In article <[email hidden]>,
Quoted post said:email hidden said:Lot of odd things used on the special, custom, one-off bikes for this
ride.
2003 or 2004 Chorus cranks with non hidden fifth spider arm, ala
Record and 2005 onwards Chorus. Metal shim under the front derailleur
clamp. Tektro or Shimano or something long reach brake calipers on a
team sponsored by Campagnolo to provide space around the 27mm
tubulars. Set screw through the seattube to hold the seatpost in
place.http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/apr07/roubaix07/tech/?id=/tech/2.
..
Quoted message said:I think some of the reasons I was posting these comments was missed.
Why an older aluminum Chorus 5 arm crank instead of a newer aluminum
Chorus or Record crank? Why go so many years back to get an aluminum
Campagnolo crank? Not questioning the use of square taper bottom
bracket versus the new one piece things. Many teams used Campagnolo
Ultra Torrque carbon cranks on Paris Roubaix. This team is not a low
budget team. Was their inventory of parts so scarce they had to dig
around for such an old crank? Does Campagnolo want their sponsored
race teams using cranks that have not been made by them for 3-4
years? How can Campagnolo sell stuff they no longer make? Campagnolo
sponsors the teams to help them sell their stuff. Its business.
Few teams are what we think of as high-budget. Title sponsor Wilier is a
big but not huge bike maker. They get caught occasionally doing strange
things like buying Scott frames, putting them under their racers, and
touting them as their new prototype carbon design.
And then getting called on it in public by Scott.
I suspect, given the one-off nature of these bikes, that there was a
sense of hodge-podgeing them out of whatever was in the shop. At this
level of racing support, I'm sure they have an adequate (but not
infinite) collection of new-in-box Record groups ready for a season's
worth of bikes and some spares. But finding a simple Al crank (possibly
wanted on the theory that after Roubaix, they wouldn't want to re-use
the cranks or scratch up the good stuff before le Tour) would have been
hard.
So they dug into the bin under the mechanic's bench, and the first one
in the right length was a 2003 Chorus part. Who cares? Good enough for
the mechanic, and good enough for Ballan.
And so forth. The rear brake isn't even a sponsor part. Probably a handy
Ultegra-grade long-reach brake, plus a few minutes with a buffing wheel
to desponsorize it.
Custom fork, because they have a close relationship with the frame
maker, he being the title sponsor.
Again, I think a lot of parts were being spared for cleaner, less
destructive races, or just this is a one-off bike.
Think about it: they put a hole in the frame for a secondary seatpost
stops screw. They're not using that for any other races this year, or
possibly ever.
Quoted message said:Metal shim under the front derailleur clamp. Set screw in the
seattube. Seems extreme but maybe justified.
It has an air of improvisation. Which is to say I suspect parts-pile
bodgery because I've made bikes like this (which may be much like the
who's had PT diagnosing all knee pain as PT...).
Quoted message said:Long reach brakes I can understand since Campagnolo has not made such
things for 30 years probably. Does not hurt to have plenty of tire
clearance for mud. Many other pictures of cranks with 44 or 46 inner
chainrings showed TA rings because Campagnolo does not make such tooth
counts. Using non sponsor products is common.
I think this is a use-once-and-forget sort of bike project. Wilier gave
them a custom-built frame and fork, but the rest had to be sourced from
handy parts on minimal money (or more cynically, the parts budget is now
the wrench's beer budget, but a drunk wrench is a happy wrench...) and
also there's some specific P-R needs they need to work into these
improvisations.
--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos
