Visions Of Dancing On The Pedals

Considering the drawn out manner in which the Soma Smoothie build is coming along I would probably be a good candidate to head up an airliner project at Boeing. The fact is the excess money I have to put into the bike isn't exactly abundant and there are periods, like currently, where I have to devote every single one of my dollars to other expenses and financial responsibilities. O, to be wealthy. But then if I were loaded with cash I could throw down for a dream machine at any moment and just wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much. When this rig is up and running it will be my ride for life. Or something like that. The longer the process, the more meaning there is in the experience

The Hubub Is All About: White Industries H2/H3 Hubs

 

It's too bad they are a couple of the least visible parts on the bike because these White Industries H2 and H3 hubs sure are gorgeous. This kind of bling needs to be on display where it can be easily admired. To say the design and craftsmanship is beautiful would be understated, but then maybe understatement is most appropriate to reflect their simple beauty. A few weeks back I ordered two H2 hubs - one front, one rear. To my surprise what I received was one H2 front hub and one H3 rear hub. A little research revealed that the freehub body of the H3 is an updated design to accommodate the Campagnolo 11-speed systems. A nice convenience for me if I ever replace the 10-speed drive train with an 11. Holding one of these in the hand, they are light - the front is reportedly 97g and rear is 252g. The White Industries rear hub is one of a few brands known for a characteristic noise when it spins. The ratcheting sound of the spinning freehub is not as loud as a Chris King hornet's nest, but it is distinctly louder than most. I'm curious to hear it buzz when I have the Soma Smoothie out on the road.

Velo City, Here We Come

The Velocity Aerohead rims are in hand and they look pretty. They are quite simple looking, but it's a simple beauty. The outer side walls are machined to a shiny metal finish while the rest of the rim is a matte silver. I'm still getting used to the unusual appearance of the rear rim with its off-center design and am curious to see the final wheel build. The idea was this Soma Smoothie would be an American-Italian venture, though with the Shimano pedals and now these Aussie made rings it is a multi-nation union. The hubs are on order and I will be building the wheels myself, a project I'm excited to begin. I'll be documenting the process in this very blog. These wheels will be sweet.

Mercy Seat: Selle San Marco Zoncolan

The Selle San Marco Zoncolan is not made of gold, nor is it accompanied by the angelic presence of cherubim. It is however deceivingly comfortable and freaking light as a feather. My hope is that with this seat when I am attacking a particularly steep climb on the Soma Smoothie I will feel the heavenly wings of those cherubim carry me upward to the summit. The Zoncolon is long, lean and versitle, designed to accomodate the agility needed for moving around and out of the saddle when climbing. The nose has a little extra padding as well. At first I found the design of the nose a bit odd looking, but soon came to really love it's flair. Quality materials went into this seat with a leather cover and titanium rails. Bike Radar gave it a glowing review, but user reviews I have found have been mixed. Only time in this saddle will tell if it is well suited for me.

One Piece at a Time

That is how it is for the opportunistic auto factory worker in the Johnny Cash song of the same name who can't afford to buy a whole Cadillac so he builds one by stealing parts from his employer one by one over many years. And so goes my bicycle, coming together component by component, one piece at a time. Although I am doing it in a much quicker fashion (one year versus 24), the parts are actually compatible with another, and I am paying for them rather than sneaking them away from a General Motors assembly line. Over the course of this process I have not been able to help myself from associating the song with my experience and I hear Johnny's voice in my head singing, "I got it one piece at a tiiiime." It has become the theme of this build. Who would've thought there'd be a link between The Man in Black and bicycles?

A Praise Chorus: Campagnolo Chorus D Brake Set

Campagnolo Centaur Skeleton brakes, the decision had already been made for some time. They are in the right price range and offer the level of performance suited for my riding. From what I could gather they are similar in quality to the previous generation Chorus D brakes. Between the two I leaned toward the Centaur because of the updated design, although that was not a deal breaker. As it happened on the very day I was prepared to put down my money this Chorus D brake set appeared to me in the form of a sweet discounted sale price at Cambria Bicycle Outfitter. An amount I didn't need to consider more than once. From time to time Cambria offers 20% off of the already discounted "Hot Deals". This just so happened to be one of those deals. Goodbye Centaur Skeleton., hello Chorus D. I actually like the classic design of these very much, so it turned out for the best.

Little Silver Rings: Velocity Aerohead & Aerohead OC

I've been going back and forth for months on rim selection between the Velocity Aerohead, DT Swiss RR 1.1, and Mavic Open Pro. All are quality rims for training and club racing applications. Mavic has years of proven performance with the Open Pro. Paris-Roubaix is raced with Open Pro's for example. DT Swiss has the reputation for precision manufacturing. The details of their rims (joints, eyelets, machining) are top class. Velocity is the little company that could, taking on the giants of the wheel industry. They have a reputation so far in quality and service. They also offer a unique feature on their rear rim the Aerohead OC.


I've read stories of all of three having issues with joints failing or cracks developing around the eyelets. With the number of these rims on the roads around the world, these cases are exceptions to the norm. In the end what became the pivitol decision making influence was price point. Coupled with it's OC option, the hard-to-beat price on the Velocity Aerohead pipped 'em all at the line by a wheel length. OC means "off center". The profile of the rim is asymmetrical in order to reduce the difference in spoke tension on the drive side making for a more stable wheel. The OC design has been on the market long enough to have proven itself and earned the recommendation of experienced and respected wheel builders. That's good enough for me. I have a 28-hole front and 32-hole rear on order, in shiny silver of course, and plan to lace 'em up to a pair of White Industries H2 hubs.

Dropped: Deda Newton Anatomic Handlebar

Other than a few rides on other people's bikes I haven't ridden with an anatomic handlebar...regularly. Classic drops never fit my hand quite right so I think it's time I give this style a go. The market features so many varied models that there was only so much research I could do to feel sufficiently informed on this selection before being overwhelmed by all of the choices. Carbon was never an option so that easily narrowed the candidates down. In the sea of black handlebars I was hoping to find something like the shiny chrome of yore. There are classic steel bars still in production but I'd like to avoid those and stay with a lighter option. As it turns out Deda makes a couple of attractive aluminum models with a polished finish. The Speciale is polished silver with the classic Italian drop, which would be perfect but I've decided I prefer an anatomic design. The Newton is anatomic, comes in a dark polished version and is a slim 210 grams (I'm not a weight weenie but I am trying to reasonably curb grams where I can). Its featherweight is quite surprising. I don't want a bar with a deep drop, nor too shallow either, and this model meets that in-the-middle specification. Although from holding it I can tell there is very little vertical room to slide the hands, which I hope will not feel too restricting when I'm on the road. Crossing fingers. The short reach aspect of the design is a plus though. I don't have small hands, but I do want very easy access to the levers and not feel like I'm having to overextend my fingers. All part of the anatomic fit. Overall I find this bar well tailored to my needs and I'm looking forward to putting it to the test.

Take the C Train: Campagnolo Centaur Drive Train

The "C" could be for Campagnolo or Centaur. It could stand for ciclismo, cappuccino or campione. The C Train is open to interpretation. I didn't buy this trio of components in one fell swoop, but rather in two different purchases from two online retailers. It was quite fortunate timing for me to get a great deal on the 2009 Campagnolo Centaur front derailleur and then the companion rear derailleur and 10-speed chain in a span of a few weeks. Piecing together a gruppo can be an uncertainty, but with patience and a keen eye all will come together well. Not having put these components into action yet the most I can say at this point is I expect them to perform similarly to the previous incarnations of their Chorus and Record counterparts. This is what the "expert" reviews of the cycling media have concluded at least. As I've noted in a previous blog post, or two, it is natural with any technology for the design innovations to trickle down from the top over time. While they await their installation I can at least admire the shiny, polished alloy and imagine how they will look on the completed bike. After all that is half the fun, acquiring the parts and envisioning the full assembly in the mind. The other half, naturally, is the actual building of the bike. That day is not too far off.

Pedal Hard: Shimano PD-R540

I've only owned one pair of clipless pedals in my years of cycling. Those were early model Speedplays I bought in 1993. I used them for a number of years until I sold my Centurion LeMans RS and have had only my KHS Montana Comp mountain bike to this very day. I really appreciated the two-sided design of the Speedplay pedals, but I was often disappointed with the trouble I had clipping out of them and the hot spots I experienced more than enough times for my comfort level. This time around I decided to ride the larger platform of the SPD type pedal with the hope for better comfort. Because I don't have any history with this kind of pedal I figured I would start with a basic to mid-level model and go from there. When I learn the subtlties of the pedal and levels of quality and perfromance I can graduate to a higher end model. My research found the Shimano PD-R540 had a great amount of positive user feedback. It falls into the basic to intermediate level, and to seal the deal I got a bargin of a price. A price that is hard to turn away, so I didn't have to contemplate this purchase much. I'm sure I will discover quickly how well these perform and how to adjust to their little quirks, if any. Then I'll know what features to look for in a pedal when I want to upgrade in the future.

Mission...Control: Campagnolo Centaur Ultra Shift

By comparing the blog entry dates one can tell I'm not a prolific writer by any means. I created this journal not out of a love for blogging, but a desire to record the progress of the making of a bicycle from the ground up. The coming together of parts has been a slow process. This has been in part due to research and price comparison and primarily because of a lack of funds to put into the project. This set of Campagnolo Centaur Ultra-Shift levers I've had for some months, just haven't gotten around to including them here until now. When I decided on a Campy gruppo I had set my sights on the Chorus components for their high performance qualities, but after some pricing of the parts I quickly learned I would have to consider the next model down the Campy line, Centaur. Reading many reviews of the 2009 Centaur group by both industry professionals and amateur cyclists put my mind at ease about the downgrade. The quality of this edition of Campagnolo's middle of the pack model is ideal for the amateur bicyclist who needs excellent performance in a price range that won't drain the wallet. The refinements of Record, Super Record and Chorus will not benefit me much at my level of experience and ability. The commonly held opinion of these Centaur shifter/levers is that they are of the same quality of the Record shifter/levers of a couple of years ago. This makes sense being the level of design and performance trickles down to the lower models over the years of product development.

There was a significant enough difference in price between the alloy levers and the carbon Centaur incarnation to influence my decision. The small saving in weight is not important to me either. With this piece of the puzzle in place I have a clear picture of a classic bicycle adorned with shiny steel and aluminum components. I've admitted to romanticizing about this bike capturing the style and aesthetic of the two-wheeled machines of yore, and now my vision of the completed build is ever more exciting. I may not have the skill and ability of Coppi or Merckx, but I will have a classic machine in the fashion of theirs.