Product Review: Cycles Fanatic Sprinter Aero Road Handlebars

Hopefully you have ended up here because you are looking for a review of carbon components sold by Cycle Fanatic USA. This is a link the their website:

http://www.cyclesfanatic.com

I had been searching for a long time online for a pair of carbon handlebars for my track bike that were quite deep, shallow and also had enough cut away / sweep that I didn't hit my wrists on them when sprinting. The Fanatic Sprinter Aero Road Handlebars looked like they may be exactly what I was looking for. This is a link to the product on the Cycles Fanatic Website:

http://www.cyclesfanatic.com/fanatic-sprinter-aero-road-handlebars-carbon-short-shallow

The bars arrived a short time later and I was extremely disappointed. 

Firstly, I attempted to install the bars. The recommended torque rating was 6 nm. Using less than that with a torque wrench, the bars cracked. Obviously no quality there at all.

Secondly, I then noticed that the bars were clearly being sold as a Zipp 'knock off'. This was plainly obvious by the fact that the bars carried a 'legal disclaimer' sticker that indicated that Zipp were the manufacturer:

Thirdly, I contacted Cycles Fanatic USA twice by email and once by Facebook message, seeking a refund and my attempts to communicate have been ignored. When I purchased the bars initially they had communicated with me on that email address no problem at all.

My experience with these handlebars has been extremely negative and based on that, it is my opinion that prospective buyers should avoid Cycles Fanatic USA. 

Race Report: Queensland Masters Track Titles, 10-12 February 2017

My 2016 / 2017 Track season had all been about two Queensland events and then based on my performance in those, I would make decisions about the Australian Masters Track Titles and the World Masters Games (more about those later). I put a big fat TICK against the first Queensland event when I managed to win the Masters 1-4 Queensland Omnium Title in November and I am delighted to report that there is now also a TICK sitting next to the Queensland Masters Track Titles.

Masters 1-3 Points Race

This 20 km event ended up combining three age categories covering 30-44 year olds. I was leading early on, but Sheldon Olivier from the University of Queensland Club was consistently quicker than me in the sprints. He overtook me on points and ended up winning by a good margin. I managed to hang on for the silver medal. 

Masters 3 Individual Pursuit
The 3 km test would prove to be the highlight of the weekend for me. I went into the qualifying round anticipating being happy with a 3 min 40 sec and being elated with anything quicker. When I put in a 3 min 36 sec and broke the state record, I was just a little chuffed. This qualified me in first place and the next day I won the final in an almost identical time (0.31 sec slower) just to prove it wasn't a fluke.

Masters 3 Scratch Race
10 km is a short event for me and it was always going to be difficult to shake the sprinters before the finish. I had a little drama before the start as well. I punctured my beloved rear disc wheel warming up on the rollers. I had to race with my spare which is nowhere near as fast as the disc. As you can imagine this annoyed me no end. I tried to race aggressively and a lot of the quicker guys did drop off, but Hamish Wright from the Mackay Club (a very, very good sprinter) was still there at the finish and he won it well. I hung on for the bronze medal.

So what now? I have decided to compete in both the Australian Titles in less than four weeks and the World Masters Games (these are not world championships, no world titles on offer, that is a different event) in eleven weeks.

My immediate focus is on the Australian Titles in Sydney. I will race the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch Race / Points Race (they race one or the other, not both). I am also very happy to have been invited to race in a Queensland Team Pursuit team with Andrew Patten, Sheldon Olivier and Stephen Storer (three very good masters track cyclists). I believe we are a real chance of securing a medal at the titles.

Wish me luck!