A lot of changes from the 10 speed. For the most important in my book - they got rid of that really screwed up Torx 25 connector for the lever attachment rings. I'm sure that the feedback they got from that showed what real mechanics thought of the ideas of dumbass people like Frank. Exactly what sort of horses ass puts a Torx connector under a soft rubber hood. It did just what you'd expect - the Torx cut up the soft rubber hood.

They reverted to the 6 mm Allen wrench without putting it anywhere in the manual. They must have been embarrassed that they took the advice of someone like Frank.

Also, the shift down (smaller cog) levers now look like the Campy EMS ones. It the shift cables hadn't been pre-attached I might have thought that they had made a mistake. But they are much better positioned on the smaller lever to be operated by a larger hand. It will be harder to mis-shift now. With the 10 speeds you could accidently shift if you hit a bump.

The Merlin uses clamp on front derailleur and the one in my set is a weld on. So I had to order an adapter. The two I have already are for Shimano and of COURSE they don't fit the derailleur.

The Derailleurs have greater leverage than the 10 speed stuff so you have to use only 11 speed components. The 12-32 went right on the wheels though the Merlin is about 2 mm too narrow which I assume is a construction error. Shrinkage. The set included new brakes. They look heavier by a hair but they are actually lighter. Also there appears to be a difference in leverage on the brakes as well. They open wider for the normal tires people use now. And so close more rapidly.

The gears ratios are wide enough that I won't be complaining about too many gears being too close together. The Merlin rides almost perfect. For some reason my Airborne makes my forearms kill me. I have measured everything and about the only difference is the drop from the saddle. It is less on the Airborne. I would expect that to offer less problems.

I had the cables internally routed and that was a pain in the butt. But the underside of the integrated handlebar is slightly concave so I will route all of the new cables externally under the tape. It appears that this will be a FAR cleaner setup. The levers have two directions you can route the shift inners - out either side or both coming out almost in the same place. Using that also greatly reduces the sharp turn in the shift inner.

The front derailleur cage is identical on the 11 and 10 speed. But the leverage on them is different. Campy appears to have fixed all of their other problems so I'm counting on this all working better.

On Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 2:12:32 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
> A lot of changes from the 10 speed. For the most important in my book - they got rid of that really screwed up Torx 25 connector for the lever attachment rings. I'm sure that the feedback they got from that showed what real mechanics thought of the ideas of dumbass people like Frank. Exactly what sort of horses ass puts a Torx connector under a soft rubber hood. It did just what you'd expect - the Torx cut up the soft rubber hood.
>
> They reverted to the 6 mm Allen wrench without putting it anywhere in the manual. They must have been embarrassed that they took the advice of someone like Frank.
>
> Also, the shift down (smaller cog) levers now look like the Campy EMS ones. It the shift cables hadn't been pre-attached I might have thought that they had made a mistake. But they are much better positioned on the smaller lever to be operated by a larger hand. It will be harder to mis-shift now. With the 10 speeds you could accidently shift if you hit a bump.
>
> The Merlin uses clamp on front derailleur and the one in my set is a weld on. So I had to order an adapter. The two I have already are for Shimano and of COURSE they don't fit the derailleur.
>
> The Derailleurs have greater leverage than the 10 speed stuff so you have to use only 11 speed components. The 12-32 went right on the wheels though the Merlin is about 2 mm too narrow which I assume is a construction error.. Shrinkage. The set included new brakes. They look heavier by a hair but they are actually lighter. Also there appears to be a difference in leverage on the brakes as well. They open wider for the normal tires people use now.. And so close more rapidly.
>
> The gears ratios are wide enough that I won't be complaining about too many gears being too close together. The Merlin rides almost perfect. For some reason my Airborne makes my forearms kill me. I have measured everything and about the only difference is the drop from the saddle. It is less on the Airborne. I would expect that to offer less problems.
>
> I had the cables internally routed and that was a pain in the butt. But the underside of the integrated handlebar is slightly concave so I will route all of the new cables externally under the tape. It appears that this will be a FAR cleaner setup. The levers have two directions you can route the shift inners - out either side or both coming out almost in the same place. Using that also greatly reduces the sharp turn in the shift inner.
>
> The front derailleur cage is identical on the 11 and 10 speed. But the leverage on them is different. Campy appears to have fixed all of their other problems so I'm counting on this all working better.

Add thing, I was just testing the rear derailleur and the limit screw was all of the way out and it ended up almost all of the way in so that it wouldn't overrun the 32. That seems an odd way to set it up when new. Since most of my Allen head drivers have a ball head, it was easy to install the levers. Way easier than when they had the Torx fitting.

On Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 3:22:57 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
> On Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 2:12:32 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
> > A lot of changes from the 10 speed. For the most important in my book - they got rid of that really screwed up Torx 25 connector for the lever attachment rings. I'm sure that the feedback they got from that showed what real mechanics thought of the ideas of dumbass people like Frank. Exactly what sort of horses ass puts a Torx connector under a soft rubber hood. It did just what you'd expect - the Torx cut up the soft rubber hood.
> >
> > They reverted to the 6 mm Allen wrench without putting it anywhere in the manual. They must have been embarrassed that they took the advice of someone like Frank.
> >
> > Also, the shift down (smaller cog) levers now look like the Campy EMS ones. It the shift cables hadn't been pre-attached I might have thought that they had made a mistake. But they are much better positioned on the smaller lever to be operated by a larger hand. It will be harder to mis-shift now.. With the 10 speeds you could accidently shift if you hit a bump.
> >
> > The Merlin uses clamp on front derailleur and the one in my set is a weld on. So I had to order an adapter. The two I have already are for Shimano and of COURSE they don't fit the derailleur.
> >
> > The Derailleurs have greater leverage than the 10 speed stuff so you have to use only 11 speed components. The 12-32 went right on the wheels though the Merlin is about 2 mm too narrow which I assume is a construction error. Shrinkage. The set included new brakes. They look heavier by a hair but they are actually lighter. Also there appears to be a difference in leverage on the brakes as well. They open wider for the normal tires people use now. And so close more rapidly.
> >
> > The gears ratios are wide enough that I won't be complaining about too many gears being too close together. The Merlin rides almost perfect. For some reason my Airborne makes my forearms kill me. I have measured everything and about the only difference is the drop from the saddle. It is less on the Airborne. I would expect that to offer less problems.
> >
> > I had the cables internally routed and that was a pain in the butt. But the underside of the integrated handlebar is slightly concave so I will route all of the new cables externally under the tape. It appears that this will be a FAR cleaner setup. The levers have two directions you can route the shift inners - out either side or both coming out almost in the same place. Using that also greatly reduces the sharp turn in the shift inner.
> >
> > The front derailleur cage is identical on the 11 and 10 speed. But the leverage on them is different. Campy appears to have fixed all of their other problems so I'm counting on this all working better.
> Add thing, I was just testing the rear derailleur and the limit screw was all of the way out and it ended up almost all of the way in so that it wouldn't overrun the 32. That seems an odd way to set it up when new. Since most of my Allen head drivers have a ball head, it was easy to install the levers. Way easier than when they had the Torx fitting.
What ever grease they put on the Campy chain is NOT easy to get off. And there must be a lot more of it than appears or feels. I finally got the shipping grease off of the chain and got it waxed. Then I was about to put it on and rather than a quick link, Campy pins the chain together. After the vast improvement of all of the rest of the components that was disappointing.

Granted that pinning the chain is a superior connection, but quick links like the Connex link do not break nor come apart. Because of the Dog Fang I have on the frame I can't get the chain absolutely loose and hence apparently had a bad angle on the pin and broke it half way in. Oh well, SRAM quick links it is. So instead of taking the bike out this morning it will have to wait for Thursday.

I sold some Campy stuff to a guy who asked for more parts. The derailleurs were 9 speed so I dug around and found an extra set of carbon wheels, three 9 speed cassettes and a new set of carbon brake pads. I am considering also including a set of brakes. We can't have too many enthusiasts.

Another guy wants a set of shoes I'm selling, And another the Lemond but I'll believe that when I see it. All of this is helping to clean out the garage.

On Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 7:25:57 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
> On Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 3:22:57 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
> > On Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 2:12:32 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
> > > A lot of changes from the 10 speed. For the most important in my book - they got rid of that really screwed up Torx 25 connector for the lever attachment rings. I'm sure that the feedback they got from that showed what real mechanics thought of the ideas of dumbass people like Frank. Exactly what sort of horses ass puts a Torx connector under a soft rubber hood. It did just what you'd expect - the Torx cut up the soft rubber hood.
> > >
> > > They reverted to the 6 mm Allen wrench without putting it anywhere in the manual. They must have been embarrassed that they took the advice of someone like Frank.
> > >
> > > Also, the shift down (smaller cog) levers now look like the Campy EMS ones. It the shift cables hadn't been pre-attached I might have thought that they had made a mistake. But they are much better positioned on the smaller lever to be operated by a larger hand. It will be harder to mis-shift now. With the 10 speeds you could accidently shift if you hit a bump.
> > >
> > > The Merlin uses clamp on front derailleur and the one in my set is a weld on. So I had to order an adapter. The two I have already are for Shimano and of COURSE they don't fit the derailleur.
> > >
> > > The Derailleurs have greater leverage than the 10 speed stuff so you have to use only 11 speed components. The 12-32 went right on the wheels though the Merlin is about 2 mm too narrow which I assume is a construction error. Shrinkage. The set included new brakes. They look heavier by a hair but they are actually lighter. Also there appears to be a difference in leverage on the brakes as well. They open wider for the normal tires people use now. And so close more rapidly.
> > >
> > > The gears ratios are wide enough that I won't be complaining about too many gears being too close together. The Merlin rides almost perfect. For some reason my Airborne makes my forearms kill me. I have measured everything and about the only difference is the drop from the saddle. It is less on the Airborne. I would expect that to offer less problems.
> > >
> > > I had the cables internally routed and that was a pain in the butt. But the underside of the integrated handlebar is slightly concave so I will route all of the new cables externally under the tape. It appears that this will be a FAR cleaner setup. The levers have two directions you can route the shift inners - out either side or both coming out almost in the same place. Using that also greatly reduces the sharp turn in the shift inner.
> > >
> > > The front derailleur cage is identical on the 11 and 10 speed. But the leverage on them is different. Campy appears to have fixed all of their other problems so I'm counting on this all working better.
> > Add thing, I was just testing the rear derailleur and the limit screw was all of the way out and it ended up almost all of the way in so that it wouldn't overrun the 32. That seems an odd way to set it up when new. Since most of my Allen head drivers have a ball head, it was easy to install the levers. Way easier than when they had the Torx fitting.
> What ever grease they put on the Campy chain is NOT easy to get off. And there must be a lot more of it than appears or feels. I finally got the shipping grease off of the chain and got it waxed. Then I was about to put it on and rather than a quick link, Campy pins the chain together. After the vast improvement of all of the rest of the components that was disappointing..
>
> Granted that pinning the chain is a superior connection, but quick links like the Connex link do not break nor come apart. Because of the Dog Fang I have on the frame I can't get the chain absolutely loose and hence apparently had a bad angle on the pin and broke it half way in. Oh well, SRAM quick links it is. So instead of taking the bike out this morning it will have to wait for Thursday.
>
> I sold some Campy stuff to a guy who asked for more parts. The derailleurs were 9 speed so I dug around and found an extra set of carbon wheels, three 9 speed cassettes and a new set of carbon brake pads. I am considering also including a set of brakes. We can't have too many enthusiasts.
>
> Another guy wants a set of shoes I'm selling, And another the Lemond but I'll believe that when I see it. All of this is helping to clean out the garage.
I had a very peculiar thing happen yesterday. The bike would not shift down into the smallest cog. It shifted perfectly 2-11 but appeared to not move below that point. If I forced it by pulling the rear derailleur over, it would click and you could see the chain jumping trying to shift up. I pulled the rear wheel off to see if perhaps that cassette was somehow stuck over from some sort of detritus and it wasn't. Reinserting the rear wheel suddenly the entire shifting changed. The largest cog it would shift up into was 7th and it would shift perfectly down into the smallest cog. I readjusted the high end limit screw and the rear derailleur then had full travel and shifted perfectly across the entire cogset.

Now this couldn't have been from realignment of the rear wheel since with 28 mm tires, it is almost touching the stays the way it is. And this would not change the upper limit of the rear derailleur. All I can think of is that there must have been some sort of rubber motion blocks in the rear derailleur that weren't obvious. These things were on the brakes and the front derailleur.

But again that wouldn't answer the change in upper limits. In any case it went from operating in a manner that suggested a misaligned rear derailleur mount to working perfectly. So I can ride it on the Saturday ride to test it. The only thing it will be missing is bar tape and with the integrated bar that doesn't matter anyway.

Speaking of bar tape. I did get some Silca bar tape and that stuff is about the best there is. Except you cannot take it loose after putting it on. So you have to be careful in the first wrap. Pulling it off the rubber consistency tape tears and is a complete throw away. And it is rather expensive at $50 a box.

On Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 4:40:57 PM UTC+2, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:

> I had a very peculiar thing happen yesterday. The bike would not shift down into the smallest cog. It shifted perfectly 2-11 but appeared to not move below that point. If I forced it by pulling the rear derailleur over, it would click and you could see the chain jumping trying to shift up. I pulled the rear wheel off to see if perhaps that cassette was somehow stuck over from some sort of detritus and it wasn't. Reinserting the rear wheel suddenly the entire shifting changed. The largest cog it would shift up into was 7th and it would shift perfectly down into the smallest cog. I readjusted the high end limit screw and the rear derailleur then had full travel and shifted perfectly across the entire cogset.
>
> Now this couldn't have been from realignment of the rear wheel since with 28 mm tires, it is almost touching the stays the way it is. And this would not change the upper limit of the rear derailleur. All I can think of is that there must have been some sort of rubber motion blocks in the rear derailleur that weren't obvious. These things were on the brakes and the front derailleur.
>
> But again that wouldn't answer the change in upper limits. In any case it went from operating in a manner that suggested a misaligned rear derailleur mount to working perfectly. So I can ride it on the Saturday ride to test it. The only thing it will be missing is bar tape and with the integrated bar that doesn't matter anyway.

That is again a weird story Tom.

Lou

On Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 11:40:08 PM UTC-7, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 4:40:57 PM UTC+2, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > I had a very peculiar thing happen yesterday. The bike would not shift down into the smallest cog. It shifted perfectly 2-11 but appeared to not move below that point. If I forced it by pulling the rear derailleur over, it would click and you could see the chain jumping trying to shift up. I pulled the rear wheel off to see if perhaps that cassette was somehow stuck over from some sort of detritus and it wasn't. Reinserting the rear wheel suddenly the entire shifting changed. The largest cog it would shift up into was 7th and it would shift perfectly down into the smallest cog. I readjusted the high end limit screw and the rear derailleur then had full travel and shifted perfectly across the entire cogset.
> >
> > Now this couldn't have been from realignment of the rear wheel since with 28 mm tires, it is almost touching the stays the way it is. And this would not change the upper limit of the rear derailleur. All I can think of is that there must have been some sort of rubber motion blocks in the rear derailleur that weren't obvious. These things were on the brakes and the front derailleur.
> >
> > But again that wouldn't answer the change in upper limits. In any case it went from operating in a manner that suggested a misaligned rear derailleur mount to working perfectly. So I can ride it on the Saturday ride to test it. The only thing it will be missing is bar tape and with the integrated bar that doesn't matter anyway.
> That is again a weird story Tom.
Yes, it is weird. But after plopping out the wheel and reseating it, all worked. Are you trying to say that you've never encountered weird problems. While not very common I've seen some pretty weird stuff. What would you say about descending on a C40 so fast that the frame flexed on the turns and crashed me into a ditch? The turn wasn't even very sharp. My CLX3.0 has no lateral flex at all.