Look Keo Blade Ti Pedals

Just arrived... even the box is nice!

As I hinted in my previous post, there have been improvements made to the Cervelo during the long months (years?) during which this blog was... erm... dormant. Wheels, components here and there... Including a set of Look Keo Blade Ti pedals. A bit of history - I had been an early convert to clipless (and that meant a set of Look PP65s!) and absolutely loved them. Upgraded over time to whatever was latest and greatest. But sadly all was not perfect in my clipless world. My last pair of Look Deltas, though, were less than impressive. Silly squeaking no matter what I tried, poor quality bearings and the requirement to change pedals often due to the wear and tear caused by minimal walking made me consider other options. So as an unrepentant Campagnolo fanboy, I quickly decided on Campagnolo Pro-Fits. The advantages of the Look system, but done right with Campagnolo quality bearings, metal inserts in the cleats that last forever, and much nicer finish. So I have 3 sets on each one of my road bikes.

Campagnolo! Aesthetically, can any other component maker even come close?

Not only are they good looking, but they are pretty much fit and forget. Having said this, around 2 months ago I decided to change again - the Pro-Fits do have some drawbacks: they are heavy and have a relatively small cleat platform. And speaking of cleats, the price for purchasing the full clear set (plastic cleat plus the metal bits) was absolutely outrageous.

Looked (pardon the pun) around for an option, and came across the Look Keo Blades, with the carbon fiber mechanism, as well as an ultra light option with a Ti axle. Did a bit of research and most also stated that the issues that had turned me off Looks had been resolved. I was intrigued by the adoption of the carbon fiber blade (as opposed to a traditional, and far heavier spring) as the mechanism that engages the cleat. Given that they could be found for a very decent price (as opposed to the ridiculous MSRP), I decided to take the plunge. First thing I noticed when I took them out of the box... they are feather LIGHT, appear to be well made (I like the metal plate - this will lengthen the life span of the pedal significantly) and have that "built for a purpose" look that I quite like.

Nice looking, well thought out. So far, so good.

Did I mention that they are light?

Yes sir, 187 grams for the set!

Have now been riding these pedals for around three months, and have absolutely nothing negative to say. They are light, the 16nm carbon blade model that I chose has the right amount of resistance (I would suggest going for the lighter 12nm only if you are a lightweight), are easy to install (Allen key/hex wrench as opposed to dedicated pedal wrench) and look good on any bike, given their understated finish. Plus you have all the availability of Look replacements (thinking cleats here) at very reasonable prices through your local bike shop, favorite online retailer or that online auction site we all know and love.

I have heard of some issues with bearings, but have been keeping a close eye on mine with no negative issues so far. Will update this review if something occurs. Final conclusion: if you are looking for a well established pedal system that is light, not unreasonably priced and that works well, you should consider these. Remember that the model pictured is the top of the line, there are other versions that weigh more (although the functioning remains the same as long as they are Blades) but also cost far less.

Back to the blog! Now in Little Rock, Arkansas!

OK guys. Bringing the blog back to life. I noticed that the blog continues to get a decent amount of traffic, mainly for the Cervelo pictures and reviews. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by! Much has happened. I have now moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, with my family for work, and continue to ride as much and as often as I can. Still riding the Cervelo, still very happy with the bike. BUT, there have been upgrades... now riding full Campagnolo Record 10 speed, with the Red Ultra levers (a marketing ploy, but cool!). Also finally broke down and built up a new set of wheels: Campagnolo Record hubs on DT Swiss rims. Smooth as buttah. So, back to blogging! It's great to talk about cycling again!

Cervelo R3 follow-up review... 2000 kms later

My Cervelo, just back and still dirty after 65km this morning. Bellissima.

As some of you will remember, I purchased my Cervelo R3 this summer (August, to be exact) and have now had the opportunity to put about 2000kms on it, so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to provide my many readers with what could be called a 'long term review'.

Hopefully my review will be slightly less affected by 'new bike syndrome' which, I must admit, did color my initial review...

First the bits I really, really like.

The bottom bracket area. Fantastic rigidity.

1. The rigidity of the bottom bracket area is simply phenomenal. Every single nanojoule of energy (and, not to boast, but I produce several dozen in an all out sprint) goes to the cranks/pedals. Nothing is wasted in frame flex. I stand by the statement I made in my initial post about the bike; I climb at least one tooth harder thanks to this frame.

2. The weight. Or rather, lack thereof. We are talking about a sub-1000 gram frameset. I thought all reasonably light road bikes would feel more or less the same. I was wrong. You actually notice how much lighter (at least in my case) this bike is. It does go up hills easier!

The Funda. Does the job very, very well.

3. The 3t Funda fork. Quite frankly, the Funda did not inspire a great deal of confidence the first time I laid eyes on it. But I have to admit that the steering is very good and, once again, the rigidity is just fine - no lost energy up front. I also wondered if the width of the forks would be an issue on gusty days - sail effect and flighty handling and all that, but absolutely not. Rock solid. The steering is spot on.

Selle San Marco Mantra. Comfy for my bum and all the rest of the goods down there. Happy Pete.

4. The Selle San Marco Mantra seat. Fine, not strictly part of the frame, but hey, I purchased it with the frame, so... Very comfy for my rear end, with no numbness or other ill effects. The seat is graced with an absolutely massive 'prostate hole' which does its job quite well. The red highlights on the nose of the saddle have 'bled' a bit, which does not make me too happy, but if that is the price to pay for a comfy saddle, then so be it.

5. The Campagnolo bits. If you are here, you have probably figured out that I am partial to Campagnolo components. The bike currently has a hodgepodge of Campagnolo Chorus and Record (all 10v) bits. They are sublime. Perfect. Nothing to add there. And the Record Red bits are now on their way to being mounted on this bike. Heheh... what is better than perfect? Nirvana?

Now, the not so great bits...

Short stays.

How short? This short...

5. Short seat stays. I had read about this before purchasing the frame, but did not realise just how short they are. I have to make a conscious effort not to 'hit' the stays with my feet on the pedal upstroke. I guess that this is a result of the fact that the stays flare out quite markedly - it is not a deal breaker, but this is clearly something that riders with big feet (I wear a European 45 shoe) in relatively small sizes (mine is a 54) have to take into consideration. I know, I know, changing them would mean having to completely rework the geometry and handling, but hey, it is something that bothers me a bit.

6. Fork clearance. As I stated above, I love the fork. I do however, dislike the minimal clearance that it provides. I seriously doubt that I would be in a position to mount 25mm clinchers, something that I might like to do in the winter for a wee bit of extra comfort and puncture protection. For a bike that advertises its prowess in winning races like the Paris-Roubaix, I would have hoped for slightly more thought provided to light 'off roading' potential. Heck, they are even introducing bits of rough gravel road at the Giro...

So there you have it. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the R3 and find it to be a frameset that is fantastically above my capabilities as a rider. I can feel it yawning when I (think I) am hammering up a short steep hill. It handles well. It looks great. I get very positive comments at coffee stops (always a good thing).

So, if you have the opportunity, test ride one. I think you will end up owning one.

Campagnolo Record Red Ergopowers

Ok guys, Pete is back. And Pete is happy. Pete has been riding quite a bit. More about that later. But now for the important news...

Pete has been feeling vulnerable recently. And so, beyond eating pasta (coping strategy No.1), Pete looked on-line for cycling stuff (coping strategy No.2).

And opportunity knocked. Ok, not really. I googled and happened upon a spectacular find. At least for the Campagnolo aficionado. And then Pete spent lots of Euros.

Pete is now the proud owner of a set of Campagnolo Record Red Ergopowers, with matching QS front and rear derailleurs. This means nothing to you? Vade retro satana!

Well, let us say that they are special. Very special. Really, really special (hint, click on the link to learn more...).

Euro. Pro. Shifting. Let me repeat that for you.

Euro. Pro. Shifting.

They are beautiful. They are wonderful. They were taken off a bike with fewer than 200 kilometers (I can confirm this given their condition).

Absolutely gorgeous. I can, and do, stare at these for hours.

Functionally. They. Are. New. Nuovo. Nouveau. Нови. Nuevo. Mpya.

And the are mine. Yup.

Did I mention that Pete is happy?

As these are QS (that's Quick Shift for those ignorant in The Campagnolo Way amongst you), the kit included a derailleur set to match. Oh yeah.

Are you impressed? I know I am.

Jokes aside. I am astounded by the attention to detail and the quality of the parts. Worth every cent. Although my wife, for some reason, does not agree...

A parting sexy shot... I solemnly swear to post pics once they are on the bike.

Can you hear the cycling angels singing? Trust me, even the cardboard box is beautiful!

De Rosa Professional SLX

De Rosa Professional SLX. My original 'specialissima'.

So ladies and gentlemen, today I would like to take you for a ride down memory lane. Yes, indeed, that is a 1993 De Rosa Professional, Columbus SLX tubing, built up with a mixture of Campagnolo Corsa Record (8 speed), Super Record and a wee bit of Shimano.

She (all my bicycles are females) has a rather interesting history. I was attending graduate school at the time, and British Airways bent the back triangle of my previous bike to the point that a wheel would not fit into it. This De Rosa was therefore purchased at a bike shop in Manhattan, NYC, where I was living at the time, with my components switched over from the previous frame (a very nice Rossin SL). Yes, an Italian specialissima bought by an Italian in the United States. A bit complicated, but you get it.

Columbus SLX. Wonder-ride...

So, for the ignorant (or the very young) amongst you, Columbus SLX tubing was the top of the top in terms of steel (really the only serious option, beyond some funny 'beer can' alu frames by some American company called Cannondale... or a French Vitus not to be taken seriously by roadies at the time) and far better, in my humble unbiased Italian opinion, than the similar high grade stuff being made by Reynolds. The peculiarity of SLX tubing was that it was quite light for its time, but without losing its rigidity. This was accomplished by making the tube walls thin, but strengthening the 'high stress' sections with helicoidal (spiral) reinforcements inside the tubes. The ride was (is...) very nice, with little power lost to frame flex.

The geometry was classic pro for the time, and this was rumoured to have been developed by Ugo De Rosa for some Belgian guy named Eddy who won a few races here and there on De Rosa frames (occasionally rebadged)... Which translates into a relatively relaxed frame on which you could pedal all day with no aches or pains. And that was stable at any speed, although probably not the quickest steering bike around (criteriums, what are criteriums? we raced road races!).

Yup. Flat-head fork, along with some dirt and Dura Ace brakes, 1994 vintage, if I recall correctly.

Although there were some sleeker, 'modern' designs coming out at the time, this frame came with the flat-head fork, which was more rigid and never gave anything but the greatest feedback downhill (I descended the Iseran on this bike and hit speeds in excess of 90 km per hour... I was also younger and more reckless then).

Corsa Record derailleurs, 8 speed set-up, with 53x42 Super Record cranks. Look pedals

Components? Well, as I hinted in the introduction to this post, the bike is a bit of a mish-mash - remember, I was a grad student, and had to ask my dad for the cash to buy the frame. I was not exactly in the position to pick up a ful C-Record groupset (although I desperatly wanted to!). So 8 speed C-Record seatpost, derailleurs, hubs, freewheel and chain. Plus the Super Record cranks and bottom bracket that I already had.

Super Record cranks. Still a thing of beauty today.

I then opted for Shimano Dura Ace brakes, which were far cheaper than Campagnolo, as I was hearing rumours about trouble with Delta brakes, and the last thing I wanted riding in Central Park was trouble with my brakes (BTW, are the NYC yellow cabs as homicidal today as they were then?). I had regular Campagnolo friction shifters, which were replaced at a later date with Synchro II (Campagnolo's second attempt at index shifting, works ok, not great).

The original seat was a San Marco Rolls. Replaced by a Flite Titanium and later by this Flite Gel when I became old and fat and worried about my prostate. Hubs were mounted on Mavic GP4 rims and Clements. Replaced four years ago with a set of Open Pros (the GP4s were beyond truing salvation by that point).

The chromed chainstays are suffering...

The bike needs a bit of tlc, and I should probably contact De Rosa about repainting it (the chromed chainstays are starting to rust).

So, you ask, how was the ride. Yes, that good. Still is, matter of fact. I keep this bike at my parent's house, in hill country about 90 kms north of Rome. Quiet country roads with quite a bit of climbing. The bike is wonderful to ride. Really nice. Very comfortable. Descends on rails. A pleasure to look at. Takes a few minutes to get used to the levers on the frame, then you are fine.

My only complaints are the weight (clearly, it weighs a LOT more than my Cervelo) and the gearing - I don't remember, but I think my bailout gear is a 42x25? But that has more to do with my legs and fitness. Or lack thereof.

Still puts a heck of a smile on my face each time I ride the bike (which is not often enough!).

Ok so, tell me about your classic bike (only if it is still regularly ridden)!