Any question answered...

Are these of any interest to anyone, anymore?

You will not die if you don't fit the circlip for a test ride. You can order one for a couple of quid from Chain Reaction should Condor fail to come up with the goods.

I am living proof of the veracity of the first statement.

Proof, if any was actually needed, that andyp is a zombie.

Are these of any interest to anyone, anymore?

Nope.

Well I think they're lovely, They won't go with my sandals though

Pedal fetishist ^

No they're too smooth. I prefer to jam my cock in some egg beaters

You will not die if you don't fit the circlip for a test ride.

I can see why you might think that.

However.

The split ring circlips used in the Campagnolo Ultra Torque cranksets were introduced after a series of high profile accidents during product testing involving Captain Scott 'Yoke Yoke' Fabbri of Campagnolo's Secret Testing and Development (or STD) department.

Whilst on an audax ride from Rome to Cairo in 1957, Fabbri lost control of his bicycle over the Mediterranean near Naples, his Ultra Torque's spontaneously bursting into white flames after he had spun out at high altitude.

Fabbri's frantic spinning had caused the grease in his bearings to overheat, and as split ring circlips had not been invented at the time, the vibration in the bearings produced a vibration at the exact resonant frequency of his bicycle frame, resulting in an almost instantaneous break up of his bicycle in mid-air. Miraculously, Fabbri survived after crash landing onto water and was rescued by a passing pirate ship.

Previously regarded as a landmark in crank design, the reputation of the Ultra Torque's had been damaged. Campagnolo set about redesigning the bearings, re-profiling the bearing races to avoid a repetition of the tremulous vibration which last time had been Fabbri's undoing. However, in doing so they removed metal from around the bearing races, leading to stress fractures in the aluminium. The first series of test rides were successful (including a sportive in Tristan da Cunha) but near the end of a routine training ride from Tblisi to Malaga, Fabbri's cranks shattered and fell apart in the small mountain town of Montealegre del Castillo.

During the resulting crash, the pieces of Fabbri's cranks were lost in the dirt. He was then was approached by a group of locals. Unable to convince them that he had cycled all the way from Georgia (partly because his bike had no cranks or pedals, partly because it really didn't seem that likely, frankly), Fabbri was accused of witchcraft and burnt at the stake.

Haunted by Fabbri's death, the STD team at Campagnolo were determined to discover what exactly had caused his untimely downfall. In testing they discovered that the combination of overheated grease and nothing to pin the bearings in place had caused the first accident, and the re-profiled prototype was, in fact, a step backwards. They developed a split ring circlip, known as a 'Fabbri pin', in the riders honour, and fitted it to all new Ultra Torque cranks.

Unfortunately by this point Shimano had learnt of Campagnolo's problems and checked their product range, modifying them where required to prevent similar issues. Shimano's cranksets came to dominate the market.

The Ultra Torque's are now widely regarded both as an adventurous step forward, and a supreme tragedy.

Despite the modifications, black market Ultra Torque's produced in the days before Fabbri's death still circulate, often cropping up on eBay, pedalled by unscrupulous sellers.

I believe Dammit has purchased one of these very same black market chainsets.

I tried to warn him, but he said I was a crank.

Nope.

Fair enough, in the bin with them.

Maths fail.

The stupider the stupid people are, the fewer of them we need to achieve the same average.

No, there are several types of average.

Mean, mode, median

Just because you're a clever dick doesn't mean you can ignore the fact that to anyone but stats geeks, average means the mean.

Exactly half of the sample being below average only works if you mean the median, is which case, use the right word, eh?

The median is an average. If you're going to be a pedant, it's best to get it right.

An average, but seldom the average.

When you say "*the *average" I assume you mean "the most commonly assumed". So you assumed it was mean, when it wasn't, and claim that someone else is at fault?

mine's just a standard one, this looks rare!

Quill seatpost? I had a hard time finding one. In the end Donhou Cycles made me one, milled down to the diameter I needed.

I want to fit aero drop bar levers to bullhorns, like this:

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Bicycles_Table/USA_Bicycles/Specialized_Bicycles/Specialized_Allez_Junk/Spec_Bullhorns/Spec_Bullhorns_HandleBars_4.jpg
(but not really like that, better angle etc obviously)

Obviously a few people have done it, so it seems ok, but what's the best way to get around having too sharp a bend in the brake cable routing?

Don't tape the bars too close to the stem is the easiest answer. Do you have aero drop levers? I have a nice pair going for a fiver if you want them?

Don't tape the bars too close to the stem is the easiest answer.

It's the answer to a different question. He is rightly concerned about the sharp bend where the cable comes out of the lever.

i presume he means the bend at the other end....could make it less sharp by bringing the cable round the bars a little might make the tape look funny and will feel lumpy though....or use some of those old levers that have the cable coming out the top instead....otherwise you are stuck I think....

It's the answer to a different question. He is rightly concerned about the sharp bend where the cable comes out of the lever.

This is indeed what I mean.

Are there any top tips that don't involve swapping them for non-aero or inverse levers, or new bars?

It's the answer to a different question. He is rightly concerned about the sharp bend where the cable comes out of the lever.

My bad, IIRC when I've used them before, aero drop levers' cable routing means there's no sharp bend at lever exit.

Wait, no. It's been too long.

This is indeed what I mean.

Are there any top tips that don't involve swapping them for non-aero or inverse levers, or new bars?

Would drilling the bars and running the cable through it make it a bit easier ?

I don't think so, it would make an even sharper bend routing the cable through the bar. And I don't have a drill!

Isn't general consensus 'Don't drill bars'?

I don't think so, it would make an even sharper bend routing the cable through the bar. And I don't have a drill!

this would depend on where you drilled the hole. Could go through twice and run the cable on the outside rather than the inside of the bars. This would make for better routing, but as 6pt has pointed out a little less curves in your cables may make for some extra curves in your nose/collar bone further down the line....