SRAM's ChainGate smoke screen: there was no bump

[delbified]

do you think SRAM acted alone?

 

[outrage9]

Neither the Schlecks nor Cancellara are using SRAM cranks or rings. http://www.cyclingnews.com/features...or-cancellara-and-the-schleck-brothers/129174

Look at the footage again. Andy wasn't even attempting a shift when the problem occurred. You can tell by the position of his hands compared to where they would need to be to make a shift using SRAM shifters. The kind of slippage that Schleck suffered is a chainring or frame flex issue, not a rear derailleur or cassette issue. As such, the problem here was Specialized, not SRAM.

The top areas for Specialized to check are probably chainring flex and tooth shape. Frame flex can cause the kind of issue Andy suffered too.

My take is that SRAM is covering for Specialized. Specialized buys a ton of SRAM parts, and SRAM doesn't want to point the finger at its good customer Specialized.

Yeah, I said this a couple of pages back but someone assured me that he shifted and that I should trust him so I believe it...

 

[dsut4392]

Neither the Schlecks nor Cancellara are using SRAM cranks or rings. http://www.cyclingnews.com/features...or-cancellara-and-the-schleck-brothers/129174

Look at the footage again. Andy wasn't even attempting a shift when the problem occurred. You can tell by the position of his hands compared to where they would need to be to make a shift using SRAM shifters. The kind of slippage that Schleck suffered is a chainring or frame flex issue, not a rear derailleur or cassette issue. As such, the problem here was Specialized, not SRAM.

No matter how many times I view the videos, it always looks like he's shifting. And as far as I can tell from the photos you link, and from looking at
S-works/Red hybrid cranks in the LBS, they are definitely SRAM chainrings. While there have been complaints about early SRAM Red rings flexing (and some riders switching to the stiffer SRAM TT rings as a result), most riders do just fine with the regular rings. As for frame flex, are you serious?

Either way, the problem is still pilot error - you ride with the components you have, and work within their limitations.

 

[Polyarmour]

pedal torque will rotate the bike anticlockwise, not clockwise as occurred here. the only feasible explanation for clockwise rotation (lifted rear wheel) is that the chain slipped (not jammed) and andy lurched forwards on the bars, applying a clockwise torque on the bike and lifting the rear wheel.

Disagree. If the chain jams at the rear cassette while Andy is pressing down on the pedals and leaning forward, the rear wheel will lift off the ground just as StyrbjornSterki has said.

 

[delbified]

Disagree. If the chain jams at the rear cassette while Andy is pressing down on the pedals and leaning forward, the rear wheel will lift off the ground just as StyrbjornSterki has said.

there's nothing propelling him forward. if the chain slipped, suddenly the opposing force that the pedal was applying would be removed and he would lurch forward. but if it jammed, that opposing force actually increases. there's no reason for him to lurch forward and lift the rear wheel in that circumstance.

 

[les95035]

do you think SRAM acted alone?

it's obvious there was someone on the grassy knoll

 

[reubenr]

it's obvious there was someone on the grassy knoll

You wake up in the morning and there is snow on the ground. You didn't see it snow, but it must have snowed. You see Andy putting his chain back on his bike. He must have dropped his chain, as the "chain of pictures" at the outset of this forum more than adequately reveals, as does the head on video of his right hand gear shift. It was Phil Liggett, I think, that added the bump, and Sherwin added the "mechanical" categorical claim.

On a club ride, some one drops a chain. The group looks back and asks itself, "What happened to him?" Some one says, "Oh, I think he dropped his chain." Everyone rides on. End of story. Andy just blew it. What he was doing in that gear, in the first place, is my question. I think that when everyone rides in that gear, they are very conscious of the fact that they don't want to shift under load for fear of dropping a chain. I think that what happened was that Riis yelled in his gear to get a move on because Contador was in the back of the bunch, the same way that Riis yelled in Cancellara's ear when Boonen was in the back of the bunch. In the excitement, Andy made a mistake, which should not mar Contador's victory but probably always will.

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

There is no doubt ASchleck was shifting. Beyond the movement of the derailleur cage, Big GMaC posted a screen shot of the controls while ASchleck was executing the shift here.

It's highlighted to show the angle of the shift lever. That, my friends, is an upshift. While attacking, without soft-pedaling and while crosschaining.

This shows detail of ASchleck and Vino's BBs after the chain drop. Both are pretty radically crosschained but Vino had the good sense not to try to upshift under power in this condition.

EDIT:
Actually, I found a video at Velocenter of an interview with a SRAM rep. He states that ASchleck was in a 38x12 at the time of the mishap. A 38-t inner is possible with any BCD smaller than 135mm.

 

[Gcraenen]

Clearly there were 2 shooters, one using a Mannlicher-Cardano and one using a ray gun. On tonight's news, you will see footage of SRAM being transported to the courthouse and someone with possible ties to BALCO shooting him in the stomach.

Thwe original post was a great one by the way.

 

[Polyarmour]

there's nothing propelling him forward. if the chain slipped, suddenly the opposing force that the pedal was applying would be removed and he would lurch forward. but if it jammed, that opposing force actually increases. there's no reason for him to lurch forward and lift the rear wheel in that circumstance.

Except a little thing called momentum.

The chain jams at the back, Andy and his bike want to keep travelling at 20kmh, Andy lurches forward while peddling down, the back wheel lifts.

 

[bc_hills]

Off topic, but I love this thread. It's threads like this that convinced me that CN was the place to ask questions. You are all the awesome bike and racing dorks I strive to be.

 

[Boeing]

if he tried to shift with that load on the drivetrain he is a dumbass

I am no expert however on the subject of chain load, I am not sure a bump would make a chain ship a cog or slip.

Have we determined that he was indeed cross-chained?

 

[Boeing]

There is no doubt ASchleck was shifting. Beyond the movement of the derailleur cage, Big GMaC posted a screen shot of the controls while ASchleck was executing the shift here.

It's highlighted to show the angle of the shift lever. That, my friends, is an upshift. While attacking, without soft-pedaling and while crosschaining.

This shows detail of ASchleck and Vino's BBs after the chain drop. Both are pretty radically crosschained but Vino had the good sense not to try to upshift under power in this condition.

EDIT:
Actually, I found a video at Velocenter of an interview with a SRAM rep. He states that ASchleck was in a 38x12 at the time of the mishap. A 38-t inner is possible with any BCD smaller than 135mm.

It looks to me like Andy has a clean chainline in the 38 in that pic. In addition it looks to me like the chain skips down to the lower cogs in the replay

 

[nowhereman]

Zapruder would have been proud!
Through this thread, any doubters should all understand why Andy wasn't truly angry at Alberto.......HE KNEW HE SCREWED UP A SHIFT, it's that simple. There is no "tradition" to waiting for someone who has botched a shift at a crucial moment.
Over at Pezcyclingnews Neil Stephens, DS for Caisse D'Epargne, makes a very good comment about the incident. One that we don't often hear in interviews. He confides that not one DS thought Contador did the wrong thing when he made his break following Andy's misfortune. Read it, it's not my opinion, it's straight out of a Director Sportif's mouth. People should stop besmirching Alberto's victory because of this incident, and try to understand it from the perspective of the world's elite cyclists. They are on their bikes trying to win races.
Here's the link to the Stephens interview:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=8535&status=True&catname=Interview