$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 though 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 though 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.

Chain Lube update

 

More data on chain lube and wear. If you read THIS post, you'll know Zio experimented with this cheap gear oil as an alternative to Mobil 1's synthetic version - one that's performed well over the decades.

This one performed very poorly. Used on a brand-new Shimano 11 speed chain, OEM supplied with Zio's Bianchi E-Impulso Allroad, chain wear exceeded .3 mm measured with KMC's digital checker after ONLY 2000 kilometers!

Compare this with Heather's identical bike and chain, lubed with mostly Finish Line green but the last 2000 kilometers with this same cheap gear oil, showing the same wear after 6000 kilometers, when both chains replaced, well before KMC's "smiley face" limit of .4 mm. Zio likes to replace 'em before they wear the cogsets to the point a new chain skips.

Repsol's cheap 75/90 w automotive gear oil is not very good as a bicycle chain lube, especially when compared to Mobil 1's synthetic version. Sure, it's 1/3 the price but far inferior when it comes to performance.

With the new chains come new chances for experimentation - maybe exclusively Finish Line green (a lube "Friction Fiction" refuses to test) on one with Mobil 1 synthetic on the other? Both bikes get used on the same rides at the same time so this would be a very direct comparison.

Meanwhile, Heather's Bianchi E-Aria road bike has almost 6K kilometers on it now. OEM chain lubed with Finish Line green to start with the last few thousand on Mobil 1. Wear is still well under KMC's smiley-face limit of .4 mm, average readings being .25 mm. Zio will change it when it gets to around .3 mm, same as the gravel bikes. Makes one wonder what "Friction Fiction" is afraid of...why won't he test this lube?

Another e-bike

 E-SHOPPING?

Nah, we know it's Black Friday (how long has it been black month, week, etc. anyway?) but this is Zio Lorenzo's new E-Shopping BIKE. These Bianchi E-Spillo Lady Classic bikes have been discontinued it seems so it was "get it now" even though the old man can still make it up the incline back home loaded-down with groceries. But for how long? He liked the simplicity of this bike, pretty much just like the one he's been riding for eight years, just with a motor/battery and maybe even more important - the step-thru frame.

WHAT you say? A LADY frame? Look how high the box in back is. Add a sack of groceries and you have a pretty high bar to swing your leg over unless you want to hoist your leg and risk scratching the bike's top tube. Zio's never crashed himself doing the swing, but he's come close enough times that the smarter half of our duo insisted he get the LADY model. It IS much easier to climb and get going when it's loaded down and it IS a shopping bike, so..

He started looking for one once it seemed they'd been replaced with newer models and when a shop in Northern Italy had 'em at more than 20% off (Black Friday?) he ordered one. In this photo you can see the front rack/basket, ugly milk crate box on the back and the black plastic fenders he robbed from his previous bike to replace the cute, but likely to rust, rattle and get dented, painted metal fenders.

Here's the business end: motorized hub with battery pack under the rack. It comes out for charging and has built-in tail light, but otherwise looks just like Heather's Spillo Rubino, but for some crazy reason the classic Celeste paint on this one is not the same as hers. One would think Bianchi has been painting their bikes this color long enough to have a formula for their signature color, but what does Zio know?

The only other telltale sign of e-assist is the control unit on the handlebar, but it's pretty small so we don't worry much about this one getting swiped vs a non-electric bike. When they're parked and locked together I doubt anyone would notice.

So now Zio fears no shopping! If he can fit it on the bike, no matter how heavy it is, he'll get it...but no shopping on Black Friday!

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.

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!

E-bike vs E-Moped

 E-BIKE vs E-MOPED

Both of these have two wheels, pedals and electric motors, but they're far from the same thing.

Zio calls the one on the left an E-MOPED. Maybe you have to be of a certain age to remember the original - a cheap, gas-powered (usually a stinky, smoky 2-stroke engine) that most described as "beats walking" and little else.

This one isn't smoky, stinky or noisy but it's pretty much the same. Just like with the original the pedals don't do much..you would NOT pedal one of these very far without the help of the motor. They're really heavy and the pedal action (if they don't have an actual controller on the handlebar) doesn't do much but tell the motor how fast you want to go.

We see these all over Italy, ridden for transportation and for fun, especially by foreign tourists who'd rather be outside than inside a tour bus. The one pictured was one of a large group that "rode" to our hotel in Monferrato from Torino, (about 60 miles) in one day they said! The next day they "rode" back. Few of 'em were dressed in any sort of cycling clothing, just casual cargo shorts and sneakers or sandals.

What's wrong with that? Nothing at all. But to us it's really NOT cycling...it's enjoying the countryside from the seat of an electric moped.

The one on the left is what we call an E-BIKE. Perhaps Pinarello's Nytro was the first in the "performance" category - a lighter weight, kind of racy road (or gravel) bike with drop bars for cycling enthusiasts to play with. These go nowhere if you're not pedaling, in most cases the e-assist (assuming you have it on and are using it) stops when you stop pedaling. But other than being 3-5 kg heavier than a similar bike without the battery/motor, you WILL happily pedal one of these along with no e-assist, at least until the road tilts up.

THAT is where they shine. You can select various levels of assist to your own pedaling, shifting the gears when needed as you climb that hill or slog into that headwind. In the EU the assist cuts off at 25 kph, but if you're using it to go uphill, that's fast enough...they're not designed to chase anyone's KOM records! But you ARE cycling, even you have the assist cranked-up to the max.

We're not going to suggest that young, fit and fast cyclists buy these. Enjoy going fast under your own power for as long as you can, but when/if that becomes so tough that riding's not that much fun anymore - a real E-BIKE will get you out there and provide as much exercise/physical challenge as you want. You control that by using (or not) the electric assist.

La Mitica 2025

 La Mitica 2025

We missed this last year, choosing instead to see LeTour in Bologna, so we were determined to be there this year, despite Zio Lorenzo's recent health issues and the record heat.

We flew to Milan, rented a car and zoomed off to our old home-base Hotel Ariotto. The next day our old friends and former clients Don and Cindy arrived. They'd ridden La Mitica with us back-in-the-day so we left them to ride around Monferrato and enjoy lunch.

Sadly, the record heat really cooked us both..so much that we walked the famous Rampina climb near the end, pausing under bits of shade along the way. After taking a break at the ristoro at the top, neither of us savored the idea of the steep 3+ kilometers to go, so we hitched a ride with a local lady in her beat-up Fiat. We left the bikes at the aid station and came back for them once we got the car at the finish in Castellania. Since we walked over the finish line and didn't ride the entire route, we skipped the pasta party and awards ceremony.

Because of all that we're posting photos of interesting bikes with names we've never heard of. The plan was to get more details on them post-ride, but that didn't happen. If you have details, share them in the comments.

PELOSO

ZAPIER

 PAGANI

                                                

                                                                           CALDARO

?

                    

                                                                              LEONE

                                                                           MAGGIONI

FIORELLI

                                                                        BIANCHINI

?

GANNA

?

LEGNANO (fairly well known, but pretty)

DINO CHIESA

?

Then there's Zio's GIOS. The history of this bike is it was built by the maestro Giuseppe Pella for the DREHER cycling team. When Dreher pulled out, the team continued as BROOKLYN and some of their team bikes were simply repainted in the classic blue. This is one of those. If you've seen the classic "Sunday in Hell" documentary, you've seen Aldo Gios in action with this team.

Mille Grazie to Pietro Cordelli and his amazing crew! La Mitica continues to be our favorite vintage rally, though perhaps it needs to happen in a cooler period of the year?

Wax on...wax off.

 Wax on...wax off.

Paraffin wax is obtained from petroleum by dewaxing light lubricating oil stocks. It is used in candles, wax paper, polishes, cosmetics, and electrical insulators.

Zio thought this was interesting. Regular blog readers have read his questions about the wax-cult and their claims about insane longevity of chains when wax is used instead of oil. Now a major chain maker is selling 'em pre-waxed and claims all ya gotta do is use the drip lube they sell. Just wipe the chain with a clean cloth they say and you're good to go. More details here.

Zio asked the "L. Ron Hubbard" of the wax-cult for his thoughts. I guess it should have been no surprise that "Friction Fiction" went off on a rant about how removing/degreasing/boiling your chain in wax is the greatest thing ever and anyone who questions this is a moron, or in his words - a "flat earther". We'll note here that NO chain or component maker that Zio knows of recommends removing your chain for cleaning, let alone taking all the original lubricant off and boiling it in wax. Most seem to warn against removing the chain except to replace it with a new one.

And let's not forget a chain (like a tire or brake pad) is a "service-item" that has a lifespan and should be replaced when it gets to its service-limit. Chain makers give a elongation measurement for replacement, saying if you exceed it you risk damaging other drivetrain components.

Zio's guess is if one could buy a pre-waxed chain and maintain it simply by wiping and dripping on some of the same wax, "Friction"s sales of bags o'wax pellets, etc. would probably tank, right?

But it got Zio to thinking about this more, ending up here for some comparisons taken from "Friction"s own website.

Zio notes the top performing drip lube in the "cost per run" charts is a product* that sells for $7.50 an ounce! Yep, ONE ounce! While the "cost per run" may not be as good as the immersive waxing scheme, Zio's not gonna bother doing that so he didn't bother with the chart showing those results.

But it makes him wonder how a drip lube that costs 68 cents an ounce and so far (3000+ kms) has netted 0 wear on a new 13 speed chain would rate? 

But Zio's guess is "Friction" will NEVER test MOBIL 1 SHC 75/90 because it's not marketed as a chain lube and would quite likely put a big dent in his entire wax-cult program. And as noted above, don't forget WAX comes from petroleum so the cultists who insist it's all so environmentally-friendly vs a few drops of oil on your chain are pulling-your-leg.

Finally, there's the issue of WHAT is the economy here? A new 12 speed chain sells for around $50** online. So if you double the life of yours you're saving $50, right? Triple the life and you save $100. But if you have to spend $50 on a bag o' wax + $100 on a "system" to boil your chain in wax + solvent and maybe ultrasonic cleaning equipment to take the grease off before you can do the waxing, not to mention the time involved with it all - WHERE is the savings vs just dripping some oil on now and then and cleaning the drivetrain when you wash the bike?

It's hard for ol' Zio not to see this as one of those "Save $ by buying my expensive stuff" schemes even if the claims of chain longevity are 100% true and accurate, but as they say "your results may vary".

* To be fair, this product's maker claims it contains no petroleum products, the "wax" is made from plant materials.

**Friction claims "We have cassettes at 700+ (my t-type xxsl is $1100 aud), chains are now up to 260 aud ($150+) for a t-type xxsl. Chain rings like sram red with integrated power meter can be 1500 to $2000aud+" which may well be true, but it kind of illustrates the stupidity of "saving money by using my expensive products" and makes Zio wonder what these people are doing that justifies this kind of expense? He remembers back-in-the-day special aluminum freewheels and titanium chains, but those were "world record attempt" limited-use things. Friction certainly knows his customers better than Zio and maybe they're happy spending this kind of dough and his immersive waxing regimen seems cheap in comparison?

Inflation - the good kind!

 CYCPLUS e-pump

OK, Zio hears ya - "WTF? How lazy do you have to be to use one of these?"

Lazy (or not) isn't the point. What IS the point is the difficulty of mounting a frame pump (one YOU have to pump) onto modern bicycles. Our e-gravel bikes didn't offer much of a way to carry a full-sized frame pump (though Zio later managed to squeeze one in on his) so it was a Silca Tattico mini-pump or nothing.

With gravel tires of 38 mm, it takes some pumping even with a frame pump (let alone a mini) to get up to working pressure, so this gizmo looked interesting when Zio saw it here. Thanks Pez!

It inflated tires just fine in the shop, though on-the-road test waits for the next flat. Zio had some concerns about how charged-up the thing would stay in the seat pack, but today pulled it out and turned it on...seemed like it would have pumped up several tires before he got tired of the racket and shut it off. Recharged in 15 minutes and went back in the seat pack. Seems like it'll stay ready-to-go in-between recharging the e-bike battery so when it's time for that, it's time to recharge CYCPLUS.

Pez has the details if you want one for yourself or maybe under the holiday tree?

Update: This thing works great, both on-road and in-shop. Ever had one of those slow leaks..the kind you say "I'll pump it up once or twice and make it home"? 3-4 stops to get enough inflation to get home without ruining tire/rim...no problem!

Slippery subject - slippery salesman?

 FRICTION FICTION

Regular blog readers have seen posts about chain lubes and questions about waxing rather than simply oiling your chain. Zio's firmly in the oil camp and sees no reason to buy-into the claims of the wax-cult.

But someone who REALLY wants you to join the cult is the guy who runs what Zio laughingly calls "Friction Fiction"

Before you take the plunge you might want to read THIS. This huckster is a former cop with zero engineering, mechanical or bike industry background it seems?

Photo above is of Zio's "secret blend" chain lube. Nothing more than an under $20 jug of synthetic automotive gear oil. Thick enough to stay on but thin enough to get inside the chain rollers. He's used it off and on for years but is only now trying a test of how fast a chain wears while using this exclusively. 

Some oil gets dripped-on when the chain appears dry with a wipe-off after backpedaling a few times. When the bike gets washed a bit of diesel fuel is brushed on the chain and rest of the drivetrain, then washed-off with the same dish soap used for the rest of the bike. The oil left behind is usually good for a few rides before more oil needs to be applied.

So far, 2000 kilometers on a new chain with ZERO measurable wear. Note that unlike Friction's test this chain was NOT chemically or ultrasonically cleaned, the lube was just dripped on over the lubricant (grease) that was on the chain when it came out of the package. Since there's no issue mixing oil and grease (unlike oil and wax) why anyone using oil would spend time and money REMOVING the grease makes no sense to Zio.

KMC recommends replacement at .08 mm of wear but Zio will replace it before .04 just to make sure the cogs and chainrings don't get worn. Another bike we have here has 4000+ kilometers on its chain with just .02 mm of wear, so a simple oiling regimen (this time with various lubes including FinishLine green and Mobil1) seems just fine as chains are cheap, disposable wear items like tires, so why spend all the money and time pulling 'em off, cleaning 'em in ultrasonic gizmos and then boiling 'em in wax?

Radio-controlled Racing?

 Radio-controlled Racing?

Nah, we're not talking about radio-controlled toy racing cars or airplanes, we're talking about radio-controlled pro cyclists. Equipped with radios similar to the photo.

Why? Because of the recent almost melt-downs by two of the biggest team bosses in the sport. Here's the first:

This year's Tour de Pologne is marked by UCI's test of racing without radios. For every supporter of the less controlled racing, there is a hater pointing out disadvantages. Today, there has been another incident fueling Richard Plugge's narrative against radio ban."It was chaos today, without radios. UCI cannot continue with this radio ban. It turns the race into a complete farce like we saw in the olympics where riders cannot call the car for basic assistance (in case of a mechanical)," Plugge complains on X."Today we saw Cofidis' Nicolas Debeaumarché crash hard on a descent in latter parts of the stage. The French rider clearly wasn't in a very good shape, however it has taken a substantial amount of time before he was treated. Hopefully no one was too badly hurt today," Plugge added.

Here's the second:

"I would like to conclude my column with my opinion on the discussion about earphones (race radios) in Poland. As is well known: the cycling association (UCI) is conducting an experiment there: only two riders per team are allowed to be in radio contact with the support car. If I am well informed, there were not even any earphones left in the past few stages.”

“I find this measure completely ridiculous and symptomatic of the lack of unity that still exists within the peloton. I have seen twenty emails in which the teams wrote emphatically: ‘never in our lives’. Now it is happening anyway. Not coincidentally in the Tour of Poland, with race director John Lelangue, the most flexible person in the world when it comes to the wishes of the UCI.”

Lefevere doesn’t hold back: “It is also a disgrace for the AIGCP – the umbrella organisation of the teams. I have come to know Brent Copeland as someone who always knows best at meetings, but as chairman he now shows little backbone. I wonder: what if there is a big oil slick on the road and the peloton is not aware of it? I hope that a number of people will then feel deeply ashamed.”

Zio Lorenzo has two words in response - the first is BULL. You can guess the other.

I'll point out to "Mr. Never in Our Lives" race radios were introduced by Motorola for their team in the early 1990's. I think the man was around back then, in fact a quick internet search shows he ran the GB-MG team back then and probably didn't much like Motorola having those radios until his team had them as well?

Zio was around then and remembers how the Motorola team touted these gizmos as a great advantage when racing. No longer did the DS have to drive the car up to the road captain and yell out whatever he wanted them to know for all to hear. Now instructions could be shared in-secret directly from the DS to the riders AND the riders could communicate with each other out of earshot. Seemed like a real advantage even when all the other teams had them eventually. They could all share secret instructions without the other teams knowing. 

I'd also like to know how/why you call the Olympic Games roadrace a farce, Mr. Plugge? I was there for both by the way.

When TV screens were introduced into the team cars the real era of "radio-controlled racing" began. I'd say the worst example was during the BigTex era on the infamous climb of Mont Ventoux. Tex' DS, watching TV images from the team car dialed up an infamous doping doctor who was watching the race on TV (one who worked with Tex) to sort of "compare notes" on the performance of Tex' big rival, Il Pirata.

Doping Doc told DS how long he thought The Pirate could go at that pace, which was then relayed to Tex via the radio earpiece so he could adjust his own effort accordingly. If that's NOT radio-controlled racing I don't know what is!  

Back in the pre-radio "fog of war" days Tex would have had to look the Pirate in the eyes and determine how much strength he had left with maybe at best getting some advice yelled at him by the DS from the car...which the Pirate might well be able to hear too.

The real hypocrisy here is the blathering about safety by these team bosses combined with the total avoidance of mentioning any tactical benefits of radio-controlling your riders. Is it just a coincidence that these two team bosses have two riders well-known for incredible watts/kg ratios but not so much for tactical racing smarts?

I watched a video clip asking riders their thoughts about radio earpieces and I don't think a single one of them mentioned anything about safety - it was all about tactics and the day's route, something that can be (and was) figured out well in advance before the introduction of radio communications. More than a few even admitted to yanking the earpiece out when the DS wouldn't shut up. How does that work for safety?

At least now the UCI has fired back:

“Hey Richard. You have been caught spreading fake news! The crashes in the Tour of Poland have nothing to do with the absence of radios and you know that. All riders have been helped according to our standards. The UCI’s priority is safety. You want to keep radios for instructions to your riders, not for safety”

Zio Lorenzo thinks these blowhard's bluffs should be called. If it's all about safely as they like to claim, simply connect all the race radio reception to the race organizer ONLY. Give the rider a "I've fallen and I can't get up" button to push in-case of an emergency but all the warnings about "oil slicks" and other dangers on the course would then be warned about by the organizers, no DS' required. 

Riders would have to communicate the way they did before the early 1990's and an experienced road captain might have to drop back to the DS' car for his instructions. No TV screens in the cars either...the occupants of those should be taking care of their riders and watching where they're going, advised by the race organizer via radio...the same instructions/warnings, etc. the riders and everyone else involved all hear.

What excuse could Lefevere/Plugge, etc. come up with to oppose this idea if SAFETY is the reason they so much want radio earpieces? 

Will we find out? Call their bluff UCI! Propose this solution rather than a ban/restriction on radio-earpieces.

Gravel bikes - why?

 Why Ride a Gravel Bike?

I mean why ride a gravel bike on the ROAD? While they make perfect sense for gravel roads you'll read varying opinions on whether they're any good for riding on asphalt roads. Here's Zio Lorenzo's take:

Perhaps the first thing you should consider is the quality of your local roads. "Champagne asphalt" as in smooth pavement with few potholes or cracks? Not a lot of junk on the edges where the cars rarely drive? A classic road bike with 28/30 mm tires might be just fine on those, but reading THIS might change your mind.

If you believe that (and I do) you might want to experiment as I did awhile back with "SuperMonsterGravel" shown above. I wanted something to play with on the unpaved rail trail that runs along the sea near our house so I made my own gravel bike out of an ancient MTB. The handlebar/stem position isn't perfect due to the MTB's looong top tube but I recently put this bike back "on the trail" rather than get my new e-gravel bike dirty every time Heather wants to take her e-gravel bike out on the dusty trail. It's still fun to ride.

Fooling around with this bike further convinced me the "wider isn't slower" argument had merits after being passed on "SMG" by a guy on a high-zoot, full-carbon roadracing bike with I'd guess 25/28 mm tires. I cranked it up a bit to see if I could keep the gap from opening up despite riding this ancient MTB with 50+mm tires at 40 psi. The results backed up the claims about wider tires, so a "real" gravel bike was next.

Now if roadRACING is your thing vs JRA, you can stop here. Nobody's gonna claim you're gonna have an advantage in any roadrace except maybe Strade Bianche and even there the pros ride their regular roadracing bicycles with maybe some 32 mm tires squeezed-in. They also have a follow-car with spare wheels and bikes just behind them at all times.

But for JRA, Zio Lorenzo's convinced a gravel bike is better. But perhaps only if you make it fit and feel like that roadracing bike. You can read elsewhere on this blog about all the things he changed on his but #1 was the TIRES! Even if your high-end gravel bike comes with top-quality, high TPI tires they're gonna have knobs on 'em...something totally useless on pavement and honestly not much good anywhere else unless you're on a soft enough surface for rubber knobs to dig-in and increase grip. Swap the knobbies out for some high-TPI fat slicks and feel the difference!

Next you might think about gearing. Since most gravel bikes are 1X lots of folks seem to think the gear range isn't sufficient. Again, if you are RACING on the roads it's probably not, but 40 X 11 will get me going 60+ kph though these days I can't hold that speed for long, so why do I need any more gear? Going faster downhill means I tuck-in rather than pedal anyway. Same on the bottom end, 40 X 42 isn't far-off from the old triple 30 X 32 I used to use to climb the Passo Stelvio or Mortirolo and not having to fool around with shifting in the front is nice.

Finally there's the added weight. 10 kg seems to be about average, so you're dragging around more than someone on a 6.8 kg World Tour level machine but how many are riding those these days? Classic steel road bikes from back-in-the-day weighed around 10 kg and they didn't seem to slow the likes of Merckx or Gimondi down much, so for JRA Zio's betting you won't even notice until/unless you put it on a scale.

On less-than-perfect roads 38 mm slicks with 40 psi in them let you look where you're going rather than always riding with one eye looking down to avoid cracks, potholes, etc. The usually stiffer gravel bike frame's possible harshness on the road is mitigated nicely by these same tires. All this assumes you opt for a gravel bike more on the "racy" side rather than a MTB with drop bars which seem to be popping up now that gravel is getting segmented into fast vs gnarly terrain. 

Zio's take is MTB's are still available for a reason but a more "racy" gravel-bike is the best toy for JRAing on anything short of perfect asphalt...and where does one find THAT these days?

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!