New Crash-hat

 New Crash-hat

They say you should replace your helmet every 3-5 years even if you haven't crashed while wearing it. We haven't but our previous ones came with a gimmicky magnetic closure - something ya gotta wonder about when it's a thing under your chin and you sweat a bit while riding?

So when Zio's magnet got so rusty the closure opened up a few times while just-riding-along, something needed to be changed! We'd stashed our previous helmets away when we got these so maybe it was time to get that old one out?

OK, but wait a minute! Those helmets were now 10 years old! 

Probably NOT the best choice, so we ordered some new ones as shown. These have the standard plastic closure, fit fine, have (for us) the must-have bug netting and look cool, right? There's also a blinky light in the back, inserted into the sizing-thing you twist to get that just-right snugness.

Now we hope we DON'T have to try out the safety aspects! No pricey MIPS or whatever they call the anti-rotation stuff, just the standard EN certification on these but we should be good for another 3-5 years of fun!!!

April 1st...again?

 Speed Holes?

What else can you think when you read this about a new bicycle tire?

"Changing wind angles and rough surfaces constantly challenge performance and comfort. The Aero 111 32mm addresses this with a patented tread pattern embedded with 48 precision cavities that act as vortex generators. By manipulating airflow around the front wheel to delay separation, this design achieves optimal efficiency at all yaw angles, significantly reducing drag while amplifying the sailing effect to propel riders forward with less effort."

REALLY? Seem like speed holes to ol' Zio!

$50 vs $10

 Battle of the chainrings $50 vs $10

Can you tell the difference between the $50 chainring and the $10 chainring in this photo? After our Tuscan adventure we thought our gravel bikes needed gearing a bit lower, but Shimano GRX was maxed-out with 40 up front and 42 out back. Sadly, nothing smaller up front or larger out back was available from Shimano.

So Zio Lorenzo went searching on the internet where he found a French Specialties T-A (remember them?) chainring claimed to be a perfect replacement with 38 instead of 40 teeth. Zio figured this would be an easy swap, probably not requiring anything other than removing and replacing, so he ordered two of 'em. $50 seemed a bit steep but they were supposed to fit and if not, the reputable online merchant would surely take them back, right?

Meanwhile, some $10 Chinese chainrings popped up after he ordered. They looked the same but the description was a little vague as to the bolt-pattern fitting GRX, but for $10 Zio figured he'd give 'em a try. Looks like they'll fit but will they last as long as the 7075 T6 alloy French rings? Probably not, but Zio doubts the French ones will last 5 X longer to justify the higher price. Time will tell.

Fun with TPU

 Fun with TPU

Spring has finally sprung here in Sicily! Rides in short sleeves and shorts for the first time in months. More riding means more chances of flat tires of course and Heather had a good one the other day, whatever she hit dented her bike's rear rim, but luckily the resulting loss of air didn't happen until her bike was hanging in the shop.

So we went out the other day to ride and GGGRRRrrrr!...the rear tire was flat! MAHLE X35 powered e-bikes have one feature Zio Lorenzo really hates - the rear wheel has a solid, threaded axle with flats on it to securely mount into the rear dropouts. It's needed since something has to stop the axle and internal e-guts from turning as the power flows into the part of the wheel that does turn when you turn the assist on.

So removing the rear wheel is best described as a PITA as they say. And of course most flat tires are on the rear, right? The front wheel on this bike has a thru-axle but at least one with a handle on it so no tools are needed. But not the rear! A cut-down 8 mm hex key is in the saddle bag just for this purpose. You also need to disconnect the power cable and make sure you don't lose the nuts while you pull the wheel out, moving the chain out of the way and being careful of the brake disc.

Zio normally hates turning bicycles upside down on the shop floor or roadside but since the rear wheels are heavy AND require precise positioning to drop 'em back in it's far easier getting the wheel in/out without fighting gravity. But at least this flat wasn't on the roadside!

Zio noticed when TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) inner tubes first came on the market years ago. He'd long ago decided to skip the road tubeless idea, asking what problem did it solve other than making you buy more expensive stuff? Their fanboys claimed you could run lower tire pressure without fear of pinch-flats (which was the case on Heather's flat, complete with dented rim, but with a whack that hard would things have been different? Recent results at Paris-Roubaix would suggest otherwise) along with other supposed benefits like self-sealing small punctures, but Zio remained unconvinced.

When TPU (plastic) inner tubes came around, lots of folks asked why mess with road tubeless when these would replace old-time butyl tubes and be lighter, plus spare ones would take up less space in your saddlebag and be more resistant to puncture? Zio remained unconvinced. Butyl tubes are cheap, easily repaired and don't lose air quickly so you don't need to do more than give a squeeze to your tire before a ride.

After a few years, with more and more seeming to switch to TPU and abandon road tubeless he decided to give 'em another look. The early versions were cheap and seemed to either work great or fail right away. They couldn't be repaired, unlike butyl. They cost more than butyl and it didn't seem they were much more puncture resistant either. But mainstream bike tire companies like Pirelli and Vittoria then got involved, repair kits became available and specific sealant for TPU came onto the market. Zio figured the lighter weight would cancel the added weight of the sealant and improve puncture resistance to better than a butyl tube*. The sealant was said to be water based, so before it dried out you could add some water rather than recycle an expensive tube because of a dried up blob of sealant inside.

With those innovations on the mainstream market Zio decided to buy into the concept, ordering some TPU tubes, including a few with the sealant goop already inside. They all sat on the shelf along with the sealant, the injection syringe and the repair kit. Until yesterday. All the butyl tubes on-hand in the size needed had patches on them - Zio usually wants to repair a butyl tube, install it,  then air-up the tire and come back in a few hours to make sure the patch job worked. We wanted to ride now, so a TPU tube was installed instead. No sealant, we wanted to ride, not wrench!

Installation was pretty normal, you do need to put some air into the tube to get a bit of shape to install it, but they caution about too much air pressure stretching/deforming the material. Luckily the tires on this bike go on with just the "thumbs of death" rather than needing tire levers, so no issues with possibly pinching the thin material. Tire was aired-up, wheel put back on the bike and off we went for a few hours of cycling in the sun.

This AM Zio decided to finish the job by adding the special sealant. The valve core was removed (Zio's not a fan of the plastic stem, fearing the threads are going to be too easily stripped if the valve core needs to come out again, maybe to add water to the drying-up sealant? Newer versions are available with more durable metal stems) and the sealant injected before pumping the tire back up to normal pressure. 

Stay tuned for future developments. Zio doubts these tubes are any more resistant to pinch flats from hitting holes in the road and there's still a standard butyl tube in the saddle bag as spare. If this tube works OK the ones with the goop already inside might go into our gravel bikes the next time we have a rear flat on one of those. We've already tried and rejected conventional butyl tubes that came with SLIME already installed - they blew out way too soon - Zio's guess is due to the cheap tubes more than the sealant not working.

* Some claim sealant doesn't work in a tube inside a tire - saying the goop won't dry-up and seal, instead just running out into the tire where it won't seal the hole in that either. Others claim it will seal, one claiming you can just add the sealant after a puncture, air-up the tire and go.  One would presume it must work at some level or they wouldn't bother? We've had mixed results with the gas canisters with sealant inside - the genuine Vittoria branded ones seem to work while most of the generic ones don't. With TPU and it's special sealant - only time will tell.

Light mount

 Is your handlebar too crowded?

Due to the new Italian vehicle code bicycles are now required to have lights front and rear, on all the time. We bought some cheap rechargeable ones that strap on with rubber bands.

Bur Zio Lorenzo already had a computer mount on one side of the stem and a bell on the other. Don't laugh, you need a bell on our island where there are no sidewalks but hordes of tourists waddling along the narrow streets looking at smart-phones or gawking at shop windows instead of where they are walking! 

But where to put it on the already crowded handlebar? Zio kept banging into the thing when it was strapped onto the bar outboard from the computer mount.

Here's what he came-up with. A piece of old handlebar (you could use a piece of PVC pipe of the same diameter) cut off, plugged with a standard bar plug at the bottom and covered with a bit of old inner tube at the top.

A hole drilled through the side lets you strap the thing onto the bottom of your stem with a zip-tie. If your stem's not flat on the underside, you can shape the tube with a file, making a concave surface so the tube is stable. Then just strap-on the light making sure you can easily reach the power button. It's easily removed for recharging.

Out back things were easy as our seat packs have a loop sewn onto the back just for this purpose.

UCI - save us!

 Dear UCI - save us from this, PLEASE!

What is this? A shark?

 

What is this? A spermatozoa?

What is this? A two-wheeled cockroach?

Do any of these things look useful for anything other than racing against the clock or the wind? Of course not, but Zio assumes they're great for what they're designed for..which is certainly NOT aesthetic beauty.

And of course they're pretty useless for anyone not paid to race on one while wearing the other. A person not familiar with bicycle racing would be forgiven for asking "why a shark appears to be riding something that looks like a cockroach turned on its side with two wheels attached? I thought this was a bicycle race."

Zio was reminded of this while watching the World Cycling Championship in Rwanda, the first time they've been held in Africa. It seems a lot of the big stars from the rich cycling countries didn't bother to show-up, leaving room for lots of cyclists one would only (maybe) see at the Olympic Games every four years. Cyclists from relatively poor countries who can't afford to provide their athletes with this kind of expensive (and ugly) overly specialized equipment.

Plenty of racers competed on more-or-less standard roadracing bicycles wearing more-or-less standard crash helmets. How refreshing! And how affordable!

It's past time for the UCI to step-in and ban these crazy helmets and almost useless bicycles. All riders should compete on a standard road bicycle. No full disc wheels, no crazy handlebars to let the rider be splayed out and barely in control of the thing while wearing a "helmet" that is more for streamlining than head protection. Perhaps a simple limit of 10 centimeters in any direction from the rider's head would be enough to rid us of these gawdawful helmets while it should be easy to specify standard roadracing machines for racing against the clock.

PLEASE UCI - Save us (and the competitors) from this!!

Bike Lights

 There SHALL be light!

Decreed the Italian infrastructure minister in his new national vehicle code. Front and rear, on all the time. So we bought some of these to try. We already have some of those tiny, rubbery things that use the watch batteries but something a bit larger and rechargeable seemed a better idea.

Zio's never believed lights made any difference in the daytime, despite the "saved my life" proclamations from users, but now we have no choice. Not that the law is going to be strictly enforced but if someone runs us over at least they can't claim they didn't see us because we weren't following the law!

NOBODY ever says they SAW the cyclist they've just hit/killed, do they? That would make them a homicidal maniac rather than just some jerk too busy looking as his/her cell phone instead of where the hell they're going. Despite the fact cyclist/pedestrians are rarely at-fault, it seems the penalties are always very lenient for the motorists. It's illegal to talk on a cell phone (you have to use a hands-free setup) but nobody we know has ever seen the law enforced. Our experience is that most of the time if there are issues, it's because the driver was paying more attention to the phone than the road.

So now we'll enjoy all the motorists who don't run us over, don't challenge our right-of-way and generally behave much better as the light users would have us believe. Heck, they might stop honking the horn (bells are now required on bikes too) or yelling at us to get outta the way?

On the other hand cycling in Italy still seems far safer than in the USA, both of us were involved in collisions with automobiles during our cycling lives there. So far, much better luck here though with this bike-hater in-charge of things for how much longer? Most pro cycling teams do their winter training in Spain these days where they find the roads much safer. Why can't Italy do whatever they're doing? One might think the Italian bike industry might lean on some politicians?

Does anyone think there will be a bike lane on the bridge this Italian infrastructure guy wants to build to connect Sicily to the mainland? He doesn't even like cities to set low speed limits (though they work) to reduce cycling and pedestrian injuries caused by motorists.

But we'll comply with the law and cross our fingers.

Lights arrived. We got these tiny ones with rubber band type mounts, but Zio didn't like the space the headlight used-up on the handlebar nor threading the rubber band through the loop sewn onto the seat pack so...

Some changes were needed. A section of an old handlebar was attached under the stem so the rubber band light can easily be hidden out of the way. Other than an ugly zip-tie around the stem, it's all good.

Out back another section of old handlebar was cut-up, leaving a long tab to insert into the loop sewn onto the seat pack. Both of these schemes allow the lights to be easily removed for charging or to use on other bikes. Test ride shows this rear setup needs a rubber band anyway so perhaps it's better to get an extra one and rubber-band it on there more securely?

More chain lube follies

 Chain, chain, chain....

Apologies to Aretha Franklin, but some people are foolish. Recently Zio Lorenzo was taken-to-task by (he assumes) a member of the chain-wax cult when he claimed a chain on his own bicycle showed zero measurable wear after 4000 miles of use, without ever being waxed. Simply oiled now and then.

He doesn't really hate these people but DOES hate the fact they act like anyone not in their cult is somehow a moron..or flat-earther as a certain Australian ex-cop likes to say.

Zio's used Mobil 1 as chain lube for decades with excellent results, but never paid much attention to actual data on wear...until the wax-culters started making some wild claims along with inferences that non wax-culters must be idiots. 

Now he has some.

Odometer reading from the bicycle. MAHLE e-bikes have (like your car) an odometer in them. There's no way that Zio knows of to tamper with them. 3991 kms with maybe 10% of that on dusty trails and the rest on paved roads. Certainly NOT the grueling test protocol "Mr. Friction Fiction" claims to put chains through, but in Zio's opinion probably more representative of normal use without any bias that might make wax seem superior to oil or vice-versa.

This chain was lubed with Mobil 1 SHC 75/90 and nothing else, maybe the first time Zio's actually done so. Usually he'd just grab a lube applicator and drip some oil of one brand or another on (after wiping the chain with a rag) then spin the cranks backwards a few times, wipe off excess and that was that.

Chain was cleaned a few times as part of a bike wash, using a teaspoon or two of simple diesel fuel brushed on the chain and the rest of the drivetrain components, then washed off with simple dish soap. A wipe with a dry rag completed the service. More lube was usually needed after a few hundred kilometers - dripped-on, wiped off.

Above is a new Campagnolo EKAR 13-speed chain, showing (surprise!) zero wear measured by a KMC digital chain checker.

Above is the chain that came on the bike after almost 4000 kilometers.

At least one person implied that something shady was being done with the digital chain checker to cheat on the results. Zio hopes the above shot of a non-digital checker's reading might get them to take off the tinfoil hat!

Bottom line? Use whatever you want on your chain (or mustache, bikini line, etc.) as it's your money and your time. But PLEASE stop trying to make it seem anyone not doing it your way is a Luddite, moron, flat-earther, etc. And pay close attention to what the marketers of these waxing products claim, they have a pretty big financial interest in your purchase of $50 bags o'wax pellets, gizmos to melt the wax in, etc. etc. vs a liter of gear oil for $15.

Updates: Various other bikes in our fleet - Bianchi E-Impulso Allroad used 90% of the time on dusty trails and maintained as above (chain lubed with any lube handy, most of the time Finish Line Green) 11-speed Shimano chain - 5450 km/.19 measured chain wear. 

Bianchi E-Aria 11-speed Shimano chain - 4654 km/.25 (bike bought used and lubed similarly to the first bike) 

Bianchi E-Impulso Allroad 11-speed Shimano (lubed exclusively with cheap, non-synthetic 90 w Repsol gear oil) 

999 km/.18 wear.

Seems like cheap Repsol gear oil is not so good? Worst result by far!

GIOS Raduno 2025

 

"il blu di famiglia"

Heather with Aldo Gios and Zio Lorenzo

We look forward to this every year. The blue family shows up from the world over to ride, talk, eat, drink and pay homage to the people who still keep the brazing flame burning in Italy.

Go HERE if you want to see the actual event, fast-forward to around 38 minutes where the riding starts. It was fun to be escorted through the streets of Torino and do a lap or two around the famous Motovelodromo.

Heather at the Motovelodromo

This was the 8th edition and Zio Lorenzo thinks he's been to 6 of 'em though he'd guess some like Patrick Blom have probably been to every one.

Heather thinks this edition may have been the best one yet while Zio missed the usual part where special guests are introduced and special thanks are said to everyone involved in putting this thing on.

Mille grazie e ci vediamo in 2026!

Who designs these things?

 What were they thinking?

The people who designed this jersey for their women's squad at LeTour?

When there was already this team jersey?

The pro women's peloton was already plagued with too many pinks, yellows and oranges, now this? Adult supervision is needed here with maybe a UCI-controlled submission process? Submit your design for approval, first come-first served. Another team submits something that looks too much like something already submitted/approved and it gets rejected. 

In world where we hear "cycling's business model is broken" over and over one might think the marketing-mavens involved in designing the racer's uniforms would try to make their team stand out from the others. Are we missing something here? One of the biggest, most powerful/expensive women's teams in the sport redesigns their kit to look like a team lucky to even be invited to Le Beeg Shew?

And while we're on this subject, there's this fugly thing.

What was wrong this this one? Eddy Merckx would never have been caught dead in that ghastly new thing, would he? Belgians I spoke with at the Games said the same thing, so it's not just us.

Or these two? REALLY hard to tell apart on TV unless the camera's doing close-ups. I wonder if the riders get confused as to who is their teammate and who isn't? In European football (soccer) they make sure one team has light jerseys while the other dark, same for NFL football (football) but nobody seems to care much in pro cycling. Spend tens of $millions on a team that TV viewers can't tell from others? WTF?

Getting it Right Part ?

 More Fooling Around with new Gravel Bike

 Zio Lorenzo thought the 40 mm deep carbon "aero" wheels on his new bike were kind of a dumb idea but just like the whacky handlebar, he figured he'd ride with 'em awhile before making any changes. 

The front seemed much more sensitive to gusty winds at speed than his other bikes. Last time he rode (and hated) a deep section wheelset it was just 33 mm, but these 40 mm rims seemed just as bad, if not worse. Zio's sure the larger tire plays a role here too, but he likes the 38 mm slicks...a lot!

If you've followed the story of this bike you already know he ditched the wacky carbon bar for a standard type road bar (in aluminum) a few months back. Since the rear wheel is laced into a motorized hub, changing that would be a huge PITA, while the front wheel is the one gusty winds tend to mess with the most, so it got changed. You'll often see wheelsets sold with deeper "aero" sections on the rear vs the front just for this reason.

DTSWISS GR1600 is a wheelset with low profile rim in aluminum and Zio found a place that would sell him just the front wheel at a reasonable price, so here it is. Zio Lorenzo couldn't find one that would accept the original 6-bolt brake rotor so he had to order a new centerlock rotor and lock ring as well. Grrr!

You can see (above) the overall section height (tire+rim) is now 62 mm vs

77 mm with the original wheel. How much the wind will notice this smaller surface area as it blows across the wheel on a fast, twisty descent remains to be seen, but Zio figures it's got to be an improvement, right? Check back for a report.

Update: A few rides in gusty winds suggests the front wheel gets blown around far less. Zio noted the other day a race where the winner appeared to be using a 33 mm wheel up front and a 50 mm in back, so his 26 mm - 40 mm combo is far from an original idea...but it works!

PS: Zio felt like he spent a lot of money on this bike but the other day noticed the Big-T was offering a slightly used, factory refurbished carbon gravel bike with Shimano GRX components and the Big-T's house-brand handlebar, stem, wheels, etc. for $6K while a new one will set you back $8K! And neither of 'em comes with a MAHLE X20 motor/battery! So his MV bike seems almost cheap in comparison, even with all the extra-cost part swapping.

Letter to Vicenza

Cara Vicenza (Dear Vicenza)

Clock in the shop. Clock movement long gone

I loved you Vicenza (hometown of Campagnolo, but let's pretend she's a beautiful Italian woman and Vicenza's her first name, OK?) I really did. The first time I rode a pro-quality bike with your Nuovo Record components I came back to the shop saying "I don't like this bike but I love the components." after first trying a bike I liked with Shimano parts that I didn't. The bike shop guy said they could build me something so I put a deposit down on a Swiss-made Mondia (Reynolds 531) with Campagnolo Nuovo Record parts, Fiamme red-label tubular rims and a Selle Italia Turbo saddle. 

Was I biased? Perhaps, as my first quality bike (meaning one without a one-piece steel crank and Schwinn on the downtube) came with then-new Shimano 600 parts, the newfangled "cassette" rear hub promptly failing with nobody seeming to care about warranty/repair. I caved-in and bought another rear wheel and screw-on freewheel but never had much love for Shimano from that point on.

But this Italian stuff was only gorgeous, it worked very well after a short break-in period. Later when I worked in bike retail the shop joke was "Shimano wears-out. Campagnolo wears-in." 

It was true back then, especially after I spent 2-3 days in a Campagnolo Technical Seminar (still have the certificate of completion, shown above) while working in a Southern California bike shop.

It was still true when the bike tour company we worked for received some Campagnolo groupsets as part of a promo deal yours truly was instrumental in creating. We got their new-fangled "Ergopower" 8-speed groupsets with triple cranksets to get us up the Passo Mortirolo, etc. Some of those parts from 3+ decades ago are still in-service on our vintage bikes!

4 decades old and still going

A few boxes from when Campagnolo meant Made-in-Italy

It was still true when we created CycleItalia and needed a rental bike fleet. Our friend at Torelli provided some beautiful, tricolore versions of their Gran Sasso bicycle with Campagnolo's Mirage 9-speed triple groupset. One of those bikes is still in-service as my winter bike, complete with the original cables!

Still going strong after 2 decades

Still true when we added more bikes as the years went by and we needed more modern machines to please our clients. Every one was Campagnolo-equipped, I even had to argue/insist on this with our carbon bikes as the maker previously had nothing to do with Vicenza. Once they met he seemed a bit smitten too.

It was still true when I bought an EKAR-equipped gravel bike a few months ago.

But I'll admit to feeling a bit cheated-on years earlier when unboxing a set of cantilever brakes for a 'cross bike. Made-in-Taiwan by Tektro!!! Part of a 'cross groupset Vicenza was selling back before gravel bikes pushed 'cross off the "newest-latest-coolest" list.

I tried to ignore it and tried to ignore it again when the brakes on Vicenza's new Centaur and Potenza groupsets were so obviously Tektro products and so certainly NOT Made-in-Italy. Sure, they worked just fine, but....  

We touched on this HERE.

But I can't ignore it any longer -- it seems Vicenza has dumped me and moved to Taiwan. Despite my fidelity, she's gone. 

Am I sad? Certainly!

Vicenza's gravel groupsets, EKAR and EKAR GT seem to have a lot of Made-in-Taiwan components based on the labels on the spare parts boxes arriving here. Hard to believe it's only the brake parts. They originally admitted to working with Magura on their hydraulic stuff but obviously are having it made now by Tektro. Their hydraulic fluid color changed from blue to red like Shimano's. How much of the rest of their groupsets are Made-in-Italy rather than just designed and boxed there?

The romance is over now, especially since I've been riding a bike with Shimano's GRX groupset. All of this new gravel stuff is rather ugly, especially in boring matte-black, but GRX works pretty well in direct comparison to EKAR, based on back-to-back comparison rides done recently.

This all makes me wonder how long Campy-fans, not to mention those new to the sport will continue to pay a premium price for component groups made-in-Asia with Campagnolo's brand-name on them vs products from the same place that work just as well but cost less but have names on them that begin with "S"?

It's interesting to note the famous Q/R skewer, (the thing in the center of the clock in the photo, the invention of Tullio Campagnolo that legend has it launched his company) has been rendered obsolete with the adoption of screw-in "thru-axles" made necessary by disc brakes.

Rumor has it the petro-sheiks that bought Colnago recently also wanted to add Campagnolo, but the privately-held firm wouldn't sell. Rumors go on to point out the UAE pro cycling team on Colnago bikes no longer uses Campagnolo components.

And now that Vicenza has "dumped" me, I'll certainly think twice about what components will go on my next bicycle.

Arrivederci Vicenza, it was great while it lasted! 

GIOS Raduno 2024

Famiglia Blu

The 7th GIOS Raduno was this past Sunday so we flew up to Milano, rented a car and headed off to our former HQ, Hotel Ariotto. We got our blue bikes out and made sure they were ready-to-ride on Sunday. Above you see a few of the tribe posing with Aldo and Marco GIOS.

This year instead of roadside stops for snacks, they arranged a full, sit-down, multi-course pranzo. Great idea!

We lucked-out with the weather as it's been rain-rain-rain up north. But Saturday and Sunday were clear though we raced back post-pranzo under some dark clouds. Above shows the group stopped to wait for someone with a broken chain. Same chain broke again on the way back, but everyone eventually made it back OK.

There was a roadside pause to see the Giro pass-by.

Pranzo was enjoyable, lots of catching-up with members of the tribe we might see only once a year while making some new friends as well.

One of the race police escorts remembered the old Brooklyn cycling team and called out as he went past.

GIOS created another limited edition bicycle, this one to commemorate the famous Grande Torino football team.

We also saw Il Giro pass nearby the GIOS showroom on Saturday under sunny skies.

Mille Grazie to Aldo, Marco, Silvi, Roby and the rest for all of their hard work to make this happen each year. This might not have been the biggest one yet, but maybe the best?

 

A proper handlebar at last!

 Arrivederci FSA!

A proper handlebar at last! Zio Lorenzo tried to like the OEM spec'd FSA K-WING carbon handlebar, he really did! Especially when he thought about the PITA involved in changing it.

But after a couple of months and more than 1000 kms of trying he caved-in and ordered a more normal-shaped aluminum road bend handlebar by Ritchey. Heather likes their 31 mm bars OK as they have a reasonable shape and bend while Zio ordered the same FSA model stem but 10 cm vs the shorty OEM 7 cm. The hoses/cables/wires are no longer inside the stem (or bar), instead under a plastic cover that fits under the stem and under the bar tape. Does it really look all that untidy? Not to Zio!

The bike looks a lot more "normal" now, but the real benefit is the change in position. The distance from the tip of the saddle to the center of the handlebar is now Zio's normal spec while when he's down on the drops the front hub is hidden from view, just as they used to tell us was proper back-in-the-day.

Not too ugly, eh? Zio decided not to cut the steerer tube when he removed the 2 cm of spacers underneath, at least for now. But he's really liking the lowered bars despite them still being higher than normal due to modern frame design with higher headtubes and sloping top tubes.

An old-time round style top-cap and spacers ABOVE the stem don't look too bad, do they?

This was Zio's first project like this. He dreaded pulling hoses/cables/wires out of the insides of a bar and stem. It threatened to be a lot of work...and it was! The e-shifter wires had to be unplugged (once the plugs were finally found, deep inside the frame'a toptube!) and then snaked back through headtube and frame to be reconnected. 

The brake hoses have banjo-type fittings at the brake lever and Zio feared they wouldn't fit through the holes in the bar, but fortunately he was wrong, but they still had to be disconnected, which meant a time-consuming brake-bleeding session was required to finish-up. 

Meanwhile, the shift cable inner wire had to come out of it's housing so it too could be yanked out of the bar, then replaced, the entire time with Zio sort-of holding his breath as he pushed the inner cable back through all that housing - through the entire frame, hoping it would pop out rather than get stuck and frayed, requiring replacement with a new one. 

Super-duper, extra-slick cables are needed (Campagnolo call's 'em "Maximum Smoothness" which sounds like a men's shaving product) to deal with all the twists, turns and bends required for internal routing and the replacement cable/housing for this bike costs $100!

Zio breathed a sigh of relief when the cable popped out in good shape, especially as the super-slick aftermarket replacement (he forgot to order with stem/bar) wasn't going to arrive for a few days. From that point it was just running everything along the handlebar, then under the stem (where the extra wiring that didn't like being stuffed back into the headtube was coiled-up) where it's all hidden by a plastic cover. 

Zio had saved the original bar tape when he switched to the red cork (which didn't come off in one piece) to match the red SMP Glider saddle he tried before going back to the white Plus, so it went back on, easily covering the simple round bar vs the extra surface of the multi-shaped FSA thing.

The bike now fits properly. Zio likes the less flexy feeling with hands down in the drops along with the general shape and feel he's familiar with. The levers are no longer slanted/tilted/skewed, though it's unfashionable for sure. 

This damn near all-day project certainly would go more quickly next time, but even then it would likely still be a half-day project. But now with everything under the bar tape or under the stem cover, unless something goes wrong inside the headtube, any repairs or parts changes should be quick and easy in comparison!!

Best of all, when he hops on this bike it feels pretty much like his other bikes...finally!!!