Lightweight Standard III c wheelset

Until a few years ago carbon-fiber rims were seen very rarely on our roads. Usually, they were reserved for racing by pros and were equipped almost exclusively with tubular tyres. Well, we know that this is no longer true. Because they are generally lighter than alloy wheels, not only carbon-fiber rims are seen with increasing frequency on our roads, dodging the typical traffic on the ever-present pot holes, but they also come fitted also with clinchers. They are popular, some would say, even fashionable among the elite of the road warriors.

This Standard IIIc is a set of wheels by a manufacturer we have previously mentioned, Lightweight, owned by CarbonSports, a company based in Germany. Very dedicated crafts people make bicycle wheels pretty much by hand, without shortcuts or compromises on quality, in two facilities in Friedrichshafen, on the German shore of Lake Constance, and Hailfingen, about 25 miles south of Stuttgart.

They have been doing so since the early 1990s, when the famed Heinz Obermayer and Rudolf Dierl founded the company in a garage. As we all well know, garages are the ideal stepping ground for new companies. They applied what they had learned in the aerospace industry to bicycle wheels.

Today Lightweight have accumulated some of the best accolades in the category and, most flattering for them, are under attack by an increasing number of competitors. Their status is nearly mythical.

Innovation looses its flavor very quickly, unless it is backed by uncompromising quality. That’s exactly where Lightweight wheels dominate the competition. The tolerances are so tight that some have even suggested that the wheels are made of one piece of carbon—no joints. Well, it is true that that the spokes are actually made of fibers, later reinforced with Kevlar, that are woven into the rims. This technique allows for the wheels to be very stiff laterally, but smooth and comfortable when used on the road. It also makes them very durable. Even the hubs are Lightweight, and only the internal free-hub mechanism and spline are made by DT Swiss. 

Typically, using the brakes with carbon-fiber rims require a steep learning curve. Not so with Lightweight wheels. The brakes produce a very gradual effect on the rims, pleasantly similar to that of alloy wheels.

As we would expect, these clincher wheels are light. With tubes and clincher tyres, the set weighs 772 gr. For the front wheel and 892 gr. for the rear wheel. That an amazing 1,664 gr. for the set. Once again, that is their weight with tyres.

The wheels come with their own quick-release skewers, made of a combination of titanium axles and carbon-fiber and aluminum levers. They weigh just 43 gr. That's light! They are also understated, like some other well-known German products, such as sports cars, that don’t need much chrome or flashy details to highlight their lines or performance. They come all packaged in a black box with silver lettering, just like a piece of jewelry—which they are, in some ways.

It takes about a week to produce a Lightweight wheel, from the beginning to the end of manufacturing. There aren’t many available in the world and are in great demand. For the moment, this is the only set to be found in out fair city.

Alex’s new bike

When the new BikeNüt bikes arrived, Alex was one of the first to own one. His bike of course is unique, as he prefers a satin finish to the glossy clear coat. I can’t say I disagree with his preference.

I met with him while he was still putting it together, assembling the fork, setting up the crankset and derailleurs, making sure he had installed all of the cables with the right tension. He was doing all of this almost at the same time, a bit feverishly, talking frequently to himself, rushing to get it finished and ride it a day or so before he had decided to race it over the weekend. I later learned he placed in the top ten.

Bicycles and racing are not exactly a new thing for Alex. When he was in college in Washington, D.C., a few years ago, he worked in a bike shop as a mechanic. He quickly decided he preferred dealing with customers and sell them bicycles. He arrived in San Francisco to work in an advertising agency, but the job vanished, and Alex landed at BikeNüt. That was a couple of years ago. I remember him then, during my early, tentative visits to the shop to view the bikes that were on display and secretly admired. We talked, and he mentioned his first races with disappointment about the results. Soon, however, I learned about his improving placements in the races he entered and his ambitions for longer and more difficult races. It wasn’t just talk—he raced them and won some.

Racing or simply cycling is not a lifestyle choice for Alex, who actually prefers not talking about bicycles outside the shop. He cycles, he says, to maintain his sanity. By that, I assume he means not just to hang on to his physical form and remain pencil thin as a only a cyclist could be, but also to dispel the physical energy that would threaten to explode if bottled up for too long.

A trait he shares with all the folks at BikeNüt and not a few of their customers, Alex keeps his bike in a constant state of evolution. One day is the crankset, the next is the saddle, and the following week are the wheels. The constant search for the perfect combination of frame and components is something I’ve mentioned before in this blog. It leads to a blissful state of mind and body, when we are pedaling at maximum speed seemingly without effort. But with Alex, the impression is that there is an additional level of experimentation: he listens to people and is informed about the new gear, but in the end he must convince himself about the real value of whatever he tests. He affects contempt for the gear of the day. I’ve heard him discuss very competently about wheelsets very highly rated in the media and popular with pros. He simply dismisses them as worthless. I tend to listen to him, because he is exceedingly meticulous about anything concerning bicycles. He thinks things through, he researches issues and gear, and is not afraid to go against the current—actually, I think he enjoys it.

In the case of the new bike, he thought he had recruited the perfect set of components with his old one. He simply transferred all of them to the new bike, from saddle to wheels.

He has been riding the same wheels for a few months, not only during races but also in his commuting through the city. He prefers tubulars instead of clinchers for nearly mystical reasons, as far as I can tell, reasons so personal that are completely outside my experience. Not content with the deep rims he rides, now he plans to have much deeper ones, never mind the wind on the Golden Gate Bridge that can push the bike off the straight line.

For the moment, he has no plans to move beyond BikeNüt. He likes that the people who work in the shop have unique backgrounds and have lives that involve more than bikes. “They’re all interested in culture,” he says. What about his own ambitions? “I enjoy writing,” he answers.

The BikeNüt road bike

Occasionally a fellow cyclist will stop next to me at a red traffic light and ask me a question or two about my bike. It’s only natural, since there are no logos or decals on the frame. A couple of times in the past, after pondering about the naked carbon frame, a look of recognition appeared in their eyes: “BikeNüt, isn’t it?” They cared nothing for the brand but zeroed in on the attitude that was apparent from the way the bike was assembled, the care for the best and lightest equipment and accessories, and even the determination to pull all the stops to make it the best with what was available. It was clear to them that it was more than a bike, it was a manifesto.

Every bicycle that comes out of the shop represents the end result of a series of considerations, rather than a quick purchase off the racks. This series begins with an interest in the way bikes are designed and work, follows with an understanding of the objectives and design of the essential components, continues with constant research to keep up with the available technology, and even requires a certain amount of discipline, to remain focused on the goal and not be distracted by the ads and stream of new gear that appear on bicycle magazines.

That was what my bike said to those two fellow cyclists. But now, we’ve ratcheted up the attitude: we have our own BikeNüt bike. Feel free to ask around, it’s rather unusual for a bike shop to produce their own carbon-fiber frame.

The new BikeNüt monocoque frame comes out of the same manufacturing facility in Asia that produces bicycles for Specialized, Bianchi, Storck, and BH, among others. They know what they’re doing, but we have our own requirements. First among them is the quality of construction, such as top-notch materials and manufacturing technology: leaving aside the techno speak, if you insert a finger inside the tubes, you’ll feel their inner smoothness, without any stray fibers, witness to a careful layering and curing process.

Then there is the frame stiffness: every pedal turn counts and we don’t want to disperse any energy when the frame twists under a sudden load. But, with stiffness, we also want comfort. By now designers know how to build a stiff bike, beef up the bottom bracket, make the down tube massive, and design a head tube that will simply not bend. Often, however, the result is that every minuscule asperity on the road rattles the rider’s bones. We don’t like that. The seat stays in our frame are slender and graceful. In contrast with every other part of the frame, they are also compliant and absorb the shock of the bumps and crevices that populate our marvelous roads.

We wanted the frame to be stiff, but we wanted it also to be light. It is. Despite the size of the frame tubes, it is as light as all of the other extremely light race frames the peloton rides these days, such as the Team RaboBank Giant TRC Advanced SL we also carry in our shop.

To increase the lightness further without harm to the frame’s stiffness, the standard for the bottom bracket is the BB30, which allows a growing number of cranksets to be installed (as in the case of the SRAM Force pictured above) and a better fit between rider and bike.

The size of the head tube is 1 1/2 “.

This is all about the standard specs for this bike. All of the rest can be customized. This is not another iteration of “you can have it any color you want it as long as it is black.” You can literally have it any color or any finish you want it. Or, if your body dimensions require it to take advantage of every watt of power it can produce, you can even modify the frame’s geometry. Want a longer top tube? It can be done. Need another fork? Of course. Any other requirements? I’m sure we can meet them.

Do we really need another bike? Aren’t there enough manufacturers? Is this just the result of vanity? Yes, no, and definitely not. Most of the available bikes on the market, because of their size and goals can only offer a limited amount of options. If you manufacture bikes on an industrial scale, you can’t make everybody happy all of the time. It takes industrial manufacturers about three years to produce a new bike that takes advantage of the latest technology and responds to the changes in the market and new requirements by riders.

On the other hand, we don’t have such limitations: as far as we are concerned, the age of industrial standardization is over. We can pretty much tailor every new bike to a particular customer. In addition to that, we can offer a new bike at a surprising value. You won’t believe it.

 Just come by to the shop, and you’ll find out just how good a value. Just a finishing touch: you won't see the new frame, finished with a clear coat to show the integrity of the carbon-fiber weave, plastered with decals. But we couldn't resist showing off our new logo.

Specialized S-Works Road Shoe

This is an excellent review written by our own Alex Lugosch (more about him and his bike later this week) about the Specialized S-Works Road Shoes. It was posted on Velocurean.com on the 9th of June. Check it out!

Mojo

I’ll be the first to admit that I know little about mountain bikes. I speak road bike, but mountain bike is a language that I have just started to learn.

You would think that there would be a natural affinity between mountain bikes and a gearhead such as myself. What’s not to like, after all? They’re full of struts, shock absorbers, and disk brakes; their tyres are huge; they typically have three chain rings; their handlebars are impossibly wide; and they are fun to ride up and down break-neck trails. At least, this is what I can tell from watching energy-bar commercials. They seem to be built like tanks and next to them, road bikes are minimal. I like especially that mountain bikes are surprisingly light, all of the equipment notwithstanding.

At least, this is the experience I had by lifting an Ibis Mojo SL, on display in our showroom. I expected to strain a back muscle, but I could pick it up with a finger. Amazing! It used to be true that mountain bikes were heavy, when the frames were made of steel or aluminum, but now, with carbon fiber, some have even broken the 20 lbs. barrier.

Ibis, the company, has been around northern California for decades, since the dawn of mountain biking. They quickly earned a reputation for quality construction, but it is in recent years that it developed bikes with carbon-fiber frames. They have the reputation for being one of the most efficient long-travel frames around and one of the stiffest. Stiff is good.

This particular bike comes with a SRAM 2X10 drivetrain, SRAM’s own idiosyncratic contribution to the sport of mountain biking. Typically, mountain bikes are equipped with three chainrings and a 9-cog cassette. SRAM developed a new system, with only two chainrings and a 10-speed cassette—the equivalent of a compact set up in road bikes.

SRAM have also translated their well known disposition for very quick and smooth shifting into this system. The shifters perform as technology in general should perform: I just use them, I don’t have to think about them. They’re simple and intuitive to use, they come without an operating manual, they just work—and well.

The brakes are awesome: first of all, they’re hard to miss. I just want to look at them. Beyond that, they perform. They’re supposed to survive the toughest ride and help the rider in the process. Third, they are light! Hard to believe, but they weigh less than 300 grams. 

To make them even lighter, the only modification we made to the system is the pair of after-market carbon-fiber levers.

Finally, the tyres are Hutchinson Tubeless-Ready Cobra XC. Doesn’t this sound like a mouthful? Well, labels aside, we care mostly about how they operate on very rugged terrain, without being destroyed by razor-sharp rock, helping to get a grip. Yep, get a grip.

Fascenario 0.7 II

About a month ago we talked about Marcus Storck and his beautifully designed and manufactured carbon-fiber frames. We were very proud of the bike we built for one of our clients. We have another one, with slightly different characteristics from the earlier build. This is also based on a Fascenario 0.7 frame. Its attributes, besides being extremely light and stiff, are the exquisite craftsmanship and seamless lines. The tubes that form the frame seem to flow organically one into the other.

In the case of this bike, however, we installed different components, such as Lightweight Standard carbon-fiber clincher wheels, manufactured by Carbon Sports, a German company. This is a very light wheelset for clinchers, somewhere in the order of 1,000 grams in weight, in keeping with the overall character of this bike.

In this bike, the gruppo consists of SRAM Red components, some of the lightest available. But rather than installing Storck’s proprietary PowerArms crankset, this time we opted for an integrated power monitor and crankset. The PowerMeter has become an indispensable accessory for serious riders, those who follow a scientific method of training, with everything based on numbers and diagrams. How much power can a cyclist produce, at a certain cadence, and for how long? These numbers provide a profile of an athlete’s fitness, and, perhaps more importantly, show the weak areas, those that must be improved to show better results. Clearly, this is a set up to train a rider with competitive ambitions.

The PowerMeter, wirelessly connected to the bike computer, is manufactured by SRM, also a German company. The actual crankset is by FSA (Full Speed Ahead), with the chain rings set up in a standard configuration (53-39).

The brakes, Ciamillo Gravitas, are also extremely lightweight. Ciamillo is a Nicholson, GA, based company. The SuperLogic Carbon seat post is by Ritchey Design, a company located in Reno, NV. Finally, also in keeping with the character of this bike and attempting to reduce its weight to the minimum, we installed a Nokon Carbon cable set.

This is one very light bike. One can admire it at home as a trophy, and it’s worth admiring, or one can ride it, and it is fast and nimble. As much as I like it, I’d rather ride it than just look at it.

Ryan's bike

It is almost a given that anyone working in a bike shop would be deeply passionate about bicycles and cycling. Why would one do it, otherwise? And yet this is not all there is to it, especially for the BikeNüt folks. Owning a bike, especially a racing bike, requires engaging in a never ending process of tinkering. We search for that perfect moment, that sweet spot of nearly frictionless, almost silent rolling, when body and machine are one. As a result, the bike evolves almost daily. Of course, that moment never quite materializes, or, if it does, never lasts more than a minute or two. And so the process continues.

Take Ryan, for example, who started riding seriously in 2006, when a roommate gave him a heavily used bike. He liked the physical exertion of riding it and the freedom that bicycles offered in ways car drivers couldn’t even imagine. Soon he was addicted to cycling and began thinking of ways he could make his newfound interest the center of his life. He worked as a bike messenger, what else?

Ryan expanded the scope of his cycling and began racing. His favorite type of racing is the criterion, a short, furious race, usually held on urban circuits, on typical streets with all the usual potholes, railway tracks, sidewalk curbs, and sudden corners, where good reflexes and killer instincts are just as important as athletic talent. For bike messengers, even former ones, these races are just another run through the city.

He became acquainted with BikeNüt through a fellow bike messenger and started working here. He had graduated to a Trek 5000 bike, but it couldn’t last—too much bike candy around the shop! In 2009, he upgraded to a brand new Giant TCR Advanced, a stiffer and lighter frame. The frame, however, was just the beginning of a process of transformation.

First, naturally came new wheels. Not all wheels are equal, we know that. Wheels are almost the mirror of the rider’s personality: they reflect the type of riding one does, the chosen line between lightness, stiffness, comfort, and reliability. The choices are almost endless. For Ryan, the perfect combination consisted of a set of DT Swiss R 520 alloy rims, 240s hubs, laced with DT Champion spokes. This is not the lightest combination available, but Ryan is a big man and likes to ride his bike hard.

Indeed he managed to crash, once, and cracked the top tube of the bike frame. He fixed it and now doesn’t worry about it.

Naturally, he also thinks about the brakes. For the past week, he has been testing a set of Revl carbon brakes, manufactured by The Hive, a Petaluma, California, based company. He likes the stopping power and the gradual control they offer. Will they become permanent part of the bike?

He has installed a SRAM Force gruppo. Ryan likes its lightness and the quick response of the shifters. He has made one change, however, a standard set of DuraAce chain rings instead of the SRAM ones.

What’s next? Perhaps, in a few months, he’ll get a new frame. For the moment, he has his eyes on a Giant TCR Advanced SL with an integrated seat post. The frame geometry would be different, more compact, lighter and stiffer than what he rides at the moment. Also the bottom bracket, a BB30, would be slightly different, further reducing the weight but adding to the stiffness and providing a better fit between rider and bicycle.

What are his other plans for the future? I asked him this question and had the distinct impression that he didn’t quite want to put all of his cards on the table. I’ve seen him in action. He is unfailingly polite with customers, knowledgeable, and quick to offer assistance to neophytes. He seems content: he likes what he does, the shop, the work, his colleagues, and the BikeNüt ethos—high standards, no stock answers, constant search for better ways.