- The front sides of the saddle tend to flare out a bit and this combined with the rough edge of the leather is quickly wearing holes in my cycling shorts. I admit some of this might be due to my knees inward pedaling style but I really think the saddle could use a connector piece - similar to that found on the Brooks Swallow - to keep the front sides from doing this.
- The saddle developed a creaking noise last night. This could be mildly annoying or extremely disconcerting. Need to try and get to the bottom of this.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Selle Anatomica Titanico early review
I've got a little over 400 miles on this saddle so far and am happy to report no discomfort or numbness. Granted none of my rides have been over 3 hours so the jury is still out on long term comfort. Have noticed a few potential issues:
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Cannondale bike build
A co-worker recently pro-dealed a shiny new Cannondale Six-13 Pro 1 bike and asked me to put it together in time for Bike To Work Day. This was my first time putting together a Cannondale straight out of the box and I have to say compared to many other brands I've worked on - including several considered to be more prestigious than Cannondale - I was mighty impressed. Granted, this bike isn't the sort of bike I'd ever purchase since I'm an out of shape non-racer aiming to do P-B-P but in terms of actual manufacturing quality and attention to detail it's a great bike. You can take issue all you want with the design of Cannondale's bikes but anyone who questions the actual quality of workmanship doesn't know what they're talking about.
The first thing I noticed is that the bars and shifters came separately. Most production bikes are shipped with the levers mounted and the bars taped. This can be a good or bad thing. If you're a shop with little concern for quality it's a good thing as it saves a lot of time in assembly. Time is money and any shop that forgets this (and that's many of them) is doomed for the dustbin. If you're a fanatic for details it's a blessing as you can position the levers where you want them, cut the cable housing to the correct length, and do a clean job on taping the bars. In many ways this makes everything go faster. Much less frustrating than getting a 50cm bike with the bars already taped only to realize they used the same length of brake housing that you'd find on a 64cm bike!
Next came the seat tube. This is always a good place to check for quality. With more and more carbon seatposts coming on the market having a perfectly smooth, clean seat tube is vital. If I'm putting a carbon post on a bike I always take a cotton ball and rub it along the inside of the seat tube. This will help me located any minor burrs. When I did this with the Cannondale there was nothing left in the seat tube. My fine grit sanding paper stayed in the tool box. This is a big improvement over bikes from some of the most renown European builders that had seat tubes so filled with paint that you couldn't get a seatpost in them with a hammer. I've even seen some where the seat tube wasn't even round due to overheating.
The FSA crankset and MegaExo bottom bracket came pre-installed as did the FSA headset and stem. Both were perfectly adjusted right out of the box. Tires were already mounted to the Ksyrium wheels and they even took the time to align the Hutchinson label with the valve stem. Again, not the sort of detail you see on most production bikes.
The only part that was pre-installed and required any actual adjustment was the outer limit screw of the rear derailleur which required a 3/4 turn to get the pulley perfectly in alignment with the cog. Beyond that everything else was perfectly dialed in.
For those unaware, Cannondale is the only bike company that still does almost all of their work in the US (the Synapse being the one exception). While the Taiwanese are phenomenal when it comes to manufacturing, their assembly jobs often display a workman-like competency. Everything works, but the little visual touches are absent. The Cannondale by comparison was clearly assembled by people who truly take pride in their work. I don't think the Asians will ever reach that level and for that reason I hope companies like Cannondale continue to maintain operations in the US.
The first thing I noticed is that the bars and shifters came separately. Most production bikes are shipped with the levers mounted and the bars taped. This can be a good or bad thing. If you're a shop with little concern for quality it's a good thing as it saves a lot of time in assembly. Time is money and any shop that forgets this (and that's many of them) is doomed for the dustbin. If you're a fanatic for details it's a blessing as you can position the levers where you want them, cut the cable housing to the correct length, and do a clean job on taping the bars. In many ways this makes everything go faster. Much less frustrating than getting a 50cm bike with the bars already taped only to realize they used the same length of brake housing that you'd find on a 64cm bike!
Next came the seat tube. This is always a good place to check for quality. With more and more carbon seatposts coming on the market having a perfectly smooth, clean seat tube is vital. If I'm putting a carbon post on a bike I always take a cotton ball and rub it along the inside of the seat tube. This will help me located any minor burrs. When I did this with the Cannondale there was nothing left in the seat tube. My fine grit sanding paper stayed in the tool box. This is a big improvement over bikes from some of the most renown European builders that had seat tubes so filled with paint that you couldn't get a seatpost in them with a hammer. I've even seen some where the seat tube wasn't even round due to overheating.
The FSA crankset and MegaExo bottom bracket came pre-installed as did the FSA headset and stem. Both were perfectly adjusted right out of the box. Tires were already mounted to the Ksyrium wheels and they even took the time to align the Hutchinson label with the valve stem. Again, not the sort of detail you see on most production bikes.
The only part that was pre-installed and required any actual adjustment was the outer limit screw of the rear derailleur which required a 3/4 turn to get the pulley perfectly in alignment with the cog. Beyond that everything else was perfectly dialed in.
For those unaware, Cannondale is the only bike company that still does almost all of their work in the US (the Synapse being the one exception). While the Taiwanese are phenomenal when it comes to manufacturing, their assembly jobs often display a workman-like competency. Everything works, but the little visual touches are absent. The Cannondale by comparison was clearly assembled by people who truly take pride in their work. I don't think the Asians will ever reach that level and for that reason I hope companies like Cannondale continue to maintain operations in the US.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Creature Comforts
Recently received a sample of a Selle Anatomica Titanico saddle. It's pretty much a somewhat updated Brooks. Modern touches include a pressure relieving cutout, weatherproof leather, rails more compatible with modern bikes, and an allen head adjustment bolt.
My experience with cut out saddles has not been a good one, to put it charitably, so I'm a bit apprehensive about this. We'll find out how well it works tomorrow when I ride home from work.
Also new is the Fizik bar tape. I briefly had some shellaced cloth tape but that turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever done to my bike. It looked fantastic but the lack of any cushioning was agony on the hands forcing me to wear gloves (which I prefer not to do). The Fizik tape looks and feels like leather and goes on as easily as cork. It's a little thinner than cork but provides a good amount of cushioning and grip. I really like this tape!
My experience with cut out saddles has not been a good one, to put it charitably, so I'm a bit apprehensive about this. We'll find out how well it works tomorrow when I ride home from work.
Also new is the Fizik bar tape. I briefly had some shellaced cloth tape but that turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever done to my bike. It looked fantastic but the lack of any cushioning was agony on the hands forcing me to wear gloves (which I prefer not to do). The Fizik tape looks and feels like leather and goes on as easily as cork. It's a little thinner than cork but provides a good amount of cushioning and grip. I really like this tape!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Training
Well I'm finally getting back on the bike. After a few months of house projects and with the Seattle International Randonneur brevet series approaching in July I realized I need to get some saddle time. Just so happens May is bike to work month so I've decided to ride my bike to work at least one way everyday. It's 25-35 miles one way and depending on how windy it is I can take a van pool home or double up on the miles. Since May 1 I've logged 303 miles. That's about 290 more miles than I've logged in the past 3 months. Sad but true. I've already dropped a couple of pounds and hope to drop another 10 before July.
Cranks
My quest for a nice silver 110 bcd crankset is finally over. Best part is it cost me less than $50! I found a pair of SunTour XC Pro cranks at Recycled Cycles. They'd been used and looked like they'd spent much of the last decade sitting in a bin with other bike parts - lots of scratches and nicks. I sat down in front of the TV, busted out several grades of wet/dry sandpaper and went to work. After a couple of hours I was left with a pair of crankarms with a mirror like finish. The rings that came with the cranks were toast but fortunately I had a set of 48x34 Ritchey rings from a Logic crank. That crank wound up on a single speed so the rings were unused. Mounted them with some FSA alloy Torx head chainring bolts and finished it off with some old Shimano 105 8mm crank bolts. I'm not sure how well the finish will hold up - cranks are anodized for a reason. They look great and the 34 is a big improvement over the 38 I was pushing.
Monday, April 17, 2006
My Sweet Seven
Still being somewhat tied to the industry I keep an eye on what others are doing. For the most part, the American bike industry seems to be hopelessly mired in a game of "me too" pursuit of trying to get people to buy either impractical racing bikes or tank like "comfort" bikes. There's precious little in the way of truly interesting or practical bikes. If your idea of fun is a nice, long ride in the country and you want to stay dry and be able to pack a lunch you're probably out of luck with most companies. Ditto if you want - GASP - to use your bike rather than your car to run errands. Fortunately, a few smart product managers still exist and more importantly they were somehow able to sneak the following bikes into their lines:
1) Breezer Citizen
If Joe Breeze has his way this is the bike that will save the world. Even if it doesn't, it's great to see bikes like this. Fenders, a rack, generator lights, internal gears, and a chain case make this bike WAY more interesting than any carbon racing bike. More companies need to make bikes like this. More importantly, they need to actually MARKET bikes like this!! See it here.
2) Novara Safari
I work for the 800 pound gorilla and I know that some in the industry take glee in pointing out that REI is typically a leader rather than an innovator. This is the bike I'd like to use to smack those people upside the head. Show me one other company cranking out an off-road touring bike! In many ways this bike is the spiritual descendant of the Bridgestone XO-1 - it even has the funny handlebars! It's about as unique a bike as you'll find anywhere - the perfect bike when you REALLY want to get away from it all. If I had the time I'd love to take this bike on a week long tour of the logging roads up in BC. See it here.
3) Kona Sutra
This bike has the best of both worlds. It's a traditional steel touring bike fitted with modern disc brakes. Having experienced the terrifying combination of cantilevers, pouring rain, steep mountain pass and 40 pounds of panniers I love this bike! Discs on touring bikes make soooo much sense. Can't believe someone didn't come up with this earlier. See it here.
4) Bianchi San Jose
It's a steel, single-speed cross bike. Seriously, what more do I need to say? If you can't have fun on this bike you have no right to call yourself a cyclist. See it here.
5) Redline 925
Pretty much an off the shelf messenger bike. Fixed gear, solid steel frame, moustache bars and fenders. People will be copying this bike next year, just you wait and see! See it here.
6) Gary Fisher Rig
The single speed MTB thing is old news so GF came out with a 29" single speed. In many ways it's a BMX bike for big boys. Cheap enough to own, light enough race. It's a hard bike not to like. See it here.
7) Bianchi Castro Valley
This is the bike many people eventually end up with. You start with your basic steel touring bike. Then you add fenders because who wants to show up with a skunk stripe? They you add a dynamo hub because it's dark in the winter and you eventually realize that rechargeable batteries are a pain. The Castro Valley is perfect for longer commutes and is ready to roll right out of the box. See it here.
I'm sure there are others out there. I no some people will say "What about Surly/Soma/Rivendell/Kogswell/etc.?" Well, I'm keeping this list strictly to complete bikes and not framesets. The frameset list will come later.
1) Breezer Citizen
If Joe Breeze has his way this is the bike that will save the world. Even if it doesn't, it's great to see bikes like this. Fenders, a rack, generator lights, internal gears, and a chain case make this bike WAY more interesting than any carbon racing bike. More companies need to make bikes like this. More importantly, they need to actually MARKET bikes like this!! See it here.
2) Novara Safari
I work for the 800 pound gorilla and I know that some in the industry take glee in pointing out that REI is typically a leader rather than an innovator. This is the bike I'd like to use to smack those people upside the head. Show me one other company cranking out an off-road touring bike! In many ways this bike is the spiritual descendant of the Bridgestone XO-1 - it even has the funny handlebars! It's about as unique a bike as you'll find anywhere - the perfect bike when you REALLY want to get away from it all. If I had the time I'd love to take this bike on a week long tour of the logging roads up in BC. See it here.
3) Kona Sutra
This bike has the best of both worlds. It's a traditional steel touring bike fitted with modern disc brakes. Having experienced the terrifying combination of cantilevers, pouring rain, steep mountain pass and 40 pounds of panniers I love this bike! Discs on touring bikes make soooo much sense. Can't believe someone didn't come up with this earlier. See it here.
4) Bianchi San Jose
It's a steel, single-speed cross bike. Seriously, what more do I need to say? If you can't have fun on this bike you have no right to call yourself a cyclist. See it here.
5) Redline 925
Pretty much an off the shelf messenger bike. Fixed gear, solid steel frame, moustache bars and fenders. People will be copying this bike next year, just you wait and see! See it here.
6) Gary Fisher Rig
The single speed MTB thing is old news so GF came out with a 29" single speed. In many ways it's a BMX bike for big boys. Cheap enough to own, light enough race. It's a hard bike not to like. See it here.
7) Bianchi Castro Valley
This is the bike many people eventually end up with. You start with your basic steel touring bike. Then you add fenders because who wants to show up with a skunk stripe? They you add a dynamo hub because it's dark in the winter and you eventually realize that rechargeable batteries are a pain. The Castro Valley is perfect for longer commutes and is ready to roll right out of the box. See it here.
I'm sure there are others out there. I no some people will say "What about Surly/Soma/Rivendell/Kogswell/etc.?" Well, I'm keeping this list strictly to complete bikes and not framesets. The frameset list will come later.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
L'Enfer du Nord
Tomorrow is the 104th running of Paris - Roubaix. It is - in my not so humble opinion - hands-down the most exciting race of the year. Roubaix requires a unique blend of tactical smarts, teamwork, and toughness found in few other races. This year promises to be extra special due to the return of the Arenburg Trench - a 2.4km section of especially bad pave that was recently "restored" after being absent for a few years.
This race has always brought out cycling's hard men - guys who have an unbelievable tolerance for pain. Guys like Sean Kelly, Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, Johan Musseuw, Francesco Moser, Rick van Looy, and Eddy Merckx (naturally!) In recent years Tour contenders have shied away from this race and for good reason. Paris - Roubaix has one of the highest DNF rates of any race on the pro calendar (last year only 80 riders crawled across the line out of 248 starters) and many of those are due to injuries sustained in crashes on the pave. No Tour contender in their right mind is willing to take that risk.
My hopes for tomorrow rest with George Hincapie. George is an all around nice guy who has made numerous sacrifices over the past few years in support of Lance Armstrong. Many would argue that the Postal/Discovery teams all-consuming focus on le Tour has cost George some major classics wins. Several times George found himself in the winning break with none of his team mates to be found while other teams had 3-4 riders in the break. This year things look very different for Discovery. This year the team looks pretty well stacked with classic specialists including British cyclocrosser Roger Hammond, Belgians Stijn Devolder and Leif Hoste (himself looking like a possible contender!), as well as Australian Matthew White. Piloting the team car will be '88 winner Dirk Demol. Safe to say this is probably the strongest classics squad fielded by Discovery/Postal.
Good luck George!
This race has always brought out cycling's hard men - guys who have an unbelievable tolerance for pain. Guys like Sean Kelly, Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, Johan Musseuw, Francesco Moser, Rick van Looy, and Eddy Merckx (naturally!) In recent years Tour contenders have shied away from this race and for good reason. Paris - Roubaix has one of the highest DNF rates of any race on the pro calendar (last year only 80 riders crawled across the line out of 248 starters) and many of those are due to injuries sustained in crashes on the pave. No Tour contender in their right mind is willing to take that risk.
My hopes for tomorrow rest with George Hincapie. George is an all around nice guy who has made numerous sacrifices over the past few years in support of Lance Armstrong. Many would argue that the Postal/Discovery teams all-consuming focus on le Tour has cost George some major classics wins. Several times George found himself in the winning break with none of his team mates to be found while other teams had 3-4 riders in the break. This year things look very different for Discovery. This year the team looks pretty well stacked with classic specialists including British cyclocrosser Roger Hammond, Belgians Stijn Devolder and Leif Hoste (himself looking like a possible contender!), as well as Australian Matthew White. Piloting the team car will be '88 winner Dirk Demol. Safe to say this is probably the strongest classics squad fielded by Discovery/Postal.
Good luck George!
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