Tech News – December 21, 2007 Edited by James Huang Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk. BH to supply AG2r AG2r-La Mondiale will ride the BH Bikes' Global Concept G-4 Photo ©: BH Bikes French ProTour team AG2r Prévoyance will swap the b'Twin Full Composite 700 its riders rode in 2007 with BH Bikes' Global Concept G-4s in 2008, after the Spanish company announced its return to the top rung of the sport. "Having a ProTour team is important for the success of BH in the American market," said BH USA spokesman Adam Vincent. "Racing gives credibility to our brand and shows our consumers we are serious about making performance machines. And it helps that the team bike is dead sexy." The Spanish bike manufacturer spent 2007 on the sidelines, having spent the previous season with the Astana - Würth Team, which collapsed after team director Manolo Saiz was embroiled in the Spanish doping ring inquiry known as Operación Puerto. /GJ Giro joins Bruyneel's Astana Giro is the latest Discovery Channel refugee Photo ©: Giro Giro announced yesterday that the Kazakh-backed Astana team will wear its Ionos and Advantage 2 helmets beginning January 1, 2008. This continues team manager Johan Bruyneel's long-standing relationship with the American helmet maker. "I have a long history with Giro, both as a rider and team director," Bruyneel said in a statement. "Year after year, Giro has impressed me with the performance of their products, which deliver a proven advantage to the riders." Some Astana riders will also use Giro eyewear. Tour de France winner Alberto Contador used its Havik sunglasses on the way to his victory this year and will continue to ride and develop eyewear for the California-based company. Jani Brajkovic, Sergio Paulinho, and Benjamin Noval are the newest members of the Giro eyewear squad. Team Astana will put its new Giro products to use at a training camp next month in New Mexico and will make its racing debut a couple weeks later at the Tour Down Under in Australia. /JS GT Bicycles and Ritchey Design join Jelly Belly Jelly Belly riders will mount GT Bicycles' GTR Team Photo ©: GT Bicycles Competitors at the American Continental outfit Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team will ride GT Bicycles' GTR Team racing frames for the next two years after signing a sponsorship deal with the manufacturer. The announcement, which comes into effect on January 1, 2008, is accompanied by the news that Ritchey Design will supply its handlebars, stems and seatposts for the 2008 season. "Our riders depend on their equipment, so they can focus on the extreme demands of training and racing," said Jelly Belly team director Danny van Haute. "My team has 100-percent confidence in the race-proven products GT Bicycles and Ritchey are providing. We're excited to welcome these two strong partners to our distinguished roster of sponsors." Pacific Cycle-owned GT Bicycles has been heavily involved with both mountain biking and BMX in recent years, while its only road involvement since its association with the Lotto division one team in the late 90s was with Continental squad Target Training in 2006. "GT has long been recognized as a race-proven mountain bike and BMX brand," said Pacific Cycle's marketing director Jenni Schwai. "Now we are making a serious commitment to the road category as well. The association between GT Bicycles and Jelly Belly will also see GT-sponsored rider Todd Wells compete with the team in 2008. Wells, an accomplished mountain bike, cyclo-cross and road rider, is expected to contest at least the Tour of Arkansas, U.S. Pro Championships and the Redlands Bicycle Classic with the outfit, with the possibility of more races. "Our engineering and product development teams have already been working with the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling team to gain insights into how to make the carbon GT road bike platform even stiffer and lighter," she added. "Ultimately, our goal is to deliver the best possible product to our customers." The GTR carbon monocoque frame will be decked out with a Ritchey Design cockpit, including the company's WCS Carbon One-Bolt seatposts, WCS Alloy handlebars, WCS Carbon 4AXIS stems, and Pro Oversized 30-degree stems and alloy adjustable stems for time trial bikes. /GJ BH USA to supply Vanderkitten In other sponsorship news, BH USA, the American partner of BH Bikes, has announced that it will supply the new US-based Vanderkitten National Racing Calendar squad with bikes for next year. The team had previously only sponsored a single rider, Liz Hatch, but will now expand its racing involvement to a full outfit next season. "Vanderkitten is a great signing for BH because they go beyond the traditional race team structure of racing on the weekend and hoping for results," said BH USA spokesman Adam Vincent. "Vanderkitten have already built a culture that is fun and funky and people are drawn to that. They are building a community around their team." Vanderkitten, a clothing company which caters for "women who kick ass", announced the first of its riders for next year earlier this week. "The women on the team understand how to promote their sponsors," said Vincent. "They have taken the initiative to call me and say 'we're so excited to be working with you, what can we do to help you sell more bikes?' I don't know too many pro riders doing that. "I don't have to sit around with my fingers crossed hoping for them to win a big race and get some magazine coverage, because I know they'll be out there everyday saying good things about BH USA," he added. The team will use BH's full-carbon Connect model, which uses tube-to-tube construction and ultra-high modulus carbon to achieve a final claimed frame weight of just 890 grams. / GJ Carbon Sports North America created Germany's Carbon Sports has recently established a North American subsidiary with the aim of expanding the presence of its Lightweight line of carbon fiber wheels and derailleurs on the continent. Carbon Sports North America is based in Ottawa, Canada, but will also manage a secure bonded warehouse in upstate New York. "The fact that we are actually part of Carbon Sports Germany enables us to focus exclusively on the representation and distribution of Carbon Sports products in all of North America," explained Carbon Sports North America CEO David Bell. "We are able to provide the quality of service with our very high-end products which the public is well entitled." Lightweight's feathery-yet-stiff handmade wheelsets have long been cherished by top professionals, such as Erik Zabel, but the long lead times and considerable shipping distance has often made them difficult to obtain in North America in the past. The company hopes that the new North American subsidiary will greatly facilitate getting its wheels into the hands of riders who want them. "By having a dedicated North American company, we are able to drastically reduce this waiting period by maintaining a substantial inventory, which will effectively eliminate the current seven months other countries are forced to wait," added Bell. In addition to the company's new North American division the company, which introduced its Gen III wheels at Eurobike in September, has established Carbon Sports Service in southern California. That division, run by Dan Plummer, will allow for North American customers to ship their wheels to California for adjustments or repairs, rather than send them back to Germany. /GJ Rotor track rings Similar to the road ring you can change the elispses of the ring to suit your needs. Photo ©: Rotor Following on the success of its elliptical Q-Rings which have been used very successfully by riders such as Magnus Backstedt, Ben Jacques-Maynes, and the Team Maxxis Cyclo-Cross Team, Rotor is now set to release a track version in January. The lack of a chain tension pulley on track bikes posed somewhat of a problem for designer Pablo Carrasco Vergara, as the ring's shape needed to be carefully designed so as to maintain consistent chain tension while still offering the ring's purported benefits. "I invested long days designing before getting an optimum balanced design, with the best possible power output," Carrasco Vergara told Cyclingnews. Women's cycling star Marianne Vos has long been a Q-Ring devotee and used them to win two gold medals in her track debut at the Track World Cup #2 in Beijing, China. Vos took decisive wins in both the Scratch race as well as the Points race (and also qualified for the Beijing Olympics), something the designers claim was helped by their rings. "A Q-Ring for road, MTB or track is always an over boost in accelerations and a help to maintain higher cadence than a round ring, getting more uniform power output. Look at Marianne Vos' results at Beijing World Cup; we are sure that we are doing a good job." Rotor plans to offer the new Q-Rings in 52T, 50T, 49T, 48T, and 47T configurations, all using the standard 144mm five-arm track crankset bolt circle diameter. The Track Q-Rings will be available beginning in January, 2008. /PV Pacific Cycle aligns with Champion System US-based Pacific Cycle, parent company of Schwinn, Mongoose and GT Bicycles, has recently announced a multi-tiered sponsorship and licensing agreement with Champion System, a manufacturer of customized performance apparel. Under the terms of the agreement, Champion System will become an official licensee for Schwinn, GT Bicycles and Mongoose cycling apparel as well as the exclusive technical apparel provider for the GT and Mongoose Pro Mountain and BMX teams (excluding BMX and mountain bike race pants). As part of this strategic alliance, GT Bicycles is also joining Champion System as a sponsor of the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling team. "Champion System will provide our retailers and pro athletes with the high-quality, fully customized technical apparel they need to be competitive" said Steve Reeds, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Pacific Cycle's independent bicycle dealer division. "Whether you're a shop looking to make jerseys for a club-level team or a company making a special jersey for a World Champion rider, Champion System is a great solution for custom apparel." "With its portfolio of strong brands, growing dealer base, and winning pro mountain bike and BMX race programs, we are excited to be aligning our company with Pacific Cycle," said Scott Kaylin, President of Champion System. "We look forward to being an integral part of expanding the Schwinn, Mongoose and GT Bicycle brands globally through our customized team apparel and licensed product." / PV Shimano acquires its Polish distributor Shimano Europe group recently announced that it will take over operations of its Polish distribution arm, R & P Pawlak, located in Poznan. For now at least, all existing staff and management structure has been retained. According to Shimano Europe, the consumption of bicycles and components in Poland has expanded due to the economic growth and increasing interest in cycling in that region. This has also contributed to the influx of many Asian manufacturing companies that now use Poland as a West European base. Shimano sees this as a strategic move as Poland has also been considered the gateway to Belarus and Russia, where it expects further growth in the future. /PV Photography For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by BH Bikes AG2r-La Mondiale will ride the BH Bikes' Global Concept G-4 in 2008 after the Spanish bike company's one year hiatus. Images by Giro Giro is the latest Discovery Channel refugee to join Johan Bruyneel's Astana ProTour squad. Images by GT Bicycles Jelly Belly riders will mount GT Bicycles' GTR Team for the 2008 and 2009 National Racing Calendar seasons. Images by Rotor Similar to the road ring you can change the elispses of the ring to suit your needs. The ring has been designed to ensure it maintains consisten chain tension, while still offering the ring's purported benefits. The Q-Ring has the thumbs up from Marianne Vos after the youngster claimed two wins in Beijing on the track while using it.