has this been a problem for anybody using a record pista crankset? bad batch?

No actual values, but have personally seen the Casco Warp test slower than an old Met Stradivarius for another rider in the wind tunnel the day of my session!

Note what is fast for one person isn't necessarily for another. I saw a difference of 10 Watts between aero helmets, another rider also tested found the helmet that was the one slower for me was the fastest for him.

TLDR: What looks fast isn't always so. What is fastest for one person isn't always the fastest for others.

I've had 2 different Dura-Ace cranks, and the same chain rings fit the same way on both. The 46 fits snug, it has to be pushed onto the spider, but it can be done by hand. The 47 needs to be tapped on with a tool.
I would suspect the ring(s) before the crank. Personally, I like that the rings fit nice and tight, but you could probably fix the issue with a couple swipes of a file to the chain ring.

Paul

No issues with my campagnolo set. I use campagnolo and sugino zen chainrings. I have stripped a few campagnolo bolts... It's like $8 everytime time I do that...

haven't run into it myself w/ Pista cranks, as others noted, potentially related to chainrings?

Yes, a friend has this set up (brand new on a just purchased new Felt TK-1) and the 48 that came with it. It is almost impossible to get on the spider. She purchased a 49 and 50 that were sourced independently, and those rings fit just fine. I think we are going to grind a little out of one of the offending tabs to make it easier to jam onto the spider. Hopefully it will stay round enough to use. She may also decide to just see if she can get a replacement from the bike shop that sold the bike.

square taper forever!

Ain't that the truth! Thanks for the witness data on the Casco- very interesting. I might also point out that just because the pros use it. . .

Carleton- I wasn't planning on wearing the Casco on the road- that's some serious fredliness. Just figured I'd get a regular aero road helmet if the Casco wasn't any more aero. But thanks for watching out for my noggin temps.

TC

I suggest you take it back to the bike store otherwise you will probably void any warranty. Also if you grind material from one tab the eccentricity will increase slightly

Perhaps the anodize finish is too thick.

For what it's worth, I've found that Dura Ace chainrings fit tighter than Sugino. Maybe try a friend's Sugino ring on that crank and see if it fits better.

I've had Sugino Zen rings not fit on SRM cranks. I took some sandpaper to the inside of the rings and shaved off a bit until they fit.

This is the way to do it. If you're going to shave the tabs down, make sure that you do it evenly, and take your time. Start with 10 strokes on each tab as you go around and then try the fit. If no go, do ten more and test again. Keep doing this until it goes on and everyting should be fine.

I found the Frontline documentary, Supplements and Safety, to be very interesting and insightful.

As athletes and/or generally active people, most of us take some sort of supplements. The documentary stated that
- 50% of Americans take some sort of supplement daily.
- The FDA has little or no oversight of the industry. It's generally unregulated.
- There are like 4,000 manufacturers of supplements (with multiple products each) and the FDA unit for supplements is staffed by 25 people.
- The burden of proof is on the FDA to prove that a product is not what it claims, ot on the manufacturer to prove that its product actually does what it claims.
- I don't want to mis-quote, but an alarming percentage of product either do not have the dosages (over or under) what the labels state, have unmentioned extra ingredients (including steroids in one noted example), or are simply fake.
- "How could it be that the clock turned back to the world of the 1920s or 1930s, when you can sell something without any evidence that it's safe or effective." - Dr. Pieter Cohen, MD, Asst Prof. Harvard Medical School
- Basically, Snake Oil salesmen are running rampant and unchecked.

I knew it was bad...I didn't know it was this bad.

(Not sure if this topic warrants its own thread or not. Gonna start here for now. If it gets popular, I'll move the comments into its own thread)

"I've taken on some of the hardest regulatory issues. I [took on] tobacco. Tobacco looked easy compared to dietary supplements."

The dietary supplement industry "unleashed a lobbying campaign that was second to none." to protect their interests and fight against having to actually scientifically prove their claims.

--Dr. David Kessler, former Commissioner (head) of the FDA.

Then there's this where the coaching staff is basically like "yeah, if it doesn't seem to harm the athlete we'll give them all kinds of supplements." That probably helps to legitimize the industry in the eyes of a lot of folks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8H6fU9VNgQ

Yup.

I think that Frontline video should be required-watching for all athletes and coaches from high school age and up.

It's crazy how the system works. Even if a distributor is trying to be honest, their supplier could be shorting them or outright lying about what's in the stuff they are putting in the capsules.

Every time a scientist tests, a HUGE percentage of the samples either:
- Have more or less of the labeled ingredients.
- Has extra ingredients
- or doesn't have the labeled ingredients at all!

CRAZY

When I was an ncaa athlete we got read the riot act at least twice a year, start of each school year and start of the season.

Did you believe them when they told you this stuff?

I swear, I knew that some of the claims were dubious...but not that it was systematically bad.

I showed the 5min clip about fish oil to a friend who swears by fish oil. After watching, her immediate response was, "Well...the fish oil I use is the good stuff." Immediate and complete denial. Not for 1 second did she even consider that the stuff she uses might not be as good as she thinks.

In general, yeah, at least for stuff that claimed to improve performance. There had been cases even back then of people getting shortened bans by providing sealed containers of protein powder or similar that tested positive for banned substances.

I think for things like vitamin d (which I do take), contamination is less likely than for things that claim to increase performance, but it's still a risk. I wish there was better regulation. I get pretty bad seasonal affective disorder if I don't start taking it around October though, so I make a quality of life decision that it's worth some risk.

Yeah, there was a masters track guy who got in trouble for taking something (Jack3d, i think it was) when he got tested at TTown masters nats. The story struck me as an honest guy taking over-the-counter supplements and unknowingly got more than he bargained for.

Yeah, to some extent I have less sympathy if you took something that claims to make you more athletic than if you catch a contaminant in glucosamine. I can point you to convenient sources of protein that are actually related by the fda and are only a little less convenient.

It's still ****ed up that companies can put whatever in supplements, without indicating it's in there, and the regulatory response is "eh, what Ya gonna do?"

The program included an interview with a woman who owned a supplement company - she found out a supplier included steroids in her product.

I only take Vitamin D (not a vitamin but a hormone). I checked out the manufacturer and appears to be legitimate submitting its products to two independent labs for test.

to everyone else:

Yeah, the father started taking a vitamin B/D/something supplement (can't recall) from the company. Then his daughter, a collegiate athlete, took the same. She was later kicked off of her team for "aggressive behavior". Good thing she wasn't drug tested...but maybe if she was, the story would have broken sooner. They talked about some male clients having "man boobs", female clients growing facial hair and some female genitalia growing abnormally large...all of which are consistent with steroid use. All from what they thought was an all-natural basic vitamin supplement.



Seriously, folks. If you are wondering what we are going on and on about, take an hour or so and watch the video. It's available online for free.

I checked the ingredient list:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=501068

I'll throw in one more thought: I think, without any real data, that vitamins that are common food additives are probably less commonly contaminated (accidentally or otherwise) with off label stuff. My logic is since there are large quantities produced that meet fda standards, and vitamin c or d doesn't generally claim to be a miracle weight loss solution etc, there is a structure and demand for high purity versions and not much incentive to "accidentally" have some hgh end up in there.* at the very least I know there are food purity requirement meeting versions available.

*I think most contamination is unintentional, but I doubt there's anything in life where ac few scum balls haven't slipped in.

Here's a little something: Spinning in circles: How to improve the U.S. track program - VeloNews.com

Haven't read it yet, but just it's existence is encouraging.

That's a great article that touches on a LOT of points that I certainly agree with:

Unfortunately it seems to conclude that the way forward is as it has been– Andy Sparks coaching the women's pursuit squad..., and that's it.

Well, I took it to mean that they missing ingredient is funding for the track program.

I mean, the riders simply can't live a decent life and train twice a day. It's either impossible, takes an abnormally dedicated person ("eating cans of beans for lunch"), or a person with outside ways to make ends meet (family, spouse, interdependently wealthy, etc...). But, I bet if you could pay them a stipend that they could live comfortably on, USA Track would have the pick of the litter when it comes to talent in the U.S.

It's none of my business what USA Track racers do for a living or how they make ends meet. But, if you have to get outside means to make ends meet in order to train twice a day, then that puts a strain on those relationships and/or employers. I believe that USA Cycling should strive to find a way to support them...especially if they make the Olympic Long Team when they have to double-down on their training as they lead up to the games.

I thought there was a bit about holding a whole bunch of talent id stuff at Colorado Springs. Funding for that is another issue, but at least that would be a start.