While many details remain vague in the wake of the Specialized vs. Volagi lawsuit, a few things have become clear.

There’s no question the lawsuit put Volagi and the Liscio, its long-distance comfort road bike, more firmly on the map ― while also putting it in a substantial financial hole. To some, Volagi unfairly competed with Specialized. To others, “The Big Red S” came off looking like a bully, and it weathered damaging statements about its R&D department and litigation strategy by a former executive vice president in charge of products. The lawsuit may have thus been costlier for Specialized than for Volagi, even though two million dollars is a lot less money to the giant Morgan Hill firm than half a million is to Volagi.

But why did the lawsuit happen?

The claims

Acknowledging that, “nobody wins in these things,” Specialized founder and president Mike Sinyard explained that the company he founded in 1974 is like his family, and he felt compelled to file suit when he felt it had been injured.

“I was going to just let it go, but I couldn’t. We have this awesome company culture of teamwork and trust here, and when I saw how what they (Volagi co-founders and former Specialized employees Robert Choi and Barley Forsman) did affected the people working here, I had to do it (file suit).”

If for no other reason than the relative sizes of the two companies, struggles like this are often going to be looked at as David vs. Goliath, and Goliath isn’t generally perceived as the good guy.
To hammer home the Goliath image, the defense produced Sean Sullivan, a product manager at Specialized from 1994-1998 and director of equipment and marketing and executive vice president for product and global marketing from 2004-2007. (Not to be confused with Mavic USA’s marketing director Sean Sullivan.) Sullivan testified that, “Sinyard and Specialized have a pattern and practice of suing competitors” to “tie them up in court.”

In response, Sinyard told VeloNews.com, “People can say anything. But I say, ‘show me all of these lawsuits.’ They’re not there.”

On the subject of the company’s history in court, former Specialized Chief Brand Officer Ben Capron, who worked for Specialized for 18 years and now works for National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), said, “What Mike cares about first and foremost is riders, what riding can do for people and advancing that, the people at Specialized, and Specialized dealers. All of those constituencies are relying on Specialized to perform. He’s a very competitive business person, and that competitive nature and wanting to do right by those constituencies results in aggressive behavior sometimes.”

Rather than being about squelching competition, Sinyard said the case was a matter of principle.

“I wasn’t worried about that (Volagi) bike, and it was never about getting a lot of money from them,” he said. “It was about making a friggin’ point.”

Choi and Forsman see it differently – and Sinyard looks at what they claim as transparency in their dealing with the company as anything but.

Both quit in April 2010 but stayed on longer ― Forsman for a couple of weeks and Choi until the end of August. They told Sinyard and their immediate supervisors that they were starting a company in the bike industry and refused to reveal what the company was or would do. An email from Choi to Sinyard on the eve of the 2010 Interbike show, where the Volagi bike was unveiled, acknowledged that, “the bikes at Volagi do compete with Specialized.”

Two months before resigning, Forsman requested and received engineering drawings of the Roubaix, which is the Specialized bike that fills the niche closest to that of the Volagi. That same month (February 2010), the company put Choi on its test program of the unreleased 2011 Roubaix and gave him the bike to evaluate.

Also in February 2010, using his Specialized email address, Choi requested price and lead-time quotes on tooling charges on carbon frames and components from VIP, a Specialized carbon molding vendor, for a fictitious “Robert Volagi.”

Choi knew that Specialized had done a trademark search on the name “Venga” but was not using it; Volagi later used that for the original name of its bike, though Volagi changed the name to “Liscio” after Specialized objected to Venga. In May 2010, Choi emailed some Specialized sales documents (territory call reports) to other Volagi employees.

While both sides agree on these facts, they strongly disagree on the motivation behind them and whether or not they furthered Volagi. For instance, regarding the email to VIP introducing “Robert Volagi,” Choi said, “I didn’t want to present myself as a Specialized employee; I didn’t think that was right, and I didn’t want to get Specialized pricing. I didn’t go after any Specialized manufacturer making Specialized frames. VIP at the time was only doing carbon components for Specialized; they were just getting into carbon frames. I just asked for costs for molding.”

Sinyard found Choi’s explanation to be far-fetched and “insulting.”

All items taken from Specialized were returned, and while Choi and Forsman claim to have voluntarily pointed out their existence and then turned them over to the company, Sinyard claims that it took letters from company lawyers to get them back and that he only knew about them following a search of Choi’s company computer.

I have a Carbon Frame and at a certain point I heard “crack!!!”  I immediately feared the worst, and indeed, I now have a crack in my frame
at the triangular point where my seat post enters the frame … damn.

Now my question … I have done much more extreme riding and have never experienced this before. Is Carbon affected by the cold temp we are experiencing, and could it be that it was weakened by this?

I am going to have to see if the factory guarantee will cover this, otherwise I shall buy a new frame and transfer all the components.

But I need to know if the cold affected my frame, if so…I am never buying carbon again…I don’t cycle in active volcanoes, I don’t Cycle in reactor containment buildings…or even close to the sun for that matter.., read this in an earlier posting..  …

But I do cycle in -18 Celsius.
— Pieter

Dear Pieter,
I’ve answered the question about storage of carbon bikes in cold temperatures before, and that does not damage them, according to a number of carbon frame engineers.

As for riding in the cold, I’m surprised it happened, and I can’t say for sure that the cold was to blame. It sure would have been a remarkable coincidence, though.

It’s possible to imagine the carbon matrix becoming more brittle as the epoxy holding the layers together became brittle with cold. But I don’t think the fibers themselves would be affected by the cold. And it is possible to make a carbon matrix that does deal well with cold, since there are now lots of skis and ski boots (probably ice skating boots as well, but I’m not familiar with that sport) made with carbon layers in them, and they don’t snap at -18 Celsius.
— Lennard

Dear Lennard,
My question is in regards to a carbon fiber bicycle frame.  Recently the frame was submerged in water due to a flood.  Are there any concerns that I should in regards to damage to the frame because of it being under water?  Obviously the frame can get wet because of washing and normal riding conditions just mainly concerned about internal part of the frame.  Thank you for time.
— Eric

Dear Eric,
If the frame has aluminum inserts in the bottom bracket, head tube, seat tube, or has aluminum dropouts, then you have cause for concern. The glue bonds holding those parts to the carbon could be weakened, and the aluminum itself could have corroded.

But if the frame is completely carbon, I don’t see any cause for concern after submerging it.
— Lennard

Dear Lennard,
I have a 2009 Trek Madone 5.2 with a somewhat oval seat mast which the seat post comes over. As I understand it, this was a one year only design feature and Trek moved away from at least the oval shape the following year. Trek offers three posts with varying amounts of rear offset. I have the one with the most offset but want to get my saddle back further yet to get my knees closer to being over the spindles. Are you aware of anyone who makes such a post or whose lawyers would let them modify one to meet my needs? Or do you have any other suggestions? I’m already using 175 mm crank arms.
— John

Dear John,
I don’t know where to get a seat mast cap with additional setback. I know Trek made some of those caps with a lot more offset for Taylor Phinney when he was on Livestrong and RadioShack, but I never have seen them available for sale.

You might experiment with different saddles that allow you to both move it back further as well as has the wide part further back (the new Turbomatic comes to mind), thus allowing you to sit further back.

Another option is a longer crank. I assume you’re a tall guy, hence the problem, or you at least have very long femurs. Either one could justify a crank longer than 175mm.
— Lennard

Dear Lennard,
Would it be possible to use a 52×34 chainring combination on a double crank?  I currently have a 50×34.  I would like to use a 52 big ring since I live in Mississippi, and it is flat, but would like to keep the 34 when I travel and ride some mountains.
— Dennis

Dear Dennis,
You can definitely do this. I saw a number of teams setting up their riders with that same chainring set for the Monte Zoncolan stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2010.
— Lennard

Dear Lennard,
What are your recommendations for someone buying their first tool kit for maintenance at home? I would like to spend under $300.
— Vernon

Dear Vernon,
I actually have starter tool kits listed in Chapter 1 of both Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance and Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance.

You can find the books at your local library, bookstore, bike shop, or online.

For a more professional setup, check out Nick’s column where he discusses the contents of his toolbox.
— Lennard

Followup on last week’s column:
Dear Lennard,
I just read the recent “Tech FAQ” and I have a follow-up question regarding the removal of the glued Vittoria tubular.  I’m a big fan of Continental tubies myself, and I’ve been faced several times with the task of re-gluing tires/rims between the road and cross seasons.  After I’ve removed my cross tubulars, which I have just done, I now must re-glue my road tubulars.  Since they have a bit of dried glue on them, as does the rim, is it proper procedure to do a general cleaning on the rim before re-gluing it?  That is what I do, and it’s simple enough, but my real concern is with the tire itself.  I’ve been hesitant to use any solvents or cleaners on the tire to remove excess dried glue, and I’m just wondering the proper procedure to glue and mount a previously glued and used tire and rim.  What’s your recommendation?
— Peter

Dear Peter,
You’re wise in avoiding using solvents on your tubulars. You can cause the base tape to loosen and eventually peel off that way. Not good.

Just scrape the big hunks of glue off and generally smooth the lumps off with something like a butter knife. Then re-glue it.
— Lennard

Dear Lennard,
Thank you very much for your column and always excellent advice. As a 6’8″ cyclist I appreciate the most your insights when it comes to clydesdales in a world of jockeys

Regarding the letter about a continuously slipping seatpost on a Kestrel Talon, I’ve experienced this issue on 2 bikes and in the end solved it with Loctite. I completely degrease/depaste the seatpost and the inside of the seat tube and apply Loctite liberally. No slippage, no creaking, and the seatpost can still be removed if needed. Might be something to try before using a more permanent solution.
— Stéphane

Dear Lennard,
Our mounting spray Carbogrip is normally solving similar problems, as it provides a good adhesion when it sets (two minutes after spraying it)… the big advantage is that you can still remove the seatpost if you need to, unscrewing the bolts. All the details here: 
www.effettomariposa.eu. There’s also a tech video available (the video shows also how to use it for mtb grips):

Cantitoeroad.com should have some Carbogrip in stock.
— Alberto

Dear Lennard,
I read David’s account of the problems he’s had with the Campy UT press fit cups migrating in his Cervelo.

Unfortunately it is a problem common with many frames, and the UT BB30/PF cups do seem on the smaller side. An additional problem is that the PF cups seem to result in a slightly narrowing spacing. Why, I’m not sure, but I’ve observed it in several frames.

A quick fix, which will also ensure the cups stay put, is to use a second Campy UT wave washer on the non-drive side. Without this, the cups may still migrate even if bonded in.
— Paul

Dear Lennard,
I put in an FSA BB30 adaptor (to use a Shimano crank in an Orbea Orca Silver) with the instructions requiring the use of Loctite Bearing Mount 609.
— Chris

Dear Lennard,
I was looking at your December story about leaking valve stems. What Wayne S. was referring to is the AC valve.

See www.amclassic.com. In stock, tubeless tape and valves.
— Ellen Kast
General Manager
American Classic
www.amclassic.com

Mike Eubank, project manager of Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park, which includes the country’s only permanent cyclocross course purpose-built from its inception to adhere to UCI standards, led the local delegation. He was joined by Pete Webber – the reigning 40-45 World Cyclocross Champion, two-time National Cyclocross Champion, 20-year ’cross racer, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member, and former membership and communications director of IMBA.

Webber led the tour of the Valmont Bike Park, pointing out many unique characteristics making it ideal to host such an event. Local top cyclocross stars, including Nicole Duke and Meredith Miller, were in attendance along with an array of leaders of Boulder’s large cycling community. Among the group’s promises is a virtually guaranteed enormous jump in both the number of spectators and the number of racers at nationals, were it to be held in Boulder, thanks to a very active local and regional cyclocross culture.

Boulder city government leaders and city parks managers and employees laid out for the USA Cycling contingent how the city’s infrastructure would support the event as well, including parking for up to 2,000 cars within 500 yards of the bike park. Kirk Kincannon, Boulder’s director of Parks and Recreation, clarified not only his department’s commitment to creating a foundation for the event but also its ability to handle any occurrence that could come up. Parks and Recreation’s main maintenance shed with enormous amounts of equipment of all sorts is located in Valmont Park, just across the street from the cyclocross course, and its grounds crews work on the park every day. And Boulder’s Channel 8 television station pointed out how its capacities would facilitate live streaming of the events.

Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park is truly an amazing facility, particularly for those into cyclocross, BMX, dirt jumping, or dirt riding with children, or who are mountain-bike singletrack newbies wanting to try riding high-speed berms, skinny logs and other stunts. The northern section of the park is built on a hillside and is separated by a streambed from its lower southern section, which used to be flat. After fully 10,000 dumptruckloads of dirt were deposited and sculpted throughout the park with a intricate network of hardened dirt trails throughout, that is no longer the case.

There is nobody better to extol the park’s virtues than Webber, its course designer and one of its early visionaries. Webber’s two books, Trail Solutions: Managing Mountain Biking: IMBA’s Guide to Providing Great Riding (2007) and IMBA’s Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack (2004), have sold 30,000 copies in 60 countries and are the world’s go-to mountain bike trail building guides.

Sustainable bicycle trail building is Webber’s middle name, and cyclocross is not only in his veins, it fills his every capillary. He designed the cyclocross course as well as all of the singletrack trails, pump tracks, and stunt features in the park, and his familiarity with it left none of the USA Cycling delegation’s questions unanswered during a walk around the cyclocross course.

Webber often uses the Boulder “Wednesday Worlds” morning cyclocross training race/ride, which regularly draws over 100 riders all fall and winter, to try out his course designs at Valmont, fully flagging out a course the day before. Two races with over 500 participants each (almost 800 in the second one) were held here in September and October, and the course is universally loved. Spectators and racers alike loved the UCI Boulder Cup cyclocross race held at Valmont Park this year on Halloween weekend, in part because of separate announcers at the finish and atop the 5280’ Run-Up staircase jam-packed with fans. The winners of the elite men’s and women’s Boulder Cup, Belgian Ben Berden and near-local Katie Compton (from Colorado Springs), both gushed about the quality of the Valmont course and its massive and enthusiastic crowds. There will be a number of other races at the venue to further iron out kinks in anticipation of holding national championship races here.

After racing cyclocross in Belgium, Webber has some Euro ideas not only for course design but also for infrastructure that are gradually being implemented at Valmont Park. These include getting riders away from their cars for pre-race preparation by utilizing the 30,000-square-foot metal barn at the park as an athlete’s base camp. “Americans dress and warm up at their cars, but in Belgium, riders sit on chairs in a heated building with a box for all of their gear,” says Webber.

The vast, one-story barn’s build-out plan includes areas for riders to have individual equipment boxes or lockers, a neutral trainer warm-up area, secure storage depot, vendor area, and indoor bike wash in a lowered concrete bay. Bike washes in the building and at the pit area adjacent the pond on the opposite end of the park would be supplied by high-pressure water splitting out into multiple hoses, rather than noisy, smelly power washers prone to breakdown and long waiting lines.

Boulder’s bike racing legacy is long, through much hard work and negotiation it recently landed a stage finish for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and its eagerness to have the 2014-2015 cyclocross nationals at Valmont Park is palpable. Asheville, NC and Austin, TX are competing with Boulder in the bid for the events.

I am planning to hang the bikes from a single hook off the rim.  My quick question is what by your experience is the appropriate spacing … for in and out (off and on) without taking up too much space.  I am asking because I anticipate we will add to our ‘collection’ and I want to have ‘future space’ without having to deal with a cramped spacing on a regular basis.
― Warren

Dear Warren,
I put the hooks in my garage ceiling one foot apart. I have 10 hooks in a row across the back of my garage and hang one bike by the front wheel and the adjacent bike by the rear wheel and alternate this way down the row to fit them closer together, head to tail.

Since my joists run parallel to the wheels of the bikes when hanging, I place a 2X4 up across the joists and screw it into them with long deck screws. Then I put the hooks into the 2X4.

I think you could jam them in tighter than a foot apart, but this spacing allows me the flexibility to get at them easily and to not be particular about having bikes with straight bars hang in different spots than bikes with drop bars — any of my bikes can go on any of the hooks.
― Lennard

Dear Lennard,
More and more bicycling-related devices now come with rechargeable batteries.  I can usually ride outdoors until it snows and then am back on the bike outside in March.  I’ve had trouble with these batteries working well after several months of winter disuse.  They are usually not cheap to replace.  Is there some algorithm for making my light, Garmin and other rechargeable batteries work just as well next year as they do this year?  Should I store them charged or discharged?  Outside in the cold garage or indoors?  Should I discharge and recharge them periodically over the winter?  Thanks!
― Bob

Dear Bob,
From Light and Motion Support:
A short run time is typically a result of a deep discharge battery.  Deep discharge is the result of inactivity of the cells (lack of use).

It is important to keep batteries charged, or at least charge them once a month and also storing them at 40%-50% charge instead of a full charge. Batteries do not like to be left in a fully discharged state.

NiMH:
If you are using a NiMH battery you can expect to get about 300 charges.  If your battery has been stored without a charge for over 2 months, you are most likely dealing with “deep discharge” and you can try to cycle the battery and restore some of its memory. This process is fully charging and fully discharging the system 4 to 6 times.

LI-ION:
If you are using a Li-ion battery you can expect to get about 300 charges out of that battery. If you have left your li-ion battery stored without a charge for more than 3 months, you are dealing with “deep discharge.”  You can try to cycle the battery a few times, but it may need to be replaced.
― Light and Motion Support

From Garmin International Product Support:
With your Edge 800, I would recommend the following when storing the unit for long periods of time:
Upload all you data before a long storage of the unit
Store the Edge 800 indoors
The unit can be full charged or discharged before you store the unit
Please see page 1 of the owner’s manual about temperate of the unit.
― Michael G.
Product Support Specialist
Outdoor/Fitness
Garmin International

Choi said, “We’re doing a little bit of celebrating. The second biggest bike company in the world hired the biggest law firm in the world and threw everything at us. Despite that, I feel that justice prevailed; it was vindicating completely.”

Mike Sinyard, president and founder of Specialized Bicycle Components, released this statement: “This lawsuit was a matter of principle and about protecting our culture of trust and innovation. We respect the ruling of the court in our favor. We are very satisfied with the outcome and the damages set at $1.00. We really want to put all our passion and time into growing the sport of cycling.”

Specialized claimed in the suit that Choi and Forsman had breached their employment contract by working on their Volagi business while they were still employed at the company and by not informing Specialized that they were planning to create a business that competed with it.

Specialized attorney Robert Shwarts claimed that Choi had emailed Specialized sales reports to other Volagi principles. He made the argument that other Specialized employees could do what Choi and Forsman had done, thus threatening the company’s very existence. He also argued that Choi had intentionally delayed terminating his employment in order to gain more access to Specialized sales information and while being paid for a job he was not performing adequately due to his attention to Volagi. He claimed that developing the bike while in Specialized’s employ was a violation of the non-compete agreement that both Choi and Forsman had signed.

By awarding one dollar in damages, the jury brushed off Shwarts’ request to either award damages of $41,500 to Specialized representing royalties on the sale of Volagi bikes, or for a portion of Choi’s and Forsman’s salaries from Specialized while they were also working on Volagi. It is unclear whether the fact that the jury found in favor of Specialized on the breach of contract claim could lead to Specialized suing for reimbursement of its legal fees, which, according to court documents, were already at a million and a half dollars at the beginning of the trial.

Volagi attorney Charles Smith argued that Specialized had brought the suit to stifle competition. Smith argued, using a section of the California labor code, that as long as employees are dutiful to their employers, they are free to work on other projects on their own time. In a direct rebuke to Sinyard’s claim on the stand of being the “Apple Computer of bicycles,” Smith completed his statements with the words, “Mike Sinyard, you are no Steve Jobs.”

Choi said, “They were accusing us of things that I never did or would do. That was more hurtful than anything.” Specialized had claimed that Choi had delayed his departure from the company in order to steal trade secrets while still drawing a salary.

Choi is particularly incensed on this point, as he resigned on April 12, 2010, and claims to have explained fully at the time that he was leaving in order to start his new bike business. He claims that it is Specialized that delayed his departure; he was working on developing the Purist bottle, and his superiors requested that he stay on to finish that project, which he did.

“Barley had quit (to work full time on Volagi), and I stayed on to help them,” says Choi. “Then they turned that against me.” He also claims that he has been completely transparent throughout, and other efforts he made to resolve this peacefully were also turned against him. For instance, in response to Specialized claiming that he had stolen trade secrets (he and Forsman both worked in accessory design, not bicycle design), he gave them a complete backup of his laptop that he kept at home to show that there was nothing in it that belonged to Specialized. “I didn’t have to tell them I had a backup or give it to them,” he says. “They spent two million dollars just to stifle us.”

On Wednesday, the defense had called Sean Sullivan, former executive vice president and second in command to Sinyard at Specialized. According to Choi, he said that Sinyard had told him that that loyalty is a one-way street. Sullivan also testified that the Specialized Roubaix bike design came from a Seven Cycles custom bike that a Specialized employee had bought because the company’s product line did not include a relaxed-geometry comfort bike with a tall head tube.

Specialized not only claimed that Volagi’s comfort endurance bike takes sales away from the Roubaix, but it also claimed that the look of the bike was copied from its bikes, a point rejected by the court. “We can actually still keep our red color,” Choi chuckled. “Specialized doesn’t own that. It bordered on ridiculous their claim that they owned that color.”

Choi is hopeful that the legal battle will end now, but he is afraid that Specialized will not stop in its efforts to crush his little company. “Seven months ago, they fought for a preliminary injunction to stop us from selling our bikes,” he says, “and when that failed, they just kept going. But we kept fighting back, like the motto of our company, ‘By Endurance.’ At least for this moment, we can savor this victory and continue the good fight. The bike industry is all about the small amount of innovation that brings new people in. We should all celebrate that. Between them and us, we spent 2.5 million dollars on this. It’s just so silly. Think of what we could have done with all of that (to improve bicycles).”

Specialized has built a powerful company offering a wide range of great products and very good service. Taking on a small company that refused to fold was a miscalculation. It has the right to protect its trade secrets, but when theft of those secrets has not occurred, as the court decided in this case, then it can live and let live. As a great company, it can be magnanimous enough in the future to allow former employees who have behaved honorably to pursue their own dreams outside of the company and wish them well.

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I used Pro Bike Express to transport my bikes to cyclocross nationals in Madison, WI, and I had no idea going in how great it would be. At $200 for the first bike, $55 for the second bike, and $25/pair for additional wheels, the $280 I invested for two bikes and a third pair of wheels was a significant chunk of what I had planned to spend for the entire trip. That price also included taking the bikes to Louisville, KY for the masters world ’cross championships, which I’m not doing (as it falls on my wife’s birthday). So I paid for two trips for my bikes, which are now in Louisville without me, but there was no other pricing option.

Still, even without racing worlds, the math wasn’t too hard, given the amount United would have charged for those items simply to Madison and back. However, as it was the first time I had flown to a cyclocross race of any kind, much less to race nationals, I was not considering myriad other details that made it a smart investment beyond the simple math.

For instance, one of my Boulder Cycle Sport teammates, Allen Krughoff, has been traveling all season to USGP races and now to nationals aboard Frontier Airlines, which charges him nothing for two bikes (two free checked items, and bikes count no more than any other suitcase!). I was flying free on United frequent flyer miles, but that calculation certainly had me thinking twice about my decision. However, now I’m very glad I did it the way I did.

Some things I had not considered were transport and storage of my bikes and equipment during the week, a service that is included in the fee I paid to Pro Bike Express. Getting a huge rental van or SUV would have been required, and it would have undoubtedly gotten muddy on the inside, conceivably incurring more charges.

And had I been staying at a hotel, overnight storage of muddy bikes would have required fast talking or skulking around — in any case, extra time. I instead was staying with an old college buddy and his family. His wife picked me up at the airport, and I borrowed one of their cars for the week. That car never would have fit a single one of my giant bikes, much less two muddy ones and lots of other gear. I could also leave my muddy shoes and boots with Pro Bike Express each night, rather than getting mud all over their car and house.

The weather turned out to be unseasonably warm and dry in Madison, but it could have been bitterly cold, snowing, and/or raining, in which case the six, tall, interconnected tents attached to the Pro Bike Express trailer would have been life savers. As it was, these tents and the trailer itself, with two large propane heaters, a dozen Saris stationary trainers, bike stands, pumps, tools, tables, chairs, brewing coffee, and room for lots of gear inside, were a great place to change, work on bikes, and warm up, especially in below-freezing morning temperatures.

With so many friends from home using the same Pro Bike Express service, plus lots of others who had not signed on for the service but who gravitated to where we were parked, it was like a mini Boulder in Wisconsin. It’s nice to feel like you have a home field advantage when you’re so far afield!

The huge Pro Bike Express trailer transports 50 bikes, and proprietor Wesley Smith’s truck bed with its camper top will hold lots more gear. The trailer is fully rigged with electricity and burglar alarms.

Smith just bought the company from Wheatridge Cyclery (former 7-11 star Ron Kiefel’s shop) in Wheatridge, Colorado, which had run this service through 2011 out of the shop. Smith is a bike mechanic with a deep desire to serve others and a love for driving long distances, all of which make him perfect to run this operation of his! Even though I had expected to do all of my own work on my bikes, Smith repeatedly offered to clean my bikes after training rides on the course (and I took him up on it)! I’m sure I’ll be a repeat customer of Smith’s for 2013 nationals in Madison.

The thing I dislike about writing magazine reviews of bike lights is that editors always want them in summertime so that they can go in an early fall magazine, the thinking being that that’s the time that people would be buying bike lights. But I, for one, do not ride at night in the summer, and even if I were to do so, the temperatures and conditions are so much gentler on equipment then that it does not offer as useful of a test. When it’s 10 degrees and pitch dark and cars are zooming past while I’m trying to negotiate the ice chunks, snow piles, and deep sand along the road shoulders, then I can truly appreciate a good bike light.

I don’t have a dedicated night bike all rigged up with lights; I’m riding a cyclocross bike that I will yank the lights off of as soon as it becomes light, so I’m looking for convenience (ease of quick installation and removal) dependable, bright light in front that doesn’t poop out as I’m struggling home at night, and dependable, visible tail flashers that stay on when I turn them on and keep flashing for months without new batteries.

Headlights:

Super Quick, Easy, and Bright: The Exposure Joystick
When I just want to hop on my bike or my skis in the dark with a minimum of preparation time and plenty of light, I always grab either my (four-year-old?) Exposure Joystick or my (two-year-old?) Joystick Maxx LED headlights. Both of them are completely self-contained units with good light output and plenty of battery life.

The original Joystick is fatter than the Joystick Maxx, and what I love about it is that it has a pivoting clip-in cradle that snaps onto the bar as well as onto the light. The snap-on cradles were available in both handlebar diameters, but Exposure now no longer offers them.

Various of its current lights have handlebar mounts that the light snaps onto, but the bar clamps are no longer plastic snap-on units but rather a screw-on type. Call me a slacker, but when I’m running out the door to meet an early-morning cyclocross group training/practice race session, I’m not going to mess around with a clamp that has to be screwed on, especially since I probably already have my gloves on and am running late. That snap-on bar mount is key at that time, as well as when it becomes light, and I can yank it off and not worry about breaking it while slithering around on an icy course with dozens of other riders.

The other unit I’ve used for a couple of winters is called the Joystick Maxx. It has been replaced by the Joystick Mk.6, which seems to be almost identical.

Anyway, it has a snap-on mount for the light that screws onto the top of a helmet. I don’t use this mount because I do not like screwing it on and off with its long plastic screw, nor do I like the look of the thing on top of my helmet. Instead, I use the headband that comes with it. It has a little loop to hold the light, and I can slip it over my cap and then put my helmet straps and (clear) glasses earpieces over it. It’s not in the way and is simple to put on and take off. The button, which you push twice to light it and hold down for a few seconds to turn it off, is also easy to depress with gloves on. It offers plenty of light for riding on the road or relatively slowly on a trail, as well as skate- or classic skiing.

At $260, it’s a chunk to spend on a light in such a small package, but it packs a wallop and seems to last just fine through years and years of repeated charging, abuse, cold temperatures, and being dropped. It also is simple and quick to recharge and indicates when it’s charged.

The Mother of All Bike Lights: The Lupine Betty
I used to have the previous incarnation of the Lupine Betty, and it was an incredibly bright halogen light with a water bottle battery. After many years of hard use, it developed some problems, so I upgraded to the LED version of the Betty, using my same old water bottle battery. Like the halogen version, this thing turns the night into day, but now it runs much longer on the same charge.

The Betty has different ways of mounting it, but I just use the tangle of long Velcro straps attached to a flat platform the light pivots on to weave through my helmet holes or to stick it to my cap when cross-country skiing (with the battery in a water bottle belt holder) at night. This gives me the convenience of removing it and installing it only when I need it and not having it banging around on my head when I don’t need light. The thing is so bright that when I start leaving the parking lot after night skiing on our local Eldora trails, I keep trying the high beams because the light seems so dim ahead of me, despite being bright Audi headlights!

With my big water bottle battery, it runs longer than I’ve ever ridden or skied with it at the highest output; Lupine literature puts it at around 2:50 at 2600 Lumens at 26 Watts and 3:40 at 1590 Lumens at 15 Watts.

One of our testers, Chris Rebula, did some 24-hour racing with the unit, and here is what he has to say:

Pros:

1850 Lumen – Incredible light output, literally shocking other riders that I would pass. The beam is powerful and usable, I was extremely confident descending rough terrain at the same speed as I would during the day. On slower speed terrain running the light at a lower wattage (22W) was more than sufficient, extending battery life. The head unit only weighs 129 grams, so mounting the unit on a helmet does not cause the helmet to move all over your head.

Beam Angle – The head unit comes stock with a 16-degree beam angle, plenty of light on the periphery to pick out upcoming corners, even at speed on unfamiliar terrain. Lupine also offers a 22-degree lens to spread the light over a larger area.

Helmet mount head unit articulation – The helmet mount holds the head unit securely without auto adjustment over rough terrain. The light attaches to the helmet or bar mount with an EPDM ring, the interface allows the head unit to rotate on the mount without the necessity of triggering a locking mechanism. The mount allows the light to be easily repositioned as speed changes, farther out for higher speeds and closer in for low speed technical stuff.

Light on/off/dim switch – Programmable power setting (I had it set up stock with 24W and 22W) allows you to extend the battery life by using a lower power output when speeds are lower. The switch is conveniently located on the top of the light, pressing the switch has a defined click and is easily triggered with full finger gloves. Toggling between output settings involves simply pressing the button once (you do not need to hold the button down) and there is no risk of shutting the light down at an inopportune time.

Charging data/Charge One – The charge one head unit controls the rate of charge (Input Amperage), and outputs the state of charge (Amp Hours). Lupine offers a wide array of Li-ion batteries from the emergency backup 0.7 Ah Nano to the 14.5 Ah bottle.

Programmability – Infinitely programmable power output settings.

Cons:

Directions: There is a lot of control over the head unit power output, but you have to do a little studying to actually make changes.

Cost: Retail for the unit with accessories is over $1,000 USD. I paid the same amount for my newest car with part-time 4wd, power windows, AM/FM radio, 5spd manual transmission, and two headlights with high beams, although a couple of Lupine Betty IIs would be a major upgrade.

Taillights:

A Bust: Knog Boomer
This thing worked fine when new. I liked that I could strap it onto my seatpost in a second and pull it back off as quickly, but it was no fun to use in its second season. The button became so sensitive that I could not shut it off, despite having all sorts of tricks to do so, like placing it on a flat surface and trying to touch only the button and nothing else. When I finally thought it was off, I discovered later an obnoxious flashing red light when I next opened my closet.

Worse yet, sometimes it would shut off of its own accord while riding, shattering my preconception that drivers could see me from behind. The upshot of all of this turning on when not intended of course resulted in it running out of batteries when I most needed it one dark night. I was not about to go buy new batteries for it; I just left it right then and there at the trash can at the ATM I’d ridden to (and rode home wary of every car overtaking me). It’s $30 not well spent.

Out of This World: Topeak Alien
This little thing I love. My younger daughter, during her days working at a bike shop, bought me one for my birthday or Christmas or something. It looks cool as can be, does not have a whole bunch of different flashing cycles to click through when turning it off, and it straps on in a flash with Velcro. It is so easy to carry along in case dark descends, that I usually do so. It burned for umpteen night rides over a couple of years before I finally had to replace the pair of flat watch batteries inside.

At $10 retail, I plan on buying a bunch more of these, because now my older daughter has absconded with mine. The one my daughter stole from me is green, but it comes in lots of different colors, since aliens, of course, come in lots of colors as well.

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Zinn’s regular column is devoted to addressing readers’ technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn.

Reader Jeff's tool for removing sealant from cyclocross tubulars at the end of the season.

Q. Dear Lennard,

Love cyclocross and have two quick questions:

Is it cool to mount a cyclometer on your cyclocross bike, especially when racing?

Is it me or does it seem that a few ’cross pros use them, but maybe about 25 percent. Why or why not?

―Scott

A. Dear Scott,

My impression is that no pros use them, and I think it’s because they change bikes, so a computer on the bike only records the laps the bike does, not necessarily all of the ones the riders do. And of course, snapping it off in a crash or tangle with another rider’s bike is always a possibility. I personally keep a Garmin in my pocket to record everything regardless of what bike I’m on, and then I don’t worry about breaking the mount off, either.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

I was rooting through the garage looking for something approximating the small metal tube that you used in your article on removing sealant from cross tubulars. I ended up crudely duct taping a small inflation nozzle of the type that comes with floor pumps or small compressors to the hose on my shop vac. This setup turned out to be very effective and fast.

While I didn’t measure the amount of sealant recovered, there was quite a bit in the hose of the vacuum afterward, and since the nozzle is a clear red color, I could see it being sucked out of the tire. It took only about a minute or so per tire to get most of the sealant out.

—Jeff

From the mailbag

Regarding shifting problems on a 2011 Roubaix SL3, I received a lot of mail, and following are some ideas for improving shifting on them, including some ideas that would improve shifting on any bike:

Q. Dear Lennard,

I was just browsing your posts and saw the one with the guy having trouble with his Dura-Ace derailleurs and Ultegra shifters. We see lots of this sort of thing at the bike shop where I wrench, and there are several fixes, but a couple obvious ones his shop may not realize, and we have corrected another via Specialized.

He doesn’t say what chain or generation of derailleurs he’s using, which can make a big difference. Although he’s not having issues (that he knows of), he may not realize that the new 7900 front derailleur is not compatible with anything but 7900 shifters.

Also, there seems to be a slightly noticeable difference in shifting depending on which chain is used with the new generation of Shimano parts, especially with something like a KMC versus a new Ultegra chain. Shimano really does seem to work best with the appropriate Shimano part.

The bars that are coming on many of the new Specialized bikes also have such a tight bend that the housing creates excess friction unless routed around the back of the bar, creating a wider bend.

You mentioned the hanger, so I might add that the majority of the derailleur hangers we see aren’t aligned on new Specialized frames, although this is usually not visible to the naked eye. It seems to take effect after the wheel is clamped and the hanger sits against molded carbon, which isn’t perfect.

If he’s not used to the new shift-lever feel, that will take some getting used to also. as they are not (in my opinion) anything like the older Shimano feel. These are the most frequent issues with new Shimano in the large amount of assembly and repair we do.

—Leif

Q. Dear Lennard,

I work at a very reputable bike shop that sells Specialized and I work on many of their models and significantly on the SL3 Roubaix. When one of these bikes is built up with the newest generation of Shimano Dura-Ace/Ultegra (6700 and 7800) we have noticed significant friction issues, especially between the rear derailleur and the rear shifter.

Specialized has informed (we told them) us to uncross the pre-run shift cables and replace the supplied plastic ferrules with metal ones. If that doesn’t work, they said to also replace the cables with Shimano-specific cables and housing. The use of Shimano-specific cable grease is also recommended.

It seems that the internal cables routing on from the levers to the downtube entry might be too high for the cables to run smoothly (too many harsh corners to create friction).

If this had happened to one bike, I wouldn’t have thought it a big deal but this has happened to almost every model we sell with a Shimano drivetrain in virtually every size run (I know because I have done all the work to fix this issue on customers’ bikes).

Also, when Specialized is pre-running cables on the Roubaix SL3, they are running the SIS cables on the inside of the handlebar. Since Shimano now has two positions under the bar tape (inner and outer) most companies are running on the inside. Where I work we have seen that contribute to shift cable friction and improper shifting.

—Your friendly neighborhood wrench (requesting anonymity)

Q. Dear Lennard,

I have a 2011 SL3 Roubaix with the internal cable routing. At first I thought it would be great, but it’s a real PITA, and I had rear derailleur shifting issues as well.

After many frustrating hours, I finally got some consistent shifting by using a Jagwire cable set, and keeping the routing of the rear casing as short as possible.

You absolutely don’t want to use an in-line cable adjuster with it either. Of course, it’s necessary on the front.

It may be that there is just enough flex in the downtube wall where the cable stop is to make the difference.

—Paul

Q. Dear Lennard,

In your recent column on the SL3 frame, if it is indeed a Roubaix, there is a 0.5mm spacer that needs to be installed between the derailleur and its hanger. Otherwise, try as you will, it will not shift right. It ships with the Ultegra bike and we have used it with success.

—Brad

A. Dear Brad,

I asked Nic Sims, the global marketing manager for Specialized Bicycles, about this. He told me: “There was a kit that is available from the customer service department that would rectify shifting problems with Roubaixes. The shim was a small piece that was used for SRAM only, and it pushed the derailleur over so that it would shift down into the 11 better.”

But if I understand you correctly, apparently it came with both in SRAM and Shimano bikes in some cases.

Adding space between the derailleur and the hanger increases the spring tension and essentially makes a derailleur pull harder on the cable.

― Lennard

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Replacing a chain before it becomes severely worn saves wear and tear on more expensive components.

Q. Dear Lennard,

I have a Dura-Ace 7900 chain and cassette (11-25) with 5000 miles on them. What is the rule of thumb on replacement? It seems to work fine, but the LBS advises me to replace them. Seems to me I should just ride until it gives me a bit of annoying feedback. Also I am pretty light (140 pounds) and ride at a pretty high cadence (100 rpm). I figure a high cadence will be putting less load and wear on the drivetrain, even though it goes around more. Make sense?

—Andrew

A. Dear Andrew,

No, your approach does not make sense to me. If you replace your chain before it gets too worn, then you won’t have to replace the cogs or chainrings, both of which cost many times more than a chain.

Yes, your theory makes sense if and only if you only have one rear wheel and you never interchange it. Then you can in theory just keep wearing everything out so that your chain, cogs and chainrings are all shot. At some point, even though they’re all worn together, there will be a time when the rear cogs become so hook-shaped that they still can’t keep the chain from skipping, but that will probably be many years down the road. But at no point (you may already be there after 5,000 miles) will you be able to put somebody else’s wheel on there without ruining his or her cogs within a single ride.

I personally cannot tolerate riding on stuff that is worn out and trashed and doesn’t work as it was originally intended. I don’t let it happen to my car, and I certainly don’t let it happen to any of my bikes. I am convinced that maintaining equipment to its recommended specification also saves money over the long run.

For instance, I have three cyclocross bikes with Campy 10-speed components on them, and I have 10 sets of cyclocross wheels with Campy 10-speed cogsets on them, many of them being Record titanium ones. I replace chains quite frequently on those bikes (I certainly do not get a full cyclocross season out of a chain, even though I’m spreading the usage over three bikes), not only because cyclocross is hard on chains, but also because I refuse to run the risk of ruining all of those expensive cogsets.

I know from making this mistake back when I was a 20-year-old Cat. 1 racer that all it takes is a single, short race on a worn chain to ruin a new cogset. I did it in a single criterium. Back then it was the entire freewheel that had to be replaced, not just the cogs, and on all of my wheels, because I hadn’t noticed how worn the chain was until I got out in that criterium with my new straight block on, and it started skipping like mad as soon as I got out of the saddle to close a gap. When I put a new chain on right afterward, it skipped on that once-used freewheel (as well as all of my other ones that the worn chain had ruined).

I’ve gone over how to check chain length (changes in it equate to wear) in this column many times, and I describe and illustrate many methods of doing it in all of my “Zinn and the Art of” maintenance books. Suffice it to say that if you get a ProGold chain wear gauge and replace your chain when it hits the 100 percent line when you flip the hook into the chain, you will get very long life out of your cogs. I replace all of my chains before the ProGold gauge gets to 100 percent, or as soon as the Rohloff gauge on the “A” side drops fully into the chain.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

I have a 2011 SL3 frameset that I had built up with 10-speed Ultegra shifters and Dura-Ace front/rear derailleurs. My LBS mechanic has done his darndest (as have I) to achieve a measure of consistent and reliable shifting at the rear. Despite his eminently capable best efforts the shifting still requires over/under shifting efforts to get to a desired gear.

I have run a Gore totally sealed cable on the brakes and have absolutely no problems and also the front shifting is spot on. I would like to use the rest of the Gore brake/shift kit to try to remedy the issue but the shift cable portals/stops on the frameset will not accommodate the diameter involved with the Gore housing.

I have had zero joy in going through Specialized customer service and my shop’s sales rep on trying to acquire brake cable stops that I could screw into the frame in place of the OEM shift stops.

—Trey

A. Dear Trey,

You didn’t mention which SL3 it is; it makes a big difference, since it could be either a Tarmac SL3 with external cable routing or a Roubaix SL3 with internal cable routing. If it’s a Tarmac, you should be able to see where the cable is being impinged upon and correct it. And if it is indeed a Tarmac, it’s surprising that the external stops don’t fit Gore housing.

With any bike, make sure the derailleur hanger alignment is correct; your LBS mechanic should have the tool for this, and he can correct alignment with it; if it’s not right on, you’ll have problems. Also check the B-screw adjustment on the rear derailleur to ensure that the upper jockey wheel is as close as can be to the cogs without actually pinching the chain against them. If those details are fine, you might even check frame alignment with a string test, but with a molded-and-bonded frame like this, it’s a bit hard to imagine that it’s off significantly.

If it’s a Roubaix, then you should check that the cables are not twisted inside the frame. When threading the cables through the frame, the second cable can get wound around the first cable. When shifting, the cables will pull on each other and not only cause drag but also affect each other’s tension; this can obviously give you problems. Specialized offers this link to the cabling instructions for running the cables through the Roubaix SL3; follow also the link to the video demonstrating it: http://bit.ly/sBJp1o.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

My Felt F50 is looking pretty shabby and I want to get it powder coated. Here’s my question. The seat stays are carbon fiber, bonded to both the seat tube and chain stays. Will the powder coat curing process (bake at 400 degrees for up to 45 minutes) compromise either the bond between the stays and the frame or the stays themselves?

—Jim

A. Dear Jim,

Don’t do it! Your bike has an aluminum front end and a carbon rear end. There are a number of problems with powder coating a frame like this.

First, powder coating is an electrostatic process, and the charged powder particles need an oppositely charged metal substrate to attract them. So your front triangle would attract the powder and allow the powder to distribute evenly over it; your rear end would not.

Secondly, the heat required to melt the powder and let it flow out to form a hard, glossy surface would soften the resin in the carbon matrix of the rear end as well as soften the glue bonding it to the front triangle. Obviously, you don’t want either of these things to happen.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

I saw what you wrote to Ole in a previous column about using 11 speed Campy derailleurs with 10-speed shifters. I had had a similar thought once, and asked Campy directly about this. Apparently the design of the 11-speed derailleur is different enough that the two are not compatible.

―Jon

Q. Dear Lennard,

The recent Q & A about headset wear leads me to wonder if transporting a bike on a roof rack is harder on a bike than a trunk or hitch rack. With the fork clamped firmly to the vehicle road shock is transmitted to the bike up the fork and the headset. In like manner, wind loads at speed are borne by the fork and headset. A trunk mount usually cradles the top tube, and can have extra padding as well. Which is best?

―Michael

A. Dear Michael,

A roof rack is harder on the headset, if you’re driving on rough roads. But otherwise, I don’t think it matters as long as you don’t run the bike into garages or awnings with a roof mount, or get run into from behind with a hitch mount.

―Lennard

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The November 2011 edition of Velo magazine was a special focusing on the hardmen of cycling.

Editor’s note: This edition of Tech Talk with Lennard Zinn was originally published in the November 2011 issue of Velo magazine.

Tape it up!

Q. Dear Lennard,

I’ve bought some new handlebar tape and decided that before I made a mess of the job, I ought to look online for advice on the correct way of applying the tape. While I found a lot of advice, most of it conflicted with one another. Some sites say start at the top and work your way to the end caps, some suggested doing it the other way. Some suggested winding clockwise on the drive side, some said counter-clockwise. So, is there a correct technique?

— Anthony

A. Dear Anthony,
HTFU! Who cares what direction you wrap your handlebar tape! A hardman would never ask such a question. In Fausto Coppi’s day, riders had to share handlebar tape; they were lucky to have one roll of their own! Heck, they were lucky to even get handlebars.

I recently spent a weekend with Bob Roll and Alex Stieda, who told me about racing in Europe with the 7-Eleven team in the 1980s. One night Bob entered his latest fleabag hotel room and flipped back the bed covers only to find condoms and syringes on the mattress. He flung the mattress out in the corridor and slept on the box springs, but it turns out there were plenty of nights the riders did this, whether due to a completely broken-down mattress or due to a disgustingly dirty one in a room crawling with cockroaches.

Those were the glamorous days of American pro racers in Europe, and they didn’t worry which direction their handlebar tape was wrapped.

—Lennard *

A hardman can fix anything with the right tool.

Gear for the hardman

Wenger Giant Swiss Army Knife ($2,150)

A true hardman can fix anything, especially if he has the right tool. Give him the Wenger Giant to ensure that he’s properly equipped.

He won’t care that it weighs two pounds; a hardman is not a weight weenie.

Two types of pliers, a compass, magnifying glass, fish-scaler, and chain tool are all great, but most importantly, it has both a bottle opener (and for the Euro hard man, a corkscrew), so he won’t be tempted to break off the top of the bottle with his teeth. wengerna.com

Ambrosio Nemesis tubular rim ($100)

The burly Ambrosio Nemesis is often found on bikes at Paris-Roubaix.

If you want to slam through cobbles and broken pavement in driving rain, and make it to the finish on the same set of wheels, all without rattling your fillings out of your teeth, these 450-gram monsters are for you.

The Nemesis is often found on the bikes during Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. It is here, facing the rigors of 200+ kilometers on ancient cobbled roads, that this rim proves its mettle and endurance. Made in northern Italy with a shot-peened surface finish and double spoke eyelets for improved fatigue resistance, the Nemesis is counterweighted to maximize stability at high speeds.

Available in 28-, 32- or 36-hole, the hard-anodized surface is overlaid with permanent laser-etched logos — no wimpy decals. ambrosiospa.com

Mavic Helium H20 jacket ($200)

The Mavic Helium is a hardman's jacket.

This is a hardman’s jacket. It is small and lightweight, so he can jam it into his pocket in a hurry if the temperature rises above 40F. The super thin, light and rainproof Dura Lite Rain SL fabric stretches over his bulging muscles without tearing its waterproof, breathable membrane and fully sealed seams.

Our hardman produces so much heat stomping the pack into blubbering crybabies in Belgian spring snowstorms that he needs the Clima Vent SL ventilation ports behind the sleeves and back to let off some steam.

The Ergo Cuff is snug and ergonomically slant-cut to minimize draft and water intrusion at the wrist. While he’s only going to wear a single jersey under it, the offset, asymmetrical front zip wouldn’t stack up with jersey zippers and won’t chafe him under the chin, even though he’d prefer the pain so it could further drive him into a froth of anger to stomp the pedals harder.

And yes, it’s mostly black, as he prefers. mavic.com

* And for those of you who were wondering, yes, Lennard was kidding in his response to Anthony. Sheesh. You’re all so sensitive lately. HTFU! — Editor

The battery is mounted under the downtube bottle cage. Photo: Thomas Copenhaver

Q. Dear Lennard,

I am wondering whether the Colnago C59 frame made to accommodate Shimano’s Di2 electronic gruppo will also allow for hiding the battery pack of the new Campy Super Record electronic gruppo in the seat post.

In other words, clearly the Shimano version allows for the battery pack to be hidden, so will the Campy technology also be able to be hidden?

Also, I have just purchased the SRM Record crankset. Do you anticipate any trouble with compatibility with the electronic SR group?

—Bill

A. Dear Bill,

No, the Campy battery must stay at the water bottle for now. The brain of the system is housed with the battery pack, and for now Campagnolo has no option for hiding it.

I’m sure the crank would work with Campy EPS, and I would think that Campy might even approve and warranty it, since a Record 11-speed SRM crank would have the same shifting modifications to the chainrings.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

My team just switched frame companies, Specialized to Lapierre, and I have a bottom bracket compatibility question. I currently am on a Tarmac with a standard threaded BB, with which I run my three-piece SRM on with a Campagnolo BB. Lapierre runs a BB86 bottom bracket. Is there any ability to adapt the Lapierre so I can run my three-piece SRM on it, or am I stuck? Thank you for the help!

—Ryan

A. Dear Ryan,

I think that your crank has just become a paperweight, because there’s no room inside a BB86 shell (or a BB90 shell, for that matter) for a threaded insert. BB86 is for press-fit bearings housed in plastic sleeves (24mm spindles only), whereas BB90 is Trek’s press-fit system (without plastic bearing sleeves) for 24mm spindles.

SRM’s Christoph Adels says:

“Ryan is using an older Pro PowerMeter model with Campagnolo/SRM aluminum cranks. I don’t think there is any kind of adapter to fit the Campagnolo square taper threaded BB into a Press-Fit BB86 frame. I know that there are adapters for BB30 frames to run them but BB86 is too narrow to add an adapter — I’m sorry!”

Not that it would help you with that frame, but in case other readers are interested, there is also no threaded adapter for BB386, despite its large I.D. Here’s FSA marketing manager Fletch Newland on that:

“We do not (have threaded adapters for BB386). The only way to run a 24mm spindle crankset is with a PF30 BB and an EE084 adapter (386EVO to MegaExo reducer) $20 and we have them in stock. Part number #200-3202.”

Unfortunately for you, Ryan, since you don’t have a 24mm spindle, but rather a three-piece crankset, there are no options for you to use your SRM crank with that Lapierre frame.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

Wow — it looks like you got a lot of feedback on my spoke de-tensioning issue (see here and here). Here’s some additional information: a week after resolving the tension issue with the rear PowerTap/Stan’s 340 build, I ordered a front wheel built by Handspun, QBP’s in-house brand. It has a 24-hole Dura-Ace 7900 hub laced to a Stan’s Alpha rim with DT Swiss Aerolite spokes.

I mounted a Hutchinson Intensive tubeless tire, but this time I checked tension both before and after mounting the tire. It decreased from an average of ~85 kg to ~60 after I mounted the tire, so I asked the mechanic at my LBS to re-tension the wheel with the tire mounted. It has held up very well for three weeks of riding, and I love the tubeless ride quality.

Here’s Stan’s response to a version of the same question you answered for me:

“The Hutchinson Tubeless tires have a very tight bead made from carbon fiber. It does not stretch like Kevlar so when seated on a tubeless rim it will compress the rim and drop the spoke tension more than a tube and tube-type tire. We have found this to be true on Shimano and Campy tubeless rims also. Some hubs are more prone to lose significant tension. The PowerTap has such a design where the non-drive side requires about half the tension of the drive side for proper dish, which results in much less initial tension and therefore very low tension once a tubeless tire is seated on the rim. The solution for you is to keep the tire mounted and inflated to riding pressure and retension the wheel — bring the drive side up to 80 to 85kgf and adjust the non-drive side accordingly.”

Thanks again for recommending road tubeless and for answering my question.

—Eric

Q. Dear Lennard,

Great piece on the differences between the tubular tapes out there. I too was confused and got the wrong tape to prep my tubulars for this cyclocross season. After one ride I noticed that the tape was separating from itself. The failure was through the middle of the tape, not between tape and glue or glue and rim. I stripped it all off and started over without any tape whatsoever.

Both wheels have held great so far this season, but I do keep any eye on them and check them after every race. Next reason I’ll probably invest in Uncle Stu’s Belgian Tape.

I’m sure the Velox Jantex is fine for slapping a new tubular on if you flat on a road ride and are OK with riding home gingerly, but as far as the lower pressures and hard cornering involved in cyclocross, it’s not the right thing to use, in my humble opinion.

—Fritz

A. Dear Fritz,

Sounds like maybe you used Tufo Extreme tape. If so, I made the same mistake with cyclocross tires last season with the same consequence; see the last entry on this column.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

Any thoughts about the outcome of the Vail time trial in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, where Levi Leipheimer beat Christian Vande Velde by less than a second on a time-trial bike while the latter rode a road bike? As you know, the first half of the course is relatively flat while the rest is steeply up. Do you think Vande Velde is having second thoughts?

—Howard

A. Dear Howard,

I asked Christian about that, and he is not having second thoughts. He recognizes that the two sections of the course favor two different types of bicycles, but since his road bike is so much lighter than his time trial bike, he felt that it offered the advantage overall.

He was faster on the climb than Levi, and vice versa on the flats.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

I have a bike company in northern Norway, just north of the Arctic Circle. I prefer Campagnolo drivetrains, but on my cyclocross bike for commuting use during wintertime, I need lower gearing.

I want to rebuild the bike to Campy Veloce 10-speed Ergopower with SRAM 10-speed cassettes and chain. This works fine with a Campy rear derailleur. But Campy’s derailleurs cannot handle 11-32T cassettes. Maybe the new 11-speed Chorus (11-29T) rear derailleur is capable of this but I am not sure. I presume it is compatible with the 10-speed Ergopowers?

If Campagnolo won’t work I would prefer to use an SRAM X.0 or X.9 10-speed rear derailleur, because the return spring is much stronger than that in Shimano, meaning it will better overcome cable friction during winter use.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

—Ole

A. Dear Ole,

First off, I’d use Gore RideOn cables so you don’t need a return spring that will overcome cable friction under your extreme riding conditions.

I don’t know that the 11-speed Chorus rear derailleur is compatible with the 10-speed Veloce shifters. I would have assumed that it is, but I also assumed that a Mirage 10-speed rear derailleur would work fine with my 11-speed Super Record shifters while I was waiting for a replacement Super Record rear derailleur. However, it did not shift well at all. So I’m not sure that essentially inverting those components would work to go with a Campy 10-speed shifter and 11-speed rear derailleur.

You may be able to crank the B-screw on the Campy rear derailleur you have and get it to handle a 32T cog, like you can with Di2 or as Team Sky did on the Anglirú in this most recent Vuelta a España. The Campy B-screw is on the lower knuckle, by the way, not located at the mounting bolt like SRAM and Shimano.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

Thanks for your article on using Campagnolo shifters with SRAM derailleurs — it’s working for me! My Campy Centaur 10-speed shifters work perfectly with a SRAM derailleur and cassette.

In fact, I think the Campy shifters are really smoother, quicker and cleaner shifting than the SRAM shifters, and work just as well with the SRAM derailleur and cassette as they did with the Campy Chorus derailleur and cassette I had on my previous bike (that was wrecked when I was hit by a car last January).

The smooth shifting may be helped by the new Campy cables and housing I installed as well, but I was really surprised at how well the setup shifts. All I really did was install the shifters and cables, made a couple of half-turns of the adjustment barrel on the frame and a half-turn on the derailleur and it was dialed right in.

The braking action with the Campy levers is also much better; smooth, strong, and with the return spring in the Centaur levers, require only a feathery touch. I think the SRAM brake calipers are really strong, and matched with the Campy levers make for a great braking system.

I still have a strange problem with the left shifter only moving the front derailleur with two clicks (which is just enough to shift to the big chain ring then not moving it at all after that), but that may just require a rebuild of the left shifter.

The only real issue remaining is what to call my “new” set-up: is it SRAMpagnolo, CampagRAM, or should I just call it SRAMpy or Campram?

—Kevin

When gluing up tubulars for cyclocross, be sure to use the right tape. Photo (Lennard Zinn (file)

Q. Dear Lennard,

I just finished reading your November 1 FAQ and I wanted to clarify something about “Belgian Tape.” You say “Don’t use Jantex (a.k.a. “Belgian”) gluing tape on a road tubular.” While I don’t dispute the use of tape on a road tire, you allude to our Belgian Tape as being the same as Jantex. We source our own tape and while it seems very similar, it is fact quite different.

The Jantex tape is thicker than the tape we use and the Jantex has a tighter weave of fabric material than our tape. As such we notice that it doesn’t seem to “melt” into the glue nearly as well as our tape.

A couple of seasons ago we used the Jantex on some team wheels because we were out of the Belgian tape we normally use. After a couple of races we had some issues with tires having adequate adhesion to the rim.

We started to peel them off to investigate and found that they peeled off with considerable ease compared to tires we had done with our tape. We glue about 100 tires in a season and use the same method for each one. We ended up re-gluing a number of tires that had the Jantex and never had any issues after that.

This is just from our observations after using both the Jantex and the Belgian Tape, but I would say they are different and shouldn’t be labeled the same. I hope this helps to clear things up.

—Stuart Thorne, managing director, Cyclocrossworld.com

A. Dear Stu,

I now see the folly of my assumption that your Belgian Tape and Jantex gluing tape (French, by the way) are the same. Since the yellow-brown paper release tape covering it looks the same and the sticky tape is white and of the same width, the only obvious difference is that the diameter of the roll your Belgian Tape comes on is larger than the Jantex roll. And since your Belgian Tape comes without packaging or logos of any kind, I was tempted to come up with a name or a brand for it other than “Belgian Tape.”

Last season, I used Belgian Tape with very good adhesion and nary a tire-rolling incident, despite running very low pressures (28-33psi) for somebody my size. This season, however, I didn’t want to bug you for more, and it’s easy to get Jantex tape with our normal QBP orders.

So I glued up three sets of carbon wheels with Jantex tape, using the method I’ve outlined here of two or more Vittoria glue layers on the rim, then tape, then glue over it, then mounting the tire. The tires had at least two layers of glue that had set on the base tape, and I moved them straight across from a glue-free stretching rim onto the freshly glued, taped wheel.

I also had three sets of carbon wheels that I had left glued over the summer with Belgian Tape. I’ve been racing and training on all six sets of those wheels this season, and I have yet to roll a tire off of any with Belgian Tape. However, I’ve now rolled three of the six tires off of the Jantex-taped wheels—a rear one off of a Campy Bora CX (no crash), and both the rear (no crash, but tore the valve stem off) and front (landed on my face in a dry irrigation ditch) of a pair of ENVE 1.25s.

So, my informal survey would lead me to believe that there is indeed a difference. I need to get some more Belgian Tape! Sorry I assumed they were the same.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

Your articles are always so useful, and more times than not I’ve been able to find my answer to a bicycle-related question somewhere from something you or your colleagues at VeloNews.com or Velo have written.

I have questions regarding the benefits of a wide-rimmed road tubular. I know that you create a larger contact patch on a clincher with a wider rim — is this also true for tubulars? I also prefer a wider tire to begin with (Vittoria Open Corsa CX 25mm). Would a wider rim better suit that width?

As a 20-year-old self-sponsored rider/racer, I want to try an aluminum tubular set before I commit to carbon (someday) and while I’ve been doing my research, I’ve found options to be slightly limited on both ends, so I just wanted to get a little input before I made a final choice.

—Chris

A. Dear Chris,

The wider rim won’t create a wider contact patch with a tubular, but it will hold the tire on better.

—Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

I’ve been reading with no small amount of interest your ongoing commentary regarding carbon braking surfaces, specifically relative to the abuse they receive from pads with bits of embedded metal resulting from swapping wheelsets.

In your most recent review of Ritchey’s superb ‘cross offering, I noticed carbon rims on the Swiss Cross build. This got me to thinking: If bits of metal are problematic, surely hard braking in mud would be like building brake pads from carborundum … right? I presume there is more to this than marketing, as Tom is one of the more thoughtful builders on the planet. Am I missing something obvious here?

By the way, I don’t own carbon rims, as the debate around durability and the hassle factor has simple given me reason to pause and enjoy my old standbys. My question is, therefore, purely theoretical.

—Matthew

A. Dear Matthew,

Thing is, you don’t brake that hard in cyclocross, especially when it’s muddy, as the rider tends to be moving slowly and is bogged down. There’s no comparison to required braking force when descending a steep mountain road with tight switchbacks.

The low weight and mud-shedding ability of deep carbon rims means that they’re here to stay for ’cross, but I really have noticed minimal wear on my carbon wheels in muddy races.

—Lennard

Follow Lennard on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lennardzinn

Have you ever seen a rear wheel stay perfectly true, yet go out of dish? I have two Mavic rear wheels that over time the rims have migrated towards the cassette at both the brake and chain stays. I took the wheel in and it was indeed very true, yet about 1/16 inch towards the cassette. The mechanic tightened up the non-drive side and Loctited them, but I have not tried it out yet. I am a 200-pounder that has a very steep hill coming home, and I try to pedal smoothly, but maybe that is a contribution?

—Gordon

A. Dear Gordon,

What I certainly have seen is a true and dished rear wheel maintain its true but lose its dish when a tire is installed and pumped up. When the air pressure in the tire pushes inward on the rim and decreases the spoke tension as the rim diameter decreases, the wheel pulls more to the drive side because those spokes are under higher tension. Are you sure this isn’t what happened to your wheel? Otherwise, I think that the likelihood of each non-drive spoke loosening the same amount so that the wheel stays true and loses dish would be low.

Normally, the amount that the dish drifts is dependent on tire pressure as well as vertical rim stiffness. The lighter the rim, the greater is the spoke de-tensioning effect of a given amount of tire pressure. Ideally, a rear wheel would be dished more toward the non-drive side so that when it has a tire on it, it becomes centered. Either that or the dishing would best be performed after the tire is mounted and inflated.

Finally, your greater weight sitting on the bike de-tensions the spokes at the bottom more than a lighter rider, resulting in perhaps the non-drive spokes loosening as you ride.

—Lennard

Reader follow-up

Following are three comments regarding losing spoke tension on a PowerTap/NoTubes Alpha 340 rear wheel:

Q. Dear Lennard,

I just saw my last e-mail online and wanted to follow up. I have since sold my Alpha 340 wheelset because I couldn’t keep tires on it.

Regarding your writer with the vanishing spoke tension: I had a similar problem when initially building my Alpha 340/Ultegra hub wheelset. I lost 25 percent of the spoke tension upon installation and inflation of the tubeless tire. Simply put, tension was down and dish was off when a tire was on and inflated, and dish and tension were perfectly normal when the tire was off — weird and dramatic with some serious head-scratching.

Once I deduced that the ERD was compressed by the tire I called Stan’s and was told that this is common to varying degrees depending on the hub design. They suggested installing a tire and re-dishing and re-tensioning with the tire in place and inflated. Exactly, but what about the resulting spoke tension without the tire on? It was super high and beyond their suggested limits. Weird.

So what is my conclusion? Loved my old Shimano/Hutchinson tubeless set-up. Loved it and miss it. The Alpha 340 wheelset was light and rode great when I was able to keep tubeless tires on, but a pain in the butt to build with no real sense of how long they would last considering spoke tension.

—Justin

Q. Dear Lennard,

The “friendly mechanic” in your article laced the wheel 2x on both sides because you have to on a PowerTap hub. If you lace the non-drive radial, then you don’t get an accurate power reading.

This is what the CycleOps manual has to say (PDF):

“Important: For your safety, the non-drive side of the PowerTap hub must be built with at least a 2x lacing pattern. Because of the patented PowerTap design, torque is transferred through the hub to the non-drive side. Failure to adhere to this precaution will void the warranty.”

—Tim

Q. Dear Lennard,

I had problems with a PowerTap wheel I built using DT Revolutions and a Mavic Open Pro rim. Did 3x drive and radial non-drive. Radial spokes wouldn’t stay tight. Re-laced with 3x both sides, per Saris recommendations (PDF):

“Wheel-building: Contact a wheel building professional or dealer for assistance in building the PowerTap SL wheel if not purchased as a complete wheel. Both sides of the PowerTap should be built using only a 3x spoke lacing pattern. Due to the design of the hub, the load pattern is not the same as a conventional hub.”

The wheel has been fine for years.

— Phil

A. Dear Tim and Phil,

In my haste to answer Eric’s question, I did not pay attention to the fact that it was a PowerTap hub. Indeed, you must have a crossing pattern on both sides of that hub. I also discounted how much spoke de-tensioning effect you get with the Alpha 340 rims, as I have only used them at low pressure with tubeless cyclocross tires. But clearly, Justin’s letter indicates that this could be a very significant effect. I still stand behind my DT ProLock nipple suggestion.

— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,

In your November 1 FAQ, you responded to a rider who recently had a wheel built by a local bike shop. It seems his non-drive side spokes (reportedly, Wheelsmith with alloy nipples) had lost a great deal of tension. You suggested that perhaps an alternate lacing pattern and/or slightly higher spoke tension may have helped prevent this problem. You also stated, “He should have used DT ProLock nipples. …” Does this assertion have to do with something specific about the nature of tubeless rims?

I build with Wheelsmith Spoke Prep, because it is a requirement for wheels built at the shop where I am employed, but several of my personal wheelsets were built with the spokes’ threads treated only with Phil Wood Tenacious Oil. One such set has rolled over more miles than any of the rest and has seen perhaps one or two quarter turns of a spoke nipple or two over the years. That is how I was taught as I came up. That properly tensioned and trued, a wheel shouldn’t need thread-locking compound in order to hold tension. Were these merely the misguided teachings of retro-grouches?

—Martin

A. Dear Martin,

Using oil to lubricate the threads (and under the nipple head) is far better than having dry threads. The lubricant prevents the nipples from binding for smoother tightening. It allows greater and more uniform tension to be achieved with less torque applied to the nipple, hence resulting in a longer-lasting wheel build.

Wheelsmith Spoke Prep and DT ProLock nipples both provide lubrication and thus the same effect, but they also subsequently grip the threads after setting up, making it harder for the nipples to unscrew. The two-part epoxy threadlock compound in the ProLock nipples is a stronger set than the drip-on Spoke Prep (which needs to stay liquid in the bottle), and there are unburst spheres of the two components left inside the nipple after initial wheelbuilding, so a couple of further truings are possible. Turning the nipple breaks more spheres and adds some fresh threadlock compound to the threads.

Finally, the assertion does not have specifically to do with tubeless vs. non-tubeless rims, but it does apply more the lighter and less vertically stiff a rim is.

— Lennard

If Shimano went with just one button for its front shifter, it could save some weight and cost. Photo: Nick Legan

Q. Dear Lennard,
Nice electric shift review at VeloNews.

Having ridden Di2 for two years, I have only one issue: There should only be one front ring shift button to “go to the other chainring.” A second button is an unnecessary complication. Worse, it allows mis-shifts by pressing the wrong button.

It seems silly to me to match the old mechanical layout, and until there’s a triple version, there’s just no need.

— Will

A.Dear Will,
I agree entirely.

There is only need for a single button, as there is always only a single choice of which chainring to shift to on the front on a double system. I think both companies should adopt this (and SRAM, if you’re listening and working on electronic shift), especially when Shimano and Campagnolo are on a pursuit of saving both weight and cost on the electronic systems to make them more competitive with cable systems in both arenas.

On the Campagnolo system, for instance, the entire lever behind the brake lever could be eliminated, saving considerable weight and expense. All that is needed would be the single, small thumb button. Shimano, too, could greatly shorten up that wing behind the shift lever.

— Lennard

Short history of Campagnolo electronic shift

Giuseppe Dal Pra, the manager for groupsets, has worked on the Campagnolo electronic-shift project for 20 years — since 1992.

The eight-speed Campy electric rear derailleur had both an electrical wire connected to a servo motor, and a shift cable.

At the time, Mavic was up and running with its electric rear derailleur, and Campagnolo’s system started as an electro-mechanical one, relying both on cable pull and electric impulse. That method gave way to fully electronic systems with servo motors in each derailleur.

To also illustrate how long this has been, consider that the first Campy electric systems were in the era of eight-speed cogsets! Campagnolo also built nine-speed, 10-speed, and, now, 11-speed electric derailleurs.

Many of them were tested and raced upon by the various iterations of the Spanish Reynolds team (Banesto, iBanesto.com, Illes Balears-Banesto, Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne, Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, Caisse d’Epargne, and, now, Movistar).

An interesting turn of events happened that changed the order of which company introduced electronic shifting to the market first. Campagnolo’s 10-speed electronic shift components were ready for the market in 2005, and it planned to introduce them. However, after a successful Giro d’Italia campaign with Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne, a number of the bikes failed to shift after being driven to Trento in driving rain at 150kph. The system worked after it was dried out again, but this is exactly the kind of thing that keeps electronic-shift engineers awake at night. This snafu stopped the progress dead in its tracks, as the company had other fish to fry and could not afford to devote resources to this project at the expense of its core business.

It continued to work on the system, but slowly. In 2009, Campagnolo introduced 11-speed drivetrains at a number of price levels, so all of that changeover, performed in secret, required the undivided attention of Dal Pra and other engineers.

Check out the gallery below for a look at some of Campy’s early efforts at electric shifting. Also be sure to check out  our article from 2007 on Campy’s prototypes during that era.

Valentino Campagnolo with the Super Record EPS-equipped Pinarello I rode. Photo: Lennard Zinn © VeloNews

LINGUAGLOSSA, Italy (VN) — While many would say that Campagnolo’s launch of its 11-speed Electronic Power Shift was too long in coming (after all, the company has been working on electric shifting since 1992), I think the press-launch ride on the system on Tuesday came three days too early.

Wouldn’t it have been cool to have started the ride at 11:11 am on 11/11/11?

Oh well; it was an opportunity of a lifetime missed, but the system is crisp, quick, and precise —everything one could really want in a bicycle drivetrain.

After playing around with adjusting and checking the system at a golf club on the flanks of 11,000-foot Mount Etna, I went on a gorgeous ride on a Super Record EPS-equipped, Campagnolo EPS-branded Pinarello Dogma covering 51km of up and down roads on the north side of Italy’s highest peak south of the Alps and Europe’s tallest active volcano (My ride data on Garmin Connect ). The ride was exquisite, consisting of lightly-traveled, curving, climbing, and descending roads in very good condition, and the rain held off until just after stopping. The fact that the EPS system performed flawlessly — save for two small improvements I would like to see (see below) — was the icing on the cake.

First of all, I want to correct a statement I made in Monday’s post that was misleading. I said that Campagnolo “will be shipping groups for sale next month — in December,” but the December ship date is only for groups going to OEMs (i.e., to complete-bike manufacturers). EPS groups will not be available for sale in the aftermarket until springtime.

On to the riding test on the next page!

Campagnolo EPS left lever

TAORMINA, Italy (VN) — In an effort that Campagnolo surely hopes will result in a power shift in its direction in the global component market, the company officially introduced its Electronic Power Shift Monday evening in a beautiful beach resort in eastern Sicily. While all of my hopes for the group were not realized, there were a few that were exceeded.

One surprise was that the company introduced two groups: namely Super Record EPS and Record EPS. Another is that Campagnolo claims that its two groups are now the two lightest electronic groups on the market, with Super Record EPS weighing in at under 2,100 grams, and Record EPS coming in at around 2,200 grams. While prices have yet to be determined, Record EPS is designed to compete on price with Dura-Ace Di2 while offering a slight weight advantage. The company will be shipping groups for sale next month, so the price information will have to become public soon!

Another surprise is that that with a single push, you can shift through all 11 gears up or down; the system reacts to how long you hold a button down. Holding it down for 1.5 seconds goes through all 11 gears, while you can shift, say, three gears in a go by holding it down less than half a second.

On Tuesday we will ride bikes equipped with EPS groups around Mount Etna. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The systems I’ve seen at shows and on Movistar bikes look like the upshift lever for the right shifter is on the inboard side of the lever body, the same as the thumb shifter of standard Ergopower.

I race cyclocross on Campy Ergopower and have had many Ergopower-equipped bikes ever since it was first introduced at the eight-speed level. I think the biggest downside of Ergopower in racing is that when you are sprinting out of the saddle with your hands in the drops, it is hard to upshift. You have to crane your right wrist too far to comfortably and efficiently get your thumb up onto the thumb lever to drop the chain to a smaller cog.

Electronic shifting lets a racer shift from the ends of the aero bars as well as at the brake levers. Movistar had to use cable-actuated derailleurs on its time-trial bikes this year, though their riders were the only ones in the peloton using Campy electronic.

While you can get around this by sprinting on the tops of the brake hoods, it is unaerodynamic in a flat road sprint. And in cyclocross, you often have your hands in the drops for control on a sketchy descent or slippery corner. When you come out of said corner in ’cross, you may be in a very low gear yet entering a high-speed section on pavement or hard dirt and will need to repeatedly shift up through all of the gears on the cogset.

It sucks to do this with the Ergopower thumb lever when in the drops. To avoid it, I often tend to sacrifice control and opt for being on the hoods on sketchy descents and corners that I would normally negotiate in the drops.

But with electronic shifting, there is no reason not to add a shift button closer to the thumb. For cyclocross all I need is a single upshift button for the rear derailleur in the hook of the bar next to my right thumb; I wouldn’t need the downshift lever next to the left hand that the Di2 sprint shifter has.

Another hope I had is for Campy electronic aero bar shifters. The Movistar team this year used cable-actuated derailleurs on its time trial bikes, even though its riders were the only ones in the peloton on Campy electronic.

Electronic shifting can let a rider shift at the ends of the aero bars as well as at the brake levers, and changing gear is quicker with than when pulling or pushing a lever. This can make a huge difference coming into a sharp turn followed by a steep uphill, or accelerating out of repeated corners.

We’ve seen what the system looks like on the Movistar Pinarellos, but we don’t know many details. I would hope, first of all, that it has the tremendously powerful front shifting that sets Di2 apart from cable-actuated systems. I would also hope that it goes a long time on a charge, like Di2, and that charging is fast and convenient.

It would be cool if a seatpost battery option were offered, like the one Craig Calfee is doing aftermarket for Di2, especially if it could be charged without removing the seatpost.

Finally, for installation, here’s hoping that it uses the same holes in the frame for internal routing, in the same places and of the same shape, that Di2 does. And I also hope that the wiring is simple to hook up, easy to diagnose problems, watertight, modular, and easy to figure out and obtain the proper wire lengths.

Q. Dear Lennard,
At our club meeting tonight, a discussion came up about different pedals and the potential to deliver more power over a wider platform. As an example, would a wider pedal platform like a Dura-Ace allow a rider to deliver more power than a Speedplay pedal? Is there any correlation to platform size and power transfer? Does this make sense?
— Gifford

A. Dear Gifford,
My education is in physics, and I was always taught to approach questions like this by evaluating them at the limits. Certainly when you approach the lower limit of pedal size, it would seem to affect power output, since when the pedal becomes vanishingly small, you don’t have enough area to push on effectively. But when you approach the upper limit, that of infinite pedal platform area, it clearly makes no difference. Whether you have a 4-inch by 4-inch platform, a 4-foot by 4-foot one, or a 4-mile by 4-mile pedal platform, you’re not going to be able to produce any more power with one than the other based on platform size.

Speedplay founder Richard Bryne gives this more complete answer:
“The short answer is no, you cannot deliver more power through a wider pedal platform. Size is not the answer. Using this logic, a bigger chain would also deliver more power.

Given that the rider’s shoe provides adequate support, platform size is not the issue that affects performance or comfort. The two issues that affect pedal performance are the lateral stability of the system and the lack of play in the pedal/cleat connection. A stable and tight shoe-to-pedal interface is what top riders demand.

I evaluate the robustness of a pedal system’s connection by snapping the shoe into the pedal (on a bike) by hand. Then, with both hands I grab the shoe and check its stability by forcibly tilting the shoe sole upward and downward. Then I feel for any fore/aft or vertical slop in the connection. The tighter the shoe/pedal connection, the more efficient the power transfer of the system. This by-hand test method is also a great way to check if your cleat/pedal components are worn out beyond their useful service life.

A firm shoe/pedal connection will ensure optimal power transfer and provide more comfort on long rides. And although it is hard to describe, a play-free connection provides a more connected-to-the-bike feeling that simply makes you feel more secure and makes riding more enjoyable.”

Speedplay pedals

So you can take this answer back to your club and hang your hat on it, Gifford.
— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,
For those of us who have adopted your recommended technique of using Belgian tubular tape to more firmly affix tubular cyclocross tires to rims, what happens when it comes time to remove a tire (either to replace/repair a worn or punctured tire or to do end-of-season maintenance)? More specifically, should one attempt to remove the tire from the tubular tape/rim combination or endeavor to keep the tire and tape intact and remove this combination from the bare rim? And, if the tire is to be reused/reglued, how should that process be undertaken?
— John

A.Dear John,
Just start removing the tire. Usually the tape stays on the rim, but not always. Then peel it off of whichever one it stuck to.
— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,
I recently came across your article on gluing tubular tires for cross where you mention the way they tend to separate from carbon rims much more fully than on alloy rims. Does this hold true for road tubulars as well, or does the higher pressure mitigate the risk? I run 46mm Reynolds carbon wheels (DV3K) with Open Corsa 25mm tires. I weigh about 100kg and usually run 130psi rear & 120psi front… would there be any advantage to or would you recommend I use the ‘Belgian tape’ method you described in your cross article on my road setup or would it just be entirely overkill? I should say that, while I haven’t been on tubulars long, I haven’t had any issues previously, but it’s certainly not something I’d like to stumble upon at high speeds and learn the hard way. Thanks for any advice & keep up the awesome work!
— Troy

A.Dear Troy,
Yes, it applies. But the high pressure and better fit to the rim means that you can get a secure glue job without problem.

Don’t use Jantex (a.k.a. “Belgian”) gluing tape on a road tubular. It’s probably less secure, with higher rolling resistance.
— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,
I have a set of seldom-used Mavic Cosmic Carbones. The current tires were glued about 6 years ago. They have at best a couple hundred miles. How long are the tires good for? How long is the glue good for? Should I pull the tires off and glue new ones on?
— Mike

A.Dear Mike,
At least re-glue those tires. And if the base tape or tread peels off of the tire during removal and mounting, then the tires are done, too.
— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,
Based in part on your review of their Alpha wheelset and your road tubeless advocacy, I have decided to make the jump to road tubeless using Stan’s Alpha 340 rims.

The mechanic at my LBS built me a rear wheel using my existing 28-hole Powertap SL+ in a two-cross pattern on both drive and non-drive sides. The spokes were double-butted round Wheelsmith 2.0, attached with alloy nipples. Tension was set to Stan’s recommended 95 kg.

I mounted a Hutchinson Intensive tire using Stan’s yellow tape and two ounces of their sealant and took off down the road. After about 10 miles of smooth pavement, the wheel’s non-drive-side spokes had lost almost all tension.

Here’s my question: assuming my friendly mechanic (who’s built hundreds of wheels) proceeded correctly, is there anything about that rim / tire / hub combo that might have caused the spokes to become untensioned so quickly? Have you noticed tubeless tire installation affecting spoke tension? Any advice about building the wheel so it stays nice and stout?
— Eric

A. Dear Eric,
If anything, the tire pressure is lower on a road tubeless tire than a road clincher, so that does not affect it any more than a standard clincher. All tires, when pumped, reduce spoke tension somewhat. He should have used DT ProLock nipples and, to even out the tension more (and his tension in general may be a bit low), he maybe ought to have laced it radially on the drive side; the two-cross should have been fine on the non-drive side.
— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,
I also am a fan of tubeless wheels and have used tubeless wheels and tires for over a year. I have two Dura Ace C24 carbon wrap wheelsets. I use the Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex sealant. When I change the tires, I have had to scrape out the old sealant to be able to mount the new tires. Is there any way to remove the old sealant that is safe for the wheel other than manually scraping it away? I have used the recommended amount of sealant for a road tire.
— Ed

A.Dear Ed,
Finish Line pink bike cleaner works great.
— Lennard

Q. Dear Lennard,
I’ve been a devotee of tubeless tires for a few years now, but have to admit that I am falling out of love. As I follow your ongoing discussion of tubeless technologies and praise, I have to wonder if anyone else is having problems with tires. I suppose it could be the wheelset I’m riding, but the failures I’m having are coming solely from the tires I have been riding. Currently, I am riding a pair of NoTubes Alpha 340 rims built with Ultegra hubs (3x, 32°) and have previously ridden Shimano Dura Ace 7850 SL. I rode through two sets of Hutchinson Fusion Tubeless tires on the Shimanos — all the way down to the casing — after thousands of miles with a grand total of one flat. I recently built up the NoTubes with Hutchinson Intensive Tubeless tires and haven’t had a flat, but have replaced both original tires as they developed splits through the rubber down to the casing. I’m about to replace one replacement Fusion 2 since it has developed a split as well. Below is an overview of the tire failures, all on the NoTubes wheels. To date I have 1,129 miles on the wheels. Again, I never had a problem with the Shimano wheelset.

Any thoughts? Any other reports of Hutchinson tires splitting?

• Intensive (rear) – massive splits next to rim parallel to braking surface
• Intensive (front) – split up the middle of the tire along the casting seam
• Fusion 2 (front) – split up the middle of the tire along the casting seam

— Justin

A.Dear Justin,
Actually, this is the first I’ve heard of it, but now lots of us have heard your experience.
— Lennard

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Essegi Compositi builds every piece of the GrigioCarbonio folding bike in-house as a carbon monocoque. Photo: Lennard Zinn © VeloNews

The show season is over, and there were a few things that never made it on these pages that I think deserve some mention.

Among the bikes winning design awards at the ExpoBici bike show in Padua, Italy, was one that demonstrated thinking way out of the box as well as an obvious fascination with and talent for making all kinds of widgets out of carbon: the foldable carbon monocoque GrigioCarbonio bike. Essegi Compositi, a composites subcontractor to Formula 1 teams and helicopter makers in Milan, held nothing back when building its super-trick folding bike.

Darren Crisp, a native Texan who has been building titanium bikes in Tuscany for seven years, has found success in Italy. Other than the fact that both of them build their bikes in Italy, he is somewhat the inverse of his good friend, Dario Pegoretti. Pegoretti is famous in the USA, his sales are primarily in the USA, and he is not well-known in Italy and doesn’t display at Italian shows. Crisp, on the other hand, is largely unknown in the USA and only displays at Italian bike shows, since that’s where he sells bikes. Crisp is unique in Italy for making titanium singlespeeds, fancy commuters with curved tubes, and even an extreme winter singlespeed that did the Alaska Iditabike. In the USA, there are quite a few framebuilders making titanium bikes along these lines, but Crisp is virtually alone in Italy in that regard, and plenty of Italians are drawn to his bikes. Both Crisp and Pegoretti seem to have stories that play better in the other’s native country than in their own.

Pancrazio Centola used to work for a number of component companies, including 3T, Cinelli, and Deda Elementi and is largely credited with the bike industry standard of 31.8mm clamp diameter for handlebars for both road and mountain bikes. His new company, Ratio, is committed to producing bikes and components of “rational design” and its products are being imported into the USA by Zar International.

“I make bikes for people who are not very fast but who want to enjoy the ride,” says Centola. “They’re not for winning races, but they climb well, are comfortable, and give a great sense of security when going downhill.”

Sarto is an Italian carbon frame maker now being imported into the USA who uses tube-to-tube construction (carbon tubes are mitered to fit each other and then the joint is wrapped and bonded with fibers, rather than the whole thing being molded in a single “monocoque” piece or into a few large subassemblies that are then bonded together). Sarto makes fully-custom carbon frames and is known to make custom frames for many of the big cycling stars in the world, because the company is able to make tube-to-tube frames that are shaped like the monocoque frames of iconic brands sponsoring teams.

Thanks to those of you who corrected me about HaiBike, pointing out that it is a German brand meaning Shark Bike (the German word for shark is “Haifisch”).

You can get chain tension perfect without a tensioner.

Q. Dear Lennard,
What’s the best way to ensure correct chain tension (and secure rear wheel) on a track bike that doesn’t have a built-in adjuster in the rear dropouts? A separate chain tensioner?
— Martin

A.Dear Martin,
You certainly do not need a separate chain tensioner; people have been getting chain tension right on fixed gear bikes for well over a hundred years without them.

With standard, long-slot track dropouts and axle nuts, you tension your chain properly by “walking” the hub back in the dropouts: by alternating tightening one axle nut at a time and loosening the opposite one and alternately pulling the rim over toward the chainstay opposite the tightened nut.

As for getting the tension exactly right, you can’t improve on Sheldon Brown on this one. If you’re anal about it, you will first make sure that your chainring is centered on the bottom bracket as he suggests. Then your chain will have consistent tension as the crank rotates.

From Sheldon Brown:

Centering Chainwheels
The chain tension on a fixed gear is quite critical, and is regulated by moving the rear axle back and forth in the forkends. If the chain is too tight, the drivetrain will bind, perhaps only at one angle of the pedals (chainwheels are not usually perfectly concentric). It should be tight as it can be without binding. If the chain is too loose, it can fall off, which is quite dangerous on a fixed gear.
Set the rear axle so that the chain pulls taut at the tightest part of the cranks’ rotation. One at a time, loosen up each of the stack bolts, and tighten it back just finger tight. Spin the crank slowly and watch for the chain to get to its tightest point. Strike the taut chain lightly with a convenient tool to make the chain ring move a bit on its spider. Then rotate the crank some more, finding the new tightest spot, and repeat as necessary.

This takes a little bit of your hands’ learning how hard to hit the chain, and how loose to set the stack bolts, but it is really quite easy to learn.

Tighten up the stack bolts a bit and re-check. Tighten the stack bolts in a regular pattern, like the lug nuts on a car wheel. My standard pattern is to start by tightening the bolt opposite the crank, then move clockwise 2 bolts (144 degrees), tighten that one, clockwise 2 more, and so on. Never tighten two neighboring bolts in a row. You may prefer to go counterclockwise, but try to get in the habit of always starting at the same place and always going the same way. This reduces the chances of accidentally missing a bolt.

Once you have the chainrings centered and secured, adjust the position of the rear axle to make the chain as nearly tight as possible without binding. Notice how freely the drive train turns when the chain is too loose. That is how freely it should turn when you are done, but with as little chain droop as possible.
Rear Wheel Installation
When your install the rear wheel, there are basically three things you need to adjust simultaneously:

• The wheel needs to be straight. This basically means that the tire needs to be centered between the frame’s chainstays. If you get it centered between the chainstays, it is properly aligned.
• The chain tension needs to be correct. (See previous section )
• The axle nuts or quick release skewer need to be tight. Note: if you have a nutted axle, it is vitally important that the threads be properly lubricated with grease or oil. You should also have grease or oil on the contact surface where the axle nut presses against the washer that contacts the frame.

Some folks who are used to derailleur bikes find it frustrating, especially with a nutted hub. This is usually because they don’t know the technique of “walking” the wheel back and forth in the fork ends.

Start by installing the wheel at approximately the correct position and tightening the axle nuts. They don’t need to be super tight at this stage, but should more than finger tight. Check the chain tension and wheel alignment.

Most likely, the chain will be a bit loose, but perhaps the wheel is correctly aligned. Loosen one of the axle nuts and push the tire to the side so that the loose side of the axle moves to the rear, then tighten the axle nut you loosened.

Now the chain tension should be better, but the wheel is no longer centered between the chainstays. Loosen the other axle nut and re-center the wheel in the frame. This will actually tighten the chain a little bit more.

The key is to keep one or the other of the axle nuts tight at all times, and “walk” the wheel forward and back.

This takes a bit of practice and getting used to how much axle movement is needed to adjust a given amount of chain droop, but it isn’t really hard as long as you keep one side secured at all times.

[I like to leave the right-side axle nut a bit loose, get the chain a too tight, and tap the chain with the wrench as Sheldon describes for centering chainwheels. This way, I can move the rear wheel forward just the tiny bit needed to make the chain run smoothly. The wheel will then be skewed, and I need to readjust the left end of the axle, but this has little effect on the chain. — John Allen]”

Alles klar?
— Lennard

Q.Dear Lennard,
Thought I’d shoot you a quick email and pose a question to you being as you’ve helped me out in the past.

Stan's rim.

Question is: Can you use Wheelsmith nipples on DT Swiss spokes? I never have during my dozens and dozens of wheel builds, because I was told that there were slight differences in the threads and you’d have issues later on. I accepted that answer, but now I’m curious if that’s true or if it’s just another “urban legend” of the bicycle mechanic. What say you?
— Brian

A. Dear Brian,
They are compatible. Here is an eloquent answer from Ric Hjertberg of Wheel Fanatyk and Mad Fiber (and before that FSA and Wheelsmith):

“While nipples vary a lot (long, short, hidden, spline drive, various materials, etc.), spoke threading is stable. For bicycles, all nipples are compatible with all spokes as long as you match gauges.

Spoke threading is rolled on a 2.0mm wire (for 14g) at 56 threads per inch. Standards:

(1) DIN 79012 (also described as FG 2.3) = major thread diameter of 2.299mm x 56tpi.

(2) JIS (BC 2) = 2.27mm x 56tpi.

(3) In Asia = M2.5×0.45.

(4) In the US = 0.093″-56.

All of these threads are fully interchangeable. So much surface area in the spoke-nipple interface means there’s no worry.

As you well know, 15g spokes (1.8mm diameter) use the same thread pitch, 56. So one must always be careful not to use a 14g nipple on a 15g spoke. It’s loose but the thread seems to work until tension is high. This is a needless hazard but we’re stuck with it.

As one can tell, the “56tpi” harkens back to the 19th century when England (and its Whitworth standards) were the backbone of engineering. Not today, but the standard remains.

Recently, in an engineering forum, someone recently asked what is the world’s most common thread. Some said “M6″ and others “1/4-20.” The winner was the bicycle spoke thread. After all, 1+ billion bikes X 72 spokes/bike = more than any other threaded application.”

So there you go. It’s an urban legend. Interchange brands, but don’t interchange gauges.
— Lennard