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It’s been three weeks since Interbike, but I still get questions asking what really caught my eye at this year’s show. There was plenty and, until now, there really hasn’t been space in the articles I’ve done on VeloNews.com and in the print version for all of it.
Aside from what I’ve already posted and put in the magazine, there were some real treasures and I’ve decided to devote today’s column to some of the other things that I found to be really cool. So here are some new components that appealed to me.
Modern retro
Electra has been making some very cool retro road bikes over the years, but one of the big challenges has been that it’s been increasingly difficult to find many of the classic parts from that era.
As a result, Electra designers went to work and now those “classic” parts exist again, albeit sporting an Electra brand, rather than Campagnolo, Silca, or TA. These new parts may be retro in design, but they are built with modern performance features. Try, for example, a Campy 5-star high flange replica hubs, which are built with ceramic bearings and a freehub.
Hand-built
While the very idea of building your own wheels may seem retro these days, designers Jeremy Parfitt of Alchemy Bicycle Works and Dave Batka of Wheels Mfg. believe that the existing hubs on the market leave a lot to be desired. The Elf front hub weighs only 65 grams, yet it has a 12mm axle and wider-spaced flanges (at a 6-degree angle) with bigger ball bearings mounted closer to the dropout than any other hub.
The Orc rear hub has five cartridge bearings surrounding a 17mm-20mm-17mm axle. The freehub body is connected to the hub shell with a huge bearing around it. The flange placement is optimized for the widest possible spoke angle. The right flange is further to the right than any other freehub on the market. Wheels Mfg. manufactures the hubs on its CNC machines in Broomfield, Colorado.
Custom wheelbuilder Rich Sawiris of Wheelbuilder.com has come up with a track adapter for Power Tap hubs using a White Industries splined track cog with a lockring that accepts a splined tool for external bottom brackets.
The eeCrank weighs just 650 grams complete with Praxis Works forged chainrings, costs $800, and is super stiff. It has big, stiff, hollow arms, bearings and spindle. With three huge longitudinal holes bored down the beefy arms, a lot of weight is removed without eliminating stiffness.
By not piercing the drive crank’s face with a bottom-bracket axle hole (and the left arm’s face with any hole), designer Craig Edwards retains the strength required to pass the rigorous CEN tests. The bearing ID is an enormous 35mm, and the spindle is bigger than 30mm, so BB30 is dwarfed! For ultimate stiffness, choose the 170/110mm BCD spider version rather than the standard 130mm BCD spider option.
The Cy-Fi wireless handlebar speaker is not for the wilting violet; you can let the world know what’s on your iPod. It sells for $159 for an iPod version with a Klier link or $149 for a Blue Tooth version. With the latter, if you get a phone call, it works as a speakerphone and gets back to the music when your call ends. You could be the most popular guy in the peloton.
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