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Where Intellectual Property Goes to Die
- If the goal of training is race simulation, then the hardest intervals must be accompanied by a dire need to piss. Just because you know how doesn't mean circumstances will permit it.
- Alongside artisan and robust, we hereby ban the word "epic" since its overuse is rife and the bar for what constitutes epic-ness has fallen so low. It's so neatly summarized here.
- The cinematography. The surf music. The colorized spectacle of the Anquetil/Gimoni age. This film is an obvious precursor to La Course en Tete and it's totally epic a blast to watch. The first minute or two are slow, but it's hypnotic after that. It's worth 16 minutes of your life:
- The best part of the 60's is the wristwatches Gimondi & co. raced in. From a style standpoint it's the single thing of the era that we as bike-worshipping men should aspire to emulate. IWC is aesthetically correct, but so forbiddingly expensive. Nixon is epic-proof wicked tough but maybe a smidge too youthful. I'm a bit lost for direction so I've been exploring and admittedly I've done so under the influence of a half-bottle of wine, 2 margaritas, then the second-half of that bottle which is my only excuse for ending up on this dodgy site with counterfeits so good that (blame it on the boozy-boozy) they tempted. It was only in a fleeting way and I promise I bought nothing, but I felt it and the morning after I couldn't help but think of that scary black hole at Interbike called "The Taiwan Pavilion" where Intellectual Property goes to die. When will the knock offs in the bike biz evolve from bottle cages and wheels to ProTour framesets? I'm not talking structural replicas branded with awkward 8th grade would-be English names but ones that are perfect replicas all the way down to the decals, the details, and the "Made in Italy" sticker.
- SIBE #3: Ludo Dierckxsens' banned-in-America Rudy Project Stratosphere helmet. Preferably in Lampre purple.
- A visually-clotted but nonetheless interesting site: Climb by bike. Not my best terrain, but an esteemable project for sure.
- Terrain closer to my heart? The pavé. Dig this fantastic photo. It's huge resolution so give it a few seconds to load and use your mouse to zoom on it. The texture & all-in-all epicness massiveness of the Forest of Arenberg comes through here like almost no other photo I've ever seen.
- After 39 years of searching for my life's purpose, I've finally found it: Unpacking the awesome meaning of the 2003 Paris-Roubaix. The more I watch the video (twice today) the more I see that must be discussed and I hereby devote the rest of my life to teasing out the meaning of the day. Next week I think I'll do a sonnet or an interpretive dance. For now, though, I'll limit myself to trivia by mentioning that unlike the cheapo tape jobs most-often seen by PRO teams to hold in their radio earpieces, the almighty Belgian supergroup Quick Step got armed with $160/set Bang & Olufsen Earphones that in their stainless, multi-adjustable glory neatly curved above the ears of Museeuw, Boonen, Knaven, VDB, et al. For the cleverness of that alone, I hereby file my dissent in any talk about race radio bans.
- From the Dept. of RTFM, a quick mention of the Campagnolo Ultra-Torque bottom bracket is in order. Don't let the word "torque" fool you because the instructions make it clear that a torque wrench is not the first choice for an installation tool. Rather the preferred method is for you to slowly hand-tighten your cups and, while doing so, coat the threads with Loctite 222. This is no ordinary Loctite. First off it costs $30/oz. Secondly, it's anaerobic so it only activates once you've fully hand-tightened the cups and thereby removed them from the presence of oxygen. Once you've done the hand-tightening ("do not overtighten!"), you proceed with the installation of the BB clip and then install the cranks.
I mention this apropos of nothing. It's interesting, perhaps, because we've rightly become a torque-conscious industry and the sight of a torque wrench on your mechanic's bench is a sign of professionalism. Hand-tightening something flies in the face of all that. That being said, Campagnolo acknowledges in their manual that not everyone will follow the Loctite 222 route. In this case, attach the UT-BB130 bottom bracket tool to your torque wrench and cinch down the cups to 35Nm.
Share this PageFebruary 08, 2010
music rights, schmusic rights. those were the days... that led to these days, i guess. interesting the staged shots of the peloton cresting the big hill near the beginning. quite why the filmmakers felt the need for this b-roll shot... prolly just b/c they built a tempered glass ramp & wanted to use it.
- al b, madison
February 08, 2010
When you're a member of Team Quick-Step and you're racing Paris-Roubaix, you'd better damn well not miss out on any of the radio chatter.
- Bang, Olufsen
February 08, 2010
Speaking of pros and big watches... how about Valverde in the TDU '10 - http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt/stage-5/photos/102350
- Stephen S., S.F.
February 08, 2010
Excuse, me. Where is your anti-JV rant for his soft pedalling comment about Lance? Get on the ball!
:)
- chris, Tex
February 08, 2010
"pro," not epic is over used on this site
- Julio, Iglesias
February 08, 2010
FWIW, while I totally agree that epic's currency is often cheapened like a fake Vacheron Constantin, I've got to chime in for those of us who wear a shi*-ton of hats: "Epic" has its place as a relative term. / I realize that's not what you were referring to, but "epic" and bikes belong together like Penelope and Odysseus. We all have our epic rides and, at least for this cyclist, it's those precious few experiences* that helps to keep the romance at a boil. / BTW, should I be surprised that there was no mention today of Boonen's recent comment about Cav's character? Rich, that. / *ie: http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/61547094/DSC03061.jpg
- mjw, PRoB
February 08, 2010
Watches:
Mondaine. It's swiss, but affordable. If you're into European aesthetics (all american cyclists seem to be these days), you can't beat it. It's a replica (same company) of the clocks found in all swiss train stations (as well as very much like those in germany). the watch even replicates the unique movement of the clocks, which has the seconds hand stop at the twelve, minute hand clicks, and then seconds hand keeps moving.
http://www.mondaine.com/mondaine-watches/display/167
- sleeper, out there
February 08, 2010
It's like reading a weekly summary of Velicipidesalon yo.
- eddy, meise
February 08, 2010
I think those Campy instructions were updated to the Loctite method as primary because after UT was first introduced there were a lot of people complaining about premature bearing failures. This was most likely because the cranks were installed into frames without proper BB facing. The UT design is elegant but it requires parallel BB faces and tight tolerances on the BB shell width to function properly. The original instructions for UT in 2007 were to torque the BB to 35 N-m, or use the Loctite method if no frame prep was done. Here is how I prefer to do it: 1) Face BB shell/chase threads, 2) Verify shell width spec as per Campy recommendations, 3) Install cups with a nice big smear of grease on threads, 4) Torque to at least 35 N-m. For Italian BB use blue Loctite instead of grease on the drive side and torque to 35 N-m. Install crankset and torque the fixing bolt to at least 45 N-m, I go for 60 N-m.
- EKH, Canada
