Tech: Transition Giddy Up Link

The first question we get regarding the new 4-bar linkage from Transition is that 'it wont ride like a Transition.' Actually the ride is very much like the Transition you know and love, however with the Giddy Up link improvements have been made by making the suspension more active, especially under braking and all without sacrificing the Transition 'feel'.

This is what Transition say....

"When we set out to design the new family of trail bikes, we wanted to improve our suspension bike pedalling performance, but we didn't want to lose the neutral and comfortable feel that Transition Bikes are known for. No one at Transition wanted a suspension system that felt like it was locking out, or provided any “kick back” in the pedals.

Our Giddy Up link is specifically tuned with a moderate amount of chain growth which is highest at the sag point and decreasing deeper into the travel. Because of this finely tuned wheel path, the new models have a notable increase in traction when climbing, without the rider noticing the chain growth fighting the suspension

movement.

The ride feel of our Giddy Up Link bikes will be familiar for any previous Transition rider, but with a big improvement in suspension performance. Our new models are designed to be active while climbing; increased compression damping or rear shock platforms are not required with the Giddy Up link. The suspension remains free to smooth out the trail, improve traction and control without sacrificing any efficiency. There is no need to think about flipping switches; start your ride with the shock open and leave it there.

With Giddy Up you can focus on the trail, not your remote's, levers or knobs. Just grab your bike, Giddy Up and go."

Headset bearings

We get loads of phone calls regarding headset bearings for other peoples headsets... Here is a chart of all the bearings we supply, ID, OD, height and inside and outside angles.

Tech: ThreadFit82.5 a new BB standard? Not quite...

On Wednesday 5th March Colnago has released their brand new C60 superbike. Blistering with technology the C60 improves on the C59 in every area, however the all new ThreadFit82.5 bottom bracket rang my 'standards' alarm bell, that was until I read what it actually was...

What's really interesting is that Colnago have critically looked at the BB shell and come up with the following points.

1/ BSA threaded shells are good, brilliantly reliable and self aligning. The only negative being the limited available width for large tubes.

2/ Press fit B/B's have great width allowing the use of larger tubes but can be unreliable due to frame tolerances and frame deformation.

Colnago's solution for gaining frame width but keeping it reliable is actually quite simple...

1/ Colnago's Threadfit82.5 uses threaded press-fit adaptors that thread directly in to the frame, aligning the BB seats correctly and are easily removable and replaceable if damaged.

2/ The adaptors themselves take the (Shimano) standard BB86 bottom bracket enabling the installation of any crank set.

3/ Using an adaptor gives you a precision machined surface for the BB to fit to, opposed to carbon surface that can be irregular due to the manufacturing process.

4/ The increased diameter of the BB shell has allowed the Colnago engineers the freedom to increase the down tube size increasing stiffness and performance of the bike.

So in summery the C60 doesn't have yet another new B/B standard, it uses standard BB86 units with he addition of replaceable press-fit inserts meaning if you damage them you are not throwing a frame away...

My 'standards' alarm is well and truly silenced, clever stuff...

The C60 bottom bracket

Headsets and associated standards

If you though bottom brackets were complicated, then you will love headsets!

Rather than use a third party naming system, I believe the simplest way to identify what headset you need it just to use the actual measurements. And the route to finding the correct headset can be reduced to a few simple questions.

1/ Is the bearing part of the headset internal or external to the head tube?

2/ Do you have to press cups in to the frame or do the bearings fit directly in to the headtube?

3/ Is the headtube straight or tapered?

4/ Is the fork steerer tube straight or tapered?

That’s basically it, you have narrowed down the type you need and if it doesn't give you the answer check the ID of the headtube and compare it to the poster. Sometimes there will be a new strange headset when a cycle manufacture decided to invent yet another new standard as the ones we already have are obviously not good enough...

Headtube standards measurements 

Conventional head tube: Straight traditional headtube with external bearings. 
ID = 30mm for 1” steerer tube
ID = 34mm for 1”1/8 steerer tube
ID = 49.57mm for 1.5” steerer tube

Conventional headset

Internal head tube: Often called Zero Stack or Semi-integrated, this head tube takes press in cups for 1”1/8 steerer tubes or external lower cup for 1”1/8-1.5” tapered steerer tube.
ID = 41.4mm, economy type for OEM manufacturers.
ID = 44mm, the most common MTB type. 

Internal, zero stack style

Differential head tubes: Tapered head tubes for press in cups (internal or external), mostly used on MTB’s.
ID = 44mm upper, 49.57mm lower
ID = 44mm upper, 55mm lower
ID = 44mm upper, 55.96mm lower

Internal for tapered head tube

Intellasett head tubes:  Press in cups with external cups the same diameter as the headtube for the integrated look.
ID = 34mm

Intellaset

Integrated head tubes: Direct bearing fit in to the frame, the two most popular types being Cane Creek (36 x 45) and Campagnolo (45 x 45).
ID = 41mm, 1”1/8 with 45 degree bearing seat (CC 36x45). *Upper seat can be 2.7mm or 3.2mm deep
ID = 41.7mm, 1”1/8 with 36 degree bearing seat (TH 36x36)
ID = 42mm, 1”1/8 with 45 degree bearing seat(Campy 45x45)
ID = 47mm, with 45 degree bearing seat 1”1/4 straight

Integrated headset

Differential Integrated head tubes: Direct bearing fit in to the frame for tapered head tubes.
ID = 42mm upper with 45 degree bearing seat, 52.10mm lower with 45 degree bearing seat. For 1”1/8-1.5” tapered steerer tube.
ID = 41.2mm upper with 45 degree bearing seat, 49.1mm lower with 45 degree bearing seat. For 1”1/8-1”3/8 tapered steerer tube
ID = 42mm upper with 45 degree bearing seat, 47mm lower with 45 degree bearing seat. For 1”1/8-1”1/4 tapered steerer tube
ID = 42mm upper x 6.5mm deep with 45 degree bearing seat, 47.1mm lower x 6.5mm deep with 45 degree bearing seat for 1"1/8 - 1" 1/4 steerer. NEW Overdrive system.

Integrated headset for tapered head tube

all you need to know!

1"1/8 to 1"3/8 tapered headtube

Bottom Bracket "standards"

Over the past few years there have been numerous attempts to replace the threaded BSA bottom bracket shell, here are the current standards on the market for road and MTB bikes.

BSA: this is the ENGLISH threaded standard bottom bracket. 68mm or 73mm wide, with variants of 83mm and 100mm. Less common now is the ITALIAN threaded standard that is 70mm wide and has right threaded cups on BOTH sides.

BSA threaded, external bearing type

BB30: Initially designed as an open standard utilizing direct fit bearings and an over size alloy 30mm axle, 68mm shell and 41.96mm ID. BB30 has a lot of issues, the main being the tolerance of the frame's b/b and the fact that the bearing gouges the shell, meaning when you replace the bearing the fit is never as good.

BB30's direct fit bearing is very simple

PF30: is a direct evolution of BB30 and uses the same oversize axle and shell width (68mm), but the shell ID changes to 46mm. This shell size increase is to accommodate a complete press-in unit.

PF30 cartridge

BBright: introduced by Cervelo is similar to BB30 but has a wider (79mm) asymmetrical BB shell, but retains the shell ID of 41.96mm (of BB30). Instead of having a BB shell that is symmetrical 68mm wide, the non-drive bearing is moved outward from the centre plane of the bike by 11mm. BBright requires a specific crank set with an 11mm longer axle. The bottom bracket is a standard BB30 item.

BBright is also offered in a PF30 variant using the the same asymmetrical 79mm shell but with the PF30 ID of 46mm.

BB86: is a press fit ROAD standard developed by Shimano. The BB shell is 86.5mm wide with an ID of 41mm. This standard is compatible with 24mm or 19mm axle chainsets.

BB86/ 92 cartridge unit

BB92: is a press fit MTB standard developed by Shimano. The BB shell is 92mm wide with an ID of 41mm. This standard is compatible with 24mm or 19mm axle chainsets.

BB90: is a direct bearing press fit system used by Trek bicycles, easily identified by the 90.5mm BB Shell width. This standard is compatible with 24mm axle chainsets.

All press fit designs can suffer premature bottom bracket ware if the shell is not correctly reamed. If the shell is slightly out of round it can deform the BB creating fast bearing ware. If a fame has an ovalized BB shell and it is not correctly reamed bearing failure will be frequent.

BB standards made simple...

Marzocchi 888 and 55 forks and 650b

Over the last few months Marzocchi have been checking the compatibility of the 650b wheel and the 55 and 888 series forks, here are their findings.


We wish to give you some additional information about the compatibility of Marzocchi MY13 fork series with 650B wheels.

888 Series: all 888 are compatible with 650b wheels up to the max. tire dimension shown in the following drawing (717mm tall x 60mm wide). Individual tires must be measured with fork fully compressed and have a minimum of 4mm “tire to crown” clearance.

55 Series: even though some 650b wheels actually can be assembled with 55 forks, we believe the clearance between the inflated tire and the lower part of the crown is not enough to let the tire turn freely. 

After the installation, individual tires must be measured with fork fully compressed and have a minimum of 4mm “tire to crown” clearance.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MARZOCCHI DO NOT AUTHORIZE ANY MODIFICATION OR ALTERATION TO THE 55 BRAKE ARCH AND/OR ANY OTHER STRUCTURAL PART.

The product warranty will be automatically void if the fork is altered and Marzocchi shall not be responsible for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages associated with the use of the Marzocchi suspension system.

Please see user manual for any further instruction.

Marzocchi’s Open bath – the key to performance and long service intervals!

Marzocchi have always been advocates of the open bath system as it has many advantages over a closed damper, in fact I would go as far to say that the only negative this design has is ultimately its biggest positive!

Benefits: Since suspension forks need to rapidly telescope, moving up and down thousands of times a ride, bushings should be coated in a bath of oil allowing friction free movement. The only deign that truly accomplishes stiction-less performance is Marzocchi’s proven "Open Bath" technology. Since oil completely bathes the internal bushings, seals and cartridges all the moving parts glide smoothly; this eliminates friction that causes forks to feel harsh and unresponsive. Because of the larger oil volume it takes longer for the oil to get dirty, which in turn reduces seal and bushing wear. The higher oil volume keeps temperatures under control. Closed cartridges (or rear shocks for example) work very hard in confined spaces, friction causes heat, heat causes damping fade, so a higher volume of oil will give a more consistent level of performance over extended runs.

Lastly the performance remains at a consistently higher level for longer. With low oil/ closed systems the performance drop can be huge if the fork isn’t correctly maintained. This can also contribute to worn stanchions as the fork dries out.
To hold all this oil in the fork you need a good seal, fortunately Marzocchi  is a motorcycle suspension company with over 60 years of experience and they use the highest quality seals from Japanese manufacture NOK. NOK are OE suppliers to all the big motorcycle manufacturers and are considered the best. http://www.nok.com.sg/nok.aspx

Negatives: the only down side for using increased oil volume is weight, BUT... With the advent of optimised stations, titanium springs and Ti bolts featured in Marzocchi’s latest fork line the weight difference can be as marginal as a packet of biscuits...

You can also successfully argue that the marginal weight saving gained by using a closed damper is also a negative. By using less oil (as low as 5cc) the fork becomes very service sensitive. Service intervals become every 10hrs, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year...  Also consider the service costs; how many services do you need to make to preserve your warranty? If to save 100g you have to spend £100 per service per year, it’s starting to look like not such a great deal...?
With an open bath system the fork is always under constant lubrication, there are no funny service routines and no hidden service charges and to top it off you also get a THREE year warranty as well and you do not have to get your fork serviced to keep the warranty valid...  All of this is only possible with the Open Bath Damper...
Introducing the Marzocchi 55 RC 3 TI 2010 from chris smith on Vimeo.

Marzocchi tech - Making adjustments Micro TST Adjuster

A Little more Marzocchi tech, this time I want to talk about how the Micro adjuster works on the TST Micro cartridge.

The Micro Cartridge is Marzocchi’s top-of-range closed cartridge used on XC/ trail forks. The cartridge has evolved over the years of its production and is now made completely of alloy parts and is fully user serviceable.

The cartridge is adjustable for rebound and lock out, the lock-out has the addition of a threshold adjuster (the gold knob in the centre of the lock out switch) so that you can dial in the amount of lock out you wish to ride with.

For example if you like a pure 100% compression lock all you need to do is turn the Micro adjuster to maximum, then when you activate the lock out lever the fork will go from fully active (open) to full lock (lever closed).

If you would prefer to have a semi active fork in certain situations rather than a fully rigid fork you can set the micro adjuster at a half way setting, then when you activate the lock out lever the fork will go from fully active (open) to semi active (lever closed).

*graph image shown for visualization purposes only

Adjusting the Hi-Lo compression adjuster on the RC3 damper

A little tech today; one of the most frequently asked questions I receive is for set up help with the compression adjuster on the RC3 damper.

The first thing to understand is the compression adjuster will affect both high and low speed damping, simply put if you set the adjuster all the way to “+” it will give you maximum low speed damping, set the adjuster all the way to “-“ will give you maximum high speed damping.

Both high and low speed damping curves cross in the middle so the adjusters neutral position is in the middle (count the clicks/ turns). Adjusting out from the middle with give you a varying combination of both high and low speed damping, so in theory you have all the combinations of damping you would normally have in two separate adjusters, but in one easy-to-use adjuster.

About Compression DampingCompression damping is the oil flow resistance felt when compressing the fork. Compression damping is categorized in two ways: low speed compression and high-speed compression. Low speed compression refers to when the fork is compressed slowly and gradually, for example during rolling impacts and rounded bumps. High-speed compression refers to the resistance felt during multiple, hard impacts and square-edged bumps.

Too much compression damping creates a harsh ride because the suspension cannot compress rapidly enough to absorb large impacts. Compression damping is not a substitute for proper spring rate and should not be adjusted until the fork has the proper spring set-up for the rider.

Low speed damping is typically used to dial out excessive fork dive or rider induced movement. High speed is typically used to make the forks action more progressive and resist bottoming out.

*graph image shown for visualization purposes only