Alright BBright….let’s get it straight

The excitement looking over my new R3 suddenly turned to confusion, doubt and intrepidation when looking at the challenge before me – removing the BBRight cranks and installing a set of Campagnolo Chorus Ultra-Torque cranks.

Why ? One word. BBright. Cervelo’s take on what appears to be the quickest evolving part of a bicycle. For years installing a bottom bracket on a frame manufactured in the modern decade was a relatively simple affair. Either the bottom bracket was treaded Italian (1.417″ x 1.06mm) or British (1.375″ x 24tpi). Spindles varied in length, but were limited to either JIS or ISO taper. Then suddenly this all changed. Carbon fibre manufacturing allowed more flexibility in how bottom bracket shells were manufactured and suddenly, EVERY manufacturer had their own ideas. The only standard seems to be, simply, none.

Admittedly, this isn’t a huge issue for most cyclists. You pick your bike up from the dealer, fill your water bottles, pump up your tires and ride. Mechanical problems are handled by those in the know – the bike shop mechanic. You trust things have been assembled correctly, and more than likely they are.

Most bike shop mechanics as are competent, if not exceptionally so. But after a heavy handed mechanic crushed the steerer tube of my Look HSC5 carbon fork, necessitating me to cut off the offending section and repair it, I swore up and down that the only one who ever is going to touch my bikes would be me. It’s been both an education and investment. Countless hours of my time understanding the in’s and outs of bike repair and probably thousands in tools. Not a route most people are want to take, but maintaing my road bike, my city bike, my daughters road bike, two additional kids bikes and my wife’s bike, I’m sure I’ve recouped what I’ve invested (minus the time) if I would have had to rely on the bike shop for repair and tune ups. And working on a bike in my garage in the evenings is somewhat of a cathartic experience  for me.

I grew up in my grandfathers garage, watching him machine, weld and repair all sorts of mechanical apparatus. Completely lacking in formal education with only a basic grasp of english, my grandfather had a technical aptitude that few have. I watched him overhaul diesel engines and with those same grease-under-the-fingernails-ham-sized-hands-with-sausage-fingers, open up and adjust his pocket-watch.  When he didn’t have a tool, he made it. When he didn’t have a part, he sometimes made those as well, casting aluminum and iron from a small furnace he made (naturally). So it was from him I learned to overhaul small engines as a kid and how to fix my own cars before I could afford new ones with warranties. I still maintain my own snowblower and lawnmower. Why ? Because I can. And I like it, frankly.

Professionally, working in an engineering environment, I’ve learned the concepts of tolerances, finishes, materials of construction. Working as s a supplier of equipment to the aerospace industry, providing accurate documentation, manuals and procedures are absolutely necessary.

Naturally I turned to the BBright website, where I found the instructions somewhat lacking in clear information and directions. Now, not to shit all over Cervelo here, but a company that presents itself as a leader in carbon manufacturing and design could afford to spend a bit more effort on customer documentation.

Turning to the masses, Googling “CERVELO + BBright + CAMPAGNOLO” confirmed the litany of confusion of adapting Campagnolo Ultra-Torque cups to a BBright press-fit bottom bracket, with no clear instructions or procedures of how it should be done. Multiple techniques, opinions and procedures as to the correct way. Bicycling bushcraft.

And no wonder. Referring to the BBright instructions and examining the Ultra-Torque cups….hummm, ok….metal cups with bearings on the INSIDE of the frame….. therefore, I grease and press in frame. If the fit is loose, clean off the grease and use Loctite 641 or 680.

Oh, wait….the cup on the right side is different. The bearings are on the outside of the frame. Therefore…use Loctite 680. Ok, but right hand side cup…How loose is too loose ? What is the criteria when 680 be used over 641 ? Should I use 641 on the left cup and 680 on the right ?

Oh, wait…the bearings on the left cup look partially inside and partially outside. Now what ? And this primer 7649 “speeds cure on inert surfaces”….inert ? Ok, not the term of choice in describing materials of construction but I understand…I submit “passive surface” might be more accurate description ..ok, carbon fibre…. passive ? Yes, most likely. The cups are anodized aluminum. Ok, passive enough I suppose under atmospheric conditions ….but should I use the primer only if I wish to speed the cure ? Or must it be used ?

Lends itself to interpretation, doesn’t it ?

So, in my next post, I am going to break it all down and approach this problem in a more mechanically-minded fashion.

First Ride, Last Ride

I have been struggling like hell motivating myself to put in the kilometres on the indoor trainer and tonight, the first outdoor ride of 2013, it really showed….kinda. Tonight was also the first ride after having taken up strength training with a reasonable degree of regularity since January, and it really showed….sort of. What was missing in the lungs was made up for by additional power in the legs, and increased flexibility and strength in my back. Unfortunately, my heart rate monitor refused to be recognized by my Garmin 305, so it will be impossible to know exactly what the damage was (figuratively speaking, I hope).

We here in Southern Ontario have not been blessed with decent weather this spring. The few rare days that have been relatively mid and sunny this spring (I don’t mind 5 degree weather, but not in the wet) have been filled with family commitments, work or life’s fatigue. Today however, was about as nice a day as one could expect in April, so I hit the road after work for my inaugural 60km of the season.

I had been planning to break in my new ride, but I’m still waiting on a few bits critical to the new build (more on that later), so opted for one final ride on the old ride.

These are a few of my favourite things: 3.6R Outback, Look 565, Chorus 11, Selle SMP Saddle, Saris Rack

I’ve been riding this frame since September 2009 and despite it’s lack of technology when compared to contemporary frames, it’s still a fine bike. Overshadowed by the pro peloton worthy Look 585 and 595, the 565 shares identical geometry with its siblings, as well as their tube and lug construction. What the 565 lacks is the higher modulus carbon layup and the carbon bottom bracket construction, having instead a aluminum bottom bracket. In all, 200 grams more over a 585, slightly less stiffness and at the time (2009) about $400 less. Riders of the 585 claim it’s one of the finest bikes ever made – a true all-rounder able to climb & descend, comfortable over rough roads, and able to accommodate wider tires such as the 28mm EVO Pave easily. So I humbly submit the 565 is perhaps one of the most underrated frames of all times.

Despite it all, it was, and remains, a fine bike. I’ve logged countless rides along Lake Ontario’s cruel and countless rollers (and headwinds), the 6 gaps of the Green Mountains of Vermont and rides in the Allegheny Mountains, the foothills of Alberta and the Monashee range of British Columbia and I can’t say my rides were lacking technically.

Better lungs and better legs, yes. Bike ? No.