i am curious, any reason the felt da riders aren’t using felt’s devox brand of aerobars, but instead are using 3t?
then with the da rear brake, will a shimano 7900 series brake fit down there by the BB? if yes, why are 7800 series brakes (with the barrel adjuster removed) being used?
These questions are above my pay grade.
no problem. maybe someone who knows (dave?) can offer some thoughts …
Dave would be our go-to man here. Hopefully he is enjoying a much deserved day off today, but I wager he is actually putting in an 18 hour day at the Amgen Tour of California. Hopefully we’ll hear from him later.
I know the answer for the handlebars: 3T is the team sponsor. 3T gives the team product and pays them to use it. Last year Garmin used Oval bars and stems this year they made a deal with 3T. As far as the brake goes, your guess is as good as mine, but I know the amount of cable pull for the new 7900 brakes are different than the 7800. I don’t know, but that may be a factor.
The 7800 fits well with Dura ace cranksets Q factor, the new 7900 is actually wider and would hit the crank arm during revolution. I have had problems making a brake fit my set up using a zipp vuma quad crankset. I used an oval a700 brake but this is still not ideal. I am in the process of changin it to Zero gravity brakes. the new devox areo bars are limited in hieght adjustment as apposed to the old Zipp vuka bar which came as standard in 2008. Maybe this is a reason? or maybe due to sponsorship?
about your felt rear brake frame and crank clearance problem, before you spring for zero g brakes, i think you should consider taking a look at feather brakes: super low profile, extremely light, and very powerful.
Thanks Greg I will have a look into those… thanks!!!
FYI, I would NOT recommend the ZeroG’s on the rear. I ride a 2008 Felt B2 Pro and am in the process of getting rid of the ZeroG’s I originally put on because the rear brake has been a nightmare from an adjustment standpoint. To me, it seems that the Zeros can be a bit “testy” for lack of a better term, which is not necessarily a good thing when the rear brake is tucked in as tight as it is on the Felt.
The clearance from the crank is not the problem, it is that I am continually having to adjust the brake to keep it from rubbing the wheel. And it is worse with my wider Zipps than my training wheels. The margin of error is so small that it gets “off center” very, very easily. I’ve had to resort at times to riding with the release open, which is less than ideal and still doesn’t always work.
I’m in the process of trying to figure out what I want to switch to. It seems that the 7800’s may be an option.
Yeah thanks for your guidance!! the 7800 wont fit mine due to the narrow q factor of the zipp vuma quad crank. the oval bake works fine but if you look at the picture its cabled in below the crankarm instead of above it as the protective patch shows. However it still works and i have added some spacers between the brake arms and pads for added tightness.
Would those count as uncapped bar ends?
Yeah, I noticed that, too on my B12. The occasional rubbing was apparently due to frame flex, according to my mech. We solved that problem by adjusting the brakes wider.
i am curious, any reason the felt da riders aren’t using felt’s devox brand of aerobars, but instead are using 3t?
then with the da rear brake, will a shimano 7900 series brake fit down there by the BB? if yes, why are 7800 series brakes (with the barrel adjuster removed) being used?
Perhaps you’ve been astute enough to notice some of the guys using the Devox bars at the Olympics, World Championships, and US National Championships in both the TT and the Team Pursuit. We’ve used the team whenever possible to dial in the position and adjustment range on the new DEVOX Bayonet Handlebars. Some of the riders run a very narrow hand position, with their fingers overlapping on the shifters and forearms touching at the elbow. Some of the UK guys on the team run a very wide position as well as a couple of the track riders. Getting input from such a high caliber team with such a wide range of fit needs has helped perfect the extension adjustment and arm rest adjustment on the production handlebars. Because this DA still uses a conventional handlebar clamp and base bar arrangement, the team is obligated to use their sponsors equipment. In this case 3T is the component sponsor for bar/stem/post and the team has been using the new 31.8mm stems with the Breeza bar and 3T extensions. It is the same reason that the riders aren’t using the Felt Devox carbon saddle: Fizik is the saddle sponsor. Felt provides the frame and fork (and aero seatpost if applicable) under contractual obligation, if there are other vacancies for the team, we’ll frequently jump in and get the brand exposure there too, but Slipstream organizaton has not had any trouble attracting sponsors to outfit each element of the bike itself.
As for the rear brake, the new 7900 brake’s oversize barrel adjuster does not have enough clearance on the non-drive side for the crankarm, so they still use the 7800 caliper.
I did spend the day in Solvang and took hundreds of pictures of each riders’ set up and position. We’re going back to SDLSWT to test some new prototypes on Monday with a few of the guys and will be experimenting with some future innovations. I’l try to post some pictures of Friday’s and Monday’s time with the team if there is nothing too sensitive.
-SD
Just to play…seems to me that Felt has found the solution to the problem no one had. Now that the brake is where it is, nightmares ensue. What again was the problem with the caliper being on the seat stays? Some wind tunnel got pissy or something? I have huge respect for Felt as they have never tried to pretend anything, nor out market the consumers. But, this whole brake thing is just silly.
Just to play…seems to me that Felt has found the solution to the problem no one had. Now that the brake is where it is, nightmares ensue. What again was the problem with the caliper being on the seat stays? Some wind tunnel got pissy or something? I have huge respect for Felt as they have never tried to pretend anything, nor out market the consumers. But, this whole brake thing is just silly.
Once the correct brake is installed it operates problem free. The use of Shimano Dura Ace brake and Shimano Dura Ace cranks is hardly a stretch for most consumers.
Yes, the brake locations’ 25-30 gram drag reduction is worth it, on a TT bike, every advantage is pursued, and in the case of Felt’s TT bikes, the location is a minor nuisance during assembly, but that occurs just once typically, where the benefit of the brake’s location on your speed occurs on every moment you are moving on every ride.
Same with the cable routing on the DA. It certianly is the best internal cable routing around, and it is more difficult to do it this way than run the cables in the traditional manner outside the frame, but the time savings are too much to neglect this detail, so we invented the industries only “indoor plumbing” for all the housing.
-SD
Dave I second that!!!
I do agree that it is nice that the consumer can install the caliper they want, not some custom OE thing (ususally from TekTro or LeeChi). I also agree that fixing up a Felt is much easier than say a QR for instance. I agree that Felt is producing this bike for people who have seconds that can mean millions…they are currenty racing in California and will be in France come July. It is just funny to me how many MOP’er Tri folks are willing to drop the coin on such a persnickity beast. They dont have a full time mechanic, nor a sponsor to please. They are however willing to live with less than optimal performance beacuse it looks good in a photo.
I know I know…cycling is the one and only sport where the AG can own the best of the best. Try that with NASCAR.
Interesting…
Perhaps you could ask another noted triathlon brand how their proprietary brake has been received by professional riders that actually need crisp responsive braking to negotiate ProTour time trials.
Felt is just the frame sponsor for Garmin-Chipotle. 3T is the bar & stem sponsor. It’s simply a question of $ - who paid to provide specific equipment. These sponsorships are pretty pricey, which is not surprising (I guess) given the exposure they give.
Removing the barrel adjuster is pretty standard back there. Depending on how much you want to let the calipers open, the barrel adjuster can hit the crankarm when the brakes are open. That’s still a barrel adjuster (mine was knurled), but being a cylinder makes it easy to adjust. I can’t comment on whether or not there are any problems with a 7900 brake back there, since I don’t know if Shimano changed anything when they redid the brake.