Kane Oakley's Litespeed upclose

I thought it was about time i gave you a close look at one of the bikes i work on these days, this one is the bike of Kane 'Munge' Oakley.
The guys at Litespeed supply the team with the Siena model, it is their all purpose frameset so to speak, it's a frame that suits road racing in the conditions these boys race in. Now Litespeed are titanium specialist, so all their models are made from Ti including the Siena which we use.
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The bike Kane uses is a large frame that has a top tube of 57cm, a seat tube hieght of 53.5cm and angles of 73 on both the seat and head tubes. The frame is made of 3AL 2.5V titanium with tubes that have been shaped different ways to create both stiffness and ride quality, it's what they call G.E.T [Geometrically Enhanced Tubing].Now not only is titanium a little on the expensive side [although,you do get your money's worth cos it last a lot longer than any other frame material,it will proberly outlast you], it is also hard to work with, but the girls [yes the welders are female] at Litespeed have finished the frames nicely with clean smooth welds. The frames are also a raw finish, so they dont chip or scratch, and being Ti, it doesn't dint either, and when the decals scratch, I just peel them off and put new ones on
We are supplied by Reynolds for our buildkit componets including forks and wheels. All the bikes are fitted with a Ouzo pro full carbon fork, Kane's has a rake of 43 to suit the large frame. These forks are light but strong enough, and give excellent ride quality and control.
The headset used on the bikes is a Cane Creek S3. On top of this Kane uses a big 130mm Reynolds Race alloy stem and Reynolds Pro Anatomic 44cm carbon bars, they have a flatter section on the top instead of the round shape [hence why their other bar is called Pro Round], which the anatomic bars prove to be quite comfortable when riding the cobbles on top of the bars.

For Kane's riding info he uses a Sigma 906, which tells him all the basic info that he needs during a race. But Kane has added a special feature to the computer by adding a green stripe on one side and a yellow stripe on the other, just to give it that Aussie look. Kane would normally use a Polar HR watch which also did his bike info, but its on the blink, so the Sigma will do, and I've misplaced his handlebar mount for his watch, sorry mate, I'll get you a new one soon.


Kane uses the Fizik Arione saddle supplied to us by the guys at Fizik, which is bolted to the Reynolds Ouzo Pro post, which is full carbon and uses a alloy 2 bolt clamp. I myself am using the Arione and will admit that I didnt like it at first, but after some time on it, it has become quite comfy now that I have it in the right position.



The wheels Kane have here are the Reynolds DV46C. They are a full carbon clincher with a 20 bladed radial spoked front and a 24 spoked rear using a standard plain guage spoke laced radial on the non driveside and a bladed spoke that is laced 3 cross on the driveside. Kane likes these wheels as they are very stiff and roll nice thanks to the oversized hubs, and doesnt have too much problems in the cross winds either. To pull these wheels to a stop are Dura-Ace brakes, but with the use of Swiss Stop yellow pads which are a specially made pad for both carbon and alloy rims and work sensational on both.

Schwalbe are our tyre sponsor, and I will be the first to say I am a huge fan of their tyres. The ones here on Kane's bike are the Ultremo, they are a slick treaded tyre but have ultimate grip due to their high compound. Now normally more compound means a slow tyre, but these Ultremo's have the perfect mix, so their supper fast, wear good and still have grip in the wet if you have the right pressure in, which I reckon is about 110/105, 130 for the dry and your floating.

For Kane's drivetrain he uses a standard 53/39 chainring combo with 175 crank length, which is needed to push those big gears for a man his size.


The cassette on the back is a 11-23 which is used most of the time by Kane except for the hilly races where I might put on a 12-25 for him. To keep these cassettes in good order they are cleaned after every race and the chain is replaced every 5-6 weeks to assure the longest life possible from the cassettes and chainrings.
To turn this drivetrain round is the Time RXE pedals which are also supplied to us from the guys at Time, along with shoes.


Other items on the bike are BBB bidon cages which I requested as they are exceptional value for money and I have'nt seen one break yet, and also Colorado bar tape which is from last year, but once its gone some BBB cork tape will be used, another value for money item.

So there is a close look at one of the bikes I work on all the time these days and spend some time on one myself out training when I get the chance.
Last season Kane was on a carbon model but is really happy with the Ti frame, its comfy, fits well and is super stiff which means he can really put the power down.
Thanks for your input Munge.

Keep riding

Funky

GPS meltdown at Luxembourg

Tour of Belgium passed through our village, Booischot, on it's way to the finish of the final day, about 15 kms away.

With the tour of Belgium been and gone, and my week off to an end, it was time to hit the road again. This time it was another tour, Tour of Luxembourg.
My first day was the usual routine of cleaning bikes and wheels after the Belgie tour, but this time i had two trucks to load as the guys that were'nt doing Luxembourg were off to a kermesse on the Tuesday then off to Swiss for 3 races, so each team of riders had to have enough wheels to go around including spares. With most of my tubular wheels out of action due to a short supply of tyres, i had only just enough to go around. So Tuesday morning the boys headed to the kermesse while we made our way to Luxembourg.
I did'nt even know the name of the place we were staying, but because my truck carries all the guys bags, i usually leave when the motorhome [team bus] leaves. But following Jos [motorhome owner] is an adventure in itself. Normally its mostly all motorway to wherever we go, but once we were off the motorway, we were going all over the place, or atleast thats what it felt like. We arrived at a place called Vianden, which is where we would stay for the next 5 days.
The first day was a prologe, but the stage wouldnt start till 7pm, so i did some work early in the morning and then kitted up to go ride with the boys.

Back for some lunch then back to work loading up the two team cars for the days stage. By the time we returned back to the hotel it was almost 10:30pm, so i packed up the bikes, had some dinner and hit the sack. The next morning would be a sleep in, the bikes were'nt washed as it was a late finish the night before, but didnt really need to as the guys were only on them for the 2.6k prologe, but i gave them a wipe over anyway, then we washed the cars, oh yeah, my help for this race was a old friend of Eric's, Maurice,which i nicknamed him Cammels [after approval from Munge] cos he smokes a pack of Cammel a day and turned 67 while on this trip.
The next morning i had planned to do a early morning ride, so i woke-up at 5;45 [by this time its already daylight] and headed down stairs to find the front hotel door locked and only found out later that the room key was needed to unlock it, man i was pissed. The mornings stage was where we were the day before, this is where we noticed a problem with the GPS's. Both days Eric's GPS told him to go a different way each time, and the one Jos had was different again. The damn thing would take us on all the back roads. The two other teams staying at the hotel [Unibet and Elk-Haus] would go one way while we went the oppisite direction, but Luxemboug is that small [i think its only about 60km across], most roads end up in the same place.
The next morning i did manage to get out the front door for a ride around the local area. The hotel was situated on this cobbled narrow road that gave you a feeling as if you were in the 15th centry with old castle's set on the hills around you. I headed out the front door and straight into a 3km climb [the first 700m cobbled], then about 3km downhill onto about 4km of flat before the next climb, that was also about 3-4km, yes, this area of Luxembourg is very hilly, but nothing to hard which makes great riding.



A hour and half later i returned to the hotel for a quick shower and breakfast. Cammels was just out of bed and was'nt long before he was out at the truck with a cigy in hand. His main job was to assist me, so i got him to wash the cars and pump all the wheels we take to the race, just what he needs to clear those lungs out.
This day the GPS went really wrong for Jos. Eric and i left earlier to fuel up the two team cars, while Jos and Maika[Warrick] left later. Warrick had her own GPS and got to the race ok, but Jos opted for another direction and only just got the boys to the race just before the start. It was a little stressful for the boys, especially Worm as he was quick to bite my head off when i mentioned how late they were. I can understand his fustration thou. Jos was fuming with his GPS too.
As for the rest of the tour it went pretty well, i didnt have a wheel change till the last day, and it was only to change Gert's rear wheel cos he wanted a 25 cog on cos the last climb was a little steep. The funny thing was that when he asked if we had one in the car, i said yes but realised it was still a 11-23, but atleast he had it in his mind that he had a 25 on, as he was up the front the next time he hit that same steep climb, what tricks the mind can play. Shortly after that rear wheel change his front wheel punctured. Also there was a bike change for Worm has his pedal had unscrewed, so his spare was quickly off the roof and he was soon back in the race. We had pulled over shortly later to fix his pedal but the race was going too quick for us to do another bike change, so he would finish the day on his spare, which has no race number attached or a timer that records his time for the day, luckily the officals recored his result.
Since Luxemboug, i have had a race on Wednesday and are now preparing for another on Saturday, but i might update you on life at the team house across the road.

Till then, keep riding.

Funky.

No spanner work this week.

Well i've managed to do a full week of training this week. Early in the week i loaded the truck for Eddy and Wim to take to the tour of Belgium, and pretty much downed tools as soon as they left to enjoy my week off. Although i also had some downtime last week, i did have some race bikes to build up, unlike this week, where i could just enjoy some riding.
After the boys headed off with the truck, i was quickly inside to throw on the lycra and head out for spin. Last week Linds gave you an idea of the roads we've been riding on, and some of the marked symbols on the roads. Sometimes we'll venture out on one of these marked loops but not get to complete it if we leave later in the day, so the next day we might ride to where we last left it to see how much further it goes and where it ends up, today was one of these days. So we headed back to where we left the 5 loop and followed it further until Lindsay got a little tired. We were on a road we'd riden before, so we knew our way home, its funny, one minute you have almost no idea where you are, then next minute, your like "i know where i'am".
The next day Linds wasnt feeling too well [girl things,nothing serious], so i ventured out on my own. This time i was keen to finish the R loop. There's a regular road we use to get to a number of places, and a few km's from our house is the first R on the road, so i follow it from there. Later on in the ride i get to the point where Linds and i last left it, but i continue on to see how far it goes. After some "i have no idea where i am", then some "i know where i am", i eventully finished the loop where i started it a few kms from my house, a nice 80k loop with 3 or 4 sharp climbs in it, sweet.
Thursday Linds still wasnt 100%, so i had a bigger plan for my ride, to follow the 5 loop to the end. I started the loop just a few kms off our regular road and followed along the roads i already new and even adding in the short cuts i now knew. I got to the point where we last left it and went out into the unknown. So im out there riding on these narrow Belgium concrete roads [the ones ive always dreamed of riding on] up and down short little hills, through the farm lands, passing through a village now and then, hoping im not lost, then come across a road ive been on before, which eases my mind. Anyway so im still riding, and riding, and riding....for BLOODY EVER following this 5 road, until the point where i thought, "stuff it", the next main road i cross, im going home [have i mentioned this place is not well signed], so i cross some main roads but have no idea which direction they go, not even my trusty compass was helping. Low on water and no food, i couldnt keep following these roads, but their addictive, you just want to know where they go. I soon come to another main road, this time signed saying 'Tessenderlo 3km', so i head for that direction cos i know it only about 25k from home. At this point i'd already covered 120k, so i was keen to get home, so a quick call to Linds to get the quickest way. The trick is to follow the town signs, know your towns and your ok. So after a couple of cokes from the very very handy vending machine, i headed for Veerle, then Westerlo, then straight home to Booischot, thank god for that. Once in the door, i collapsed on the sofa in utter exhuastion, so hunger flat i could barely eat, so i drank some fluids, had a shower and then something to eat. A 147k ride i was clad to see the end of.
The next day Linds went off to her first day of work, while i was at home to recover from my marathon [its been a long time since ive done over 100k, ok], but i took a look outside just as Kane and Rhys were heading out, so i couldnt resist, after all it was only a coffee shop ride. So they headed off while i got changed, which gave me a chance to ride at my own pace, not sure how i'd pull up after the day before, but all was good. So i met them at the local coffee house for a hot chocolate of course and a easy ride home, a good way to finish the week.
Saturday i didnt get to ride cos we had to hire a car for Linds to get to work, then we looked at a possible car to buy, then we stopped at Ikea and soaked up a couple of hours just walking around the place, it was huge and people everywhere. So that was that day gone, but Sunday the tour of Belgium past through Booischot, so we checked that out then rode to the finish in Putte[about 15kms away] and got there just in time to see Boonen take the stage. Caught up with the team and then rode home.
Today i spent the day washing and packing the van for a kermesse race and preparing my truck for Luxemberg, two trucks to pack, so it was a busy day, and now that Linds is working there is the house chores to do as well. All in the life as a mechanic.

till next time.

Funky