Wrenching and bike maintenance

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Trek Domane – Cobble Killer

For years, companies have put special bikes under their sponsored riders specifically designed for the cobbled classics.  Varied geometries, more tire clearance, increased brake clearance and better vibration damping are all some of the reasons for modifying bikes for the cobbles.  Even though mechanics still have tricks up their sleeve for use while building “classics” bikes, the occurrence of “one off” or “team only” bikes has been fading with recent UCI regulations which require pro teams to ride bikes that can be purchased by the average joe.   Essentially, this has forced development of “comfort” style racing bikes, which one could argue is just a refinement of the “all day” or “sportive” category of bikes that has been around for years.  Less aggressive positioning, vibration damping properties and generally more durability are the hallmarks of these bikes which are designed to be ridden by normal people for hours upon end.

Trek Domane TeamTrek has been one company that has seemingly missed the boat on this fad, at least until now.  In the past few days, details have been released about the Domane, which is designed to “specifically addresses the challenges of rough road conditions found throughout the spring classics courses with a collection of key innovations unlike any available before today” according to Trek.  Developed with extensive input from Fabian Cancellara, the Domane has a slew of supposed new features that will make it a formidable chariot for Sparticus (and the local Tuesday night racers who love dirt roads, too.)

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The Gray Market Struggle

Gray market?A  posting that recently made its way around the internet has sparked some interesting discussion in the past few months.  The poster in question is a shop owner and has instituted a policy of adding an additional 20% markup on his labor rates for work done to items purchased through eBay or items purchased overseas (such as Wiggle, Ribble and ProBikeKit.)  He also goes on to say that he will report those who bring in “gray market” goods and haven't paid import on them.  Lastly, he comments on the morality of purchasing goods from overseas or on eBay.

That being said, the full text of his posting (names edited) appears after the jump:

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Dura Ace 9000 Spy Photos

Hot on the heels of some released Dura Ace 9000 information, photos have been appearing on the web of a one Alex Dowsett's Pinarello Dogma 2 kitted out in prototype Dura Ace 9000 mechanical parts.  Apparently Nieuwsblad was the perfect testing ground for such new parts, as they were also spied on Carlos Barredo's spare Giant on the team car.  Interestingly, they were the only two bikes to be seen with the new 11 speed variant, which is surprising given the supposed Fall 2012 release date and the number of pros riding Shimano transmissions for the early classics.  The spy shots show levers, brakes and rear cluster/derailleur, all relatively unmarked/branded/finished, which is typical for prototype parts, so speculation remains as to the finish and aesthetics.  Anyway, enough posturing, let's get a look at the photos.

Looking at the shifters, they certainly look to be mimicking the current Campy line and (new) SRAM Red shifters:

Dura Ace 9000 shifter

Two more photos after the break.

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Dura Ace 9000 Rumors

So some recent leaks have developed regarding the upcoming Dura Ace 9000 group, slated for release later this year.  As we know already, Shimano is following Campagnolo down the 11 speed road, but other than that, details have been surprisingly hard to come by.  Right now, this is what seems to be out there, along with my thoughts on each point.

First off, here's the simple “Ok, that's nice” kind of stuff:

– There will be electronic (Di2) and mechanical versions.

– The hoods on the mechanical STI levers are smaller, with a more ergonomic fit and feel.

– The brakes are all new. There are two mounting options: standard center bolt and two-bolt aero/TT style.

– Shimano did not add any more carbon: Like DA7900, only the brake-lever blades and rear-derailleur pulley cage are carbon.

Now for the meat of what Shimano is doing:

– DA9000 Di2 gets shift levers, “similar” to Ultegra Di2, as well as the narrow-diameter Di2 wiring harness unveiled on the new Ultegra Di2.

This is a good thing.  As it stands, Di2 7900 has a specific wiring harness that's incompatible with Ultegra.  By standardizing the wiring harness some compatibility is restored to the two lines.

– The cranks use a four-arm spider (like Shimano mountain cranks; current road cranks use a five-arm spider) and a new, lighter, bottom-bracket system. Shimano is sticking with their 24mm axle standard; there is no BB30 or BB386EVO option.

Christ almighty, here we go again.  Another chainring standard to try and force more chainring sales.  Now we're going to 4 arm cranks along with a new BB system?  Another BB standard?  I see this as a pretty bad move, Shimano.

– The mechanical version will use a proprietary shift cable.

Oh brother.  So we can't spend $4 on a standard shifter cable, but we'll have to buy (probably horribly marked up) Shimano cables now?  Yet again, bad move Shimano.

– Front-derailleur shifting effort is reduced by 38% (claimed).

Reduced front shifting effort is nice, but how light does it need to be?  Most people aren't needing to go to the gym in order to shift to their big chainring.

– The mechanical group’s weight is claimed at 1,908 grams, a 67-gram reduction from Dura-Ace 7900.

That's not much of a weight decrease.  Seems like Campy and SRAM are ahead in this category.

– The cassette and freehub body are wider: 10-speed cassettes will work on 11-speed wheels (with a spacer), but not vice versa. Rear hub spacing remains 130mm.

Get ready to buy new wheels everyone.  According to this, there will be different length freehubs from 10 and 11 speed, which we can assume may require different hub flange spacing.  However at this time, this is somewhat muddy and I'll need more information on compatibility to make further comment.

 

Overall, it sounds like Shimano is simply trying to introduce yet another standard, requiring people to buy yet more parts.  No just buying shifters, cassette and chain in this case…you'll be springing for a rear wheel as well and proprietary cables (which you'd better have a few of them in your toolbox in case you need one on a Sunday afternoon.)  Honestly, I'm more exited by the new SRAM Red release, and it will be interesting to see what Campy does with this.