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Pro bikes, January 24, 2006
Pro Bikes: Barb Howe's Rock Lobster
Bikes of 'Cross Nationals, part 3B52 BomberBy Steve Medcroft
In this third and final installment of our look at the independent builders of U.S. Cyclo-cross Nationals, we take a look at Barbara Howe's Velo Bella team-issue Rock Lobster. The women of the Velo Bella racing team stand out in any race they attend. Not only because they hammer on the bike but because they have a penchant for sparkly pink hair and lipstick while racing. When framebuilder Paul Sadoff was challenged with the opportunity to provide bikes to the flashy and femme Velo Bella elite 'cross racer Barbara Howe, he answered with a stocky, purple racing steed. Who is Rock Lobster Sadoff says Rock Lobster's history is rooted in two truths present in his life in 1978. "I was an obsessed bicycle mechanic, curious about how frames were built," he says. "And I was too broke to buy the shiny blue Bob Jackson Messina 56cm road frame I wanted." Sadoff worked at a bike shop owned by the father of framebuilder Dean Covey. "Dean had a bunch of tubing to sell and was willing to give advice to anyone on the crew who wanted to learn." Sadoff built his first frame under Covery's tutelage and followed it up with nine more. In 1988, after a decade as a hobbyist focusing on racing frames, Sadoff went full time. Producing mostly mountain-bikes at first, Sadoff, a musician who had given up membership in a gig band to pursue framebuilding, named his company after the B-52's new wave anthem, Rock Lobster. Today, Sadoff, along with an assistant, builds about 100 steel, aluminum, Scandium and carbon frames a year. About a third of them go to racers and are given at no or little cost to the rider. "I learn things from racers I couldn't learn from my own riding," Sadoff says. "Class riders like Barb are great for my product research and reputation. If she likes the bikes, it's naturally a good thing. If she doesn't it is still good as will get valuable humbling and feedback. You have to keep improving in this business." Rock Lobster builds three cyclo-cross models (Team Tig U.L., Aluminum and 'Cross Euro) but says the frame he built for Howe isn't a named product. "Barb's model [which Howe calls Rock Lobster Easton Ultralite Al] isn't on the Web site yet although I build many of them now. It is a combination of Easton Scandium and Ultralite tubes." Designing the build for Barb was relatively easy, Sadoff says. "She made it easy. She brought her old bike in and told me what she liked and what she didn't like about it. She needed a shorter top tube and less front wheel overlap." Barb Howe's cyclo-cross bike Howe remembers the meeting. "I had another bike and I knew what I wanted to be the same and what I needed to be different," she said. "The other bike had a sloping top tube, for example. I was always smacking my elbows [while carrying the bike on her shoulders during 'cross] so I wanted more space in the triangle. We also didn't need bottle cage braze-ons. " 'Cross races are too short and intense to be concerned with hydration. "Paul builds a really good bike," she adds. "He specializes in 'cross and his bikes are hugely popular back home. If you ride cyclo-cross in the Santa Cruz area, you'll see more people than not riding a Rock Lobster." After Sadoff built Howe's bike, the Velo Bella elite 'crosser finished it up with a mix of sponsored parts and components robbed from her summer-season road bikes. "The brakes were sponsored by SRP. All the Easton stuff is sponsored – stem, seatpost, bars and fork. The saddle is sponsored by Fizik. The pedals are sponsored by Crankbrothers; the chain from Wipperman. Chris King gives us their sweet pink headset." Howe says two of her favorite sponsored pieces are her Zipp 303 Pave wheels. "The special cross version of the 303 Paves have a higher-flange hub, a higher spoke count, and more carbon fiber under the rim so they can withstand higher impacts," she says. Howe runs Dugas 32cm tubular tires and says she doesn't know how 'cross racers get by with clinchers. "I ran mine at 24 pounds at nationals," she says. "You have to run the clinchers so much higher; I know I would end up pinch flatting. And when a clincher flats, the bead sometimes rolls off the rim and kills your momentum. With a tubular, if there's enough glue, you can usually ride a little ways on a flat." As for the drivetrain, Howe ponied up the cost of a Dura-Ace group herself ("I bought the shifters and the derailleurs and cranks came off an old road bike") and protects it from the most simple of mechanical errors with the ingenious Third-Eye Chainwatcher. "I have one on almost every bike I own," she says. "Road bike too. Your bike can be set up perfectly but you can shift and hit a bump and there goes your chain. It costs ten dollars and weighs almost nothing so the way I see I'd be dumb not to put them on my bikes." PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Keli Medcroft/www.keliskolor.com
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Full specificationFrame: Rock Lobster Easton Ultralite Al Crank: Dura Ace 10spd |
Wheels: Zipp 303 Pave Bar: Easton EC90 Stem: Easton EA70
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