Round 1 Wessex Cyclocross League - Oxonian at Oxford Spires Academy

Slight diversion now, as I'll be blogging about the Wessex CX League events. Round 1 took place last Saturday 15 September 2012, at Oxford Spires Academy. The course was built around playing fields on two levels. Massive queue at sign on, and the blue of Cotswold Veldrijden abounded:

The Junior/Veteran/Women's event was recalled after about 3 minutes of racing, causing the pack to emit a collective groan. The false "start" was because the leaders went the wrong way around the circuit. I daresay that better communication from the commissaires could have prevented that. 

By all accounts, there were three incident packed locations:

1. A rideable grassy bank climb going up from the pit area to the higher level playing field (shown in the distance below):

On the climb, for example, riders falling or dismounting very close to the top, meant either carnage, or an overtaking chance for those following (round about where the flag is below):

2. A fallen tree in the woods with a ramp ~10m ahead of it. The log was jauntily placed diagonally across the path. With no competitors around, you could cross the barrier, remount and ride the ramp, provided you were in the right gear. However, with other riders about, it meant carnage, or a waiting manoeuvre for those following. There was no space to get past easily on the single track. Many people were dismounting, crossing the log, and pushing/carrying the bike up the ramp before remounting. I was forced to hug a tree to prevent a mishap. Some people were smiling when they emerged from the woods: 

3. A couple of steep, grassy, off camber, downhill banks, sloping towards a chain link fence around tennis courts (sadly, I have no photos of this). Thankfully, the ground was dry, but it was also very bumpy. I dunno how my teeth didn't fall out, and I didn't fall off! Many stories of splats against the chain link fence, and even some over the bars carnage. It seemed a way to do it was to pick your line from the top and pray, and don't try to change your line half way down. Mishaps meant (you guessed it) carnage, or a "flash of life before the eyes," for those following. 

Much time spent chewing the bars was alleviated (a little) by the magnificent weather. Sunshine and not much wind. 

Note how riders can leave the ground going UP this ramp - I've heard stories of folks landing in a heap after this kind of leap, so keeping in contact with the ground may be safer. 

Not bad photos for a mobile phone, if I do say so myself!

Cube Attempt to Cannondale CAAD8 frame swap

Take an Ultegra/105 equipped Cube Attempt:

 and a boxed Sora equipped Cannondale CAAD8:

unbox it:

check it out:

(strip it, not shown) then put the Cube components on to the CAAD8:

Before below; After above:

All the leftover bits will go on to eBay for auction, including the Cube Attempt frameset. This was a unique opportunity to compare quality alloy frames with exactly the same components. They are both cool-looking fabulous bikes. The difference in weight is minor, the CAAD8 being just a few hundred grams or so lighter. The CAAD8 is 6061 alloy with SAVE formed chainstays, while the CUBE is 7005 alloy, hourglass stays and rectangular-ish section chainstays. My comments that follow are merely fine hair splitting. The CAAD8 feels a little nimbler and I find it to be the more comfortable of the two. I reckon it's a tad faster uphill, but on the other hand, the Cube feels more "planted" or "solid" downhill. I don't know if it's merely the "new bike" syndrome, fitness, or whether it is indeed all about the bike, but first time out on the CAAD8, I set a new personal best on a local hilly 35km route by almost a minute and a half. I highly recommend both these bikes. 

Servicing Shimano SPD Pedals

I love SPD pedals. But they're puzzling, because it's not obvious how to service them, other than keeping them clean and the release mechanisms (the bindings) oiled. So, here's a little post about servicing them. This is the PD-M520 bog standard pedal:

First thing to note is that the pedal unit (green arrow above) is screwed on to a splined threaded barrel (red arrow above, labelled (2) in the exploded view below). The splined threaded barrel goes over the metal axle. On the PD-M520, the barrel is made of PLASTIC! So if you try to use pliers to turn it, the splines will disintegrate (which may not be a huge problem if they are only ruined on two opposing faces, because you can still get enough purchase to tighten and loosen them again). Really though, it's best to use the proper tool, (11) below. Be sure to observe the arrow directions for loosening and tightening. You hold the pedal in one hand (easier to hold it in a cloth) and unscrew the splined barrel. 

I opened mine up and below is a photo. From L to R, the splined threaded barrel is shown located on the metal axle. Then there's a dished washer, a bush with ballrace cups on both circumferences, a cone nut and a locking nut. It looks like there are twelve tiny balls each side (I didn't measure them but Shimano tech docs say 3/32"). Also, shown in the exploded view above, there's a thin rubber ring seal around the axle just under the spline. Obviously to keep water and crud out. 

Below, you can see the ballrace cups in the bushing and the coned nut a bit better.

After cleaning it all up, I reassembled in the following sequence. Load up one side of the bushing (see below, on the right). Then pack some grease around the cone on the axle (see arrow below). Then, using a cocktail stick, press all 12 balls down onto the greased axle cone, and gently slide on the loaded bushing - unloaded face first of course. Then carefully spin on the cone nut, being careful not to dislodge the loaded balls and then the tiny lock nut.

Spend a few moments adjusting the bearing tension by turning the cone nut and locking the nuts down to each other. It's the usual game of trying to adjust the lock nut system to get free spinning movement with minimum (no perceptible) play. Slap on grease wherever there are parts rotating against each other. In total, it took me about 20 minutes to renovate a pedal that was grinding, hardly turning, into one that now spins freely. It's very clever, because the metal bushing which press fits into the pedal unit, seems to take all the load. Whirr! 

Spa Cycles Wharfe Saddle, Seatpost Raleigh Twenty/BSA20

The Wharfe saddle from Spa Cycles is rather like a Brooks Swift...and a lot cheaper. This is what you get inside the box:

A little tool for the nose bolts, and a cloth bag to put it in. I fitted it to a new alloy seat post for the BSA 20, and added a Carradice Zipped Roll saddlebag:

It's quite a 'racy' saddle, and I wonder if I'd have been better off with the Nidd which is like a Brooks B17. We'll see, time will tell. 

Apart from improving the appearance, the new saddle n post saved nearly half a kilo in weight:

	Old (g)	New (g)
Saddle:	910	525
Seatpost and clamp:	470	380
Totals:	1380	905

BSA 20, Raleigh Twenty clone

Since my beige colour Raleigh folder is with a cousin for use as a commuter, I recently picked up another bargain. It's a green, non-folding BSA 20 and this is how it looked on purchase:

The hub stamp and frame number indicates its an early 1978 model. That's the year of the film Grease, the hits Night Fever by the Bee Gees and Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty.

I've yet to decide what to do with it exactly. As I've been saying for many years, the Raleigh Twenty to a bike nut, is like a blank canvas to an artist. So far, I've merely pumped up the tyres, changed the rear brake inner cable (it was jammed with corrosion), oiled the hub, adjusted the toggle chain and generally lubed all round. Oh, and I did spend a fair amount of time unravelling a great deal of yellow knitting wool that I found wrapped around the rear hub and drivetrain. That's a new one for me!

Anyway, now I have a fully working, pottering bike for the grand sum of £15, plus cost of an inner cable.

So many possibilities... Perhaps I should start off with a strip and powder coat?

Quick Release lever alignment

Michael Barry, the Team Sky professional rider, recently wrote about his favourite cycling innovation, the humble quick release lever (article here). The other day, I looked idly at bikes in a public rack. I noticed that people position the closed lever in many different orientations. Which way should QR levers point? A good subject for a "Chuck's Tech Opinion," I mused.

Sounds like a trivial matter? No way, I say! A good friend of mine had a minor crash on his beautiful all carbon bike. The front fork was gouged by the QR lever - a very expensive mishap. The lever had been locked in front of the fork blade, pointing up. I've also heard stories about a person who pulled a bike out of the rack, and only when riding discovered that the QR lever had been snagged open!

When you examine pro bikes, it's very interesting, as it seems that rear lever alignment is team, or should I say team mechanic, dependent. So, for example, TT bikes from Radioshack/Leopard Trek (including Cancellara), Vacansoleil (including Larsson), Saxo Bank (including Boaro), Astana (including Brajikovic) have the QR lever on the rear wheel pointing backwards, as in the photo above. The others have the QR lever positioned under the chainstay pointing forwards (e.g. Team Sky), or back and up, or in the crook between chainstay and seatstay like this:

"In the crook" also appears to be the way most pro cyclocross riders orient the rear wheel QR lever. I guess that is because the risk of snagging the lever (e.g. by a passing bush!) is lower in this position (it's tucked into the stays, which protect it a little). Another thing the pros have to worry about (but I don't!) is ease of access for wheel changes.

When it comes to the front QR lever, it's much simpler. Among the pros, as far as I can tell, it is always pointing backwards. Either under the fork, or backwards and upwards. The other pro thing is that the lever on the front wheel tends to be on the left side of the bike (on the rear wheel it HAS to be on the left side).

So, fwiw, here's my opinion. On the rear wheel of CX bikes and commuters that are often parked in racks with other bikes - where there is a risk of snagging the lever - I will orient it tucked into the crook of the seatstay and chainstay. Whereas for TT, I may have it pointing backwards. It really depends on the frame structure around the dropouts and the shape and configuration of the QR lever. I am not that keen on pointing it forwards and down under the chainstay - but I would do that if there is no other way (it depends on the configuration of the lever and type of frame - sometimes it won't go into the crook without fouling the frame, for example). On the front wheel, it's always pointing back, either under the fork or backwards and upwards behind the fork blade. Usually this is achieved with the skewers oriented so that each QR lever is on the left side of the bike.

And yes, I agree with Mr Barry that the quick release is a great bicycle innovation.

Is Shimergo a waste of time?

Shimergo means using Campagnolo Ergo shifter levers with a Shimano drivetrain. Check out this beautiful Bianchi renovation (from the interesting "Pistarice" blogsite):

I used to think that messing about, mixing and matching combinations of components from one manufacturer with those from another, was pointless. Each brand is designed to function with its own compatible parts. So obviously, it would be less than optimal to use bits that were never designed to work another brand, right? But no, both theory and practical experience indicate otherwise.

The most common combination seems to be 10 speed Campagnolo Ergo levers with either 8 speed Shimano drive, or 9 speed Shimano provided the rear derailleur clamp washer is rotated a bit (what Shimergo practitioners call "hubbub" - photo here). 11 speed Campagnolo shifters also work with Shimano 9 speed systems. However, since 10 speed Campagnolo levers (e.g. Veloce 10) are significantly cheaper than Shimano STI levers (whereas Campagnolo 11 speed ones are comparably priced), Shimergo is useful solution for:

• upgrading Shimano geared bikes with down tube shifters - e.g. touring bikes, or old road bikes
• converting MTB drive trains for road use
• a cheaper and I'd say "sexier" option for replacing defective 8 or 9 speed Shimano STI shifters
• in some cases, improving braking performance, because the Campagnolo brake levers are likely to be an upgrade over the original brake levers 

So, for certain bikes, Shimergo is certainly not a waste of time. What we need however, is some list of the known combinations of types and models that function well together (I mean with more product detail than the combination tables in Chris Juden's CTC article). And let's not stop with Shimergo. What about Sramano, which I have heard can work too? If any reader has first hand knowledge of a combination of mixed brand gear train parts and shifters that work well, please do add a little comment here with product and model details. If I can gather enough data, I'll make a table of it and share that interoperability info with everyone!