and stuff I forgot in my last post…

Metrigear – Quote of the Day

One of the best moments in talking with Dave was when he started to explain the piezoresistors to us…by this time we had explained to him why we were interested in the product, about the limitations about the way that SRM calculates power (assuming that cadence is linear within one revolution among other things).

He was explaining that they used the stack (described in my last post) with a number of sensors…Jason piped up “so it sounds like you are using a 4 micrometer stack”.

Dumbstruck, Dave paused for a bit, looked at the three of us and said

“Who ARE you guys?”

I guess that he isn’t used to speaking of highly technical work related topics to bike geeks with as probably as much education as himself ;).

Zipp

We got a chance to chat with Josh @ Zipp. He had pulled Tom, Jordan Rapp and myself into a project for feedback and I wanted to check on the progress. Sounds like the SRAM purchase has made prioritizing projects a slightly different process than before the purchase.

We also got to see the super9 disc. Which looks like a fat, flat disc to accommodate the larger rim width that is now becoming common. I understand that it is not FLAT, but the shaping is very, very subtle.

We also got to see the nice 101s. The solution for training wheels when you have fat race wheels like the new super9 and new 1080.

Kestrel

We were fortunate to run into Steve Harad of Kestrel and discuss the 4000ltd. I have a special place in my heart for the 4000 as the original was my first lust bike (and argueably the first carbon aero road bike). We got some VERY interesting info on the UCI (although I suspect Steve would prefer it not be repeated) and compliance. Also of interest is that the data of the 4000 is as yet unreleased due to it trouncing the D6 and since they are held by the same company not wanting to hurt sales of their other product.

That said, Steve promised the data would come and that it would be transparent. I know I look forward to it.

HED

We also had an interesting chat with Steve Hed. A real smart guy and definitely between a rock and a hard place in terms of selling his product.

I believe that he makes fast wheels. I believe some of his competitors do as well. Hard to market your product well when the competitor has more $ thought.

I still believe that the aluminum h3 clincher is THE crit racing wheel.

Tom also had a long conversation about the claims of low rolling resistance of the wide rim design. I got sidetracked when Dave Kennedy came into the booth. Always great to catch up with Dave. He is a great person and one of the great contributors to Project96 that deserves more credit and recognition than he received. Maybe I can get Tom to post here with more info about what they discussed.

Clement

On the way out of CrossVegas, we ran into Don Kellogg. Don was one of the driving forces behind Challenge Tires. We had recieved an email from Challenge that Don was no longer with the company. Both Jason and I were disappointed but both thought that he would land on his feet running. Well sure enough, he is in the process of reviving the Clement brand. Here’s hoping for the best for Don and thanks tons for the schwag!

Pez

On the way to dirt demo, we sat next to Mr. Pez. It was nice to chat about the web, revenue models and the Pez site. Super nice guy and really open with info. Jason may have even gotten his pic from crossvegas that he needs to get his free Pez socks. We shall see…

Promotive

I also got the last seat on the bus on the way home. I sit down and it is my former neighbor Matt Ford. He works for Promotive/3point5 . He hooked me up with the industry insider dealio and I am totally STOKED for it. Thanks Matt!

If I remember anything else, I will try to update it, but that about wraps it up for the show…

-g