THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
More goodies from Milan
Last week, you saw some of the new things from the Milan bike show, whichis primarily a fantastic display of road bikes, surrounded by a massivemotorcycle show. While most of the two-wheeled enthusiasts attending theshow are there to ogle bikes with motors, there is still plentyof passion in Italy for the human-powered bikes side as well.
The movement toward making more and more elements of the high-end bicycleout of carbon continues unabated. Now, however, you see an increasing useof highly reflective white carbon (it actually looks more silver than white)and systems for damping the vibration through the carbon by means of elastomerinserts. For the complete story, you will need to wait until your VeloNews comes in the mail. I did not have room for most of these are items in the magazine story.
Campagnolo’s new Hyperon wheel has an all-carbon clincher rim, one of several at the show. FIR and Gipiemme, which you saw here last week, also have them. The Hyperon is available with optional ceramic bearings for really big bucks. Campy supplies special brake pads for it.
Does this new Campy group look like Record to you? It isn't -- it'sChorus! Campagnolo is making a concerted effort to move carbon furtherdown the line
Campy's two-piece carbon Chorus bottle cage is easier and hence cheaperto make as well as to own than the monocoque Record carbon cage.
World Cup overall winner Julien Absalon really ought to clean his bikebefore putting it in a bike show. Maybe the heat wave in France forcedhim to cut down on his water usage.
Colnago highlighted its anniversary celebration with its 50thanniversary bike. It comes with either Shimano Dura-Ace parts with "50"and the Colnago logo on each, or this Campagnolo Record version with aColnago 50th-anniversary carbon crank.
Control Tech is making everything you can imagine out of carbon,including quick-release levers and seat binders. It is even introducingan all-carbon road frame!
With this Dedacciai carbon tubeset, anybody can build a carbonframe, provided they have a jig to hold everything straight and at thedesired relative positions. A heat-reactive glue or a two-part epoxy gluecan be chosen with the kit. Additionally, any tubes of the proper diametercan be bonded into the carbon lugs (which are available in a number ofangles), be they magnesium, titanium, carbon, aluminum or steel! The reartriangle can be any Dedacciai set of stays, with or without the DAVS vibration-dampinginserts.
This is one cool-looking Italian titanium hardtail! Demon isthe mountain bike brand for “Frames and Services, SNC”, a contract framebuilderfrom near Padova in northeastern Italy.
Formula’s new hydraulic disc brake for freeride bikes promises more powerful and consistent braking as well as easy set-up.
Gipiemme's white carbon saddle is superlight as well as highly reflective.Gipiemme also makes products for other brands as well. For instance, thiscompany from Loria, in northeastern Italy, makes the new Look carbon saddle.
Also hailing from Loria, ITM is using a lot of carbon these days aswell. The new ITM Sword has an ergonomic shape and fits in a standard stem.ITM is also making a low-profile carbon stem for smooth lines to resemblea one-piece stem/bar yet be adjustable. However, to get the smooth lines,you have to give up on the front-opening feature…
Marresi has long been one of Italy’s premier makers of bike shoes,albeit on a very small scale. Marresi shoes were becoming somewhat popularin the USA in the mid-1980s, but then with the advent of clipless pedals,the brand completely got lost in the shuffle over here. Now, however, theseretro shoes could be a big hit. The one on the left is actually a walkingshoe designed to look like a cycling shoe from the 1950s, and it was greatseeing some Italian manufacturers dressed to the nines wearing them. Theshoe in the foreground is indeed a cycling shoe with cleat-mounting platform.
Look built its logo entirely out of colored pedals on one wall of itsbooth. This must have taken a lot of work, not to mention a lot of pedals!
The Modolo Morphos lever is meant as an alternative to CampagnoloErgopower and Shimano STI brake/shift levers. It is adjustable for 7-,8-, or 9-speed Shimano derailleurs and cogs as well as for 8- and 9-speedCampagnolo. At this point, it does not work as a 10-speed lever for eithersystem.
Pinarello last year introduced its micro-drive road crank with a 34inner ring and a 48 or 50 outer ring. With Tyler Hamilton’s stage win inthe Tour this year on FSA’s just-introduced version (the chainrings areinterchangeable between FSA and Pinarello compact cranks), Pinarello nolonger has to go it alone, and triple-shy American roadies can maybe finda happy medium as they age. Pinarello just introduced an aluminum versionof this crank as well, and they are available individually as well as includedwith Pinarello and Opera framesets.
There are lots of ways to put carbon and titanium together. Wilier Triestina chose to do it with long, elegant titanium lugs slipping over carbon tubes.
This is essentially an all-carbon bike and the titanium joints hold ittogether but likely do not lend their properties to the bike’s performance.
Galmod's has another way of mixing titanium and carbon, one that perhapsnobody else has tried. With a down tube and chainstays in carbon and titaniumover the top, it is supposed to be stiff, yet supple.
