RogueMechanic

Shim Kits for Campagnolo Ultra Torque

Well, 2012 is here and I'm still shipping these shim kits here in the US and about a dozen other countries....I just sent a kit to France yesterday.  There isn't a week that goes by that I get at least one email from a cyclist who is experiencing the knocking noise coming from their Campagnolo Ultra Torque system.  I have also had requests for a fix for the BB86 UT bottom brackets... I'm going to see what I can do.  This issue doesn't happen to all bikes with Ultra Torque... but it happens to enough to be an issue.  You can get the kits here.

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Hello All:

Just checking in.  Hope that all of you are enjoying this Holiday Season.  I'm  trying to take care of all the things that I put on the back burner when my work load was nuts.  One of the things that I had to change is adding comment moderation to this blog because of the ammount of spam that happens to get through the "filter" the Typepad has... Anyway, I hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah as well as a blessed New Year.  I can't say this enough but I'm going to say it again... I appreciate all of your support and I never take any of your business that you send my way for granted. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

-John

Campagnolo Ultra Torque with BB86

Here's a quick video of a Campagnolo Super Record Ultra Torque crankset that I just installed onto a Scott Addict that has a BB86 carbon bottom bracket shell.  I used the Campagnolo Ultra Torque BB86 Adapter and installed everything to spec... Normal?

 

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.

Help me Pay It Forward.

I am writing to let you know that I just started ChipIn campaign.  This is my attempt to pay it forward to those who gave some and for the families of those who gave it all for our country.  But I can't do this without you.

I am hoping that if you find the info that I post on this site or the many emails that I reply to helpful and/or entertaining, you might "ChipIn" a few bucks.  I know that credible, no-nonsense info is hard to come by these days and it usually isn't free.  This will also motivate me to respond to more comments and emails. 

I am going to give 100% (less the paypal fee) to the Navy Seal Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project. It's the least that I can do for those who stepped up for us so that we can do what we do and say what we want to say.  So in closing, if you find anything here useful and/or I helped you with some technical issue with you bike via email, comments, on Twitter, or by phone, please consider a contribution.  The ChipIn widget can be found in the column to the right.  Please give what you can.  I would really appreciate it.  Thanks for checking in.

Mavic CrossMax Zircal Replacement Spokes in Stock.

I recently aquired a limited number of Mavic spokes for CrossMax SL and SL Disc wheels.  Here are the part numbers that I have right now...

• M40751
• M40753
• M40755
• M40743
• 995 393 01

These are for 2003 CrossMax SL wheels and 2003-2005 CrossMax SL Disc wheels as well as 2007 CrossMax SL Disc Drive Side only (995 393 01).  As you can see in the photo, these spokes are silver.

Just a friendly reminder that Mavic no longer has these in stock and they discontinued production so get then while you can.  This way to the store... or just click on Store above in the navagation bar.  Thanks!

More Mavic Spokes! Plus Campagnolo and Zipp Freehub Bodies

I just streamlined the on-line store and expanded the offerings.  To see what's there, you can use the navigation bar above, click on the yellow box to the right, or just click here to go to the store.  I've been selling quite a few Mavic Zircal spokes lately as well as freehub bodies and pawl kits.  Here's the current list of Mavic wheels that I have replacement spokes for:

• 2000-2003 Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL Zircal, Black (discontinued by Mavic)
• 2004-2005 Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL Zircal, Silver (discontinued by Mavic)
• 2006-2007 Mavic Ksyrium SL Zircal, Silver
• 2008-2010 Mavic SL/ES/Premium Zircal, Black
• 2011  Mavic SL & SLR Zircal, Black
• 2007-2009 Mavic CrossMax SLR Disc Zircal, Black
• 2003 Mavic CrossMax XL Disc Zircal, Black (discontinued by Mavic)
• 2000-2002 Mavic Crossmax Straight Pull Round Black (discontinued by Mavic)
• 2000-2001 Mavic Cosmic Carbone Clincher Bladed Silver (discontinued by Mavic)

I also expanded my offering of freehub bodies...

• Mavic Shimano 9/10 Speed Freehub Body Road - MM40592
• Mavic Shimano/SRAM Freehub Body Mountain - M40580
• Mavic Campagnolo 9/10/11 Speed Freehub Body - M40591
• Campagnolo Freehub Body for OS Cutout Axle 9/10/11 Speed
• Zipp Speed Weaponry 182 Freehub Body for Campagnolo 9/10 Speed

Just a reminder that Mavic doesn't support, translation: no longer produces or stocks parts for wheel from 2006 and older.  This means that when they're gone and you need to replace a broken spoke or one that has a frozen nipple, you are essentially screwed.  I agree that this is sad but that's the way it it.  I just verified with Mavic this week that they are completely out of 2000-2005 Ksyrium Zircal spokes... Fortunately, I have very limited numbers of these spokes left.

A Thought Regarding STI vs Ergopower Levers

I was thinking recently while overhauling and replacing a broken component in a Campagnolo 10 speed Ergolever that proportionally, I don't nearly see the same amount of shiftlever failures with Shimano Ultegra or Dura-Ace as I do with Campagnolo Chorus and Record.  I would say that 75% of the Campy levers that I worked on this season had broken spring carriers and or springs and the rest just needed cleaned, relubricated, and the typical replacement g-springs. 

My question is, did the engineers in Vicenza design these levers to be serviceable because they were aware of the durability/longevity of the internal components with a positive PR spin of being completely rebuildable? I don't know... Maybe the loyal masses don't mind tossing $65+ not including parts per lever to their mechanic every so often.  I'd be the first to say that that's a whole lot cheaper than having to replace the complete lever, but from my perspective, I'm seeing  the equivalent shift controls from Shimano lasting a great deal longer under the same conditions.  But hey... I'm not complaining, it's more work for me.

 

New About Me Page

I just added an About Me page here for those who are interested in a little background info... Just click "About Me" above here in the navigation bar...which is also relatively new.

Recent Campy Ultra-Torque Love

I've received lots of hate mail about this Campagnolo UT thing...hell, like I've said, it's like I insulted someone's mom.  Here's a recent comment that I received on my YouTube Channel that made me laugh...

I googled "campagnolo ultra torque problem" and all I saw was you spamming forums trying to sell gullible people shim kits. So well done. You've provided a solution that cant possibly work for a problem that doesn't exist. You are a goose. -SuperKevRev

That's a good one.  Anyways, If your bottom bracket's knockin' here's where to get some shims to stop your crankset from rockin'...it doesn't really rock, it's more an axial/lateral movement....you get the point.  This way to the store...