Panasonic Blue Beauty

The Panasonic bike is built up!  The handlebar arrived Friday so I could do the cabling and final build during Saturday's snow storm.

It is a dark blue, with black saddle, bar tape, etc and silver seat post, stem, etc.  The blue rims on the wheels are the only thing flashy.

The components?  Here are most of them:

Jack o' Lantern?

Okay, one or two non-Japanese parts.  But majority Japan content.

A few more photos mid-build:

Awaiting the handlebars so I can do the cabling.

Pedaling Rectangles, Osymetrically

Winter view from North side of Lake Tsukui.  Snow toward Mt. Tanzawa.

On Saturday, the weather was its warmest in weeks.  Even with a layer of clouds, it was over 10 degrees (C) in the Sagamiko/lower Doshi area.  I rode out Onekansen Doro, north side of Lake Tsukui, up Doshi Michi, then onto Kanagawa Route 76, then Route 517.  Then back of Otarumi Pass, through Takao, along the Asagawa and home.  About 135 kms in all, on well-traveled routes.

Tall, dry Susuki grasses along Route 76 in winter.

This time, I had a new toy.

I've had an NOS (new old stock) FSA Team Issue standard size crankset (130 BCD/172.5mm arms) sitting in the garage for years.  It was a warranty replacement provided when the original (an earlier design) had a problem with the left crank arm delaminating.  For Christmas, I finally got myself some chainrings for this crankset.  Instead of yet another 53/39 crank, I ordered a set of Osymetric chainrings.

Osymetric chainrings?  These are what Bradley Wiggins (excuse me, I meant Sir Bradley Wiggins) and Chris Froome each used in 2012, when they finished 1-2 in the Tour de France.  Sir Bradley also used them during his gold medal performance in the London Olympics TT.

52/42 rings.  But the 42 ring is quite narrow where you pedal through your "dead spot".

The general idea is that your legs are like the pistons of an engine, so chainrings should be more like cams, with the shape of the ring to match the part of your pedal stroke where your legs deliver the most/least power. The shape is irregular, but you can almost see 4 sides with rounded transitions.  The inventor, a small French company, has some fairly extravagant claims.

The earliest versions were said to look home-made, and the majority opinion was that they look odd, weird, or ugly.  But the current version looks solid and professionally finished, and in a black finish other riders will barely notice the shape.

Reviews are not clear about whether the effect is real or a gimmick.  Some riders have an immediate positive reaction.  And the idea is simple.  At least if Wiggins and Froome used them in 2012 then at least they cannot do much harm!  Wiggins dropped them in 2013.  Froome -- seems to be using them as he crests Mt. Ventoux, one of the most memorable performances in recent history of the Tour.  They seem more popular with long-legged riders, whose angle of motion is slightly different.

Froome at Mt. Ventoux.  See chainring.

Arashiro bottles

They were easy to install, and with a minor adjustment of the front derailleur (moving it up the seat tube so there would be enough clearance at the largest part of the chainring) they shift fine.  It takes a big push of the front derailleur lever to get up on the big ring, but a minor cable adjustment should help.
And no, the chain does not fall off.

TT warmup

I had an almost immediate positive reaction.  The pedalling motion felt different only for a few minutes, pulsating, almost.  But quickly the difference is barely noticeable.  Except I did feel as if it was easier to push the pedals than usual.  I could spin to accelerate beyond normal speed/cadence without the straining my muscles as much as I otherwise would have.  I think I could perhaps reach and sustain a higher cadence with this shape of chainring.  Of course, in reality, my cardio limit quickly becomes apparent, so I am not sure that I end up riding any faster.  But even if the limiting factor is my cardio system, over a long ride I think less strain on the leg muscles can only help.  And with a bit of practice I might learn to climb sustainably without my enthusiasm pushing into the red zone.

Looking at the data for my ride Saturday ... I rode no faster than normal.  Will I keep these on my bike?  Can I climb the Japanese hills with a 42-tooth inside chainring?  It is too soon to decide.  Even if they do increase my speed a bit, I worry a bit that using them while training will just keep my dead spot ... dead.  But maybe if they let me work on pushing my cardio limit without working so much about leg fatigue, they will help?  And they might have real benefits for an event -- either a race or a multi-day, really long ride like LEL, PBP or Hokkaido 1200?  Stay tuned.

UPDATE:  On Monday morning, I hopped on a different bike for the commute to work, with a Shimano 50/34 compact crank.  For the first minutes, it felt WEIRD.  Just as odd as the first few minutes on the Osymetrics.  I am really surprised that I "adjusted" to the Osymetrics so quickly.  Of course, after 2-3 minutes, again I felt normal on the round cranks.

Our Training Partner

Jerome and I rode up to Nariki/Naguri, just into Chichibu, and back again today.  It was cold in the morning, but we were relieved that at least it had not snowed at all overnight, as feared.  Most of the day, there was not a cloud in the blue winter sky.  We passed Futakotamagawa just as the Sunday 730am social  "coffee ride" of foreigners was leaving and crossing the bridge (on their way upriver -- eventually to Seijo Gakuenmae for Starbucks).  I wanted to see if my friend Jon T. was with them (not this week, it turned out), so we also crossed the river.

Jerome's bike and clothes at a rest stop somewhere around Hamura.  Is the other our training partner's bike?

As we turned upriver along the path on the Kawasaki side of the river, we were met by another training partner.  Mr. Hokusei-Kaze.  He forced us to work hard all morning as we headed to North and West.  Indeed, it was hard anyway to get going in the cold, and the wind made it that much worse,  So we worked hard but were not going much over 25 kph.  My cycling mentor Bob R. used to say that a headwind is your training partner.  If I think about the wind that way, I do not mind it so much.  Yes, the ride is a bit of a struggle (until the return leg!), but it just adds to the training.

We were on the Kawasaki side of the river, so decided to go over the "hospital hill" past Tama Hills and then up the local "iroha zaka" hill.  That set a theme.  Lots of little climbs.  By the end of the day, around 1400 meters, including 9 "cat 4" climbs.  Of course, the climbs along Nariki, but also side trips up the Rindo that leads toward the back entrance to Nenogongen, and up to Arima Dam, and over the hill to Ikusabata on the way back.

Tama Hills, Irohazaka, and 9 Cat 4s, ....  add up.

Our highpoint, just over 400m elevation, on the Rindo between Naguri and 299.

Lake Naguri at Arima Dam, with Arima Pass in the background

We stopped at Stephen's place on the way back.  Jerome needed to meet someone there, so I headed back into town, but not without a stop at our favorite P.E. approved bakery, Aurore, in front of Oume Station, for some sustenance.  Mmmm.

When I asked if I could take a photo, the girls put on a spontaneous display of V signs.

All in all, it was not one of our longer rides -- just under 140kms.  But it was hard, and I am knackered more than I have been after any ride in at least the past few months.  The best kind of exhaustion.

First look at the Tiny Busch Mueller Eyc T Dynamo Light

A new dynamo light arrived yesterday from Bike24.  It is the Busch & Mueller Lumotec IQ2 Eyc T Senso Plus  It is very bright (50 Lux), has a switch and on/off sensor, was reasonably priced (far less than half the cost of a Supernova E3 or a SON Edelux).   Reasonably broad beam pattern and plenty visible to ride relatively fast on a dark road.  And the "Senso Plus" indicates that it has daytime running lights and automatically senses darkness.

All that makes it seem to be a very good product. 

But wait, there's more!

The most remarkable feature of this light is that it is small.  Very small. tiny, miniscule.

Fits in the palm of my hand!

Mounts easily on the front brake holder.

Close-up shot

As a result of the small size, it fits on my brake mount and clears all of the hardware -- including the braise on shifter barrel adjustments/guides that get in the way of every other dynamo light I have tried to mount here on the Ti Travel bike!

I also purchased and installed my first rear light for dynamo use.  I got a Philips light that claims "220 degree visibility" and offers a seatpost attachment, a major advantage in my case over those that attach to a rear rack for example.  It is a bit large and clunky, but seems to work quite well.

Now, just a matter of using the Eyc T enough to confirm its durability.  See my earlier review of various dynamo lights.

Wheel No 00016

Spoke head washers

Last weekend, my ride with Jerome was cut short by a broken spoke on my rear wheel.  I was riding the last rear wheel I purchased from a third party before I started building my own.  It consists of a White Industries H3 hub, Velocity A23 rim, and 36 DT revolution 3-cross spokes.  This wheel has seen me through numerous long rides, including Tohoku 1700, Cascade 1200 and Rocky Mountain 1200 in 2012.  The 36 spoke design was intended for such events.

But its spokes do break from time to time.  It was a mistake to use DT Revolution spokes on the drive side (as I learned after reading The Art of Wheelbuilding, by Gerd Schraner).  And Hiroshi had recently suggested that as long as I was using 36 spokes, I should try 4-cross for the strongest result.

Still, even if I do break a spoke, it is possible to finish a long ride on a 35 spoke wheel without feeling as if one's equipment is compromised or dangerous.  And it is easy to use a spoke wrench to true the wheel laterally and ride on.

Last weekend, as well, the bike was still rideable with a broken spoke, but it had some rubbing at the brake pad.  I did not have a spoke wrench with me for what had been planned as a short spin.  We were near Y's bike shop on the Tamagawa, and so ducked into a fast food restaurant in Tachikawa to get some coffee and wait until Y's opened .  They were kind enough to lend me a spoke wrench.  But when I trued the wheel laterally, the wheel developed a "hop" -- a bump where it was not quite round.  And even when I tightened the relevant spokes, the hop remained.

I had had enough.  Time to rebuild!   There are still years of life in the rim and hub.  Here is the rebuilt wheel, with DT Competition 2.0/1.8mm spokes on the drive side, and DT Revolution 2.0/1.5mm again on the non-drive, with 36 spokes in a 4-cross pattern.  And, of course, spoke head washers.  No, not the lightest design, but with this build, the spokes are no longer the weakest link.

Number 00016 -- A new wheel, with used rim and hub.

In the truing stand.  Label on hub lines up with valve hole -- check.

These hubs have seen many thousands of kilometers/miles.  I hope they will see many, many more!