RogueMechanic

Still Here. Alive and Wrenching!

Hello All!

Boy do I suck at this blogging thing....probably one of the worlds worst.

  Anyway, yes, I'm still here, in business, wrenching away, selling and shipping stuff (lots of Shim Kits for Campagnolo Ultra-Torque and Mavic parts...), picking up and delivering bikes, gardening, micro-farming, on top of being a dad and a husband.  I say this because I have been getting emails asking if I'm still in business because of the lack of activity here on my site...

Lot's of custom builds this season along with the usual maintenance and a fair amount of unassing...  So far there's been some interesting challenges and well as some late nights.  These are all good things.  I continue to be grateful and humbled by all of the business that comes my way and all of the new referals...thank all of you! 

If you want almost daily pings from me about what's going on at any particular time, follow me on Twitter at @RogueMechanic...and no, I don't do FaceBook...

The ultrasonic cleaner just clicked off, so I better get back to work.  Hopefully I can post here more frequently...but don't hold your breath... Thanks for checking in!  -John

What's the Difference?

This drives me nuts.  I see quite a few expensive frames throughout the year and the vast majority are produced in either Taiwan or China.  I know that I'm going to piss some industry-types off by asking this, but what makes your bike frame that's made in Taiwan or China any different than any other frame that's produced in said countries besides paint, decals, and maybe tube shapes?  The stories behind the frames have to be about the same (cost, promised delivery time, etc).  You can't tout the craftmanship aspect or the storied history like the Italian or the U.S. builders.  So... What makes your frame any better than any other frame that's make in East Asia?  I know that it's not quality control...

One of My Best Tools

I've been asked numerous questions about the short video of my Crest Ultrasonic cleaner that I posted on YouTube a while back, so I figured that I'd post some info about it and some things that I learned using it.

Efficient

This single piece of equiptment has made probably the biggest difference in my productivity.  It allows for me to essentially "work" on two bikes at once.  I can get a start on one bike by removing the drivetrain components, which typically include the cassette, chain, front and rear derailleurs as well as the crankset, while I continue to work on the bike that's on stand #1.  Gone are the days of taking those said components to the parts cleaner and scrubbing away with a brush.

Does a Dang Good Job.

I'm not going to get into the science behind how ultrasonic cleaners work beyond the fact high frequency sound waves cause "tiny explosions" or cavication bubbles on the surface of the item that's being cleaned.  Bottom line is that it works (better if you use the right solution and temperature).

Solution

I've tried alot of different solutions in my ultrasonic cleaner at different concentrations and at different temps.  Some definitely work better than others.  Temperature certainly makes a difference in the end result as well as the time required to clean the item.  After trying everything from off the shelf Simple Green to even a few products that are ultrasonic cleaner specific, I have come to really like Extreme Simple Green Aircraft & Precision Cleaner.  This stuff really works.  Unfortunately, it's not as easy to obtain than the regular Simple Green product is, and it also costs more.  I get mine from Simple Green Guy.  As far as the concentration, this is powerful stuff.  Don't be fooled.  A little goes a long way.  I typically use a 1:4 or 1:5 concentration and add more solution or water as necessary. 

Bottom Line

If you can afford one, get one.  You're going to wonder why you waited so long...

 

OH: Campagnolo Ultra Torque Discussion

 

My take on the new Campagnolo Power Torque System

After watching the 1:56 minute video of the new Power Torque System that can be found here in their Lab Tech section of the Campagnolo website and looking beyond the stunning video clips and the driving music, I had a handful of questions.  But first, take a look at the video....

 

Initially, these specific things came to mind...

0:55 - Integrated Axle in the Right Crankset  hmmm... where have I seen this before?!?  Oh that's right... Shimano, SRAM, Truvative, FSA...

1:00  - Coupling System that Cancel Any Possible Play  Possible play?!?  Really?!?  you mean like this..

 

Na... it can't be.  All of that axial play is completely normal.  (here, you look thirsty, have some more Kool-Aid...)  Anyway, what I'm getting at is that the folks at Campy with this statement wouldn't be admitting any possible problems with the Ultra-Torque System design... would they?!?

1:05 - Optimized Spacers for an Extremely Light and Stiff Axle  For the life of me, I can't see what optimized spacers have to do with the axle being light and stiff... Maybe I'm missing something... help please?!?

1:10 - Easy and Quick Assembly and Maintanence  Really?!?

Note to video producers: At approx 1:14 you forgot to install the holding clip (fig 9 in the installation manual and at approx 1:19, you forgot to install the spring under the gasket (fig 11 in the installation manual).  Just wanted to bring that to your attention.

1:31 - Without any Additional Dedicated Tool... Well, that's kinda accurate, for assembly, but make sure that you have a 14mm hex handy.

Now when you want to perform maintanence, you will need a good quality gear puller/extractor, a cloth (so that you don't chew up the NDS crankarm), AND the Campagnolo UT-FC090 tool.  Wait a second... I thought that you won't need any "dedicated" tools?!?  I think that kids these days call this a "fail".

In closing, I wonder if or when Power Torque is going to replace Ultra Torque... Why have two different systems when one is supposed to be so much better than everything else out there.  Hmmm...just wondering...

So, these are just my thoughts.  As always, I welcome any comments.  Please tell me where I might be off-base.  Thanks for checking in!  -John

Mavic Ksyrium Freehub Parts and Zicral Spokes

Hello all,

As you probably know, I have a small RogueMechanic Online Shop where I have available some of the more common replacement parts for Mavic Ksyrium wheels.  These parts include freehub bodies for Shimano/SRAM road, MTB, and Campagnolo.  I also have most varities of Zicral spokes for Mavic Ksyrium wheels as well as a few non-Zicral spokes for more obscure older wheels.  In addition, I also have FTS-X Pawl and Spring kits as well as freehub body Seals. 

If you haven't seen it already, here's a link to my Mavic Freehub Body Maintenance video on YouTube.  Mavic Ksyrium wheels are great wheels for the money compaired to others out there in the same price range, you just need to maintain them, just like every other wheelset in the market.  Thanks for checking in.  -John

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

Ceramic Bearings. Does Size or Quantity Matter?

I want to shed some light on ceramic bearings.  Now that they have been out for a good 2+ years, I'm just now seeing more of them than ever and a disturbing number of them that I've seen already have pitted races.  I'm going to write more on this sometime in the future, but for now, I want to show you something that came thru my shop recently.  The first photo is the bearing from a SRAM Blackbox GXP Ceramic bottom bracket:

The next photo is of a Shimano 7800 bottom bracket with Enduro Zero Ceramic bearings:

Now, everything else being equal, in this application, is it better to have fewer but larger diameter ceramic ball bearings or more but smaller ceramic ball bearings?  Any bearing experts out there?  You thoughts please.  Thanks for checking in.  -John

UPDATE:

Here's some interesting info that I received from JF via e-mail...

 

It seems that there is a magic exponent here, which is 2/3:

1. The maximum stress on a single ball decreases roughly with the 2/3
power of the ball radius.

2. The maximum load capacity grows with the number of balls to the 2/3
power as well, or so they say here:
http://machinedesign.com/article/radial-bearings-1115

This means that all exponents cancel out, and the 11 ball Shimano
bearing will have the same load capacity as the 16 ball SRAM if its
balls are 16/11 = 1.45, so 45% larger in diameter. It's hard to tell
from the pictures, but if the inside diameter of both bearings is the
same, then the photos show something around a 20% larger diameter
only. That would mean that, all other things being equal, SRAM would
have somewhere around 13% more load capacity.

Anybody else out there with thoughts about this? 

-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?

Ultrasonic cleaner in action