With the high price it's going to be hard to justify this stem from a value perspective, but the performance is certainly without question second to none. It's made from high compression moulded uni-directional carbon fibre, with a forged aluminium (and very highly polished) front plate. From a review: The Race XX Lite OS is the latest carbon stem from Bontrager, and it their first road-only offering. I bought it with a matching stem: Bontrager Race XXX Lite OS Carbon Road Stem. I'm using the 44cm bars as I've got pretty wide shoulders. Only 228 grams (42cm) and much stronger and more fatigue resistant than light weight aluminum bars. No Rider weight restrictions (Like all Bontrager products) Double cable groove works with Shimano,SRAM and Campy VR stands for Variable Radius, and refers to the Lance designed bend that is ergonomic AND was optimally designed for modern shift /brake levers. Blade refers to the flat and wide top section that distributes hand pressure better and allows for more hand positions. Its high-compression molded-carbon construction is feathery light, damps road vibrations to fight fatigue and has the most natural shape you have felt in a handlebar.
My old bar and stem were also wiped in the crash so the new ones are untested but here's what Trek says about:Bontrager's Race X Lite Blade, VR Road Handlebar is light, strong, comfortable, and a great upgrade for your road machine. Anyway, the Colnago fork does go nicely with the C40 frame so I just have to see how it rides. It was tough to find as by bike has a 1" steerer tube with most bikes using 1 1/8" now.
I've been riding my time trial bike so I still don't know how this fork will affect my ride. My front fork is new (old Look fork destroyed in crash) and is an original Colnago carbon street fork with an alloy steerer tube. King makes a great headset - enough said. In fact one of my buddies with years of bicycle mechanic experience said the my bike would crumble eventually around the headset. I use a Chris King headset which is just about bullet proof. Weight, easy to enter and exit and easy to service. The Keo's are light and strong but there was an issue about a recall notice see past post. I've used Looks since they were the first to come out with clipless pedals. I have the carbon body with the chromoly spindle. He didn't need it and sold it to me for a song - it took a little time to settle in but now runs great. My old rear derailleur was getting worn out and a friend had a Campy Record RD with less than 500 miles on it. The cranks are nice and stiff and I like the beefier bearings you get with the ultra torque. I did the installation myself and it was much easier than dealing with traditional bottom brackets.
I have the Campy Chorus 10 set with some modifications I dropped the stock crank and installed an ultra torque chorus 10 crank. Happy goes to sleep if I'm careless in my positioning. The lightest, strongest, best made, safest, easiest to adjust seatpost BAR NONE!!!!Ĭool looking, light weight, a lot of real estate. Odd size seatpost (28.0mm) means you need an expensive colnago post (or a Thomson), unless you buy an adapter shim (28.0 to 27.2) allowing you to run whatever post you want. Would prefer 1&1/8 inch fork- but not a big deal. Get a used one for less than most new junk costs
Stiff enough for Tour strongmen to sprint onĪlmost everyone else ISN'T riding one (darn elitist mentality) I have done 100 miles or more on the bike without problems. It is stiff enough to sprint well and is a great descender. This is a great bike particularly for racing. Handling is great with the Colnago sweeping into turns w/o much thought on my part the Colnago just seems to sort out the turns why I just watch my line. The 2001 frame is beautiful and gets a lot of attention wherever I ride. I'm on my spring break so I've got some time. With my training time curtailed by injuries and the fact that a business trip will knock out my next race (San Diego Omnium) I thought I would do a post on my racing bike.