FLASH-POINT BLOGGER: MICHAEL BREEDLOVE

Well, it seems like the temperatures have finally gotten more spring like here in the Atlanta area, though there have been some fierce storms in the Southern region of the U.S. I guess winter is still trying to hang on in some respects, even in April.

Anyway, things could not be better with the wheels. I've been doing my usual ride near home, but I've been itching to take my bike (and the FP60's, of course!) up to Virginia. My grandmother lives in Lynchburg, better known as "Hill City." Hill City?? I'll finally get to test my legs (and the wheels) on some serious climbs.

I'm going up there next weekend for Easter, so there will be some climbing in order.

Oh yeah....I need to put some pictures on this thing!!

Well, the weather cooperated enough that I finally got my 60's on the road. I probably could have written sooner, but I don't have a jacket to ride in!! I've been to a few bike shops trying to find one, but so far, my search for a nice insulated jacket has come up empty.

I had planned to get the wheels on the road today, but I woke up to the sound of rain. I know they called for AM rain here in the Atlanta area, but they said it was mainly going to be in North Georgia--way up north. I went back to sleep for a little while, and when I got up (for good), the rain was gone, and the sun began to come up. OK--enough for the weather, now for the ride!!

I rolled the bike out onto the street and started my spin. The first thing I noticed right out of the box (or the driveway) was that my bike handled a lot better than in the past. I'm sure it has to do with some changes that I made to the setup (raising the seat just a little), but I am almost sure that it has something more to do with the wheels. I know that with my Zipp340's my handling was twitchy, and with my Mavic Cosmos, the handling seemed lazy. The Flashpoint 60's are perfect--right in between, giving a nice, smooth ride along the way. The ride I like to take is out on Linecrest Road here in DeKalb Co., GA. It's a nice straight road with a few short climbs along the way. The road is a little rough in some spots, but not too bad. Along the way, the Flashpoints responded well--when I got out of the saddle or when I just cranked along on the road. On one section of road ( a small descent) I saw 32.5 mph. That was faster than the Mavic Cosmos that came with my bike, and a little better than my Zipp 340's.

Wow...my first entry into the wonderful world of blogging!!Well,
with a day off from work, I knew the box from Indianapolis would show
up when I was not there. After working what seemed like a zillion
hours with no sleep, I was happy to be back in Atlanta after covering a
story in Miami. I was driving home from the airport and called my
office. My man Sam told me that there was a big box there for
me....awwww yeah!!! I got some sleep and picked up the box the
next day...inside, a brand spanking new pair of Flash-Point
60's!! These wheels are awesome looking--nice shiny resin
on the carbon, shiny aluminum rims...real nice. I think my
faithful Zipp 340's are jealous. I quickly got a pair of tubes
and tires so I can get these puppies on the road. I got the tube
and tire on the rear with no problem (had an SRAM 9 speed cassette
installed), but the front gave me a little trouble. I used
tubes with an extended valve, and it seems that the front rim has
a piece of the carbon that may have come loose, and was blocking the
hole for the valve. Of course, when I tried to put the valve
through, it broke! I ended up getting a tube with a normal valve
(duh!) and used the extenders that came with the wheels.
So, I ended up using a long valve on the rear with the valve extension and  I'm using a regular valve on the front.  Even with the extender it's a little short, but hey....it works. Voila...success!!  I'll hopefully be getting these guys on the road this
weekend!!