Tech News – July 30, 2005 Edited by John Stevenson Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk. Specialized lightens up for 2006 Specialized's new S-Works Tarmac SL Photo ©: James Huang Specialized gathered the world's cycling press to its corporate bosom last week for a look at its vast range of new gear for 2006. James Huang was there for Cyclingnews and in the first of a series of reports, he presents a quick look at some of the tasty new high-end bikes Specialized will be offering next year. Georg Totschnig's (Gerolsteiner) win on Stage 14 of this year's Tour was a tremendous victory for Georg himself and his entire Gerolsteiner team. Back here in the states, though, it also provided enormous validation for the folks at Specialized as it was the first win recorded in a grand tour on their just-released 2006 S-Works Tarmac SL. Tarmac SL vs water. Photo ©: James Huang This new Tarmac tips the scales at an extremely impressive 895g for the frame plus 300g for the all-new full carbon fiber fork. Specialized was able to achieve this substantial weight reduction over the previous iteration using its new Az1 ("as one") carbon construction technique. Not only is the new Tarmac lighter than before, it also manages to maintain or surpass previous benchmarks in vertical compliance, torsional and lateral rigidity, as well as drivetrain efficiency, according toSpecialized. All in all, it's not bad for a hunk of carbon fibers and glue that weighs less than two full water bottles. Epic goes carbon. Photo ©: James Huang Specialized's new Az1 construction techniques were also employed in its off-road line with the introduction of the new S-Works Carbon Epic, S-Works Carbon Stumpjumper FSR, and the S-Works Carbon HT. All three chassis are completely new from head-to-toe. Rear wheel travel on the Epic and Stumpjumper FSR has been bumped up 10mm (bringing the total to 100mm and 130mm, respectively) and both frames use Az1 carbon fiber front triangles mated to asymmetric M5 alloy rear assemblies. S-Works FSR carbon. Photo ©: James Huang The new S-Works Carbon HT uses full carbon construction with bonded aluminum hard points. The new frame materials and rear suspension assemblies result in dramatic weight savings across the board but also tremendous increases in torsional and lateral rigidity, drivetrain efficiency, and vertical compliance as compared to their aluminum forebears. In a nutshell, think lighter, faster, more efficient, and more comfortable. The new S-Works Carbon Epic frame weighs in at 2300g; the S-Works Carbon Stumpjumper FSR comes in at 2450g; and the S-Works Carbon HT is a road bike-like 1100g (all weights for medium size frames with paint and shocks where applicable). Note that nowhere in these descriptions was the word "cheap" used. If you couldn't afford to buy the aluminum versions of these top-end S-Works bikes, you may as well throw up your hands and call it a day. Just for reference, the new Tarmac SL frameset will command a 40% price premium over the standard S-Works Tarmac. How fast did you say you needed to go again? More info: www.specialized.com Campagnolo - new wheels and cranks for 2006 Centaur compact crank Photo ©: Campagnolo Another company that's beginning to reveal its 2006 wares is Campagnolo, which has recently unveiled two major parts of its range for next year: completely revamped Eurus wheels and compact cranks in aluminium. We suspect the latter will be popular, as we've had quite a few emails from readers who like the idea of compact cranks, but don't want to go to the expense of carbon. To those people our answer was formerly "find an old school 110/74mm mountain bike crank and change the rings," but now it can be "Campagnolo makes compact chainsets in its Centaur, Veloce and Mirage ranges." [Reader Andrew Demack has since pointed out that Stronglight, FSA and Ritchey all make aluminium compact cranks, which embarrassingly shows how much attention we were paying.] Campagnolo has modified the chainrings on this latest generation of compact cranks, increasing the number of shift pins from for six to eight for 19 percent faster shifting, Campagnolo says. The new cranksets will be available with 34/50, 36/50, and 34/48 chainrings in the Centaur model and with 34/50 and 34/48 chainrings for the Veloce™ and Mirage™ models. Campagnolo Eurus front wheel Photo ©: Campagnolo Campagnolo Eurus rear wheel Photo ©: Campagnolo On the hoop front, the new incarnation of the Eurus wheels bears a strong family resemblance to the Racing 1 from Campagnolo's wheel subsidiary Fulcrum, but with some Campagnolo-only features such as G3 rear wheel spoking. The new wheels are claimed to weigh just 1510g/pair, and are the first Campagnolo wheels to feature different rims front and rear. Up front the Eurus has a 26mm rim, while a 30mm section is used in back. This strengthens and stiffens the rear wheel while keeping front wheel weight down. Campagnolo Record C10 Ultra Narrow chain. Photo ©: Campagnolo Campagnolo has also introduced a new version of its Record chain, the Record C10 Ultra Narrow. The new chain is just 5.9mm wide, making it both lighter and quieter, according to Campagnolo, and also making rear derailleur adjustment easier. Like the previous record chain, the new model has hollow pins; Campagnolo says it weighs just 255g and that lab tests demonstrate it to be the equal of the previous Record chain in traction force, pin retention force, wear, resistance to stretch, torsion and flection. More info: www.campagnolo.com