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2008 Giro d’Italia: Lennard Zinn’s tech report

Photos By Lennard Zinn 2008 Giro d’Italia Tech: Electric shifters Photo: Lennard Zinn Photo Gallery…

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By Lennard Zinn

2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: Electric shifters

2008 Giro d’Italia Tech: Electric shifters

Photo: Lennard Zinn

Photo Gallery

  • Mounting the battery pack for Pablo Lastras’s electronic shifting system requires three heads among the Caisse d’Epargne mechanics to figure it out.
  • While Caisse d’Epargne’s Lastras is using Campy electronic, Shimano’s new cable-actuated shifters with cables under the tape is on the bikes of High Road’s Kanstantin Sivtsov, and Gerolsteiner’s Johannes Fröhlinger, Davide Rebellin, and Matthias Russ.
  • 2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: David Zabriskie’s custom Rocket 7 shoes.
  • FSA’s new brakes, to replace its black Gossamer-level ones still on many Giro bikes, is the SLK. For the Tour, K-Force brakes with identical calipers and titanium hardware and carbon pad holders will be on all FSA-sponsored teams, according to FSA’s Claudio Marra.
  • Teams use all sorts of different brake pads on carbon rims. Saunier Duval’s Scott team bikes all use yellow Mavic pads on their Mavic carbon wheels.
  • 2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: These are green Kool Stop pads on Colnago of Rabobank’s Paul Martens.
  • 2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: These are Corimas on Magnus Bäckstedt’s Felt.
  • 2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: These are Lightweight’s SwissTOP Flash pads for carbon rims on Bradley Wiggins’ Giant.
  • 2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: Like Menchov's, these are Shimano carbon pads on Mark Cavendish's Giant.
  • 2008 Giro d'Italia Tech: Wiggins’ whole bike – all Shimano and Pro (also a brand that is attached to Shimano) components.
  • Like many other riders, Bäckstedt uses super-deep Zipp 808 wheels in a lot of road races. Many choose the wheels because they prefer the braking to that of a 404 or a 202. CSC’s Fabian Cancellara, for instance, has repeatedly raved to Zipp about the braking with this wheel. Zipp’s Andy Ording says it is due to the toroidal shape of the rim being carried through to the braking surface. All other Zipp models have parallel brake tracks — the toroidal shape stops before the braking surface. “We did it strictly for aerodynamics,” says Ording, “but an extra benefit is better braking.” Why? Ording theorizes that when the entire lower edge of the pad contacts the rim first, it squeegees water and grime outward and gives immediate braking response, rather than a delay while material trapped under the pad moves away.
  • Long shaft: that is a custom 150mm carbon-wrapped aluminum stem on Bäckstedt’s bike. Maggie is always pushing the limits of any carbon bike made in a stock mold.
  • As always, Skippy, the Aussie who follows the Grand Tours on his bike, is here again, his 10th straight Giro. This will be his 11th straight Tour de France this July. He says he does it in the name of handicapped sport and had planned to do it on a handcycle this time, but he could not obtain the support necessary.
  • Skippy plans on riding the Giro, Dauphine and Tour courses in their entirety on a solid magnesium Selle San Marco saddle. He finds the saddle comfortable and says it particularly shines in the rain.

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