The cranks are still doing well and have my thumbs up.  They are very durable with the finish standing strong against my ankle rub and the arms are pretty stiff.

The bottom bracket has my thumbs down but as I went through in my 1st impressions - I am very wary of outboard bearing cranks for the durability factor.  So far I have gone through 1.5 sets of bearings.  After the current set wears out I will be upgrading to Paul or maybe ceramic to see if the upgrade does fix the short life span.  The other thing I want to mention of these bearings is the have been submerged multiple times in creeks and deep water.  This isn’t normal and your set might last longer than mine.

For the price I wouldn’t balk at purchasing these cranks again.  The bottom bracket failure I hope will be fixed with a better type of bearings or maybe I should run BMX 3 piece cranks on my foul weather bike?

I have been using the ErgoFix/ErgoSticks combination while Captain Bob decided to roll with just the ErgoFix grips. The bar ends are a conundrum for me. They are great to climb with, but in comparison with the “other brand”, I find that my hands have to be in one specific position to find comfort. The competitors product gives me more freedom in this regard. Otherwise, the bar ends are great. Very tacky, and they stay that way, even when sweat works its way into the picture.

The grips are not as position specific. In fact, they are quite the opposite for me. I found that the were very easy to get along with comfort-wise. Many ways to grip the platform and find a nice cushiony feeling. Again, no real slipping problems with gloves or bare hands.

Speaking of “slipping”, Captain Bob has somewhat to say on this subject. “The problem I have found with many designs for this type of grip is with the clamping design. I know some grips have a good clamp but many other companies have tried to come on board without success in my mind. The BBB’s work. They have a two bolt design that does not require much tightening at all for them to stay on without slipping. Others have missed the mark on the clamping part of their designs. I have owned or tried at least four other grips from others that have not worked at all. My thoughts are, “If they slip, why sell them as clamp-on grips!” Simple as that.

In addition, I would like to add that the two bolt design uses 2mm Allen head fasteners that are super easy to over tighten. If you do, you will break the inner part of the clamp, effectively ruining the grip. They are super low torque fittings, so be aware! Even with the minimal amount of torque necessary to tighten the grip onto the handle bar, they are easy to keep where you want them. Just be careful with that Allen wrench! In this regard, we would perhaps like to see a redesign to prevent the breaking of the clamp, which is really too easy to do.

Captain Bob goes on to say: “My initial thoughts was that the grips are too big for my smallish hands. They are much larger in diameter than any grip I have ever used. Once mounted I noticed how grippy the rubber is. Really grippy. After I have logged some pretty good miles on the grips I can say that they are by far the stickiest grips on any of my bikes. I can even ride without gloves and not slip off the grips. The best part of about them being so tacky is that I don’t have to grip the bars nearly as tight since my hands stay planted so well. I am sure that have the nice large paddle is helping relieve most of my hand pain. The paddle is really big. There was one other concern that I had and that was where the hard plastic clamp area joins the rubber part of the rider side of the paddle. You can smush down the rubber and that leaves you with the hard plastic part sticking out. My fear was that I would feel or be bothered by that plastic part. That it would poke into my palm. Never happened though. Now I don’t even notice it at all.”

I also thought that the clamp area might be a concern, but I didn’t notice anything during my riding either. The softness of the grips is nice. They are definitely less apt to cause hand bruising or pain because of this, especially after long, rough rides. The combination of the non-noticeable clamp and the plushness of the grips is intriguing. I am looking at doing some multi-hour riding to see if they hold true to form.

Captain Bob and I plan on doing more off roading with these to get a feel for the long term durability and comfort of the ErgoFix grips and ErgoSticks bar ends. Stay tuned for more in a few weeks.

We felt that the BBB Components we recieved all looked really understated and business-like. Captain Bob says, “I like the simple logos that BBB uses. Nothing too loud with colors that might clash with other parts.”

Here is a component by component take so far……….

UltraForce Stem: The stem seems to be just right in the stiffness dept. It has a nice finish. We love the silver logo on the faceplate. It even came with a piece of clear protective wrap over that little logo. It looks nice and shiney when removed. The stem holds the bar as it should with no slippage.

SkyBar riser handle bar: The bars may be on the heavy side for a XC rig but if stiffness is what you need, look no further. The SkyBar is super stiff and not a hint of flex that we can see. It works nicly when running some squish up front. We really love bars with backsweep and upsweep. This one seems to have more back sweep than most and it fit Captain Bob perfectly. It makes him want it for all his mountain bikes! The finish seems durable and matches the stem as well.

AluScraper 400mm seatpost: Seatposts either work or they don’t. This one works well. We have had issues with two-bolt posts in the past and our biggest complaint was having to completely remove one of the bolts before being able to install the saddle. Well, with the BBB we did not have to remove any bolts. Just loosen them both well and remove the bottom brace that the rails sit on. Put the top through the saddle rails and then slide the bottom back under the rails. Tightening was a breeze. Once adjusted there was no unwanted movement or creaking. It’s also super stiff. No flex that we were able to feel. We really like the stealth looks of this post. Not the loud decals that some have.

TurnAround head set: The headset works just like a headset should. The bike was built up and the headset was tightened and it has not come loose at all. Not a bit. It rolls smooth and quietly just as it should. We love bling so don’t get us wrong…but the hard anodized finish of the headset is what we think sets it apart from other brands. The finish and color perfectly match the other BBB control parts. Captain Bob likes the perfect matching parts, me? I like them just fine, but I can go with a total mutt look if it performs well. to each their own. The TurnAround head set has a slightly lower stack height that some other mfg’s. That’s good to know if getting the bars lower, especially on a 29″er, is a concern.

Selle San Marco Caymano saddle: ( Editors Note: The following is Captain Bob’s take on the saddle. It didn’t agree at all with my posterior! Keep in mind that saddles are a personal fit item, so your mileage may vary!) The San Marco saddle has me totalling rethinking my saddle stock. I have a handful of older San Marco M and C saddles. The old Bontrager ones. Man, I love them too. But! And this is a big but: until I started testing the San Marco Caymano I never really knew that I what I was missing in the comfort department. I immediately noticed the difference. I felt the saddle connect with my sit bones instead of sinking into my “other” spot. At first I thought it was hard and wierd but within minutes I was comfortable. For me, the saddle fits just right. Not too flat on top that it makes you feel like you’re sitting on a 2×4, but not too rounded that it still violates your privates. I don’t like a really grippy material on my saddles. I like to move around easily. With the Caymano I was able to do so with ease. It’s not slippery though. I am not able to detect any padding under the cover. The saddle is not plush. however; if it fits you as well as it fits me, you won’t need the padding. You can really feel what’s going on underneath you better with the saddle. The frame characteristics and the trail your riding on get translated to your body very well. I also like the rear of the saddle in how it keeps me from slipping back when climbing but at the same time doesn’t force me forward. My only nit pick is the lack of nose padding. When single speeding up a hill out of the saddle I notice how pointed the nose of the saddle is. It poked me a couple times and I could feel it the next day. So far though I have not noticed any numbness in the soft tissue department. My longest gravel ride was about 25 miles and I was felt much less fatigued and I think it’s partly due to having less pain from this saddle.

RoundAbout chain ring: The RoundAbout chainring has been doing it’s job. Craftmenship is superb. Nicely and accurately machined. It seems durable too for its size. We have banged over a few logs and hit one of them so hard that Captain Bob thought for sure he broke a chain or bent the ring. Neither of them took on any damage. We like the fact that the shift ramps are somewhat hidden from the eye so when mounted as a single speed or a 1x it is somthing folks won’t recognize that it serves both. Not much wear is showing so far into this test either.

Look for a longer term write up in the coming weeks.

Today we are taking a look at something that really was’t released at the Tour, but is a big story anyway. Campagnolo’s Super Record 11 speed gruppo.

We’ve flogged the topic of 11 speed already. So, we won’t go there. What we do want to point out is that now that 11 speed is a reality, there will be some implications that will come of it. Just what these implications are going to be are not quite clear yet, but The Bike Lab is not going to lt that stop us from making some hypotheses.

First of all, now that the 10 speed barrier has been surpassed, look for Shimano, SRAM, and FSA to follow suit at some point. (FSA is already rumored to be doing both mountain and road 11 speed) Now that 11 speed is here, you can also start to kiss all of your 8 speed stuff goodbye as all the 8 speed replacement parts get phased out in favor of trickled down 9 speed. Speaking of trickling down, this will most likely force all 9 speed road gruppos off the market in a big hurry. 8 speed Sora? Yeah….gone. It wouldn’t surprise me to see all of Shimano’s lower end road groups become 10 speed within a couple of years time. Campagnolo is already doing this, and so is SRAM.

Wear issues will become worse. We saw an increase in parts replacements due to wear with 10 speed, and can we really expect 11 speed to hold the line or be better? I think not. Campagnolo assures us that its 11 speed chains will be stronger than its current 10 speed chains, but the jury is stll out on that one. With an ever decreasing amount of material used, it becomes more apparent that the limits of consumer acceptability and wallets are going to be tested further.

Maintenance issues will be more frequent due to the finicky nature of 11 speed drivetrains. 10 speed leaves little to no room for “error”. 11 speed will not tolerate the inattentive owner. Tuning derailluers, cleaning, and checking for wear will become skills that most owners will now have to take more seriously, or at least they will have to become very friendly with a shop mechanic. I am afraid that it will become a hard pill to swallow for owners of 11 speed when they weigh the cost of entry to 11 speed versus the cost to maintain the parts in working order.

Are there any plusses? Well, Campagnolo promises a wider gearing range, not just shorter jumps between ratios, but that is also on tap for 11 speed. Campagnolo claims that it’s racers and consumers have asked for this. Well, if that is true, then they will also get the consequences that come along with this new step. I honestly can say that as a shop mechanic I am still trying to explain 10 speed. Eleven? Yeah…….right.

Besides the issues of the mechanics of Super Record, Record, and Chorus, I like the uses of materials, the ergonomic updates, and the light weight. The look is decidedly carbon, with a liberal dosage of the material used throughout the parts. Prices will be steep, undoubtedly, but the groups promise to be top notch and should reflect Campagnolo’s long history of excellence with ErgoPower.

Will any of this affect mountain biking? I’m sure that some facets of what we see here will show up in mountain bikes sooner than later. Will it work? That is yet to be determined, but generally speaking, this stuff will get flogged pretty hard before becoming available to the general public. Perhaps it is already being flogged out there. My guess is that it is.

First off, it must be said that things are just getting off the ground in regards to this tubeless “revolution”. Road cyclists will likely be the next group to embrace this technology with the rest of us to follow. Why tubeless and why now? Well, for those answers, let’s look at the technology and how it can benefit your cycling experience.

We are all familiar, (I hope!) with automobile tires and the fact that there is no tube inside a car tire anymore. The casing of a car tire is made to hold air pressure and to have its bead seat into your cars rim so it stays mounted and safe during regular use. Bicycle tubeless tires are similar, but the demands for lightweight and strength meant that bicycle tubeless tires had to take a divergent path to become accepted amongst cycling fans.

Instead of relying 100% on the tires casing to hold the air,(which a lot of mountain bike tires still do), most recently tire manufacturers have developed a system of casing plus sealant to help seal the casing and provide puncture protection. This gives the rider two distinct advantages. First, your overall rotational weight can remain close to, if not the same as a tire and tube combination, and in many cases the overall weight can be less than a tire with a tube. Also, you have sealant which allows the tire to heal itself of punctures, often times while you are still riding, and not lose a significant amount of air pressure.

Not only that, but the benefits of running tubeless extend to rider comfort and economy of effort. A tire that is tubeless can be ridden at a lower pressure without fear of “pinch flatting”, which is what happens when a tire with lower pressure with a tube installed hits a sharp bump, compressing the tire/tube to the rim bead, and cutting the tube. A tubeless tire doesn’t have this problem, so a more comfortable and higher traction ride can be realized. Furthermore, rolling resistance is reduced when the tube/tire interface is removed from the equation. The inner tube causes friction with the tire casing when the tire tries to deform over road/trail obstacles. This friction causes higher rolling resistance and thus robs the cyclist of energy.

Finally, the system had to be made “user friendly”. This is the biggest challenge facing marketers of tubeless technology. Cyclists want to know if they can use the system easily and repair the system easily, should the need arise. A couple of newer developments are going to take tubeless tire technology for cycling a long ways towards this goal.

Tire and rim manufacturers are working closely with each other, guaranteeing that the tire bead/rim interface, which is critical for success, is comaptible. Rim manufacturers have also developed rims with no spoke hole drillings in the inner rim well, or have developed special rim strips to seal off the inner rim cavity. This means no rim strips and makes tire mounting/removal all the easier. Tire manufacturers are working on new materials and technologies for tire beads. Carbon is being used in road tubeless tires, as an example, to get a high strength bead that is yet still small enough that a road cyclist can change out a tire, or install a tube in the field with ease, if need be. The mounting and bead seating of tubeless tires is also getting easier. For example, I have mounted all of my mountain bike tubeless tires with a floor pump. No longer will a trip to the compressor be necessary with the newer tubeless tire/rim designs.

Fixing tubeless tires is becoming easier as well. Road tubeless had to overcome the field serviceability tests which allow a road cyclist to install a tube if necessary without special tools. However; that said, a tubeless road tire does have the ability to be ridden flat, much like a tubular, and also loses air if punctured at a slower rate than a tubed tire. These things will help assuage road cyclist that are apprehensive about tubeless road tires and wheels.

Tubeless tire technology is still evolving, but it is coming to all facets of cycling. In time, it may become the dominant system in use for cyclists everywhere. Certainly, the benefits are promising: lower rolling resistance, less chances for flatting, and more comfortable rides with less weight. If the manufacturers and marketers of tubeless tire technologies continue to make advancements, I see a time coming that a bicycle tube might become as scarce as an automobile tire tube.

Only time will tell, but it can’t hurt to get ready!

In a mountain biking scenario, one of the feared situations that a rider might have is becoming entangled in their saddle. It always happens at the wrong time and usually, but not always, ends up in a crash. Sometimes this is more “wardrobe malfunction” than the fault of a saddle, so keeping this in mind, we’ll move forward here.

The Inform RL has some protruding lobes that are seen in the photo above. (The silver colored part) These were the offending bits in my experience, but I must say that I was extremely off the back of the saddle both times it happened and then I only got hung up for a moment. Mind you, this was with bib shorts, so a baggies rider would be affected much more possibly. This might be a concern but the Inform RL isn’t really the AM/FR/DH saddle in Bontrager’s line up either. That role goes to the Rhythm saddle, which I would recommend as a great saddle for those activities and/or baggy shorts wearers.

For general trail riding, or XC racing, I think the Inform RL would be a great choice. 99.9% of the time, the saddle isn’t in the way at all. Again, I only caught my shorts in a minor fashion twice in the test period so far. (And for the record, I have ridden the Inform RL successfuly several times with baggies on) In my estimation though, the saddle really shines through on longer rides. If you have a full suspension bike, or find yourself just out trail riding for hours where being in the saddle for long periods of time is a high probability, then the Inform RL is a saddle you should be looking at.

I bagged another multiple hour gravel road ride the other day. The roads were rough with freshly graded gravel for most of my 65 plus miles. (I eventually had my non-drive crank rattle loose!) The Inform RL isolated me from most of the chatter and even though I rarely got a chance to get out of the saddle on my ride, I didn’t even feel any soreness the next day, nor did I have any saddle related issues such as chafing, saddle sores, or numbness.

My only nit with the Inform RL is that I would like to see a model a bit more geared towards mountain biking. Something with a bit more “short friendliness” designed into it with maybe a bit here and there to help protect the edges in a crash. Perhaps a more rounded off, dropped nose would do good as well. Otherwise this saddle works as advertised and works well.

Stay tuned for a final assessment of the Bontrager Inform RL saddles coming soon.

WTB Deva SLT Saddle
Price: $150
Weight : 225g
Specs: Titanium rails, white or black nylon fiber flex shell with gel

This saddle was installed last weekend to the El Bastardo that I am reviewing over at 650b.com.  There has only been one dirt ride on it but I have two things to say about it.  Wonderful and hard.  Now these two things might seem contradictory to some but to those that log lots of miles you know that you want a saddle that supports you where it is needed with out all the fluff.

This is a ladies saddle hence the name Deva.  The male saddle that mirrors this is the Devo. Both are slim cut with a indent for necessary tissue placement.  The ladies is a bit wider in the back for our sit bones.  So far it is supporting me right where I need it.  The low cushion allows my butt to sit where it needs to be with out sinking in after 2-3 miles.  This means all day comfort in my mind.

Look back after a few more rides and I will have a better feel (pun intended) of the saddle.

This is the first in a series of contests called “Where are Fuzzy & Dejay?”

The real question is, how well do you know your North American single track? As Fuzzy and Dejay criss-cross the country they will be sending Ergon random photos from their riding adventures. We will then take one photo per month and post it here for you, the consumer, to guess the location. First person to correctly identify the photo riding location will receive a select pair of Ergon grips for that month.

- How to Enter -
Send Entry to: jeff.kerkove@ergon-bike.com
Email Subject line: “Where are Fuzzy & Dejay - July”
Include your name, address, and photo location

What we are looking for is the actual trail name and State.
For example, Slickrock Trail, Utah or 401 Trail, Colorado.
This months contest photo is posted to the right.

- Rules of the contest -
Please, only one entry per person per month.
We will continue to take entries all month.
The winner will be contacted at the end of the month.
We have the right to refuse any incomplete or improper entry.
Contest open to residence of USA and Canada only.

This photo will be posted until the end of July. This months select pair of grips is the GR2 in either small or large.

Hint: Turn left up the canyon. Then keep an eye out for the rocks and boulders on this trail.

Good Luck!

Note: Ergon is solely responsible for this contest and the rules and regulations are theirs. We simply are passing this along for your potential benefit. Crooked Cog Network and The Bike Lab are in no way affiliated with Ergon, or with this contest.

By the way, “BBB” stands for “Bike parts by Bikers for Bikers”. BBB is a European company that sponsors a few pro road squads and makes a varied palette of cycling goodies.

This seat post is a no nonsense sort of component. It is 400mm in length and it looks to be pretty tough. 246 grams in weight for this 27.2 example. It’s got a two bolt clamp which is pretty standard for quality posts these days.

The smallish logo looks understated and doesn’t take away from the spartan appearance of this post

UltraForce stem

The BBB SkyBar

The stem continues with the understated look. It is a very nicely made piece executed in 2014 alloy and 3D forged. It has a paltry weight of about 134 grams. It seems very smartly made though. The four bolt clamp should keep the 31.8mm SkyBar in place. It is a 6061-T6 piece with 35mm rise and 10 degree back sweep. It weighs in at 336 grams. It looks pretty stout!

Selle San Marco Caymano Saddle

We also received this Selle San Marco Caymano saddle to mount up on the BBB post. It is a pretty well made Italian saddle and weighs in at 170 grams. Unfortunately, it doesn’t agree with my tush at all, so Captain Bob, our other Bike Lab test rider, will be putting this perch to the test, not me!

BBB RoundAbout chain ring

The chain ring is also a BBB piece called the “RoundAbout” (which always makes that “Yes” tune start spinning in my head!) We’re using the 34T version here though and it is 7075-T6 alloy ring. We will be single speeding this one, but it has some rad looking CNC’ed ramps on the back side for you shifter freaks out there.

BBB TurnAround head set

We are also using a BBB TurnAround headset which features angular contact bearings in sealed cartridges. The look, like much of the BBB Components line up, is all business.

We’ll return later with some updates on these components after we have put in some time riding them. Stay Tuned….