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Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Readying the leaders' jerseys

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How did they get that jersey ready so fast?

Photo: Graham Watson

Dear Lennard,
This is more a logistics/operations set of questions.

When I watch the big tours, I notice that at the podium ceremonies that the organizers are ready with the leaders’ jerseys all decked out with the teams’ sponsors. Those jerseys are special podium versions with rear zippers. They look like they are fabricated onsite by bonding a panel to the jersey. However, the next day the leaders show up with a complete kit that has all the sponsors’ logos sublimated onto the colored version of the team uniform (sometimes even a skinsuit version).

I can see how the team like Columbia may prepare a green kit for Cavendish or CSC for Hushovd. But no one really plans for Feillou or Nocentini to be in Polka dots or yellow.

Do the kit manufacturers (e.g., Nalini, Santini, MOA, Pearl Izumi, etc.) send vans with the mobile capability to fabricate sublimated jerseys?

Also for the matching bike, how do they come up with a “colored” version so quickly? Again, I can see how Saxo Bank may carry an extra frame in green or yellow trim for Hushovd and Sastre. I know that Lance has Ben from Trek caddy around a whole van-full of special edition bikes. How did Ag2r come up with a yellow bike for Nocentini? Does the frame rep pull out a can of Krylon and a hairdryer?
Thomas

Dear Thomas,
Below is the answer from Castelli, but let me offer a bit of information from my own experience first.

To make sure I’m not assuming any prior knowledge, let me first explain sublimation printing. To sublime is to change a solid directly into a gas by adding heat, without having it pass through an intermediate liquid state. Once cooled, it tends to re-deposit as a solid. In this case, dried ink goes from the solid state directly into a gas and permeates the fabric, re-depositing upon the fabric fibers. This is far superior to screen printing right on Lycra clothing as was done in the 1980s, which, as you know from heavily-printed T-shirts, is stiff, won’t pass air through, and cracks and flakes off over time. Instead, sublimation printing infuses the fabric with the colors permanently without compromising the properties of the fabric (i.e., breathability, flexibility, etc.).

The sublimation papers to which Steve Smith refers below are pieces of heavy, white paper onto which the design that will be on the clothing has been silkscreened. The papers are laid onto the fabric, ink side toward the fabric, and put in a heated press, similar to a large ironing press. When the paper is removed and the fabric cools, the design is permanently incorporated into the fabric.

And as for the bikes, you are correct that some bike sponsors plan for their rider to get the GC, sprint, or mountain leader’s jersey ahead of time and have bikes ready for that. But in the case of surprise category leaders, those tend to be an all-nighter that dedicated people pull, painting up a new frame and delivering it to the team post-haste. And of course the burden often falls on a team mechanic to build it up in a hurry.
Lennard

Answer from Castelli:
The leader's jerseys are produced by the sponsor of the leader's jerseys: Nike for the Tour de France. The jersey as delivered to the race organizers has a white space where the rider's team's logo will appear. The team's clothing sponsor supplies heat transfers (sublimation papers) to the team who delivers them to the race organizer.

At the finish of the race, the race organizer has a heat press where they can transfer the team's logos onto the podium jersey in about three minutes after the finish of the race. Many times the jersey is still hot for the podium presentation. At some smaller races the organizer doesn't have a heat press, and we supply stickers for these races.

The matching shorts and kits are made be the team's clothing sponsor prior to the race. We take a look at the team roster and figure out which riders have a shot at the various classifications and then make up shorts and sometimes gloves and shoe covers to match. We don't actually plan it per rider, but per size of shorts.

At the Tour, for example, we made polka dot shorts in size S that would have covered Sastre, Cuesta or Marchante. But we didn't make them in size L for Hushovd, Lancaster and Roulston. But we did make the green shorts in L for those guys, and also M for Haussler, but not S for the climbers. We make 3 pairs per size per color. These pieces are delivered to the team prior to the race and stay in the truck through the race. Typically they're kept out-of-sight until needed because most cyclists are superstitious.
Steve Smith
International Marketing Manager
Castelli

Dear Lennard,
I recently purchased a new XC race bike equipped with a 100 mm Rock Shox SID Team fork. Because the improved handling seems to be worth a small weight penalty, I'd like to set my bike up with either a QR15 or a Maxle Lite front axle; however, I don't want to buy a new fork just yet.

Can I retrofit my SID to accommodate a through axle by replacing the lower legs with the lower legs from a Reba? If so, do you have any idea what kind of weight penalty would I be looking at (for the fork alone)?
Eric

Answer from RockShox:
The short answer is no, this conversion cannot be done.

Here's the longer explanation why - While the forks have the same 32mm upper tube diameter, the geometry and design of each chassis is quite different. The SID upper tube is significantly shorter than the Reba upper tube. Bushing placement within the lower leg is determined by the length of the upper tube. Installation of the Reba lower leg on a SID crown/steerer/upper assembly would not provide the correct bushing overlap.

At bottom out, the upper tube is also designed to contact a bottom out bumper in the bottom of the lower leg. This wouldn't happen if the lowers were switched. Additionally, while both forks share a similar offset of 39mm, each achieves the final offset in a different manner.

The SID chassis has most of its offset in the dropout, while the Reba chassis has more offset in the crown. Installation of the Reba lower leg on a SID would result in a fork that had less than our standard 39mm of offset, compromising steering and handling.
Sander Rigney
RockShox R&D

Dear Lennard,
I'm sure that you get asked more questions about the stupid noises that drive cyclists up the wall, but please bear with me as you are my last hope. I have a 2008 Specialized Tarmac Pro with a FACT carbon crank and an oversize bottom bracket (which is where the noise seems emanate from). I have taken it to two local and trusted mechanics that say the bottom bracket is fine and have no idea what is causing the noise. It is a solid click/tap every revolution of the crank and doesn't start until about 20 miles into a ride. It then gets progressively louder and more noticeable under load. Any suggestions/ideas?
Geoff

From Nic Sims at Specialized Bicycle:
There are a couple of things.

1. This may sound strange but a lot of the time with bikes with removable hangers if they are loose a small amount the torque of pedaling can be enough to make it move slightly and the sound travels down the chainstays and out the bottom bracket and people think that it is the crank and bottom bracket. So I would try first of all removing the hanger and clean the frame surface and the hanger and then put some grease on both and bolt it back together and see if the noise goes.

2. If the above does not cure it the next easy test is to just check the chainring bolts

3. Lastly I would have the store remove the cranks and make sure that the spider is tight and that there is plenty of grease around the bearings as they are inserted into the frame and that there is grease on the surfaces of the center join.

Those are the most common areas to look at.
Nic

Feedback on previous columns:
Dear Lennard,
One other solution to Dan's "auto shift" problem.

I had the same thing happen to me on my Rivendell Rambouillet with indexed downtube shifters. Turns out, grit had accumulated under the bottom bracket and was causing friction between the cables and the bottom bracket.

When I stood on hills, the extra torque makes the bottom bracket sway back and forth. All OK if the cable was able to slide as normal, but with the fact that I was in first gear so the derailleur couldn't move to the left, the friction made it so that the cable eventually caught enough that it pulled the derailleur just far enough to the right that it would drop a gear. Very frustrating, but after brushing the bottom bracket clean and squirting some oil on it, all was better.
Nick

What would Eddy do? Well, at least in Mexico City, he'd wear a skin suit.

Photo: Agence France Presse - file photo

Dear Lennard,
Thanks for the recent article on "Goin' retro." The question about the "Cannibal" style time trial was particularly interesting. In regard to your comment that "... a skinsuit might get you kicked out of the Merckx class," I think that one could make an argument for allowing them. This picture appears to show Merckx wearing a skinsuit with a zipper up the back during his Hour Record ride in Mexico City in 1972.

Granted, that was on the track rather than on the road, so I can see the dilemma. However, since that ride is often considered Merckx's finest time trial, I think that if it was good enough for Eddy, it should be good enough for us mere mortals. "What Would Eddy Do?" is great advice in general, and the correct answer is, of course, "Ride lots."

Thanks for a consistently great column!
Rich

Dear Lennard,
Regarding “Cannibal” rules, for years, the New York State TT has had a Retrogrouch category – no aero bars, minimum 32 spoke wheels, and at least 1 item of wool clothing. Technically, I think socks are sufficient, though that's a stretch I think.
Ed

Feedback from Hayes Bicycle Group on an earlier column:
Dear Lennard,
SpokePrep™ is unique in that it serves as both a lubricant and a thread lock. When building a wheel, SpokePrep™ reduces the friction between the spoke and the nipple, decreasing the torque required to obtain proper tension and lessening the potential for wind-up or rounded-off nipples.

Once the correct spoke tension has been obtained, the thread locking properties of SpokePrep™ help maintain spoke tension. SpokePrep™ is not a permanent thread lock; it maintains spoke tension while still permitting subsequent truing. Thread locking compounds not specifically designed for wheelbuilding may form a more permanent bond, and should only be used in an emergency. Other lubricants (such as linseed oil) can be used to lessen friction during the wheelbuilding process, but they do not possess SpokePrep™'s tension-maintaining properties.
Shawn Cotter
Wheelsmith/Sun-Ringlé Wheel Product Engineer