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Hurry up and wait

by Matt Smith

July 07, 2011 - Filed under: Company

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Well, as you can probably see, not much progress on getting the parts out of the warehouse. As a rule, the consumer orders come first, as they should. Internal orders for staff tend to be way down on the priority list and usually get processed about once a month. Operative word here is about. When things are busy, they may get pushed into the next month. Guess what, it is next month.

In the meantime, since the beginning of July, I have been putting the rubber to the road when possible as finally some nice steady weather has arrived. From July 1^st until now, I have been able to put just over 600 km on my Garmin Edge 500. Also, I am hoping to shed those last few personal floatation devices around my core. If I want to beat Don, I will have no choice but to trim down.

When I did the Etape du Tour four years ago next week, I was about 75 kg (165 lbs.). Interestingly, I peeked at 78 kgs (172 lbs.) a year ago in the spring. Last summer I decided to go on a crash course of hill repeats in an effort to lose that weight and improve my aerobic fitness. It seemed to work because by the time November rolled around I was down to 68 Kg (150 lbs.). I am now hovering around that mark now and would like to lose a further 3 kg to get down to about 65 kg (145 lbs.). The way I look at it is that for each kilogram of weight lost that is two less water bottles in am lugging around the entire ride.

As for the bike build of four years ago, here is the spec on it:

Component	Manufacturer	Weight
Saddle	AX-Lightness Phoenix	67
Seat Post	Schmolke TLO 250	85
Bars	Schmolke TLO 44 C to C	148
Bar Tape	Cervélo	59
Fork	THM Scapula Tuned w/ cap - Cut	245
Crank	THM Clavicula	412
Chain Rings 50T/34T	Carbon-Ti	98
Brake levers	SRAM Force	334
Rear Derailleur	SRAM Force	175
Front Derailleur	SRAM Force	85
Cable/Housing	Nokon	107
Front wheel	HED Bastogne w/ Challenge tubulars	860
Rear wheel	HED Bastogne w/ Challenge tubulars and 105 12-27 cassette	1390
Brakes	Zero Gravity 0G07	174
Chain	KMC X10 SL	223
Bottle Cages	B-T-P	30
Pedals	Speedplay zero w/ custom 45º Aluminum bowtie	143
Headset	FSA Orbit IS Carbon	89
Headset Spacer	FSA Carbon 10 mm	5
Stem	Syntace F-99	103
Bolts	Ti replacement bolts	2
Seat post clamp	Cervélo	9
Frame	Cervélo R3-SL 56	785
	Total weight (in grams)	5628

That build was just before the SRAM Red was released. I went over to Europe with some Zipp 303s (2006 vintage) which weren't exactly the okay as the front rim wasn't the same width at the braking surface and was grabbing at one spot when braking. Not exactly what you wanted when descending a mountain. Hence, the HED Bastogne tubulars.

Here are the components thus far. I haven't weighed them all yet and will do so shortly so I have a record of their unbuilt weight.

Component	Manufacturer
Saddle	AX-Lightness Phoenix
Seat Post	Schmolke TLO 250
Bars	Schmolke TLO 42 C to C
Bar Tape	3T LTD
Fork	Cervélo
Crank	FSA K-Force Light BBright
Chain Rings 50T/36T	Carbon-Ti
Brake levers	SRAM RED
Rear Derailleur	SRAM RED
Front Derailleur	SRAM RED
Cable/Housing	Nokon
Front wheel	Reynolds DV 32UL T w/ Vittoria TT tubulars
Rear wheel	Reynolds DV 32UL T w/ Vittoria TT tubulars
Cassette	KCNC 12-25
Cables	IO Dupont Power Cordz
Brakes	THM Fibula
Chain	KMC X10 SL
Bottle Cages	B-T-P
Pedals	Speedplay Zero Nanograms
Headset	Cane Creek
Headset Spacer	FSA Carbon 10 mm
Stem	Extralight 8º 120 mm
Frame	Cervélo R5ca 56

Hopefully, we will get the remaining parts of headset, crank and shifters. Then I can try to get this puppy built and do some comparison rides. Until then, it is the trusty R3-SL for the rides.

You can receive instant updates on the Crazy Light project by following me at http://twitter.com/#!/cervelomatt

Also, to read the original blog series, you can check them out at http://crazylight.cc