dilbert

Cannondale SuperSix ? for better or worse?<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> When news broke that Cannondale was bringing a new full carbon frame to top their range, their fans all over were jumping up and down with excitement. The aluminium & carbon SystemSix is an excellent bike, and if they could go one better, the new frame would be a real world beater. Crux, being a huge fan (I?m sure biggest fan. actually) got some of the first batch to arrive in SA. I got to ride one for a couple of weeks The bike was kitted out wit a Record gruppo (still my #1 favorite, but I still have to try Red), Hollowgram Si cranks, ITM K-Sword bar, stem and seatpost. It also had a Powertap SL 2.4 wireless. The frame: Compared to the System6, the first impression is less extreme than the look of the System6, with a smaller top tube and trimmed down head tube. The seat stays are tiny, like those on a Cervelo R3. The down tube is traditional Cannondale size - very big, and it ends in a massively reinforced bb. As far as looks go, the frame falls much easier on the eye than the System6. Two things bothered me about this frame?s looks: The first was the lugs at the top and bottom of the seat tube. It spoils the clean lines of the frame a bit. All the joints on the frame are smooth, so it seems as if the developers did not have time to design better joints to the seat tube. The lugs have been taken out on the 2009 Super6? The second small gripe I have is with the colour of the frame: black. The Super6 launched in 3 colours, black, black and black - not very exciting. There are also some white frames around, but they are still fairly rare. Looks like some more colour will be added in 2009 ? perhaps the designers also did not have enough time to design some nice paint schemes in time for 2008. The Equipment: The components are almost exactly the same as the System6 I tested before. I loved the gruppo and the cranks, and did not like the handlebar. I liked the adjustability of the ITM seatpost, the separate tilt and fore/aft adjustment made finding the perfect saddle position a walk in the park. The wireless Powertap deserves special mention ? I found it extremely hassle free to set up, reliable and easy to use. As far as power meters go, for basically the same performance, you can buy 2 or 3 powertaps for the price of an SRM. Until the Quark power meter arrives, the wireless Powertap would be my choice for a power meter. The Ride: The frame was a size too small for me, it was a 52, compared to the 54 I prefer. Even fitted with a 135mm stem, I could not find a perfect setup, so things did not start out that well. I also expected the full carbon frame to be a lot better than the carbon/aluminium System6, but I could not notice much of a difference. I suppose it must be there, it is just not that obvious. The frame felt stiff, but it was not quite as snappy as the System6 ? stiff enough, just not the raging adrenaline rush of the System6. The full carbon frame did take the edge off the road buzz, and the ride & handling was good. It was not as comfortable through the saddle as a Colnago C40, for example. All in all, a very nice ride, but after the System6, I was a bit under whelmed by the Super6. So, the question on Dilbert?s mind at this point was: ?If this frame was woman, what would she look like?? A nice frame, up to date with the latest bike fashion, but not as muscular as the System6? Super6 vs. System6: A German cycling magazine, Tour, tested both frames in a size 56. The data is hard engineering facts, measured in a lab, not opinions (Dilbert loves Tour magazine). It makes for an interesting comparison: Super6 System6 Weight (frame+fork+headset) 1598 grams 1673 grams Super6 4.7% lighter BB lateral stiffness 65 N/mm 79 N/mm System6 21.5% stiffer Frame comfort (vertical stiffness of rear dropout) 269 N/mm 283 N/mm Super6 5.2% more comfortable Torsional stiffness 69 Nm/? 103 Nm/? System6 49% stiffer Fork lateral stiffness 54 N/mm 42 N/mm Super6 28.6% stiffer Fork comfort (vertical stiffness of dropout) 102 N/mm 79 N/mm System6 29.1% more comfortable For a small reduction in mass, the Super6 gives up some BB stiffness, and a lot of torsional stiffness, but gains a small bit of extra comfort. At the front end, the System6 fork has a better comfort rating, but less stiffness sideways than the Super6 fork. Conclusion: The Super6 is a nice frame. It has enough stiffness to keep 90% of all riders happy, has more or less the same excellent ride & handling as a System6. I do think they should rather have named it the Six, because it is not that super compared to other top end 2008 bikes, especially as far as weight is concerned. dilbert2008-12-22 04:17:50

Fixed the pics. @ Kent: Agreed. SLC-SL would be perfect, but paying close to R50k for a frameset to shed 100 grams is not worth it imo. @ wisecrack: The KCNC brakes on my normal ride will be better with standard brake pads. I use Coolstop pads which are optimized for carbon rims, though, so stopping power is compromized on alu rims. DuraAce calipers still the most powerful I've tried. Still need to try out SRAM Red...

#$%#$% having trouble with uploading the pics, will fix later

Cervelo Soloist carbon - The Hollywood superstar of bikes?<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I must confess, I have been trying to take one of these for a spin for a while now. Few bikes come with such a reputation: It has lots of high profile international wins and have been voted the no. 1 frameset in the world for the past two years by cyclingnews.com ? serious stuff! <?: prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /> http://www.tcsn.co.za/downloads/TCSSolo01.jpg The bike I was fortunate to loan from Carel came kitted out with DuraAce, a FSA K-Force MegaExo crankset and a custom paint job. Needless to say, I was quite eager to go riding! The frame: The shape of the frame has to be seen to be appreciated. Every tube catching wind has been shaped to be as aero as possible, from the head tube to the seat stays. It is a real beauty in the looks department. The down tube is BIG, and the BB junction has to be the beefiest in the market. The chain stays look very sturdy as well, promising a lot of stiffness. The chunky Cervelo fork looked out of place on this frame, but they have been replaced by Wolf and 3T forks on current Soloists. I were not crazy about the loud, multi-colour paint job ? I?m a fan of nice paint jobs, but perhaps this one has a colour too many. I had some high expectations going out on the first ride, and I?m glad to say, the Soloist did not disappoint. The BB is very very stiff, I enjoyed how the bike climbed and cornered. The carbon rear end was also very stiff, perhaps not the most comfortable, but it has a bit less road buzz than aluminium. The fork rides well too. It felt so similar to my System6, in fact, that I think it would be difficult to tell the difference when riding blindfolded. Yeeehaaa! The equipment: This was the first time in 10 years I rode a road bike equipped with Shimano. The shifting was super smooth, and the brakes must be the most powerful in the business. I have KCNC brakes with Coolstop carbon pads on my usual ride (a seriously under powered combination), I must confess that the power of the DuraAce stoppers caught me completely off guard on the first ride. There I was, just riding along, rounding a gentle bend on a smooth downhill. Approaching a speed bump, I grabbed a handful of brake like I usually do to slow down. SCREEECH! On a steeper downhill the family jewels would have been decorating the stem. It was like my first introduction to disk brakes on a MTB. I did not like the shape of the brake hoods; they were especially uncomfortable when riding out of the saddle. The FSA crank looks very cool, especially the chain ring. With the outboard BB, the cranks are quite wide (called a big Q-factor), and could bother some folks. I was a bit disappointed that the cranks felt less stiff compared to the Hollowgram SI cranks I?m used to. This could have been due to a mechanical problem at the pedal to spindle junction ? I did not take the BB apart to see if anything was loose. Conclusion: The Soloist certainly lives up to its reputation. I loved the bike! The only thing better would perhaps be a Soloist SL, which is the same, only lighter. O yes, before I forget, a pic of a girl to describe the frame: Sleek, sexy, and dressed with a lot of colour! dilbert2008-12-22 04:20:53

3T has got a couple of nice bars, the LTD rotundo & ergosum both weigh a claimed 169g, and the LTD ergonova is 180g - nice! The matching LTD & team stems look good, too.

My vote for a hbar would go to the Zipp SL, the light 3T one or Easton EC90SLX, in that order. Im not a fan of carbon stems, the difference between aluminium and carbon stems is price only - carbon offers no performance gain. If it must be carbon for the purpose of bling, I would match the stem to the bar, Zipp stem with Zipp bars, etc. As far as integrated bars go, they dont offer any advantage other than looks over a seperate bar/stem. I like the look of Cinelli Ram.

Its a great frame for race day, not ideal for long rides at a lower pace. I would not go for the K-sword bars.

Rode it for 2 weeks , wrote the review for our club newsletter.

Cannondale System Six ? American muscle!<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Like the C40 I tested before, this bike has a history. It was Ryan Cox?s 2006 team bike. An SRM had been added to the hollowgram cranks, and the bar & stem changed to ITM k-sword. The bits & pieces look very nice, but Im afraid the frame will never win a beauty contest. The plain black colour scheme in a world full of plain black bikes does not stand out much, and the head tube is BIG, almost the size of a coke can. http://www.tcsn.co.za/downloads/System6Bora.jpg The frame: First riding impressions were favorable; the geometry fitted me very well. The frame is slightly compact, with a 55cm top & 54 cm seat tube. The fit felt perfect, and reminded me very much of the C40, but with the frame angles resulting in perhaps a slightly sharper handling ride. Like the C40, it felt more like a Euro stage racer than a criterium machine. In contrast to the slender, shapely looks of the C40, the top & down tubes of the System6 are massive, and the chainstays are pretty big as well. So how does it ride? Let me first say what it is not: It is not an easy, relaxed cruising bike. It is not easy on the body, it is not a sweet girl you ask out to church on a Sunday: No, this frame is strong, stiff, responsive, and demands to be ridden hard! I said it is no beauty queen, but this is a girl you can take to Loftus on a Saturday if you are a Cheetas supporter! Jokes aside, the frame and cranks combine to give what must be one of the stiffest, feeling frames available. The fork matches the frame perfectly, handling is focused and precise. If you are looking for a fight, this is the weapon. On long, less intense rides, it is definitely harder on the body, especially compared to the smooth magic carpet ride of the C40, but to kick ass with, this is da machine!! The Equipment: Firstly, the SRM: I like the display more than the Powertap. More info is presented simultaneously, and there is much less pressing of buttons needed when riding, and the higher sampling rate (200 Hz?) & averaging works perfectly. I do not think it is more accurate than a powertap, and I can?t see a reason why it should cost more than a powertap, especially the wireless SL2.4. I also recorded some error spikes in the region of 1500 watt. When I first saw it, I thought ?cool, I pushed 1500w? but scanning through the data, this was clearly spike or measurement error. It happened on all the rides so far, each time to around 1500w. As for the cockpit, my ass felt instantly at home on the Arione carbon saddle, it provides a slightly softer ride than a normal Arione. The K-Sword bars has lots of places to rest hands on, but I found the FSA k-wing more comfortable. I also bumped my knees lightly on the back of the broad top of the bar once or twice when standing, even though the stem was a 130mm, so this must be due to the width of the bar. Like the FSA K-wing, I found the drops a bit too deep and my forearms touched the bar when sprinting in the drops. To my surprise, the bars also felt flexible when powering with hands on the hoods. It may not flex much, but on this bike, any flex is glaringly obvious. They do look very nice, though, and are certainly not cheap. The Record gruppo rocks, and is still my favorite. Special mention has to be made of the bike?s ZeroG brakes. Much lighter than Record, they look a bit more industrial than the stylish looking D-skeletons. I wondered how much different they could feel? Brakes are brakes, right? WRONG! The combination of brake pads & brakes resulted in wonderful modulation and a feeling of precise control, though perhaps not as powerful as DuraAce or Record brakes. In conclusion, I loved charging around on the System6, the responsiveness, the awesome feeling of unyielding stiffness. The frame felt a bit harsh on rough roads, and the ergonomics & stiffness of the handlebar was less than ideal. dilbert2008-08-21 11:53:22

The new alu crankset is supposed to be lighter and stiffer than the carbon crankset they developed. I dont think the carbon crankset is going into production.

http://www.velonews.com/files/images/DURA_ACE_GROUP.jpg (from velonews.com) full article, & more pics: http://www.velonews.com/article/76923/shimano-unveils-the-new-dura-ace-7900 dilbert2008-06-02 01:49:06

Aha, found some data on the net, based on wind tunnel measurements for bike+rider pushing 300w, 10 deg wind angle. Over 40km: 1080 10 seconds faster than 808 front. Sub9 disk 16 seconds faster than Zipp 900 disk.dilbert2008-05-30 04:15:07

Zipp looks nicer imo thanks to the dimples & graphics. Small difference in mass, but the HEDs has got a 50mm provile, vs the 32mm Zipp, so should be a bit more aero. Zipp404 would perhaps be the more direct competitor to the HED50? Some alternatives: Reynolds DV46C's @ 1480 grams/set Edge full carbon clincher rims should be out soon. It looks like Edge dont sell wheelsets, but a custom build with Edge rims may soon be the best option for a clincher race wheelset. Get some Edge rims, Tune hubs & have Johan Bornman build you a nice set with Sapim / DT bladed spokes.

BTW, Quark production units is supposed to be available soon.

New SRM wireless too, I think

Have not got data for the Hed90. I guess the Hed90 would be close to the 808. They share the patent on rim shape. Only difference would be the dimples, which Zipp claim saves 1 or 2 ekstra watts. Same goes for disk wheels. I would think they are all pretty similar, except for the dimples on the Zipp. (Lance A used a rebadged Zipp disk instead of a HED) The exception is the new Zipp Sub9, wich Zipp claims are better than their normal disk in side wind conditions.

Watts absorbed at 50km/h, From rouesartisanales.com: Fulcrum Racing Speed 23.7w HED trispoke 19.7w Xentis TT 17.1w Zipp 808 16.7w A Zipp 808 front will save 7w over the Fulcrum. The Zipp 1080 perhaps 1 or 2w more?