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TECH NEWS
3T Strada 1x Aqua Blue - 3.jpgAqua Blue boss: "This lab rat thing is costing us results"; so was he talking about the bike or its gearing?
The owner of Team Aqua Blue Sport has seemingly blamed the SRAM 1x-equipped 3T Strada that the Irish outfit is using for mechanical issues that have affected riders recently.
Rick Delaney, who was in a support car for stage six of the Tour de Suisse last week, Tweeted this:
Just want to say what a privilege it was to be behind @MarkChristian8 today @tds so so strong., only to be dropped by mechanical no 4698 this season... This lab rat thing is now costing results. sorry again Mark!!#aquabluesport
— Rick Delaney (@RickDelaneyABS) June 14, 2018
Manx rider Mark Christian was in an eight rider breakaway with less than 30km (18 miles) remaining of the stage when he shipped his chain. He picked up a spare bike from the team car and joined a three-man group of riders who had been dropped from the break, but the mechanical issue put paid to any hope of taking the stage victory. The break stayed away but Christian and the riders he was with were caught by the bunch.
He was more than disappointed.
“I am absolutely devastated about how today’s stage went,” Christian said. “To be within touching distance of a result – I don’t know what it might have been, but guaranteed top seven or eight – and to have been let down by the bike... I’m absolutely gutted.
“I was on a good day today. I was feeling good on the bike and everything was going well. I don’t think there is any reason why I wouldn’t have stayed with the leaders and given it all on the final climb.
"Who knows what the result might have been, but for all of that to go out of the window because of a mechanical… I’m just gutted.”
We've held off reporting on this because we wanted to ask for some clarification on those remarks and to dig deeper... but we didn't get far. We asked Team Aqua Blue Sport whether Rick Delaney’s ‘lab rat’ comment was a reference to the 3T bike in general, the SRAM 1x system in particular, or both. We also asked whether the team could tell us exactly what the issue was, beyond the fact that the chain was dropped.
The team said: “Thank you for the query but we won't be making any further comment.”
Not entirely unexpected, but you have to ask! We have also contacted SRAM and 3T and they are both yet to respond. 
Although Team Aqua Blue clearly thinks it has suffered a lot of mechanical issues this year, it’s unclear whether they've had a higher number than anyone else.
We know that Mark Christian’s problem was a dropped chain, but that’s about all we do know. Some people have concluded that this means the team has an issue with the SRAM 1x but, again, that’s not entirely clear.
Check out our story on the launch of the 3T Strada.
Aqua Blue Sport created headlines towards the end of last year when it announced that it would race 3T Strada bikes in 2018. The Strada is an aero road bike that uses hydraulic disc brakes and a 1x (single chainring) drivetrain – there isn’t a rim brake version and there’s no mount for a front derailleur. Developed by Cervelo founder Gerard Vroomen, the Strada has clearance for tyres up to 30mm wide.
Here’s our 3T Strada frameset review.
3T has concluded that there are aerodynamic gains to be had from going with a single chainring, with no compromises on gear choice.
“A single ring drivetrain eliminates the front derailleur and one chainring, reducing frontal area, creating space for unobstructed airflow and freeing up the design of the seat tube to shield the rear wheel even better,” says 3T.
SRAM is currently the only major manufacturer to make a dedicated single-chainring groupset designed for performance-type road riding (although our review bike came fitted with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset with a Wolf Tooth chainring and a Shimano XT Di2 Shadow Plus rear derailleur). Top-level SRAM Red isn’t available in a 1x configuration so Aqua Blue Sport has been using Force 1 components. Whereas disc brakes have been used by a number of pro riders, SRAM 1x is new to racing at this level. 
1x comprises a single-chainring matched up to a wide-ranging cassette. SRAM initially offered 1x systems in mountain biking, before adding Force 1 for cyclocross in model year 2015 and then rolling 1x out on to the road for 2016.
SRAM says that a 1x system is simpler because there’s no front mech or front shifter, there’s no chance of the chain rubbing on a non-existent front mech, and it’s quieter on rough surfaces. SRAM also says that the interface between the chain and chainring is better because their X-Sync rings have tall, square teeth edges that engage the chain earlier, and the traditional sharp and narrow tooth profile helps manage a deflected chain. 
The SRAM Force 1 rear derailleur features a “Roller Bearing Clutch” that is designed to control chain tension.
On the other hand, in some circumstances a front derailleur can help the chain stay on the chainring by preventing excessive lateral movement.
Mixed emotions today - devastated to lose a stage result through a bike mechanical... but a nice consolation to come away with the King of the Mountains jersey #tds pic.twitter.com/U4AGxHT9qE
— Mark Christian (@MarkChristian8) June 14, 2018
Certainly, chains can and do get dropped with front derailleur setups, and many pro riders have been frustrated with their bikes as a result of mechanicals in the past. Who can forget Bradley Wiggins throwing his bike at Giro del Trentino in 2013 (and parking it beautifully against a wall of rock) or Tom Dumoulin chucking his bike at the Abu Dhabi Tour earlier this year?
Aqua Blue Sport’s reported mechanical concerns, the team has enjoyed some success this season, Lasse Norman Hansen taking the first UCI professional road race win with a 1x drivetrain bike at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour back in February, Mark Christian winning the mountains classification in the aforementioned Tour de Suisse and Adam Blythe sprinting to victory in the Euro Shop Elfstedentocht on Sunday using a 52t chainring and an 11-32 cassette.
Of course, those results don’t prove a whole lot about the equipment used other than that, on its day, it can be ridden to victory. With none of the protagonists talking, we just can’t tell you whether 1x-equipped 3T Strada really is costing Aqua Blue Sport results – and even if they were, it might still be unclear. As it is, this one looks set to run and run.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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27 comments
Complete amateur hour from this DS. Tech issues are a reality for every team, every season. It’s part and parcel of playing at the pointy end of the sport and of new product development. Professional team management and riders know not to air dirty linen publicly. They deal with such things internally, in a constructive way that helps their invaluable sponsors improve and develop their products. Very quick way to lose support and future sponsorship and to make you all unemployed. Pull your head in.
1x isn’t really an experiment anymore, it’s routine in CX and MTB as has been mentioned upthread. Mashing the chan off either end of the block is limit screw setting most likely, so I can’t see how a mechanic should blame that on the equipment.
Why did the rider have to pick up a spare bike from the team car (and probably had to wait around for it to get to him)? Was the chain coming off so terminal he couldn't put it back on himself? Would that not have cost him less time than swapping bikes?
I watched the stage online and when everyone is talking about him shipping his chain and assuming that it came off the front ring; what appears to have happened is that the break were approaching an intermediate sprint and Christian was looking to shift to his highest gear. Looked like the chain overshot at the back, got wedged between the cassette and frame and then everything was locked-up and he wasn't pedalling anymore. That would also explain why he had to go for a bike change.
That's the crap thing about 1x for road racing I guess; the gear range MIGHT just be as good as a conventional 2x setup, but you're having to use the extreme positions more (I know he would still have been using his high gear on a 2x setup, but the chainline has to be a lot better on that setup than 1x). Using those extreme postions does run the risk of a slightly out-of-whack rear mech overshifting and, also, is possibly why (especially in a mountainous race like TDS) the mechanics are swopping out front chainrings as a precaution against excessive wear causing issues. Actually, if you think about it, it's another negative aspect of 1x that all the wear is taken on one font ring, but the rear wear is still somewhat evenly distributed between 11 sprockets.
Just to throw an opinion in here, I personally would hate to have to try to ride big mountains on a 1x setup; the gaps between gears would be hard to cope with and the low gear would also still be too high, particularly on the steeper pitches.
that's interesting. but if the chain has overshot then that's more likely to be down to the gears being badly adjusted than anything else. can't see why a more inward-positioned chainring would cause it to overshift like that; if anything the opposite would be true.
regarding chainring wear on 1x systems, i find that it's slower than with a double chainring because there's so much more material against the chain: the teeth don't have to ship the chain from one ring to another, so the interface is as tight as possible. the chainring-swapping is more to do with moving the gear ratios about I think.
Good point about the 1x chainring interface.
Perhaps they should just go to using Rohloff hubs next season and get three extra gears!
I'd suggest a simple chain keeper but with a press fit BB, no front mech hanger, a non-round seat tube and no ISCG mounts I imagine that you can't fit one to this bike.
Changing front rings every stage must be a bit tedious, wonder if they are direct mount (which might make quicker). 1x on road might have made more sense if they had done with an Eagle (12x) cassette, although maybe they don't fit so well in a 135mm rear end.
So the chain seems to stay on fine with 1x on an MTB or CX bike but not on the road? That seems completely ass about tit.
And they did well in the Vuelta with that gearing so it can't be too bad on the ups and downs.
Thought they had only started riding the 3T this season?
Yep, your right. Duh.
Brain not working as usual.
As much as it is costing them results, I'm sure they are being paid more than they would have from many others/having to pay for their own kit by taking this deal with 3T/Sram...
This is my "I told you so..." moment. (9 months ago)
If you're the first to accept a deal for something that hasn't been tried and tested in the pro peloton, then surely you have to expect teething issues. I'd have thought it comes with the territory.
Let's see if they stick with it next year.
It'd be odd though if the components were failing - isn't it all tried and tested in mountain biking and cyclo-cross? I have SRAM 1x on my winter bike and it has performed excellently...
...that said, I wouldn't want to race it. You either have too small a range of gears or you choose a cassette with such an extreme from one end to the other that the jumps between gears are huge (I use 10-42).
I agree. I've been running SRAM 1x on my Tripster for 3 years and I've never dropped the chain even once. Same for racing 'cross on 1x bikes. Never an issue.
but i wouldn't choose it as a road race option. I run a 40T chainring and an 11-36 cassette, which is perfect for audaxy riding but hopeless for racing as the biggest gear is much too small. moving to a 50T ring and an 11-42, or a 48/46T and a 10-42, means big gaps, like you say.
Talking to Gerard Vroomen at last year's Eurobike show it was clear that he had 12- or even 13-speed cassettes in mind when he designed the Strada. a 13-speed 1x transmission would pretty much do away with the gear range/gear jump compromise. But we're not there yet.
It's unfortunate that this little experiment is costing the team results.
Translation: Fuck 1x.
The issues they are having are unlikely to be simply because of 1x being 'evil' etc. Its more likely because SRAM make everything out of cheese. There is nothing wrong with the principle itself, and the idea that the team mechanics are bleating about having to constantly change rings and cassettes; I'll call BS on that, because its their job anyway (so just get on with it) and they'd be doing much the same with a 2x system anyway. Plus all bike technicians moan and gripe all the time about everything, its just how they are.
nah, they wouldn't. most pro teams use a 52/36 or a 53/39, and an 11-28 cassette, which is the same as the 11-25 cassette they were all using before but with a 28T sprocket added. they only get changed for super-tough mountain finishes really. everything else is generally done on the same setup these days.
The issues they are having are unlikely to be simply because of 1x being 'evil' etc. Its more likely because SRAM make everything out of cheese. There is nothing wrong with the principle itself, and the idea that the team mechanics are bleating about having to constantly change rings and cassettes; I'll call BS on that, because its their job anyway (so just get on with it) and they'd be doing much the same with a 2x system anyway. Plus all bike technicians moan and gripe all the time about everything, its just how they are.
"there are aerodynamic gains to be had from going with a single chainring"
to compensate the loss caused by the discs? Cf. recent article in wind tunnel.
My understanding, from a podcast interview, is that the mechanics are having to change chainrings between many/most stages along with cassettes. My overall impression was that the whole thing was becoming pretty tiring for them.
Got a link? Would love a listen
CyclingTips Podcast
https://cyclingtips.com/2018/05/cyclingtips-podcast-dispatch-from-israel...
The mechanic really doesn't make it sound great...
Thanks! Appreciated
Yeah, doesn't sound great.
1x isn't as appropriate for road racing as 2x - who would have guessed it!
Given Christian said "I don’t think there is any reason why I wouldn’t have stayed with the leaders " and he won the KOM jersey it's probably not (solely) the gearing - sounds like something is fucking up in spades though...
Neither. It's the small rodent in a treadmill inside the bottom bracket. Who needs a hidden motor?
If you look carefully you can see the riders popping chunks of cheese into the cable port on the down tube.