THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Tech Report: More from Milan
This is show season, and between traveling a lot and writing the fourth edition of “Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance” (due this week) as well as building a few bikes, I have had my hands full.
Although I have received your questions, I am filing them away for now in favor of answering the questions people have been asking about new products at the shows. This, combined with my article in the print version of VeloNews, will conclude my coverage of the 62nd annual Milan bike show, held this year September 17-20. Next Monday, it’s off to a week at Interbike!
Among all of the cool new stuff at the show, I thought you readers in particular might get a kick out of the modifications to Iban Mayo’s superlight bike for l’Alpe d’Huez You have probably heard about how the parts were drilled out like a throwback from the 1970s (See "Eurobike, Day 3: Good news, good cheer, goodbye"), and indeed, the brake levers, derailleur cages and other parts are all full of little holes.
But I was intrigued by the odd shape of the brake hoods on his Dura-Ace 10-speed levers. Peeling back the tape reveals a wad of four layers of pieces of tire tread taped together with black electrical tape. These fatten up the lever and eliminate much of the scoop shape on top. It makes it feel much more like a Campy lever body.
Freddy Rodriguez’s Moser is cool, but this is not the way he rides it, as he uses Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals, not those Looks. But you had better ride fast if you’re sporting a paint job like that!
Dario Pegoretti’s classic Globo flat-bar steel touring bike features a wooden breadboard as a rear rack to go with its wooden fenders and rims. To go with its FSA crank, bar and stem, it is equipped with Campagnolo’s new flat-bar integrated brake/shift levers, seatpost, brakes and derailleurs, but where are the Campy long-reach brakes to reach over a fender?
Speaking of Campy, don’t you love that every little gubbin inside of the Ergopower levers, the hub and freehub, and the rear derailleur can be replaced? This is not the “use it without maintenance until it fails, then throw away the whole part and buy a new one” mentality.
Ambrosio dances to a different music. Much better this way than standing in the booth and having consumers harping on you about this or that regarding their wheels. The company’s new wheel, the 38mm-deep X-Space, has an aluminum clincher rim cap bonded to the deep-section carbon rim profile.
Antonio Colombo’s Gruppo booth (Cinelli, 3T, Columbus) had lots of cool handlebars and bikes and tubesets made out of carbon fiber. Being an artist, Colombo is drawn to the stylish look of his painted RAM stem/bars and to a patchwork carbon/aluminized fiberglass one as well. However, the map of Italy made of hair curlers at the top of this column has to rate as well.
For a big, strong rider, the Fondriest Clarus is built for rigidity, not for hitting some low weight barrier. It would make a fine criterium bike for American racing under a strong rider. Fondriest also offers its SAT photo-quality sublimation options of its carbon frames to decorate your frame with photos of your choice, although this one is not pictured with it.
De Rosa’s Ti2, still welded by Ugo De Rosa, is an evolution for the material and the storied builder. It has 6Al/4V tapered chainstays to accompany the 3Al/2.5V titanium alloy used in the rest of the tubes. This stiffens and strengthens the rear triangle a lot, but it maintains the same price as last year!
Speaking of De Rosa, as of this writing, De Rosa was surprised to learn at the beginning of the show that Sinclair Imports, its U.S. distributor, had dropped the De Rosa line without warning in favor of Ridley, from Belgium. Known primarily in the USA for ‘cross bikes, Ridley also makes road bikes. This monocoque carbon job has graphics to match its carbon FSA parts.
The sheer joy of spinning a freehub. Remember when we could be entertained for hours doing that, too? This kid spent at least a half an hour spinning the freehub on this Campagnolo Hyperon carbon wheel. Gotta admit he knows quality and has expensive tastes!
To cap it all off, how about this “Baya” concept carbon frame from Alcide Basso?
Photo Gallery
