These were all over the place! In Friedrichshafen, where we stayed as well, the bike racks were full of these. They are free loaners and pretty darned cool. Lots of people were using them too... so if anybody from Interbike happens upons this post... hint, hint...
Cinelli stills makes some of the prettiest looking bikes around. All of their carbon bikes were simply stunning. I will always have a soft spot for these bikes... even though (just like my bikes) they are now made in Asia (along with several Colnago models and other Italian brands... but I digress).
I have to admit a soft spot for the Orbea bikes too. This new TT rig is pretty slick, even with all the weird angles. In some ways, it hardly looks like a bike... but it's still cool. The most unique feature was the saddle with built in bottle holder for the tri crowd. I wish I'd taken a better picture of just the saddle... because it is pretty wild looking.Now for some of the cool bits and pieces...
In case you haven't heard (if you've been in a cave or under a rock), SRAM has a new component group coming... it's light (less than 2000gm), it's expensive (more than Dura Ace) and it's dead sexy!
It's been a while since I've gone on a SRAM bender... but it's time to do it again. This stuff is amazing! Truly... the shifting is super smooth and precise. The shifting bugs in the front shifter (lack of ability to trim the front derailleur to prevent chain rub) has been fixed, the bearings are ceramic (lighter and smoother- but durability is debatable), the crank is lighter and stiffer, the shifter reach is adjustable, the cable routing can be in front of or behind the handlebar (like Campagnolo) and the entire group is lighter. I can pleasantly say that I have had nearly zero issues with my Rival group that I began testing last year. The shifting has remained very precise. The wear has been very good. The only complaint I've had so far has been with the crankset/ bottom bracket- the seals are so tight on the bearings that the crankset does not seem to spin freely and has not loosened over all the months of riding and the non-drive crank arm was constantly loosening. I fixed the crank arm issue by regreasing the contact points and retightening very tightly, however the BB still feels stiff. That said, I am still very happy with the performance of the group and am anxiously awaiting the chance to get my hands on a Red group to test on an extended basis.
Nearly every road brand at the show offered a Red equipped bike. Last year, when the Force and Rival groups first came out, that was not the case. Clearly SRAM has made their case and gained some serious industry support. I have very good friends at Shimano and absolutely love the product they and Campagnolo produce... but SRAM is doing a lot of the right things and Japan and Italy need to really pay attention to what the folks in Chicago are cooking up.
All of that said, it would be foolish to ignore the big dog on the block, Shimano.
The new carbon Dura Ace crankset is awfully pretty... but rumor has it, it will be very not-cheap.
Another rumor has it that the cranks are very, very stiff though.
On top of the really cool stuff that Shimano does, they have the PRO branded parts as well. These are parts designed by the Europe side of the Shimano family... and they are awesome. The stuff ranges from simple bars and stems to incredible wheels and other accessories like sunglasses, etc. It's a big product offering.
They make some really danged cool stuff and I hope to get my mitts on some of it to beat up on. You never know what might end up on a bike...
Ok, I surrender. The headache wins and I am calling it quits for now.
More later... I promise.
Tim
9 comments:
I thought you wrote the commentary would be light ;-)
Thanks for posting all of those photos and the commentary. It's nifty looking at this stuff.
Have a good weekend!
ha ha...I was thinking the same thing, Fritz.
Nicely done, Tim.
can we expect any sram or campy equipped masis
So much for a quick post! Fun stuff
I wish someone would give me a RED set to test out on my Diva. I have some rather unkind things to say about my SRAM Force when mounted on a compact crank. Possibly it's the compact, maybe it was the mechanic who assembled the bike, but it took several boyfriend hours this spring to dial in the shift; and things have started to skip and make noise yet again in the drivetrain.
"I can pleasantly say that I have had nearly zero issues with my Rival group that I began testing last year. The shifting has remained very precise. The wear has been very good. The only complaint I've had so far has been with the crankset/ bottom bracket- the seals are so tight on the bearings that the crankset does not seem to spin freely and has not loosened over all the months of riding and the non-drive crank arm was constantly loosening. I fixed the crank arm issue by regreasing the contact points and retightening very tightly, however the BB still feels stiff. That said, I am still very happy with the performance of the group"
Uh, which statement is true? The one about the problems you had or the one where you gush about the stuff? "nearly zero issues" "the only complaint" Loosening cranks over "all the months of riding" is simply not acceptable. Give me Shimano or Campy any day.
Zero- Yo, lighten up dude/ dudette.
My Campy shifting had tons of issues until it was "broken in" and I replaced the 11t cog. Now the front derailleur limit screws are frozen in place and can not be loosened or tightened without fear of stripping the heads.
My Shimano shifting, I must admit, has always provided the least amount of hassle for set up and maintenance. It just flat out works. My only complaint has always been the wear of the chains. I'm lucky if I get 1000 miles out of a chain before it has to be replaced. and the connecting pins are not as reliable as I would like.
The small amount of "issues" I've experienced with the SRAM stuff keeps it in good comapny and is totally acceptable to me, considering the same sort of maintenance and wear issues associated with both Campy and Shimano.
There... now we're all happy.
do you use a hammer to adjust your campy? i have 4 masi's with campy of various grades / levels and all work like a charm. no screw issues, no chain rub issues, no adjustment issues after i 'blueprint' the derailers with the campy included instructions. oh did i mention the micro-adjust... sweettttt. but than again i have never understood the shimano lore, everytime someone is riding a shimano group next to me it sounds like a one man band.
All of my old Campy stuff is in the parts bin where it belongs. I have "zero issues" with it as long as it stays in a box full of other old parts. Dura-Ace may not have the Italian mystique, but it just works better in my opinion. Come to think of it, even the low end Shimano groups shift pretty flawlessly. I would love to try the new SRAM groups as a possible alternative to Shimano, but I gave up on Campy a long time ago. Of course, it is all personal preference. I know that plenty of people disagree about Campy.
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