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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
Hi there.
I was over at a riding buddys house today to help him tune up an old bike I gave him earlier this year. I was shocked to see that he has come down with Drillium Extremus Syndrome. He has been busily drilling holes in just about every alloy component on the bicycle. Both chainwheels are drilled. The front and rear derailleur cages are drilled as are the brake calipers and aero brake levers. He drilled out the center portion of the down-tube shifters. He has even driled offset rows of 1/8 inch diameter holes around the seat pillar where it is in the frame. All these holes on all the parts have been given a convex chamfer as well. On top of that he has drilled his SR drop handle bars in two places on each side so he can route the brake cable internally in the handlebar. One hole is where the cable exits the brake lever and the other holes are where the handle bar reinforcement is. Those holes were drilled at an angle and thus are fairly long - at least 1/2 inch. They are just the width of the cable housing. He is even talking about drilling a series of holes in the middle portion of each crank arm between the spindle and the pedal eye! The gruppo is Exage 300. I told him his bike is now an accident waiting to happen. He does not believe me. He also does not see the danger in drilling out his crank arms. I told him I would post here and he could read the opinions of the experts here on how dangerous he has made his bike. Am I being paranoid? Or is my fear that one of his drilled components will fail catastrophically a legitimate concern? I'd hate to lose his company on rides but as it stands I do not think I could ride with him if he rides this bike now. I'm certain some component he has drilled will fail suddenly and he could get seriously injured or killed. We ride a lot of roads where traffic is 80 to 100 kilometres per hour. He is five feet ten inches tall and weighs about 170 lbs. Thanks for any advice. Peter |
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#2
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
On 10 Dec 2006 21:16:25 -0800, "Sir Ridesalot"
may have said: I told him I would post here and he could read the opinions of the experts here on how dangerous he has made his bike. Not all opinions will be expert; not all which are labelled (in either direction) will be correctly attributed as to the authority of the respondent. My opinions are worth what I charge for them. Am I being paranoid? I think not. Or is my fear that one of his drilled components will fail catastrophically a legitimate concern? In the case of the der cage and the levers, the failure is unlikely and the consequences are not necessarily catastrophic unless the timing of the event is particularly bad. As for the seat post, this is an area where I would junk a part that had been drilled; this section of the bike is heavily loaded when the rider hits a bump, and that's precisely when a failure can be most hazardous. As for drilling the cranks, my recollection is that this is an area where some machining to produce a groove down the middle of an otherwise flat crank member was considered safe, but I don't recall seeing any surviving parts that were drilled. The degree to which a hole in that area would produce a stress riser during the twisting that occurs as the crank reaches the horizontal part of the rotation would make me *very* nervous indeed. I'd junk a drilled crank if it came to me on a used bike. I'd hate to lose his company on rides but as it stands I do not think I could ride with him if he rides this bike now. I'm certain some component he has drilled will fail suddenly and he could get seriously injured or killed. We ride a lot of roads where traffic is 80 to 100 kilometres per hour. He is five feet ten inches tall and weighs about 170 lbs. Weight all the information before making a decision, but if you're at all unsettled when the verdicts are in, ride ahead of him so that if he spills, you're not going to go down with him. That way, at least you're still functional and able to assist and summon aid. -- My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:16:25 -0800, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
He is even talking about drilling a series of holes in the middle portion of each crank arm between the spindle and the pedal eye! This could qualify for a Darwin award. But he wouldn't actually have to die, just hit the top tube with enough force.... I'd hate to lose his company on rides but as it stands I do not think I could ride with him if he rides this bike now. Well, I would not ride on his wheel. -- David L. Johnson __o | Enron's slogan: Respect, Communication, Integrity, and _`\(,_ | Excellence. (_)/ (_) | |
#4
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Thanks for any advice. My input: Component makers obsess about getting their product as light as possible so if these components could be safely drilled, they would come that way. It is just too obvious for them not to have thought of it. If it was so easy to reduce the weight, why would Campag bother with all that carbon in Record? If it could be safely done, their Record groupset would come full of holes instead and be even lighter for it. Some components do come pre-drilled. My 9-speed Veloce cassette for example. Also, does it make things faster? I'd have thought it reduces weight at the cost of aerodynamics, which at speed is more important anyway. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure smooth surfaces should create less turbulence than ones with holes in. -- Jim |
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:43:31 +0000, Jim Higson wrote:
Component makers obsess about getting their product as light as possible so if these components could be safely drilled, they would come that way. Exage? -- JT **************************** Remove "remove" to reply Visit http://www.jt10000.com **************************** |
#6
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:43:31 +0000, Jim Higson wrote: Component makers obsess about getting their product as light as possible so if these components could be safely drilled, they would come that way. Exage? A single hole (D=2.0m) through the bike is probably safest. -- --- Marten Gerritsen INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL www.m-gineering.nl |
#7
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 06:57:40 -0500, John Forrest Tomlinson
may have said: On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:43:31 +0000, Jim Higson wrote: Component makers obsess about getting their product as light as possible so if these components could be safely drilled, they would come that way. Exage? I think you misspelled "anchor" there. -- My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:38:26 +0100, M-gineering
may have said: John Forrest Tomlinson wrote: On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:43:31 +0000, Jim Higson wrote: Component makers obsess about getting their product as light as possible so if these components could be safely drilled, they would come that way. Exage? A single hole (D=2.0m) through the bike is probably safest. Monospoke wheels are what he really needs. -- My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
#9
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
In article ,
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote: On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:43:31 +0000, Jim Higson wrote: Component makers obsess about getting their product as light as possible so if these components could be safely drilled, they would come that way. Exage? Exactly. Drilling out one of Shimano's bottom end groups? Good grief. Drilling out the handlebars, seat post and cranks? Stupidity! |
#10
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Am I about to lose my friend to Drillium Extremus?
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
[...] On top of that he has drilled his SR drop handle bars in two places on each side so he can route the brake cable internally in the handlebar. One hole is where the cable exits the brake lever and the other holes are where the handle bar reinforcement is. Those holes were drilled at an angle and thus are fairly long - at least 1/2 inch. They are just the width of the cable housing. I've seen more than one photo of bars that broke from such abuse. This, the seatpost, and the crank seems the poorest choices for drilling site (of the ones cited). Mark J. |
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