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Tech update – February 12, 2003
Edited by Paul Mirtschin
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Schroeder Iron and Litespeed
Cyclingnews was at the Schroeder Iron Team Camp last weekend and got a chance to ride one of the Team Issue Litespeed Sirius bikes which combine titanium-enhanced carbon seat stays with a triple-butted aluminum frame. Look for a full report soon as well as interviews from US Pro Champ Chann McRae and sprinter Miguel Meza on why they chose to leave the continent behind and ride in the US for 2003.
Join the club
For mere mortals, Litespeed is about to launch the Litespeed Owners' Circle, complete with its own web site. This will include an owners' forum, product previews and rider image galleries. Litespeed's Herbert Krabel said "We hope to foster a sense of community" among Litespeed owners, who can pre-register at www.litespeed.com and they will be notified when the site is completed. Litespeed is also running a special promotion where owners can register to win a free aluminum frame and fork (US$1200 value).
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At the other end of the scale and for the toddler who has everything, Litespeed has re-issued the titanium tricycle. Originally released in 1997, Litespeed claims the wee trikes have become collector's items, with eager mums and dads willing to pay over US$1000 for an original.
Starting in March, however, the 2003 edition trike comes in at US$850. It's made from 3/2.5 and 6/4 titanium, with new compact geometry, CNC-engraved and anodized aluminum fork rolling on a Cane Creek C2 headset. Could your kid want more?
Schroeder Iron Team Camp photos
Images by Rob Karman/www.roadbikephotos.com
- The view most people get of Chann McRae
- Some of the Litespeeds the Schroeder Iron guys were riding
- More Litespeeds, but the parts aren't quite finalised yet
- Some of the guys out having a ride
- Chann McRae doing some last minute adjustments
- McRae leaning into the corner
Domina Vacanze shows off the new Specialized
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With the launch of the Domina Vacanze team in Egypt last week, the world got to see Mario Cipollini's new Specialized. As reported back on January 9, Cipo prefers standard geometry for his bike, rather than the compact gemoetry of the regular S-Works bike which other team memebers will ride. Combining the "zebra" look of the uniforms with the UCI World Cup colours, the frame's paintjob is quite stunning in a minimalistic way. And bound to be in front of a few podiums this year as well.
Images by Simone Toccafondi
- The Domina Vacanze team and Cipo's bike
- Cipo's frame; sans components
- And completely built up
Park Tool teams up with USPS
The "United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, which is presented by Berry Floor", to give the team its full official name, will be using tools and workstands from Park Tools for the 2003 and 2004 race seasons.
Of the deal, head mechanic Julien Devriese said, "Keeping the riders' bikes performing at a peak level takes skill and the best quality tools available." Park Tool president Eric Hawkins added, "We view this as an outstanding opportunity to receive product input and feedback from the world's best team and mechanics. We have tremendous respect for the USPS Pro Cycling Team and their mechanics and look forward to working with them."
And the Park Tool blue matches the Posties blue uniforms as well.
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XTRemely expensive
When Shimano released the 2003 XTR group to the media last year, the RRP was predicted to be "about 15 percent more than the 2002 prices". Now that the group is starting to find its way to bike shops, the prices have blown out a bit more than that.
For example, last year's group retailed in Australia in the AU$2800-$2900 area, but the 2003 group is set to retail at AU$3995; a jump of around 30%.
A number of US retailers have the 2003 XTR group listed at between US$1700 and US$1800, while the 2002 group was priced anywhere from US$1000 to US$1400 with the 2003 V-Brake group for a shade under US$1500.
While the jump doesn't seem so big with the V-Brake group, the disc group is still one of the most expensive retail group on the market, and certainly the most expensive mountainbike group.
And Shimano hasn't even started playing with lots of carbon fibre yet. I don't want to know how much a carbon fibre group would retail for.
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