Additional to yesterday’s submit, I ought to make it clear that ample tire clearance, versatility, wide-range gearing, “gravel bikes” or no matter we’re calling them this week, and The Many Supple Tire Choices Of Jan Heine are all good issues. Principally I used to be simply making the purpose that versatile street bikes are nothing new, and if something the period of the “thong bikini” bike (minimal clearance for asscrack-width tires, solely acceptable for the street in the identical approach the bikini is barely acceptable for the seashore) was comparatively short-lived, although it was current sufficient that it nonetheless defines the street bike for a lot of.
On the similar time, bikinis are undeniably titillating; furthermore, even in case you’re an getting old bike owner, the urge to parade round in a banana hammock can typically get the higher of you, nevertheless ill-advised it could be:
The carbotanium LeMond simply barely clears 25mm tires, and it’s pictured right here in opposition to a wooded backdrop into which I’d by no means steer it, however it’s nonetheless a sheer pleasure to trip, and a rolling tribute to a time when, fairly than merely constructing in just a few additional millimeters of tire clearance to enhance the trip high quality whereas netting the rider some versatility within the discount, designers sought to enhance trip high quality by gluing carbon and titanium collectively at nice expense–and it appears to have labored, as a result of I can solely describe the bike as “thupple.” (It’s because the phrase “supple” is the brand new “laterally stiff but vertically compliant,” so I can’t say it with out biting my tongue.)
If the Tete de Course have been mine I’d outfit it a bit extra conservatively with 32-spoke (or extra) wheels and conventional handlebars, however like an overbearing guardian I’ve a approach of attempting to show the whole lot into the identical bike, so I’m resisting the urge and letting this one be the chariot of early-to-mid aughts exotica that it needs to be. One noteworthy bauble with which it’s adorned is the Zipp crank, which seems pedestrian by right now’s requirements, however was fairly rarefied for the time:
James Huang favored it, noting its stiffness (the notion that riders can discern stiffness in a crank is among the most ludicrous concepts in biking, which is saying quite a bit), although the ISIS backside bracket solely acquired two and a half yellow shirts:
And sure, $1,000 for a crank and backside bracket was extraordinarily costly for a crank and backside bracket in 2006. That may be over $1,500 right now! For that cash you may get a Dura-Ace crank with an influence meter that tells you precisely how dangerous you suck:
And also you’ll come up with the money for left over to choose up a pre-bonded Ultegra or Dura-Ace alternative on eBay after it falls aside:
[Via here.]
After all ISIS backside brackets don’t have an important status, but when this one acts up Jan Heine has me lined:
I used to be by no means one for boutique cranksets, and even at my most far gone I’d by no means have spent that sort of cash simply to save lots of weight. Nonetheless, I did use Dura-Ace 7700 again once I was “critical,” and it’s been enlightening to trip it once more for the primary time in over 20 years:
9 speeds appear positively quaint now, however again in these days it was…uh, another than eight:
It additionally actually made a distinction on these climbs, in response to Pavel Tonkov:
See, a 39×25 low gear on a 9-speed system climbs a lot better than a 39×25 on an 8-speed system. It’s simply frequent sense. In the event you don’t consider me ask Abraham Olano:
When requested to elaborate, Olano additional defined that the rationale it’s higher is that 9 is greater than eight, after which he circled and tried to learn the signal behind him with out success for a minute and a half earlier than giving up.
The person is nothing if not a deep thinker:
All that apart, apparently Dura-Ace 7700 was additionally lighter than the previous 8-speed stuff by over 500 grams, which truly is fairly spectacular–and it actually did work superbly. In truth it nonetheless works superbly even by right now’s requirements, as I’m discovering now that I’ve acquired the Tete de Course. Within the ensuing years I’ve spent a number of time with all kinds of roadie stuff together with Di2 and newer Dura-Ace, and whereas ergonomics and all that stuff is subjective, 9-speed Dura-Ace stays up there with any of it. The shifters are additionally very dependable, and given the widespread availability and low price of 9-speed consumables you might maintain a street bike with a 7700 drivetrain operating simply and cheaply for roughly eternally. Decrease gearing isn’t an issue both, because of compact cranks and the truth that Shimano 9-speed shifters work with a couple of zillion totally different derailleurs. You simply want to have the ability to settle for the uncovered shifter cables–which you notice is definitely a characteristic as soon as that you must change your shifter cables.
Then got here 10-speed, and whereas the Hollowtech II crank specifically (I admit I’m a Hollowtech II apologist) was an enchancment…
…you might make an argument that that 7700 was sort of particular in that it was completely fashionable and terribly dependable, and but might be the final Shimano drivetrain that wouldn’t appear misplaced on a traditional street bike. Furthermore, one might additionally argue that 9 speeds is the right quantity for a efficiency bicycle, and that past that no person actually notices, besides the kinds of people that faux that they will discern crank flex.
I imply it’s no friction system, however it’s fairly good.
