HANDLEBAR FINAL SELECTION

The upgrade of the time trial handlebar setup was one of the more difficult decisions due to the sheer number of options available in the market.

Since my last post on this topic Nat has and tested the the low stack height we achieved by experimenting with the existing stem and bar setup. So we now have a reasonable idea of what dimensions we need and so we concluded:

• The trial stack height is lower than required
• The new underslug TT bar geometry is uncomfortable

So with this info we decided to use top mount TT bars.  This ensures the TT bars and arms pads always move together when the pad stack is changed. See images of the different configurations, the far right option is our preferred style.

The top mounted bars add about 22mm of pad stack (diameter of the TT bars) but the flat stem will take that back down 15mm and we are happy with that height.

So with we searched the major online bike stores to see what was readily available on a budget.  At the time there were some good deals going on 3T Cycling and Profile Designs.

There were some great looking options from Pro Components, Vision Tech, Zipp, Deda and I did spend quite a bit of time verifying prices and sizes for many of these before ruling them out.

3T Cycling had some great information available in their online catalogues.  Bar Width, length, drop and pad stack were all published which enabled an informed selection based on our experiments with the existing bars.

The final decision mostly came down to price and appearance, we liked the style and colour options of the 3T Brezza.

Wil these dimensions we fashioned a paper template to overlay on the existing bars which comfired the base bar horns were going to be exactly where Nat has been resting her hands now and the 75mm long stem length was ideal.  With this we ordered a 75mm long x 17 degree stem also from 3T Cycling.

POWER METER UPGRADE

Once we committed to the power meter addition it wasn't long before it became a reality.

A new Garmin Vector S pedal based power meter is now on the bike!

GARMIN VECTOR S

GARMIN VECTOR S INSTALLED

Nat will try it out over the next week while we wait for the rest of the parts for the remainder of the upgrades.

How did all of this come about?  Well the Power meter has been in the back of our minds for a while so we had been doing some homework along the way.  I purchased a power meter for my TT bike 12 months ago so had a good idea of what was available.

A great place to start was the DC Rainmaker Power Meter Buyers Guide and since he has done such a great roundup of all the options there I will mostly discuss the options that worked for my specific application and how I came to those conclusions.

Due to the myriad of options available I had to narrow down the selection somewhat, so start by listing out the current criteria that affect our options:

• Crank Bottom Bracket: BB30 30mm shaft
• Crankset: FSA Gossamer
• Crank Hub: Integrated into crank arm
• Crank length: 165mm
• Shimano SPD Pedals and Cleats
• Compatible with Garmin Forerunner 910XT ANT+ Wireless
• Compatible with Training Peaks Software
• Minimum cost
• Minimum reconfiguration of the bike to install
• Reliable and repeatable

We also needed to ask "What are we really going to use this training tool for?"  The main features we need are simplified to the following:

• Display power data on the Garmin 910XT while training and racing
• Get Power Data into training peaks
• Use Training Stress Scores (TSS) to track training loads
• Set specific power targets during key training sessions
• Provide Nat's Coach, Karen Short, with feedback

I could go on for a while on this topic but it is already well documented in Joe Friel's Blog  and the Training Peaks Blog which has contributions from Joe Friel & Andrew Coggan.

So Nat's needs are for a basic power meter that will really complement the Coaching and training resources she is already using.

The more advanced features such as Left/Right power split, pedal smoothness are features that won't get used and will blow our budget which we are hoping to keep under $1000 so our first though was just to grab a basic Stage power meter which is built into the non drive side crank arm.

So the process went something like this:

• Found a stages power meter crank arm to suit the FSA crankset
• Not available in 165mm
• Found other Stages cranks in 165mm, e.g. Shimano Ultegra
• This added $300 - $400 for a matching crankset and 24mm spindle adapters
• Investigated crank spider style power meter's such as Quarq and Power2Max
• Basic power meter units alone were over $1000
• Still required a replacement crank  -> $300 - 400
• Maybe something will pop up second hand
• 165mm and BB30 is about the least common combination

Thats when we stumbled across a seemingly cheap Garmin Vector pedal based power meter.  It seemed too good to be true but closer inspection revealed it was their budget single sided version which basically halved the cost.  It was also a run-out of the first generation which had recently been superseded by the Vector IIS.  At first I was sceptical, it seemed too good to be true so keen to grab a bargain I focused my effort on the Garmin Vector S:

GARMIN VECTOR S PROS:

• Simply replaces the pedals to provide power
• Similar price to Stages
• Meets our basic criteria above
• Available at a good price from a local supplier

GARMIN VECTOR S CONS:

• I had this idea they were unreliable and troublesome
• Need to change from Shimano Pedals to Look Keo pedals
• Only reads of left side pedal
• Seemed too good to be true

So I went back to DC Rainmaker, Garmin forums and whatever I could find on the net to satisfy myself this power meter was going to fit the bill.

Reliability:

• There were a few complaints on the Garmin forums, almost all caused by careless installation
• The pod housings can crack if the pedals are changed between bikes too often
• Garmin since improved the pod to a stronger forged material
• Spare pods are available for around $100
• In the install manual I could see spacers and steps that people could muddle up
• I was confident I could install these carefully and don't intend to remove them often
• Installation went without a hitch and they are operating perfectly for now

Changing pedals:

• Nat was using Shimano SPD pedals
• Look Keo look and operation are very similar
• No real concerns here in our case
• Once they arrive we found the Look pedals to be nicer
• The Look cleats were similar but smaller and with a few pen marks were re-aligned the cleats
• We will need to buy another set of pedals for Nat's other bike (~$80) 

Single sided budget version

• No different to Stages which measure off the left arm only
• Nat had been tested during her bike fit and her left/right split % was pretty close
• We can purchase the upgrade pedal later
• Adding the 2nd power pedal only adds functionality we don't really need at this stage

So after a couple of days of deliberation I was satisfied that the Garmin Vector S power pedals would suit Natalie's needs.  An added bonus was we sourced the locally and they arrived the the next day which gave us the opportunity to install and test them before we strip the bike down for the Di2 install work.

PROGRESS UPDATE

The project is now in full swing!  In around two weeks we have come a long way with our vague idea of upgrading Nat’s Cannondale Slice TT to be comparable to a 2015 model Ultegra Di2 spec TT bike.

With some planning and research we had developed a clearer plan of where the upgrade is headed a few days ago.  We were happy with the cost so far and decided we can add in a power meter and do something about the brakes.  The well progressed plan now looks like this:

• Ultegra Di2 Upgrade (Internal wired, parts are on the way)
• Zipp 404 carbon race wheels (Now acquired 2^nd hand)
• Stem, base bar, and TT Pursuit bar upgrades (In progress, more to come)
• Power Meter (In progress more to come)
• Brake calliper upgrade (In progress more to come)
• New brake cables bar tape & general service (Parts are on the way)
• Installation (coming soon)
• Final Bike Fit (Trial fit under way, finalise after all upgrades)

So we now feel that we will end up with something technically equivalent too a mid tier (Ultegra Di2 range) 2015 model TT bike plus Zipp race wheels and power meter and be a few thousand dollars better off than we would with a complete bike upgrade.

So the power meter became is our next priority item, more on that soon.

HANDLEBAR UPGRADE PLANS

What was Cannondale thinking when they put these bars on this bike?  I can only imagine it was a decision heavily influenced by bean counters.  Surely no self respecting bicycle engineer approved that as the technically preferred option!

I looked up the specs and they are  Oversized Triathlon Bars!  I am intrigued to know how these ended up chosen for the smallest bike in the range.  Its clear from the nice bright white bar tape that the 50mm  between the brake lever and the bend has never been used.  We did a bit of experimenting with Nat riding on the wind trainer and as we expected she rides with her hands well back from the brake levers then shuffles her hand back and forth to use the brakes which is not practical at all!

So lots of things wrong with the current setup, what do we want to get out of this upgrade?

STEM ANGLE

We have had a play with the existing setup previously and we've got Nat into a fairly aggressive aero position already which she is trialling and adjusting to over the next few weeks.

Nat adjusting to her more aggressive aero position

We still have  option of a flat stem still there for a further 15mm drop to get us down around 500mm pad stack and we are fairly certain we use that option for following reasons:

• Minimum frontal area for improved aerodynamics
• Lowest possible stack height
• More base bar options as top mounted aerobars can be considered
• It is easier to use the lowest stem then space back up if required
• We can use stem spacers and arm pad spacers to raise up for the best fit
• It just looks right (See image below of the 2015 Felt B2)

I will hold off on ordering the stem for now because I will still need to determine the ideal length and that will need the shape of the new base bar taken into account.

BASE BAR HEIGHT AND WIDTH

The current 30mm drop in the bars is probably going to be too much.  The base bar positions should be comfortable as I discussed in an earlier post.  I don't want to have to run a very low base bar just to get the arm pad stack low enough.

I have some experience with this on my Shiv TT where the base bar is very low and there is no facility to change it.

So a flat base bar seems to be the best choice.

Width is pretty simple, the current bars are 400mm wide which is narrow ans ideal for a smaller rider.  We will maintain this width on the new bars.

BASE BAR REACH

Ones thing is for sure the reach will be a lot less than Cannondale had in mind when they released this bike!  The current bars (left) have 200mm horns and our trials suggest 150mm long will position the brakes within reach of Nat's normal riding postiton.

There is also the issue of knee clearance especially when riding up out of the saddle which can be reduced by using tapered bars.  The current base bar shown on the left is very square where the one on the right is preferred for that extra knee clearance.

TT PURSUIT BARS

The TT bars on the current setup were the Profile design T2 which are a fantastic entry level bar set.  Plenty of adjustment and with a few extra arm pad spacers the brackets can be flipped to run under the base bar as we have them in the picture above.

The latest pro bike fits all seem to be going back to ski ramp style bars with their hands higher than their elbows which yield proven gains in wind tunnel testing but in my experience is less comfortable and gave me a feeling of less control.  So in this case we are going to stick with the S - Bend extensions she is used to.

The position Nat's is currently trialling is looking reasonably aggressive and we've still got 15mm lower with the flat steam.  So I'm expecting we will be spacing the arm pads back up some amount when we are all done.

So at this stage I will consider top mounted pursuit bars which put the arm pads around 20mm above the base bar with more spacers available from there.  This keeps the options open to start with.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
There will be other features that become evident when we start shopping around.  We want something sleek, aero with a short reach and tapered base bar similar to the Profile Design model.

Ultimately we'd like to just go out and buy the Pro Missile cockpit that most of the pro cycle teams have fitted to their speed machines but we need to keep the budget in perspective.

COCKPIT CRITERIA SUMMARY:

• Flat 17 Degree stem - Length TBA
• Flat base 400mm wide base bar
• Approx 150mm base bar reach (Reduced from 200mm)
• Preferably aero profiled base bar
• Preferably direct mount pursuit bars (Rather than clip on)
• Preferably carbon
• S-Bend Pursuit bars
• Under slug or top mounted TT bars TBA
• Budget conscious

So with that in mind my spare time for the next few days is to find what's available!

ZIPP IT

Our decision to research wheel options then wait and see what else popped up paid off!

The right wheels just happened to pop up up on a local facebook bike market for the right price.

After some negotiations and a couple of nervous days waiting for the courier the Slice was rolling on 650C Zipp 404's.

These are 2010 model toroidal Zipps which come with a few compromises

• Pre 2012 188 rear hub – No easy 11 speed free hub conversion
• Tubular instead of clincher which is arguably a plus
• Need a bit of a clean up and some new decals

Justifications

• About as good as it gets on our budget with the 650c size limitation
• More aero than the 50mm generic rims in the comparative price range
• Conventional width  - Less messing around with brake adjustment
• We already have spare 650c tubular tyres
• Wind tunnel test show the toroidal 404’s are still a formidable upgrade

 So things seem to be going our way, we can tick of the race wheels from our upgrade list!

Thanks to a bit of perseverance and finding a bargain we've saved enough to add a power meter to our list.

SHIMANO Di2 PARTS LIST

Time to get serious and purchase the Shimano Di2 electronic shift gear.  

There are a few options within the Shimano Di2 range and most of the parts are readily interchangeable.  I familiarised myself with the Shimano e-tubeproject website which provides a comprehensive guide to compatibility and the history of the firmware upgrades since Di2 was introduced.

We opted to stick with 10 Speed Ultegra 6770 Deraileurs due to wheel compatability!  The 650c wheels we had were going to be difficult to convert to the wider 11 speed cassette and so we've decided to upgrade my Shiv to 11 speed (easier to do) and use the 6770 derailleurs over to the Slice.

From there I went to the  Shimano Manuals (available online) to figure out the balance of the parts. In general I stuff with the Ultegra 6870 parts where available.

DM-0001A-002 - 6770 Ultegra Dealers Manual  - Majority of the parts but only the external battery.

DM-UL0001-00 – 6870 Ultegra Dealers Manual - Schematics and part numbers for the internal battery and time trial shifters.

The cable lengths for the 650C frame were determined by measuring the frame tubes and allowing around 50 - 100mm extra that will be tucked into the frame tubes once it is all plugged together.

The battery cable allows the seat tube to be removed 100mm clear of the frame for access to unplug the cable.

To save a few dollars I opted to go for the DIY remote shifters using an SW-R600 climbing shifter and a set of Cateye CD300DW buttons instead of the bulky Shimano ST-6871 brake levers.  I have already done this successfully on my Shiv TT and will provide more details on this as I go this time around.

SHIMANO Di2 PARTS LIST
No.	Description	Part Number
1	Front Derailleur	FD-6770
2	Rear Derailleur	RD-6770
3	Front Junction A (5 Port)	EW90-B JB
4	Rear Junction B	SM-JC41
5	Internal Battery	SM-BTR2
6	Down Tube E-tube Cable	EW-SD50 (750mm)
7	Seat Tube E-tube Cable	EW-SD50 (650mm)
8	Rear Derailleur E-tube Cable	EW-SD50 (600mm)
9	Front Derailleur E-tube Cable	EW-SD50 (400mm)
10	TT Bar Switches	SW-R671
11	Battery Charger and USB interface	SM-BCR2
12	Polyurethane Flexible Adhesive	Sikaflex 227 (or similar)
13	Grommets 6mm	SM-GM01
14	Cable cover stickers	SM-EWC2
15	Plug Tool	TL-EW02
16	TT Horn / Brake Shifters (Normal)	ST-6871 (Option 1)
17	TT Horn / Brake Shifter (DIY)	SW-R600 (Option 2)
18	TT Horn / Brake Shift Buttons (DIY)	Cateye CD300DW (Option 2)
19	JST Connectors (DIY)	JST 2 Pin
20	Flexible Cables (DIY)	15AWG Electrical Cable
21	Adhesive	5 Minute Epoxy
22	Cable protection	Heat Shrink
Notes: 1. Items 1->12 are required as a minimum (Or equivalent alternatives) 2. Items 13->15 help prduce a neat install 3. Item 16 is the optional ST-6871 brake lever shifters 4. Items 17->22 are optional DIY brake shifter parts (RD Shift only)

I included a few consumables and adhesives which I know I will need from my experience in the previous Di2 Shiv TT build.  I will explain the need for those as the build progresses.

Armed with this list of part numbers I scoured all the available suppliers and eventually ordered everything I needed.  No single supplier could provide all the parts, stocks were limited and prices varied significantly so some time invested here yielded good savings which will go towards that power meter budget ;-)

We'll have a week or two wait for the parts but there is still more to do!  Next up we'll move on to the cockpit upgrade.

ELECTRONIC SHIFT UPGRADE PLAN

Sourcing the parts for a Di2 conversion is fairly daunting at first but I have done it successfully before on my Shiv TT (also not a Di2 specific frameset).  Majority of the info we needed was in the Shimano manuals and my preferred approach is summarised by these two diagrams:

So we need to do some investigation to determine:

• Suitable junction box locations (Internal or external)
• Internal or external battery
• Internal / External cabling (or a hybrid)
• Wire lengths

So surely someone has done this before but I can't find a blog or forum post anywhere showing a fully internal upgrade for this bike!   Most of the upgrades were done when Di2 was new and the internal battery was not an option.

I’m really keen for the fully internal battery as the plan was to get cables out of the wind for the aero benefits, less clutter and be comaparable with a 2015 model bike.

The external batteries are clunky and they don't communicate with the newer USB interface / charger I use now and I don’t want to buy the older PC interface and battery charger if I can avoid it.

So I persisted and eventually the main limitation became clear; the seat tube was not open into the bottom bracket cavity!  I quick check of our frame confirmed this area was blocked and I can see how this would deter most people.

Some poking from above and below got me to the same spot at the base of the seat tube suggesting the barrier was very thin.  I fashioned a makeshift 3mm drill extension and with a few seconds on the drill it was through and I could see the shiny alloy bottom bracket tube below!

The barrier layer is indeed very thin so I’m relieved of any concerns about this hole reducing the structural integrity in the frame.  The hole was in the centre of the tube away from the sides where there may be splice connections between the carbon tubes.

With some patience I managed to fish a wire out the bottom to satisfy myself that a full internal setup was possible.

With some 10mm OD x 7mm ID aluminium tube, a 7mm drill and 5 minute epoxy I fashioned a long drill to enlarge the hole sufficiently to pass the 5mm Di2 plugs.

I’m now ready to finalise my Di2 shopping list.