RogueMechanic

Where It Happens.

By popular demand, and quite a few requests lately, here's a rare look into RogueMechanic HQ.  It's where everything pretty much happens relating to the business.  As you can see in the photos, it's a fully equipped shop that has everything that I need to get the work done and then some.  Besides shorage for bikes that are in the queue, two stands, my tools, and a 5HP 22 gallon compressor, it also has a Crest Ultrasonics 5.75gallon heated ultrasonic cleaner.  I hope that this satisfies some of your curiosities.  Thanks for checking in and as always, let me know if you have any questions or comments.  -John

The Latest Haterade

I thought that I'd share with you the latest "haterade" comment that I received.  As you might guess, it's about the Campagnolo Ultra Torque non-issue....

"There weren't enough failures showing up in the field yet for this relatively new part to cause market flashback". It appears from the email that the author experienced this alleged issue in 2010. Ultra Torque was released in 2006. Its now 2012. How many ultra torque cranksets do you think have been sold in this time? A google search still shows just you and your pathetic little campaign. No "market flashback" yet. Meanwhile... in the real world: http://forums.cervelo.com/forums/p/2519/15292.aspx Read it and weep. You're fooling nobody. Idiot.

Thank you for your comment.  I'm sure that you have more experience than I do with this.  What flavor is that kool-aid?

Blocked by Campagnolo?!?

I found out about this when I tried to view a photo that they posted and subsequently tried to follow on Twitter... After a long day, I have to admit that it kinda made me smile...just a little.  -John

My thoughts on The Italian Job. Can Campagnolo Survive?

Every once in a while, I find a cycling related article that I can actually read all the way thru without falling asleep or losing interest.  The article in the latest Bicycling Magazine titled "The Italian Job" by Bruce Barcott that's about Campagnolo was one of them.  Below are some of my thoughts that I took away from it...

• Shimano cycle-division sales of $2.1 billion to Campagnolo's $150 million.... -Wow.  I would like to know what SRAM's sales are...
• No surprise that Campy's current market is older, more affluent riders.  I find this to be true.
• "About 95 percent of the bicycles and components sold today originate in Taiwan or China." - Wow.  Just wow.
• "Campagnolo employs about 400 people in Vicenza. Like most Italian workers, they are strongly unionized and well paid." - I expected more employees.  I wonder if the unions over there are structured like ours here in the US...
• "The electronic gruppo problem illustrates a larger dilemma for Campagnolo. Its engineers must not only compete with a company more than 10 times its size. Their executives must not only find profit margins while paying 10 times the hourly wage of its competitors."- What a challenge. This certainly is a reflection on the price differences between Campy and Shimano.
• "The refusal to compromise quality moved Campagnolo from a company to a cause. Some call it a cult." -This is somewhat true.
• "Technology transfer—some would call it idea theft..." - This is so true.  There's a lot to be said about this...
• "Romania—a country famous for a man who drank blood and another whose name included the phrase "the impaler." Its remote location and spooky cultural reputation act as their own barriers to technology transfer..." - Ha... That's funny but probably true.
• "A combination of outsourcing fatigue (those long flights to Shenzhen for quality control take their toll), rising labor and transportation costs, and the let's-rethink-this mindset of the recession have dampened the business world's enthusiasm for Asian manufacturing." - This makes me very happy.
• "If the demand for Campagnolo'stop-level $2,500 carbon-fiber groupset, the Super Record, exploded tenfold, the company couldn't simply hire 10 times as many skilled machinists and ramp up production. Those machinists don't exist..." - This is so true and a valid problem that most consumers, both IBD's and end-users, don't understand.
• "FSA's Mukilteo headquarters—a warehouse and a tidy suite of offices staffed by young dudes and their dogs—Van Enkevort says, "I can't help but feel this was a vendetta against us for having the gall to compare our product to Campagnolo's..." - You can't compair a FSA crankset with a Campy crankset... a world of a difference.
• "Tom Kattus...has one of the toughest jobs in the American cycling industry: He's the general manager of Campagnolo North America." - I'm going to have to agree with this statement.
• "...fixing the new chain required a special, $299 tool—the most expensive chain tool ever produced. If you ask a bike mechanic making $12 an hour what he thinks of the new 11-speed gruppo, prepare to get an earful about the chain tool." - Yet another true statement. Crazy expensive even at wholesale cost.
• "The United States represents only 14 percent of the company's sales..." - Interesting.

...this is interesting to say the least.  I must say that I am more impressed with Campagnolo as a whole after reading this article.  There's definitely something to be said about Campy and why they do what they do.

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Clarification: The RogueMechanic Ideology, of sorts.

I just wanted to do a quick post to clarify my position on where I stand when it comes to Campagnolo.  First off, I'm not a Campy hater.  I think that this is the impression out there based on some of my rants and probably more specifically my focus on the Ultra-Torque thing that I got myself involved in.  Just because I have an issue with the design of their crankset/bottom bracket system, doesn't mean that I dislike everything that Campagnolo produces.  That's clearly not the case.  I think that even a blind man would love the innovation and typical Italian design throughout the Campagnolo component lineup.  What's not to love about Italian design... besides the cost...and maybe the additional maintanence...and let's not forget the compatibility issues?  Sorry to digress...

Anyway, it's safe to say that I get torqued-off with any company that brings to market a product that is less than perfect and does next to nothing to make it right with the comsumer, let alone charge a premium for it.  I think that Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo are guilty of this charge. Some more than others.

If you take the time to search this blog, you will find that my frustrations are not only aimed at Campagnolo.  Unfortunately, there has been quite a few products and/or companies that have been in my crosshairs at some point in time.  I feel that it's my "duty" to my clients and readers of this blog to "speak with no forked tongue" or to say it like it is.  Fair and unbiased. 

In closing, I always try to put myself in my customers/readers shoes.  I'd want my mechanic to speak the truth.  Finding someone with integrity, that's honest, and is knowledgeable seems to be the Holy Grail these days, and I try to keep those attributes front and center.  Thanks for reading.  -John

I hope Power Torque is better than Their Translators

Case in point...

This is from Campagnolo's June 10th press release that I found on their website:

This time, the axle is in a single piece firmly fixed to the right pedal crank of the crankset. The perfect coupling between central pin and pedal crank is ensured thanks to the particular geometry of the two components; this solution also makes it possible to eliminate the potential play between the different materials...

I mean... Come on.  Seriously.  Can't they run the ad copy by someone in their North America office to do a little "touching up"?!?  It almost seems as if they employed the services of the same folks who write the ads for the Taiwanese component manufactures that are found towards the back of the BDS publication...  I guess that I expect more in this day and age from a international company of Campagnolo's caliber.

You can find the official press release here.

Coming up... What's up with Power Torque?

Thoughts about Race Across the Sky Movie

As probably all of you know, the premier showing on the big screen of Race Across the Sky happened last Thursday in many theaters nationwide.  Up front, I have to admit that I was fairly pumped to see it, especially after watching the trailer more than once.

This years LT100 race was different for me than the other five that I had attended over the years.  This is because it was the first time being there for the event and not racing.  My reason for being there was to prep some bikes the day before and to crew the day of the race.  I have to admit, that it was pretty cool seeing it from a different perspective and worlds easier.

Now, after seeing it and letting it sink in for a few days I'd like to share with you my perspective.  First, let me say that I can't really complain about ANY movie on the big screen having to do with the LT100.  How cool is that! I bet Ken and Merilee are thrilled to have this amount of exposure for the event that they put a ton of effort into.  I am very happy for them.  But..... I would be lying if I said that I wasn't more than a little disappointed when the screen when black after Ken pulled the trigger on the scattergun, and here's why.

I think that the producers might have missed focus about what this race is all about for the vast majority of those who go out to tackle this event.  We all know that Lance, Wiens, and Brown can ride fast and kick butt on any given day.  Why focus the vast majority on them?  They ride for a living.  The rest of us who suffer like dogs do not.  I'm not blind to the fact that having Lance in the movie will definitely sell tickets and put butts in the seats, and that can't be ignored.  So, here are a few things that I think were missed (or ended up on the editing floor) that I believe might have played a significant role it the other "ninety percenters":

• Signing in at the starting line, and the nervousness of the start mid-pack and back...
• The bare-knuckled narrow rocky descent back down from the columbine checkpoint when you have riders pushing their bikes on your left...
• The first aid tent at the finish...
• Merilee draping the finishers medals on the riders after they cross the finish line.
• The awards ceremony with the handing out of the buckles and the sweatshirts with your name and finishing time...
• Something about the rider(s) who can see the finish line when they hear the BOOM.
• The Last Ass Over the Pass award (Last rider to finish under the 12 hour mark)...

To wrap this up, all in all, it was good, but I thought that maybe having the Last Ass over the Pass winner and the person who was the first to miss out on the coveted La Plata Grande with Lance, Dave, Travis, et al during the discussion after the movie would have been the icing...

Campagnolo Ultra-Torque Solution - Pt. 1 Review

Way back in September of 2008, I published my initial post about what I thought was a problem with the Ultra-Torque design. Now going on a year later, I am even more confident with my initial theory. But now I have a solid solution to the problem that some who have a Campagnolo Ultra-Torque crankset/bottom bracket may have experienced. 

First, I want to make a couple points...

1. I will not deny that for the most part, Ultra-Torque is a good design.  Where it fails is in its capability to allow for shell width variances.  This may seem like a a minor flaw, but it has major consequences.  
2. For the life of me, in this day and age, and with all of the current technology, why can't frame manufactures make their 68mm bottom bracket shells 68mm and their 70mm shells 70mm?!?! If this was the case, there wouldn't be a need for the wavy washer in the Ultra-Torque design.
3. The wavy washer is a legit component in certain applications in many industries. But in this instance, it's a band-aid.
4. If it's OK to have axial or lateral movement to the non-drive side, why is the Ultra-Torque design the ONLY design out there that has this movement?  If any of the other systems exhibit this movement, it means that either the bearings are shot, or you didn't install the proper bottom bracket and/or spacers.

Based of the volume of emails and comments I have been receiving about this "non-issue", I believe that it's fairly common.  Over the last few months, I have applied my "fix" to several bikes.  All with success.  The end result has been a very smooth, very stiff, axial-movement free Ultra-Torque system.  Just now I believe Campagnolo wanted to be. Next up, step by step details.  Thanks for checking in.  -John