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Ray’s Weekly Sports Electronics Mailbag

The second installment of our new weekly Q&A column focusing on personal sports electronics with Ray Maker of DCRainmaker.com covers a question about the Vector from Metrigear and various other items.

Drinking heavy metals

Concerned consumers have been returning certain protein drinks, while affected manufacturers have been working overtime to refute the Consumer Reports study. Let's separate truth from confusion.

On Innovation

Innovation is the fun part of producing triathlon. In the beginning, a race director learns the basics: what equipment is needed, how to recruit volunteers, how early to stop publishing your phone number before race weekend.

Felt’s Devox aerobar

Felt's Devox aerobar is an ambitious effort, especially for a company that specialized in making bikes, not parts. How does it stand up as an aftermarket bar?

Extensions overhaul

We need to overhaul extension shapes. After much experimentation, what have we learned? The spatial relationship between armrests and extensions is important, and, no more horizontal grips.

Memo to bike maker: change spec

How often are bikes spec'd from the manufacturer in ways destined to give the customer a fighting chance of riding the bike successfully without swapping parts?

The final Slice

As many Slowtwitchers know, I and the Slice I rode in the Tour of California time trial did not deliver each other safely to the finish line. Nevertheless, I did promise readers a recap of that Slice.

The Slice is built (sort of)

As the late senator Moynihan put it, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own math." Okay, he said facts, not math, but the idea is the same. But now on to that Cannondale Slice.

Two notable goggles

I'm an agnostic about goggles, like a guy who goes to an Anglican church one week and a Presbyterian the next. I have no firm conviction, or, I had no firm conviction. I do now.

On Stories

In my role as race director I get to design the dust jacket and ink the first paragraphs, but I'll never consummate the stories. Each year a new chapter is written as the plotlines develop depth and color.

52cm sizing comparison

At about 51cm or 52cm you enter a size range where just about everybody's bikes are built with 700c wheels. Here, there's a convergence of geometry, but a divergence in handling.