Who says you can't buy speed?
So my original plan was to get myself a fancy new tri bike this season...something carbon and slick. Unfortunately, my Ergomos started to bite the dust and I was left without a functional PM by November so a new PM became my priority. I decided on Quarq after watching patiently for over a year as the reviews rolled in and no significant issues developed. Only problem was that when I was ready with cash in hand just about every compact CinQo was on back order...except the Lightning. After some research it looked like the Lightning was super easy to swap between bikes which was nice because I need power on my tri bike and road bike but didn't really have the $$$ to lay out for a pair right now. I had a pair of Ergomos. So I decided to pull the trigger and order up a set of 167.5mm compact Lightning cranks. It was going to take 7-10 days because they make each set to order. I got one set of hybrid ceramic bearings for my tri bike and one set of standard steel bearings for the road bike. Now I needed a head unit. It just so happened the Joule was due out any day and EN had a group buy going on so I sent Rich my deposit. Unfortunaely, Saris didn't get their act together as quickly as anticipated and wasn't being very open about the true expected shipping date so I decided to bail and pick up a Gamin Edge 500. I've been happy with the CinQo/500 combo so far but I've only had a few rides on it. One thing I noticed immediately is how freely the bearings spin. The Ergomo had a TON of bearing drag in comparison = wasted watts.
So with my PM situation taken care of I decided to do a little overhaul of the tri bike to make me feel better for not getting a new ride this year. I started by selling the Campy calipers and picking up a Simkins Egg Brake for the front and DA7900 caliper for the rear. The rear swap didn't really serve any ourpose except to get a shiny new toy. The front Egg Brake is significantly cleaner and more compact = more aero. I've been running a trusty set of Profile Design Cobra T2+ extensions for a couple of years and they are fine but the bulky clamps always bothered me. Enter the Zipp Vuka Clips - so clean! I love the very small clamp for the base bar and collet system for securing the extensions. While I was at it I ordered up a set of the new Zipp R2C shifters. These were mostly because they looked cool and for a little BLING present to myself. I wa planning to keep the Cobra extensions but got a great deal on a set of Vuka extensions at Team night for my local tri club so I couldn't resist. The fron end is muck cleaner now and looks pretty damn slick.
A few other minor replaements finished out the overhaul. I picked up a trick gold chain last year that I never got around to installing. I also snagged a gold set of Jagwire cables and new tires for the season. Final piece was a replacement for my saddle. I've been on a Selle San Marco Triathgel for a couple of seasons and don't really have any problems with it but the fabric on the nose was torn off and the foam on the nosewas badly cracked. The thing was about ready to fall apart. Luckily I found a very lightly used replacement for a good price.
So here are some pictures of before, during, after.
Before - this is full race prep for IMCdA 2009. Hed Jet C2 90 front and disc rear with Ergomo and FSA Carbon Pro compact cranks. You can see how the seat was completely shot way back las June.
Comments
Time to tear it all down. Not much to say...pics.
Joel- It is good to hear you mention the "bearing drag" in your Ergomo. My neighbor/mechanic works on my bike and said recently I had "tons of drag in my BB". I have pulled the trigger on a new PM and your mention of the drag just reinforces that!
Not only is the bearing drag extreme but the Ergomo is like a brick as well. I went with about the lightest crank/bb on the market but just about any modern crank/bb is a step up from Ergomo and the CinQo doesn't add very much being integrated int the spyder. I'm out of town right now but when I get back I'll get some new pics of everything built back up.