheel is advertised as 663 grams.

Rear Wheel:

- Continental Grand Prix 4000 SII with about 2,300 kms on them

- Continental Race Inner Tubes. with about 2,300 kms on them

Total weight is 1448 grams.
The weight of the tires would be 225 grams as advertised by the manufacturer.
The weight of the tubes are around 65 grams.
The weight of the Shimano 105 11-28 cassette would be 227 grams.

Less the tires, tubes and cassette, the front wheel comes to about 931 grams. In American Classic's website, their rear wheel is advertised as 867 grams.

My wheelset pair would be around 1,637 grams.

American Classic 420 Aero 3 Skewers Weight

I finally got the time to weigh my 2016 American Classic 420 Aero 3 stock quick release skewers. The skewers that came with the wheelset are CroMo variant. While it does not say anywhere in the provided literature that it is indeed CroMo, the weight does relatively match the advertised weights.

For comparative purposes, these are the weights as declared by American Classic:

Front CroMo: 46 grams

Rear CroMo: 48 grams

Pair: 94 grams

These are the actual weights supplied with the wheelset

Front CroMo: 48 grams

Rear CroMo: 51 grams

Pair: 99 grams

The wheelset is relatively brand new. Used for 1 month and 10 days now with less than 500 kilometers under its belt. There may be some dirt or road particles that lurk in its metallic crevices that got weighed in as well.

Below are the photos of the actual weights. 

PRO PLT Stem Weight

How much does this stem weigh?

Product Information:

Brand: Pro

Model: PLT

Angle: +/-10 degrees

Length: 90 millimeters

Weight: 123 grams

The PLT line is basically placed in the middle in PRO's spectrum of aluminum stem products, with LT at the bottom and Vibe 7s a notch higher. Not bad at 123 grams for a mid ranged stem. There are some Vibe 7s models with the same angle and length which weighs 125 grams. The graphics in this latest model are very toned down and would definitely augment an aesthetically clean looking bike, a stark contrast to PRO's higher end offerings.

Zipp Service Course SL Weight

How much does this stem weigh?

Product Information:

Brand: Zipp

Model: Service Course SL

Angle: +/-17 degrees

Length: 90 millimeters

Weight: 120 grams

The finish is glossy with a gentle luster. Some models of this stem has white graphics. This stem however has a matte black graphics making it a bit concealed for that tasteful stealth finish. The only edges you'll see in this stem are the seams and the "craters" where the steerer tube and handle bars go through. This is a gorgeous stem.

American Classic 420 Aero 3 with Tires

A comment from Altimis Nuel in this entry asked if I can provide photos of the American Classic 420 Aero 3 rim profile with the tires on. He wrote: 

Mark A, I need your help please.
I want to ask a pic of vertical/frontal of the American Classic 420 aero 3. I want to take a look if tire/rim width is perfectly hooked with no "mushroom/muffin" bobhead effect or not.
Planned to buy one but I can't find anyone provide me a good close look of tire/rim section.
Thanks in advanced, your bike is really beautiful :)

Dear Altimis Nuel,

I have no knowledge of posting photos on the comments section of my blogs. What I can do instead is create a new one for the sake of your inquiry. I'm pretty sure you are not the only one who is wondering this matter. Like you, I do make extensive research about a product before making any big purchase.

The 420 Aero 3 is the 2016 model which is wider than the previous iteration. The sections below shows the difference between the 2016 model to the previous model. 

Now that the rim profile difference is laid out, it is evident that the 2016 model is 3mm wider and a rounder. The bead hooks are noticeably slimmer. You'd wonder why how they'll catch the tire beads.

The tires mounted on my bike are Continental Grand Prix 4000 S II 700 x 25c. The following photos show the overall profile of the rim and tire together.

The tires slightly extends outward about 2-3mm. This is good for protecting your rims. Looking from far away, you'd think that they are flush.

From this angle, you'd see less rubber sticking out. You might have zero mushroom bobhead if you use 23c tires.

I hope this post will help you decide on picking up a pair of 420's. I would recommend this wheelset, having used it for some time now. These wheels are the lightest all aluminum set I can get locally. If not for the big price difference among other all aluminum rims here, the 420 Aero 3 would have won the best value for me. Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG's are sold here for about half the price of the 420 Aero 3. If you have more questions, hit me up in the comments section.

Thank you.

Mark A

Hey cool it's the Fabric Cageless Water Bottle. It comes with mounts that you can bolt on directly to your bicycle frame. The water bottle has slots at the back that clings onto the mounts. While not really the world's first, this is an ingenious idea to save weight.

The absence of cages will create clean lines around your frame. If you are into neat looking bikes, then this might be what you need. Most cages out there looks aggressive and fast sometimes makes your bike look cluttered especially when the are no bottles mounted.

It does need a bit of practice to perfect mounting it back to the frame. Honestly, the first day I rode with this, I had to stop every time I had to return the bottle. You'll almost lose faith in this product. Some pro-cageless reviews stated that I will not be hard to re-mount it as you don't rotate the bottle in your hands while you take a squeeze at it. I thought this makes sense but in real world practice, it is really hard.

You'd have to give it a strong pull to get the bottle out of the mounts. The same amount of force is needed to push it back into place. But you have to get the slots aligned first, a tedious job for first timers.

The entire package came with 2 sets of bolts and mounts. In this product, it came with 2 black and 2 white mounts.

Mounted on a white colored frame, it looked like this. Clean!

I'm still sitting on the fence with this idea. The clean aesthetic looks weighs just the same as the practicality and user-friendliness. Which do I choose?

I might just buy Elite cages next time.

Pro Falcon AF Saddle Initial Thoughts

My current saddle is from a stock saddle from a Cannondale CAAD8 built bike. It was soft and comfortable that riding without padded shorts will be an enjoyable experience. My ass loved it for most of the time. The only problem is that you'll see a huge Cannondale name splashed all over the top. It doesn't quite fit in for a Giant TCR bike. If I'm going to swap the old saddle out for a different one, might as well pick one that is lighter.

324 grams for the stock Cannondale CAAD8 saddle

The saddle choices available locally are endless. I've seen brand new cheap ones from Php1,900.00 (USD 40.15) up to Php19,000 (USD 401.15) very expensive ones. The Italian made saddles are very expensive. You can get an equally good non-Italian saddle for half the price. I've never owned an Italian saddle in my life but online reviews are not leaning towards absolute heavenly greatness. There are some butts out there tend to feel otherwise. My search is now on to better valued saddles.

Today is the 10th day of the Tour de France 2016 edition. I've been following it with a little bias towards Team Giant Alpecin. I was never a fan of them before because of the ugly kit they are sporting but now I have been rooting for them albeit slightly. My bike is nowhere near anything Italian (I have mostly Taiwanese and American brands on it but everything is Taiwan made) and Team Giant Alpecin has Pro components. This made my saddle brand selection a bit easier.

If you want to view the my current bike as of this writing, click here.

PRO's saddle selector program gave me three shape options. Falcon, Turnix, and Griffon. The Falcon and Griffon are bad ass looking creatures. The turnix though, is not. If Pro has a different bad ass predator Turnix in mind other than the button quail that Google provided, then I might be wrong. The Falcon falls under the flat saddle shape.

215 grams for the Pro Falcon AF

A quick plunge down the scales yields a weight of 215 grams. Weight-wise, this goes head to head directly with Selle Italia's Flite Flow with same 316 Ti rails (210 grams on paper). But weight bears little weight on saddle talk. What's more important is the fit and comfort.

Just for comparison, this is a list of available saddles in the 200g range and their current Philippine market price. The following are arranged from cheapest to most expensive.

• Pro Falcon Hollow AF
• 215g (205g advertised) 
• Php 2,980 (USD 63.13)
• Pro Turnix Hollow
• 205g
• Php 2,975 (USD 63.02)
• Fizik Arione CX
• 205g
• Php 3,90 (USD 82.62)
  
  
• Selle Italia Flite Team Edition
• 215g
• Php 6,500 (USD 137.70)
• Selle Italia Flite Flow
• 210g
• Php 7,500 (USD 158.88)
• Selle Italia SLR Kit Flow
• 200g
• Php 8,000 (USD 169.47)
• Prologo Nago Evo CPC
• 206g
• Php 12,000 (USD 254.21)

For less than 10 grams difference, I cannot justify the huge price difference. You can buy another Pro saddle even before it wears out.

The saddle looks like a plateau.

I've only used this saddle for a couple of kilometers. Not long enough for a proper review. But my initial thoughts is that while the thin profile felt a bit flimsy, it gave a firmer and more stable ride compared to the old stock Cannondale saddle. Even though the old saddle position and angle was copied for the new one, there's still a need for some fine tuning.

I'd prefer raw finish for the rails as the scratches would be less evident. I'd prefer the blue rubber branding though.

Before fiddling with the idea of using PRO saddles, I've come acquainted with Italian brand saddles, especially those mentioned above. While I've never gotten the chance to try them all, partially because I might be compelled to buy after a week long saddle loan, I did get to squeeze the hell out of their padding. One will assume that mid to high range performance saddles, regardless of brand, felt that way. Not on this Falcon saddle though. You can really see your fingers dig in. At that point at the store I told myself I had to get it.

The white graphics on the saddle lines up nicely to the white seat post.

Don't mind the dog. He always gets in the way of everything. I'd say if he has human legs, he'd ride my bikes. I've already cycled through 5 bikes while he's around, not counting the bikes of my brothers.

My wife ain't even worried about how my balls are doing with all the hours spent riding bikes.

The "Air Flow" in this saddle, at first glance, is a bit narrow for me (he he he). But it conveniently exposes the knob at the clamp for easy adjusting. You can turn it from the bottom if you have little fingers. You might get a different experience with a different seat post.

The front faux carbon fiber trim is skewing to the right a bit. This is what you don't deal with with Italian hand made saddles.

The graphics are done tastefully in my opinion but I would've picked the latest iteration with less white color. Pro could've done away with the carbon fiber part as it is obviously fake. It does cheapens the overall package considering this is in the top area of Pro's performance range.

Now that the physical aspect of this saddle has been fairly discussed, I shall move on to riding it and write how it felt.

Shimano RS11 Weight

In today's blog entry, let us weigh the Shimano RS11.

The wheels are used, with about 1500 kms on them. The hubs were recently repacked by a competent mechanic. Please take note that the weighing scale is not on the professional side and there are no means for me to calibrate it.

The front wheel, without skewers weigh 829 grams.

The rear wheel, without skewers weigh 1104 grams.

The skewers both weigh 123 grams. This brings us to a total of 2,056 grams. The wheels, without skewers, weigh 1,933 grams. Shimano's press release was 1,848 grams. 85 grams difference is not bad.

Ride safe!

American Classic 420 Aero 3 Wheelset

I have no idea of the exact month when they released the new 2016 American Classic 420 Aero 3 wheelset but since it's almost the end of June and bicycle parts manufacturers start to release next year's parts by the last quarter of the previous year, there should be plenty of photo resources from cyclists all over the internet. But this is not the case. Until this writing, you can only see product photos from manufacturer's website. What we need are photos of it on real bikes, bikes that people use on locations that exists. This made the wheel picking very hard as I have four other choices to ponder on. To make things difficult, I am not a fan of AC's three spoke group, aesthetically.

There are lots of literature, both formal and informal, on Fulcrums, Mavics, or even Shimanos but none so far for American Classic's newest 420 Aero 3 wheelset. I hope that this photo will reach more users who are considering the new wheels.

American Classic 420 Aero 3 wrapped with Continental Grand Prix 4000 S II

This is not a review of the wheelset as this is just acquired with zero mileage so far. I hope to do a better review after a few thousand miles.

But for the shallow side of things, a weigh in is a must to get that gear acquisition high that justifies that load of cash you just blew.

Some more photos!

The new 3 group spoke pattern of the 420 Aero 3 is pretty sweet. More balanced looking compared to the previous style of last generation of 420 Aeros.

At this point, I'm glad I picked this wheelset over the Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG.

This wheelset looks perfect with the 24mm Continental Grand Prix 4000 S II.

Prior to wheelset change, this bike weighed a quite reasonable 8.42 kilograms as seen in my previous blog entry. Before the frame change, my Cannondale CAAD8 bike weighed 8.98 kilograms.

The weight of my bike prior to wheelset change. Take note that my bike was squeaky clean when weighed.

New weight with the 420 Aero 3 installed. 

That is a total of 760 grams difference! I always thought that my RS11s were light. Now they felt like stone wheels they used in the Flintstones cartoons. My next blog entry will be weighing the Shimano RS11.

Cannondale CAAD8 Frame Set Weight

Out with the old and in with the new. Relatively new, that is. 

I have to do some unloading to give way to some "greening" on this side of the fence. A shift from aluminum alloy to carbon fiber frame material should fuel that cycling fire.

Check out my previous blog entry when I acquired the Giant TCR Composite.

First to go is the "old" 2015 Cannondale CAAD8 frameset. The tag at the bottom indicates probably the production date, dated 2014. This is not really that old. The TCR is a 2013 model, probably made in 2012.

In a ceremonious eve of its releasing, I decided to clean, wax, and buff the frame set then weigh it.

For comparison between my frames, this entry has the weights of the Giant TCR Composite frame and fork.

Enough of the blabbering!

Cannondale CAAD8 frame - 1575 grams

These are the parts installed at the time of weighing.

• SM-BBR60 Bottom Bracket
• Seat Post Clamp/Collar
• Shimano FD Clamp

Cannondale CAAD8 Fork - 569 grams

Crazy how this manages to weigh over 550 grams. The new CAAD12 Hi-Mod fork weighs only 280 grams! 20 grams lighter than the regular CAAD12 forks.

Together, without the bb and clamps, the Cannondale CAAD8 frame set weighs a little over 2 kilos. Its funny how you get perturbed while staring at the quantitative side of cycling when all worries go away with just one stroke of the crank.

Unveiling of Bike

I present to you the beta version of the bike. Still in test mode/break-in period. There are many things that needed to be changed here such as the bar tapes and wheelset. But that will come in later.

Here it is built! I can't wait to take this for a spin tonight.

8.42 kilos is a good start. I'm 1.6 kilos away from reaching the UCI limit. 

She's now home.

Check out my previous entry for frame weight values.