ohh crankbrothern where are thou II

The "droit de réponse" is sacred, thus here is, via the one and only James Huang of Cyclingnews, the Crankie's response. But to put my suffering in perspective, this is the bike I should have ridden this weekend, but cannot, because I don't trust the pedals and cleats.














"Hello Gildas,

Here’s the response to your blog posting (and letter) from Crank Brothers:

Wow, that is strong feedback. Thanks for forwarding it. He's clearly passionate about the products he uses, and I seriously hope we don't lose a great customer like him due to appearance of the product. We welcome this kind of feedback and take it to heart. Carl, cranbrothers' co-founder and Senior Mechanical Engineer reviewed the photos and Gildas' comments with me.

Those are not cracks in the cleats. Rather, they are "knit" lines in the forging, which is where the material flows together during the forging process. In one of Gildas' photos, the forging is very slightly incomplete (looks like a crack but is just where the material didn't completely meet), but even this cleat will never crack there. Furthermore, these "cracks" as he calls them, are in non-critical areas. Carl and I don't think our company has ever seen a cracked cleat, as the brass alloy is very tough, strong, and not notch-sensitive. We do not consider the cleats pictured to be a danger.

Gildas is mistaken to think that we've ever made any of our cleats out of an "al alloy" (aluminum alloy). They have always been brass. But to answer your question, he is correct that the earlier cleats were prettier. Actually, the prettier cleats were made by our first vendor, but the brass alloy was not as long wearing as the slightly rough-edged cleats that were made by a second vendor. The rough-edged cleats are actually better, but for sure, they aren't pretty, and it's something we should - in fact, we have - improved. Our first vendor currently makes pretty cleats out of the longer wearing brass, so I don't think we'll see the ugly any more.
The ragged edge on the cleat is from where the forging excess was cut (stamped) off. Yes, it's ugly, but it's not a functional problem. With some use, any part of it that contacts the pedal bars will polish over time.

Regarding Gildas' comment regarding the ugly weld on the pedal, we'd need to see a photo of it to evaluate his comment, but we take what he wrote seriously and we are hard at work improving our pedals as part of our ongoing development. The welding process has actually been improved since the egg beater c first came out on the market. I actually wonder if Gildas may have a different model of pedal, such as the investment cast egg beater sl, that he's mistakenly comparing against the new set of egg beater c...

It is true that we now include the smaller race cleat with all of our egg beater pedals. There is no difference in durability. It just lightens the overall system weight, which we have found to be very important to the eggbeater user. It is made of the same strong brass same as we use in our premium cleat which were formerly provided with the egg beater pedals, and still offer separately and include with candys, mallets, etc. The only difference is the shape and weight, and with the premium cleat, there is a washer for adjustability which is not available with the more minimalist race cleat.

--
James Huang
Technical Editor
Cyclingnews.com
BikeRadar.com

end"

Ohh Crankbrothern, where are thou?

Crankbrothers has long been one of my favorite brands... But it looked like they hired someone that went a bridge too far in cost cutting. Frankly, it's fucking dangerous.

The pedal has also got problems, dangerous problems, that will be the focus of a second post.



















Here you allready start to see the problem...





















Hair line crack on one cleat...





















You must be fucking kidding crack on the other one... Better checks yours...




















In ye old english, this kind of of finish is called "crap" or "shite"... The person who moulded this does not give a mangly donkey's turd about his work, or is so underpaid and/or underage to know what the fuck he is doing...





















This is the original... The manufacturer probably kissed every single cleat coming off the line.
This is just the begining, I'm going to X ray them to see inside - and someone is going to lose their job, somewhere .


Below is my letter of complaint to Crank brothers:

To:

info@crankbrothers.com

Dear Madam, Sir,

I have been riding Eggbeaters "C" for about four years, oldest pair, on my training bike is over 50 000km old. Only needing a refit after a head on with a motorbike - that destroyed the motorbike, my bike, my helmet and broke my leg. Only the pedals survived.

These pedals are used for training, going to work (50km daily commute now), cyclocross and Ironman triathlon. They are by far the best pedals I have ever used. And I've worked for a bike shop, so I've tested a lot of pedals. I’ve even got your pump!

I have been pushing members of my team and friends to use Crank Brothers. But after opening the box of my latest pair – you have lost a customer.

- Cleats: too small, NOT in premium brass as stated on box, but of an AL alloy of some sort. Badly moulded, and one is FUCKING CRACKED. Yes I’m entitled to this kind of language, because if a cleat breaks, or unclips, when I’m going 100km/h plus downhill – it could, and in this case probably would, FUCKING KILL ME.

- Pedals: Who welded this shit? Looks like the bloody intern… Or seeing they are now made in China ( Taiwan or Korea before, where workers are protected – memory fuzzy) by some primary school kid? The soldering is also not finished and in the wrong place. In fact, it looks like a bloody good breaking point on the wings, the kind of thing that could KILL ME. Don’t get me started on the finish that looks like powder coating and I prefer not opening the darn things.

- Box: nice.

How did you go from making a sub 100euro pedal that I could snap chains with, yet open by magic in a head on accident, to this inferior SHIT? This is madness? NO, it’s the sound of me returning the box for a refund, a complaint to French and English consumer services and nice pictures going on my blog and to every rider, blog and publication I know. I don’t want people risking their life for a bit of corporate greed. I will forward this to you, of course.

Yours, pissed off, ordering SPX from Shimano.

Gildas Dubois

Koppenberg Kross 2009 Macho Men

Thanks again to Rebecca, she made these pictures possible, and took some of them.
Encore merçi à Rebecca, qui à rendu ces images possibles, et en a pris une partie.




















Dramatic skies, a field, cobbles, rain, guys trying to make the biggest pile of beer glasses they can… Must be Koppenberg 2009.
Un ciel dramatique, un champ, la pluie, des mecs qui tente d’empiler le plus de verres de bière possible… Cela doit être Koppenberg 2009.















First grass climb, and grandma in red must be thinking « 34x16 ? ».
Première montée dans l’herbe, et la mamie en rouge dois penser « 34x16 ? »














The Belgian champion is really showing the colours.
Le champion belge montre de l’encre.















This one is for my girlfriend, she likes sporty butts.
Celle-ci est pour ma copine, elle aime les culs sportifs.




















Niels Albert got stuck in the starting lap, then was going FAST to catch up.
Niels Albert à été coincé lors du premier tour, puis a mis les gaz pour remonter.




















Koppenberg, and it’s flat fields.
Koppenberg, et ses champs plats.




















In the straightish descent, it seemed as if the riders were trying to play chicken with their brakes.
Dans la descente approximativement droite, il semble que certains jouaient à ne pas toucher leurs freins.




















Perfect weather, looks easy.
Temps parfait, cela à l’air facile.















In contrast to Niels Albert, with this chap, I have time to take a picture…
Contrairement à Niels Albert, celui-là, j’ai le temps de photographier…




















Do a few laps, and you will get this face too.
Fait quelques tours, et tu aura le même tronche.















Look, I will go there !
Regarde, je vais aller là!




















When you can race at this level, in a bumpy field, and look over your shoulder to check the big screen, you are good.
Si tu peux courir a ce niveau, dans un champs de bosses, et regarder par dessus ton epaulet à l’écran géant, tu es bon.















Last lap, and Françis Mourey tries to put the hurt on.
Dernier tour, et Françis Mourey tente de faire mal.




















The level of bike control makes it look real easy.
La qualité du pilotage donne une impression de facilité.





















For my girlfriend, she cannot lie.
Pour ma copine elle ne peux mentir, (en fait c’est un jeux de pot sur un vieux morceau de hip hop…).



















At this stage, outside the lead six, it looks like grim survival…
At ce moment, en dehors des six premiers, les autres lutte pour la survie.















He’s fighting on, but the public wants to know if it’s Albert or Nys.
Il s’acharne, mais tout le public tente de savoir si c’est Albert ou Nys.




















Must be lonely as a racer, sometimes…
Cela doit être la solitude d’être un coureur, parfois…















If "28 days later" was filmed in Flanders, it would look like this.
Si “28 Jours plus tard” avait été filmé en Flandres, cela ressemblerait à cela.















A people jam in a field, must be Koppenberg.
Un bouchon humain dans un champ, cela doit être le Koppenberg.

Koppenberg Kross 2009 Ladiesss

My GF was kind enough to go with me, on bike, 40km of bike, pre order tickets, run in the mud and make me a nice sandwich. The photos are from both of us.
Ma chère fut gentille au point de venir avec moi, en vélo, 40km de vélo, pré commander les billets, courir dans boue, et me faire un bon casse dalle. Les photos sont de nous deux.



















Czech Pavla Havlikova was rocketing up the cobbles like nobody’s business. She broke the back of the others here. And check out that frame, best key fob ever.
La tchèque avait une fusée aux fesses sur les paves. Elle a cassé les autres ici. Et regardez ce cadre, le meilleur porte clés de touts les temps.



















WTF must have been the main thought crossing Helen Wyman seeing the Czech pint gobble up the Koppenberg cobbles like the fans where gobbling the pints.
WTF (Oh Putain Merde en français) devait être la pensée unique de la britannique Helen Wyman en voyant la puce tchèque galoper sur a montée du Koppenberg et le reste je ne peux pas traduire.



















Eventual 3rd place finisher Sophie de Boer (don’t remember the Belgians she is Dutch) had a strong race. And yes, nice girls like mud.
3éme au final, Sophie de Boer (ne rappelez pas aux Belges qu’elle est Hollandaise) a fait une bonne course. Et oui, les jolies filles aiment la boue.



















You can be reigning world champ, have the best training, dream equipment, yet still flat before the cobbles on the first lap… And have the class to run up the Koppenberg, twice.
Vous pouvez être championne du monde en titre, avoir le meilleur entrainement, un matos de rêve, et quand même crever avant les pavés dans le premier tour… Et avoir la classe de monter le Koppenberg en courant, deux fois.



















Forgot what she did, but she is class and sexy. My girlfriend must have the same thoughts about some of the manly hunks in the next race.
J’ai oublié ce qu’elle à fait, mais elle est classe et sexy. Ma copine doit avoir les mêmes pensées à propos des beaux mecs de la course suivante.



















You can have a bad start and yet still have fun in the mud.
Tu peux foirer ton départ et quand même t’amuser dans la boue.

Insurance hell

I have restarted my insurance claim tortureathlon. It’s really not a nice place to be in.
I have lost all faith and belief in that industry. More later.

J’ai repris le torturathlon de ma demande après des assurances. Ce n’est vraiment pas un endroit sympa.
J’ai perdu toute croyance et espoir envers cette industrie. Plus, plus tard.

105 Brakes

More weight porn for those who need it... I want to make paint matte to match the fork...

Plus de porno du poids pour ceux qui aiment... Je cherche comment rendre la peinture mat pour aller avec la fourche.

What a difference a gram makes...

Weighted an Ultegra and a 105 exo bottom bracket... Massive différence...Hehehe.

J'ai pesé un boitier de pédalier Ultegra et 105 exo... Énorme différence...Hehehe.

Stradivarius review

My main problem with previous helmets was pressure on the forehead and heat build-up. Trying this lid was a revelation. This is my third Stradivarius; they just fit me so well I have sometimes ended in the shower with one on my head.

Mon principal ennui avec les casques précédent était la pression sur le front et la monté de température. Ceci est mon troisième Stradivarius; ils me vont tellement bien que je me suis retrouvé avec sous la douche...

Weight - Poids Old; 316gr. Old; 257gr

I put this first to get it out of the way. This is their main selling point – and a non issue. The old one was sufficiently light to be forgotten. This one is just lighter. Most of weight has been gained on plastic head restraint, not on the shell. The weight show in the pictures is with the pads removed to equal measure.

J’ai mis cela en premier car je m’en bats. Ceci est leur point de vente principal – et pas un problème. L’ancien casque était assez léger pour être oublié. Le nouveau est encore plus léger. La majorité à été gagné sur le système de rétention, pas sur la coque. Le poids dans la photo est avec les mousses retirées de manière équivalente.










Fit - Confort
Old good. New a bit better.

The pads seem to be better soldered on the sides. The Velcro pads holding the main front pad work this time. I had gotten so fed up of nursing on the old helmet without shifting it, that I removed the pad entirely.

Les mousses sont un peu mieux finies sur leurs bords. Les patchs de velcro qui les retiennent la mousse frontale fonctionnent cette fois. J’en avais tellement marre de devoir mettre le casque avec des pincettes pour éviter qu’elle bouge, que je l’avais complètement retiré.











The rubberized pads on the cervical hold are gone; probably to gain a few grams, bad idea, especially for the bald. Same goes for the retention system, the loss of rubber finger holds, means it can’t be adjusted with one hand anymore. Otherwise the buckle is the same, and the straps are soft.

Les points de contacts en gomme sur le support occipital sont partis; probablement pour gagner quelques grammes. Ceci est une mauvaise idée, surtout pour les chauves. De même avec le système de réglage, la perte des prises en gomme fait qu’il est maintenant difficile de l’ajuster avec une main. Sinon la boucle est identique et les sangles douces.

Overall, you can’t “feel” the fit like the old one, but it holds on just as good…

Au final, on ne” sent” pas la prise sur la tête comme l’ancien, mais il tient aussi bien…
Ventilation. Old very good. New even better.

Now, this depends a lot on your head shape. With my box shaped crazy idea box, the ventilation is bang on. I have ridden this is over 40c° without it being a problem. On the new version the rear main exit has been cleared and even the straps are ventilated. This may seem of overkill, but one of my main grumbling points of the old one was the air noise of the straps just in front of the ear; I can’t hear the new ones.

Ceci dépend en large mesure de la forme de votre tête. Avec ma boite à idées carrée, la ventilation est nickel. J’ai pu porter ce casque sous le cagnard à plus de 40° sans problèmes. Sur la nouvelle version la sortie centrale arrière à été entièrement dégagée et même les sangles sont ventilés. Ceci peut sembler être ridicule, mais je pestais parfois du bruit d’air des sangles juste devant les oreilles, plus maintenant.

Finish – Finition Old good. New better.

On the old one, some glue marks subsisted and other minor details needed looking to. The main problem was the “spikes” in the back of the outer shell coming unstuck, this has been taken care of with a bit of extra foam. The MET logo on the sides is now of reflective material. The paint / printing look great.

Sur l’ancien, quelques marques de colle subsistaient, ainsi que quelques détails mineurs qui avaient besoin d’ajustages. Le plus gros ennui était les « pointes » à l’arrière de la coque arrière qui se décollaient, ceci à été réglé avec un peu plus de mouse. Les logos MET sont maintenant de matériel réfléchissant. La peinture / impression est impeccable.

Pricing – Prix Old expensive. New bonkers.

Come on, this is the same helmet with a few tweaks… Explain to me how it could jump from 120 Euros to 210? For less material? Luckily no one sells it for list price. I got mine with a protective bag for 130 Euros. In a shop. Glee.

Sans déc, c’est le même casque avec quelques modifications… Il faut m’expliquer comment sont prix est passé de 120 à 210 euros? Pour moins de matériel ? Heureusement personne ne le vend au prix annoncé. J’ai eu le miens pour 130 euros avec un sac de protection. Dans un magasin. Gomtent !













All in all this is a very good piece of kit. Light, comfy, good looking, safe (smashed two already) but you have to cry like a little girl scorned in your local bike shop to get it at a reasonable price.

Au final, ceci est un très bon équipement. Léger, confortable, esthétique, sûr (qui m’à sauvé la mise deux fois) mais il va falloir pleurer comme une petite fille dans votre magasin pour l’avoir à un prix raisonnable.

Paris Roubaix 2009

The google earth/GPS file.

This was done with the information on the Paris Roubaix site and descriptions on the course. If you find any errors, I'll do my best to correct them.

Ce parcour à été réalisé avec l'information dispo sur le site de l'organisation. Si vous trouvez des erreurs, je ferai de mon mieux pour les corriger.

Quoting myself...

Désolé les français, mais c'est tellement zarbi ce que je raconte en anglais, que je n'arrive pas à traduire...


The rest of this fine argument is here.


"I am no fundamentalist, I will not look down on you if a helmet is not worn, but I will cringe to think what might happen should you fall. Wear not one if you feel immortal, but don't push others to satisfy your agenda. I quote not statistics, but my life still being lived. Does my living offend you? Does me voicing the actual proven fact that I am still intact is partially the guilt of that horror, the helmet, a crime? You are content to say, wear not one, tis' nothing but air, and your soul shall not be saved. But alas, if my soul was and could not be saved by the sanctity of foam, the skin on my cranium was. So I beg pity of you, the anti lid hobby, for me having expressed that flawed, evil thought. That mind under foam thrives."

"Those visible marks, not some foam priest,(...) Fomented the fundamentals of my fundamentalist foundations that a helmet could just save your life. Not in all cases, not always, but in many others. Sometimes, just by making you more visible."

" This is of course my personal opinion. Not the Bell Bible."

"I Have had bad road rash outside of races - mostly trying to impress girls "look, no hands BLANG Look no skin" at 2 mph, on coobles - I want Kevlar bibs and clothes. I don't think you can die of road rash if you have your tetanos up to date. But you won't be getting dates."

"Did I write about body armour - oh yes - the part about RPG resistant add on armor... Err no."

"Should we make surfboards, motorbike helmets, bike helmets and car crumple zones as hard as your beliefs to make them look good in your mind? To make them "worthy"? Can Slater be so wrong? That's probably why Pamela left him, pfff, foam man, should have used riveted steel and iron MAN board."

"I'd rather believe the crazy blond guys at Volvo that laid down the basics of deformable structures in the 60's, probably over a block of heroin, toped with LSD powdered with coke after a week of binge drinking just to satisfy the marketing department -probably never saved a life – than you. Sorry."

"My problem is the preaching that you don't like helmets, thus should not be worn. I believe that matches should never be hidden from children, because it builds character, but I understand that this opinion is mine. And even if I never burnt a house in my preteen years, others could be less lucky. I do not want to be morally guilty of a finely roasted family."

"And I will never force you to put anything on your head. Except maybe a fez."

Man... I was on fire today!

PS, I'll be reviewing two helmets... I must be evil.