ASK BERN

llanberispass

I have done about 12000 miles on KMC 10 speed chains and had no problems - until Monday evening. I was just leaving the bike shed and dropped from the big ring (50) to the little (34) when there was a horrendous noise and everything locked up. The chain had come apart and was trapped in the chain rings. It had broken at the split link.

Fortunately i had a spare link and had no more trouble. All I can think is that I had momentarily back pedalled whilst the chain was dropping to the inner and the link had caught on the front clanger cage, thus splitting (ripping!) it apart.

Other than this I would heartily recommend the KMC chains.

Unknown

Hi Bern,
2007 Pista looks great. Could you tell me what the tyre clearance is, and would it take raceblades (just on the off chance i get bored of getting covered London grime one day)?
Thanks,
Rob.

Greenbank

No idea about the Pista but you could go for a Tempo. I picked mine up on Saturday and it's utterly fantastic. If all goes well over the weekend it'll have done 230 miles in 9 days:-

http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo.jpg

Clearances for full SKS mudguards and 28mm tyres if you so wish (mine has 25mm GP 4 Seasons on it).

Full mudguards stop the crap flying down into the bottom bracket area (and your feet) and I don't mind if they are on throughout the year (it rains occasionally in the summer too).

Bern.

Hi Rob,
The tyre clearance for the Pista is 23mm, but you can usually get 25mm in there as well, but there is no provision for guards. We have fitted raceblades to quite a few. This is why the Tempo was born, out of feedback from those who wanted something a little more versatile. Greenbank is one of the lucky ones who has actually managed to get hold of one. Nice picture, do you mind if I store a copy?

Greenbank

bern,

Sure, help yourself. I'm trying to get the time to get a better photo. The flash bounces off the top tube making the paintwork look a flat and dull (it is anything but flat and dull in real life!) but I haven't had a chance (and the weather is looking rubbish this afternoon).

You want something special for Condor's 60th year? Please consider a Titanium version of the Tempo (i.e. clearances for guards and 28mm tyres). I know many (5 at least) people who would probable place a pre-order given the chance. At the moment people are going to XACD or fixing Van Nicholas Yukons/Amazons.

Bern.

We can always do a custom one. Will possibly do one for the show.

Unknown

Thanks, Greenbank - it looks really good in the photo.

Thanks Bern, too. I'll try to drop in to Gray's Inn tomorrow to have a look at both. Any idea of the waiting time for a Tempo at the moment?

Rob.

dave5ncp

Bern,
Quick call to say your comittment to the site is excellent. Can you persuade the boss to sponsor a section?

<font color="purple"> <font size="1"><i>please pretend there's a horizontal line here. I couldnt work out how to put one in.</i></font id="size1"></font id="purple">
Bless my cotton socks, I'm in the news!

Bern.

Will see what I can do Greenbank.

I can never get a straight answer out of our builder. Pista leaving Italy in few days and tempo should be just behind. Will be out there next week to check.

Greenbank

Thanks Bern. It'll be next year at least for me (Ti fixie). I managed to wangle 4 bikes past SWMBO but that's my limit. Strict one in one out policy from now.

I'm doing a 100km Audax on the Tempo tomorrow, plus another 50km to get me there and back. Just a gentle introduction then. Guaranteed to get a better photo of it too.

--
If I had a baby elephant signature, I'd use that.

Bern.

WOW

Greenbank

100km Audax done and was great fun. To and from stations etc notched up another 60km meaning it was a day of 100.30 miles in total. The Tempo was very comfortable and great fun in the undulating (but not horribly hilly) terrain. Lots of other Condors out on the ride too; a 2004 pista, a 2006 Fratello and a 2007 Fratello (that paintjob is excellent) to name but a few.

Some other photos (taken on a ride around London) here if you want to grab them:-

http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo2.jpg
http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo3.jpg
http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo4.jpg

--
If I had a baby elephant signature, I'd use that.

JWSurrey

GB - That bike looks familiar - you weren't in Richmond Park on Saturday afternoon?

Bern - Many thanks due once again to your team's truly outstanding level of service at the shop on Saturday.
Replacing my rear wheel was above and beyond the call of duty, and a total surprise!... and always a cheery hello from Ronan.

Have you considered marketing two Triathlon bikes? One entry level and one further-up?
It strikes me this could be a growing market:
http://www.witts-end.demon.co.uk/Eelmoo ... age84.html

Unknown

Greenbank, how do you cope with the little dropouts, no room for adjustment surely?

My Bikes
http://groups.msn.com/ROADCYCLINGUK/juliansbikes.msnw

Unknown

Looks near enough an inch to me?

d.j.
"She say "my man been gone since 1962,
And I tell you Mr Ugly,
He don't look like YOU.""
[Apologies to The Captain.]

Bern.

Sorry, had to break the 15,000 mark. Nice pics Greenbank.

JW, no worries.

Julian, my word you have a lot of bikes. The dropouts were the longest we could find, but still longer than we used to use on our pista(Campag sytle track end) until we upgraded them recently. Steps are well under way and a new longer dropout will eventually grace this model.

You are right Dj, they are just over an inch.

Unknown

Thought if you're going to make a custom fixed it would have to have nice long horizontal drop-outs over and above anything else, they don't look the same as in the brochure?
'My bikes' are what I have owned in the past, only three are still with me.
Think the thread is great by the way.


My Bikes
http://groups.msn.com/ROADCYCLINGUK/juliansbikes.msnw

Bern.

Thanks Julian,
We used the new Pista dropout on the show model, but had so much feedback from those at the show and this forum that we changed it to a forward facing one that makes sense if you use guards. We had to use the show one for the brochure unfortunately.
The initial frames that came through have a medium length dropout, but there will eventually be a longer one. It is getting harder to find this kind of kit and it takes a while to get hold of it when you do.

Greenbank

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by JWSurrey</i>

GB - That bike looks familiar - you weren't in Richmond Park on Saturday afternoon?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

No, I was on the Brazier's Run 106km Audax in deepest darkest Essex and Herts on Saturday. Sunday I went into London (hence the photos in Putney and Westminster). But I do cycle round Richmond Park quite frequently, more in the evenings after the cars have been banished.

--
If I had a baby elephant signature, I'd use that.

JWSurrey

Bern,

The Tektros on the Fratello - what style brake blocks are they? ( Shimano/Campag. )?
I'm after something a little softer to ease me through the winter.
Any recommendations?

Bern.

Shimano fit. Aztec, shimano or kool stop work well. Swissstop green are the best I have ever used, but very fierce.

JWSurrey

Cheers Bern. Swisstop, it is then! Do you stock them in the shop?
Are the Swissstop blacks too soft?

Would a Mavic rim cleaning block be too abrasive on Ventos?
I've found one in the garage, but it looks a bit coarse.

Bern.

Just the green ones at the moment. The black ones saved my life when a BMW pulled out on me while doing 50 on a hill. Will see how demand is for them, but will end up stocking them.

Cleaning block ok to use, but as long as they are clean it should be okay. Always check pads for small bits of glass as this can wear rims fast

Unknown

Hi Bern, I'm currently looking for a new campagnolo front derailleur band on 34.9mm standard double and I rang condor to see if they have any, they have but only the new 2007 QS front derailleurs. According to the campagnolo website etc these need to be matched with the new QS ergopower levers to work correctly I have older ergopowers so will these not work correctly with mine or do you know if in practice it should be fine?

On the 8th day God made a bicycle, and he saw that it was good. (actually personally he thought it was his best invention yet)

Bern.

Hi Kieran, they should have 06 and 07 mechs in the shop. Although Campagnolo state that the QS front derailleur only works with the new QS shifter this is not the case. They have assured me that QS and non QS items will work together and we have found no problems at all with mixing these parts. The biggest change has taken place in the ergopower ratchet to increase cable pull so if you use the new lever you need less movement at the shifter for the same movement in the mech.

Unknown

Great thanks, I 'll be paying a visit to the shop later today then.

On the 8th day God made a bicycle, and he saw that it was good. (actually personally he thought it was his best invention yet)

Rasputin

Hi Bern
Are Condor going to be making a frame around the Deda Scuro chassis?
If so, do you know what the cost might be or when it might be released?
Cheers

Bern.

Hi Rasputin, our team are trialing this chassis at the moment so it will purely depend on feedback. Depending on fork and finish I would imagine it would cost around œ1,000 to œ1,300.

Tako

Hi Bern,

Thanks for the new catalogue posted to me free of charge! I've been after a comfy audax machine for a while and l was going to buy the Fratello l'd always wanted but now l just can't take my eyes off the Gran Fondo. Lovely! However, warranty terms are a bit thin on the ground for this frame, care to expand? Also, what build times is one looking at? And what kind of weight can the rear support for audax/light tours? Cheers!

Bern.

We offer the same warranty as our other frames for the Gran Fondo. This is for 2 years. I will have to read the brochure and check what we have written. We check all claims carefully, but will never refuse anything that is genuine.

Stock of these frames should be within the next week or two.

Weight can depend on the carrier you use. Normally between 15 and 20kg is recommended. Just be sensible with it, I have seen people loading panniers with lots of heavy text books and wonder why the bag falls apart. The pannier you use will also affect it, use a cheap rack and don't expect it to last as long either.