Paraic - Faster Bicycle Shop

[jlwdm]

Paraic and his partner opened their new state of the art bike shop in Scottsdale on August 1st. Focus is all about making everyone at every level faster. Paraic is an amazing all-around bicycle talent - fitter extraordinaire.

By mid-September they will have the first wind tunnel designed for bicycles up and running.

I am looking forward to getting back to AZ to see Paraic and the shop.

I am sure Pez has been there already.

Here is the site: Faster Bicycle Center (http://www.ride-faster.com/)

Jeff

[Charles M]

First day there it was a shell...

Ive been stopping in through the build out. when the studs went up I used it for backdrop.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/charles/fasterparlee.jpg

The service area is like most of the rest of the place...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/223026_252826531407900_195955877094966_971279_2492 319_n.jpg


This is a one of a kind place... Fitting room looks like it should be at EA Sports... Locker rooms and recovery room are nice, the tunnel and testing set up is slick.

of course all of that means diddly without good people and that's covered too.

[Louis]

By mid-September they will have the first wind tunnel designed for bicycles up and running.

A wind tunnel built just for cyclists? Interesting. Apparently tri-geeks have a bit too much money on their hands...

What sort of instrumentation will they have, what will they be measuring, and what data products will they provide to the customer? (Apologies if that's all explained on the web site, I couldn't get it to load on my browser.)

Louis

[jlwdm]

A wind tunnel built just for cyclists? Interesting. Apparently tri-geeks have a bit too much money on their hands...

What sort of instrumentation will they have, what will they be measuring, and what data products will they provide to the customer? (Apologies if that's all explained on the web site, I couldn't get it to load on my browser.)

Louis

I don't know what data they will collect, but the wind tunnel is optimized for speeds up to 50 mph and not for aerospace or cars.

I don't get the tri-geek comments - for all cyclists. Or cyclists that want to be faster.

Jeff

[rugbysecondrow]

I don't know what data they will collect, but the wind tunnel is optimized for speeds up to 50 mph and not for aerospace or cars.

I don't get the tri-geek comments - for all cyclists. Or cyclists that want to be faster.

Jeff

I agree. If you could tweak your position to optimize performance without compromising long term comfort or fit, why not? People spend hundreds more to save $x on a lightweight part when something like this could provide greater benefit.

[jr59]

The Shelcks need to attend, to help their TT's!

[Louis]

I don't get the tri-geek comments - for all cyclists. Or cyclists that want to be faster.

For reasons having to do with both physics and personality triathletes tend to obsess much more about stuff like drag (compared to the typical serious cyclist) and IMO are more likely to use a service like this.

[Charles M]

calling out tri guys as obsessive or thinking their desire to maximize performance is a personality trait is, I think, a little misleading


There's a dif between a "serious cyclist" and a competitor. "Triathletes" virtually all enter (ie compete in) triathlons, but the vast majority of cyclists don't compete at all...


You won't find much difference between tri people (as far as wanting to max out their fit and aerodynamics) and competitive TT road racers...


As for the personalities of obsessive types, you'll also find them to be similar and it wont matter if they're already dripping wet and sandy when they climb on their bike ;)



A LARGE part of the Faster Facility is combining fitting to max performance for "X" duration WITH tunnel time. It's hand in hand more than either or, and it's by far the best performance enhancing money you can spend...

[sg8357]

I am looking forward to their testing which is more aero, Arkel or Ortleib
panniers, Berthoud or SKS fenders. Phillipe 42s or 44 Noodles, which
is more aero.

Aside, is would be nice for the UCI to ban aero TT bikes, a useless extra cost
for teams, generating an expensive tech race. Cuddles would have buried
the Schlecks by the same time difference using a regular race bike,
the TT would have taken an extra few minutes.

[jr59]

I am looking forward to their testing which is more aero, Arkel or Ortleib
panniers, Berthoud or SKS fenders. Phillipe 42s or 44 Noodles, which
is more aero.

Aside, is would be nice for the UCI to ban aero TT bikes, a useless extra cost
for teams, generating an expensive tech race. Cuddles would have buried
the Schlecks by the same time difference using a regular race bike,
the TT would have taken an extra few minutes.


For the low price of 895 per hour, I feel sure they can answer these questions. :banana:

[jlwdm]

I knew Paraic for a long time in Scottsdale before he went to Serotta. He fit me and got me on to a custom Serotta 4 years ago which dramatically changed my cycling. Each year since has been my most miles ever. It is great to have a bike that fits and I never think of replacing it.

My point here is that we have a couple of talented individuals who have invested a lot of money to make cyclists faster. Also, with Paraic, we have a Serotta connection and the shop is going to sell Serotta bikes.

Some of the services will not be cheap, but a wind tunnel is a huge investment and it will have great value to many cyclists.

I wish them luck.

Time for this forum to spend more time on riding and the positive aspects of a venture like this, and less time on the cheapest place to find a component on the Internet.

I spent top dollar to get a custom Serotta with Harlequin paint and record components (i have forgiven Paraic for recommending Shimano) and it was one of the best investments I have ever made.

It is not much over 100 degrees so I think I will put on the light and go for a ride.

Jeff

[Jack Brunk]

Pez,

That parlee is uneffin believable. That may be one of the best bikes you've come with. Fantastic job!