September 21, 2009
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By Zack Vestal

2009 Interbike, day 1: An expander wedge at the seatpost base eliminated the need for a clamp.

Photo: Zack Vestal

Glaring sun, hot temperatures and a stiff wind didn’t snuff enthusiasm for the opening day of the Interbike On Dirt Demo. I managed a couple of mountain bike rides, but spent most of my time checking out road gear. Here are some highlights of the day, which are by no means comprehensive, but stay tuned — we have a whole week of tech reporting still to come.

For more on some of the mountain bike finds by my colleague Matt Pacocha, check out Singletrack.com.

BMC teammachine SLR01

Since first seeing the new BMC teammachine SLR01 at Eurobike (but running out of time to follow up with it), I’ve wanted to get a good look in broad daylight. I finally got my chance today in Boulder City, and was not disappointed.

2009 Interbike, day 1: The difference in size of the chain and seat stays is dramatic.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The Swiss company doesn’t typically adhere to annual autumn rollouts of new product; rather, BMC introduces new frames when they are ready. The 2010 teammachine SLR01 marks a total redesign of the original frame that first debuted with the Phonak team of Andy Rihs some nine years ago. The original teammachine aimed to set a new benchmark for stiffness in a carbon bike by making the down tube and seat tube as wide as the BB shell, and making the chainstays as tall as the BB shell, essentially maximizing those tube diameters. These original characteristics carry through to the 2010 teammachine SLR01.

Additional major goals for the new teammachine included blending the racy, responsive feel of the aluminum-carbon racemaster with the comfortable, all-day ride quality of the carbon-nanotube promachine. A BB30 bottom bracket is adopted to further supplement pedaling efficiency and core stiffness in the frame. Meanwhile, extremely slender seat stays are designed to provide damping for a smooth ride. Similarly, the fork is tuned to offer fore-aft compliance without giving up steering precision. In profile, the fork and seats stays both step down in diameter, just below the brake caliper attachment points, to maintain braking performance and main frame stiffness while concentrating vibration damping lower down, on the more slender frame tubes. Likewise, the seat post (which uses a cam-actuated expander wedge, rather than a clamping collar) is also tuned for compliance.

After a 20-minute spin, I’m thoroughly impressed with the muted ride quality of the new teammachine. The Dirt Demo test loop is probably the least indicative test loop a tech editor could hope for, but even so, I rate the BMC highly for stiffness out of the saddle and attenuation of road vibration. It corners comfortably and quickly, is very responsive, yet deadens the road admirably. I like it, and hope to investigate (or pedal) much further.

Cielo and Chris King

2009 Interbike, day 1: Classic details on the Cielo 29er are shared with the road bikes.

Photo: Zack Vestal

Portland, Oregon-based Chris King Precision Components has been busy since spring, working on both world-class bearing assemblies and slowly fueling the growth of Cielo Cycles.

A month ago, marketing manager Chris DiStefano asked Cielo builder Jay Sycip and his team for a couple of mountain bike 29er frames to facilitate a ride across Europe, in advance of the Eurobike show. As it turned out, the frame was wildly popular and looks to become a regular offering from the company. It’s built in the same “readymade classic” style as the Sportif and Cross frame models, employing many of the same details like stainless steel seat stay caps and rear dropouts, plus the stainless steel head tube rings and machined seat collar.

Also new from Chris King is the Swift road racing hub set, and a SRAM/Truvative compatibility option for the King sealed bottom bracket. Swift is an all-new hub design with lower flanges than we’ve seen in the past, plus 17mm axles, titanium 45-tooth freehub engagement rings, and of course, the same legendary Chris King user-serviceable sealed bearings we’ve come to know and love. Colors include the entire ten hues available for all King bearings; low spoke count options are also offered.

2009 Interbike, day 1: Titanium ratchets and a cut out flange shave weight.

Photo: Zack Vestal

I had a chance to ride a Cielo Sportif with the new hubs, and as DiStefano promised, the Swift freehub is indeed quieter than previous versions, due in part to the revised ratchet system. And also as promised, the Sportif road bike has a stable, comfortable, classic steel feel that would be well suited for a mixed gravel road and bumpy asphalt century ride.

SRAM aluminum road wheels

After largely relying on Zipp for a first-round line of road wheels last year (the carbon-aluminum S40, S60, and S80 models, which are still available), SRAM has now marshaled more of its own engineering muscle to offer another round of three road wheelsets. These latest use low-profile aluminum rims and low spoke counts to keep weight minimal while maintaining reasonable aerodynamics with rim shape and bladed spokes.

2009 Interbike, day 1: The rear hub features radial drive-side lacing and a wide flange.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The three wheel models are as follows:
–The $450 S27 AL Comp, which uses a 27mm deep rim and external spoke nipples, and weighs 1620 grams for the pair;
–The 1495-gram S30 AL Sprint wheelset, which features a 30mm hybrid-toroidal rim profile, internal spoke nipples, and bladed Sapim CX spokes for more stiffness, at $790;
–And the $950, 1430-gram S30 AL Race, which is built with lighter Sapim CX Ray spokes and features a highly polished “Black Diamond” finish and internal aluminum nipples.

All the SRAM wheels use the same lacing and spoke counts (18 radial front, 20 radial drive/1-cross non-drive), but the two higher-end wheelsets have lighter hubs by virtue of material and more extensive machining. Even so, the mechanical internals of the hubs are essentially the same across the line, borrowing heavily from the Zipp 88/188 hub engineering and using sealed cartridge bearings, oversized aluminum axles, and a high-end ratchet system for pawl engagement. Further, all the rear wheels rely on a drive-side flange which is built to be as far outboard as possible, for best spoke angle.

On the S30 AL Race model, the hub is not anodized. Rather, it is polished and then coated with titanium carbide in an arc vapor deposition process. The spokes are done this way as well. The effect is quite striking — a bright, reflective, jewel-like finish.

The hub disassembly is tool-free. With the front or rear, simply unscrew the end cap by hand, push the spindle out, and voilá, on the rear hub, the freehub body and axle pop off, revealing three pawls with leaf springs under them that engage the pawls inside the end of the hub. To reassemble, push in the spindle and screw on the end cap until it contacts the bearing. Then unscrew it 60 degrees to optimize the bearing preload when the skewer is tightened.