Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: Inflammation and heart attacks; Floyd's position; more on creaking
I promised in my July 3 column to follow up about bruising, inflammation, Tyler Hamilton's lower back and heart attacks. I set it aside for the Tour, but I've been reminded enough that it's time to spell it out.
I was in Europe at the time, having come over with my wife to visit a dear friend in Germany who had just barely survived a massive heart attack a few weeks before. He is an extremely strong man, former Olympian and many-time German national champion in judo who was almost never sick. He was one of the last people you might expect to suffer a heart attack, as is Hugh Walton, another good friend and champion cyclist from Boulder, who survived a heart attack a few years ago at age 44.
It was the wee hours of the morning of a planned ride up the Stelvio pass, and I was preparing to bail and drive up it instead. My right leg, the thigh of which I had smashed in a whitewater kayaking accident two weeks prior, hurt mightily; in fact, it felt like there was hot liquid filled with broken glass filling my entire leg whenever I moved it.
So what the heck does this, heart attacks and riding over fallen riders have to do with each other?
Well, Hugh told me after his heart attack, which had occurred on a hot day during a road race at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, that current thinking on heart attacks points to inflammation as a big culprit. And I was dealing with inflammation in an unprecedented way with my right leg, in which pooled-up blood was trapped in the fascia of a deep, badly bruised muscle. Inflammation also is something that both the bruised riders Brian rides over - and Brian himself, if he does not make it over them - must deal with. It certainly was something Tyler dealt with when he flipped over and landed on his back during that high-speed crash in the 2004 Tour.
Inflammation also must be considered in Hugh's case, because the usual heart-attack cause - cholesterol-choked arteries - does not work with him. Indeed, he had been told after a physical only a few months prior that he had the heart, circulatory system and respiratory system of a man half his age. Subsequent investigation of his arteries with a fiber-optic camera showed them to be clean as a whistle.
Before his heart attack, Walton, who had been riding hard in pro races with the intention of repeating as world masters road champion, had been hit in the chest by a full beer can chucked from a car while he was riding and had crashed hard on his chest during a finishing sprint in a criterium. These incidents, combined with heat, hard work, exhaustion and dehydration during his race at the Air Force Academy, seem to have been risk factors helping lead up to a blockage that cut off the blood supply to a third of Hugh's heart, killing the oxygen-starved muscles of that part of his heart.
Between cycling, cross-country ski racing and kayaking, I seem to forever be nursing injuries and battling inflammation these days. Being the body's response to injury, inflammation does not seem to be avoidable at my age, as long as I am keeping up an active lifestyle. I depend on ice almost every day, sometimes even resorting to a course of steroids to deal with inflammation from a particularly stubborn injury. But I don't like this thought that all of this inflammation might not be good for my heart, either.
I don't think that this is leading to a neat package to wrap up with a witticism. It's just a reality to be lived with. And it's on my mind when I think about cyclists crashing into each other at high speed on pavement.
Getting hip to a higher position
Dear Lennard,
I am a 47-year-old new Cat 4 racer doing road races and hill climbs. I just had my bike refitted for my aging body (a 57cm Bianchi titanium XL Reparto Corse with an Easton SL fork) at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. They replaced my flat 120mm stem with a 110 stem with a 15-degree rise and placed the levers high on the bars. This has resulted in a fit where holding the levers is the most comfortable and default riding position. While I was skeptical (this is not the set up of the Category 1-3 riders I see), they insisted that this more upright position will give me more power and avoid back pain. Then, while watching the Tour de France, I noticed that Floyd Landis appears to ride with a stem with a rise and the hoods very high on the bars. My questions: Is Landis unique among pros in his use of a stem with a rise and hoods placed high, and second, is this position preferred over the classic long flat stem with a long reach to the hoods? Finally, if so, why are most of the pro bikes still fitted that way?
Terence
Dear Terence,
Most other riders in the Tour are not nursing a broken, necrotic hip. Floyd can't tolerate that low position. I think that other Tour riders would benefit on mountain stages from a higher handlebar position, but I think they may be right in running their bars low for flat stages due to the demands of racing on the flats at the speeds they do. And since none of them ever want to change their position, they'll use it on the mountain stages.
If you've ever ridden with a power meter, you would know that it takes a lot more power to ride at 30 mph than at 25 mph. And that increase in power is a lot greater than the one required to make the prior 5 mph leap from 20 to 25 mph. So doing everything possible to hide from the wind may be a must, especially for domestiques. The team leaders are only at the front when the road goes up; they need not worry about cranking out 30 mph with their tongues out at the front on the flats. The one time Floyd had to do that, on his long solo breakaway, he cut the wind resistance by resting his elbows on the bars to bring his arms in out of the wind in an aero-bar position without an aero bar.
Lennard
What's that on the Disco' boys' necks?
Dear Lennard,
Could you please tell me what the Team Discovery riders are wearing on their necks? It looks like a heart-rate monitor that uses carotid pulse. Who makes this? Advantages?
Bob
Dear Bob,
Those are AMD microphones; less wind noise and fumbling about. Lennard
Compact crank will fit the Reno
Dear Lennard, I have a 2003 LeMond Reno with Tiagra components/triple crank set. I was wondering if I can install the new Campy Veloce Ultra Torque Compact crank set and bottom bracket to replace the triple crank set.
Chris
Dear Chris,
Yes, you can. Just make sure you buy it with English threading. Lennard
More on creaking
Dear Lennard,
I have a pair of 9-year-old Mavic Heliums (clinchers). Great wheels - I use them every day and they have never required truing, only occasional tightening of the cones (with supplied Mavic tool). My only complaint is that when I'm climbing out of the saddle, the front wheel creaks like crazy. I can't tell if it's at the rim or the hub. I've thought about lubricating the rim/nipple interface, but worry that this might allow the spokes to loosen.
Bernard
Answer from Mavic:
1. Wash the wheels with good old-fashioned soapy water and elbow grease. Use Dawn dishwashing liquid if possible and use a plastic bristle brush (like a one for tubs, sinks or dishes -bottle brushes work great on hubs) and scrub the rim clean, making sure to wash/scrub well around the eyelets to remove any dirt or grime that has accumulated over time. If you've been riding in the rain or don't clean your bike often, this step is especially important. Rinse with an easy spray (not a high pressure jet)
2. When the wheels are clean and dry inspect the eyelets to make sure none are cracked or bulging.
3. Spin the axles to see if there is play and/ or any tight or gritty feeling. If there is play - make sure the axle itself is tight first before adjusting - take 2 5mm Allen wrenches on the end of the axles and make sure they are tight. then you can use the tool to make sure the bearing preload is done right. If it is tight or gritty or bearings are worn you may want to remove the axle (again with the 5mm Allen wrench and just move the bearing with your finger to make sure they are seated properly and clean of any grit. If a bearing feels rough it needs to be replaced and local bike shop will have or can order the bearings. If there is any grit just wipe it clean and replace axle and adjust.
4. You can put some light oil in between the nipple shoulder and the rim eyelet. This is fine. Applying a solvent or lube inside the nipple is what could cause loosening. The best way to do this is put the wheel in a truing stand and use a light lube in a bottle that allows for accuracy (those Shimano hypodermic-needle things are perfect for this task) A Pedro's light lube is probably best but the Shimano or Triflow (with the little straw) would do. Just a drop or two on each then spin the wheel hard to let centrifugal force work it in. Wipe off any extra, especially if it gets on the braking surface.
These steps should eliminate any creaking.
Sean Sullivan, Mavic
Dear Lennard,
I ride a Trek 5900 with Velomax Circuit wheels. After a wet ride, my ride starts creaking when I am out of the saddle and on the down stroke of the right foot. A friend at B&L Bike and Sport in Solana Beach pointed out that the spokes on the drive side are crossed, and after a while of rubbing they form grooves in each other, and if not greased or lubed periodically will produce what sounds like creaking from the BB. I applied Tri-Flow and all is silent now.
Chris
Dear Lennard,
Yet another source of creaking can be movement of the hub in the fork ends. I've found that the combination of aluminum fork ends on my graphite Reynolds fork and Mavic hubs, which have aluminum axles and cones without any serrations, can create a creaking/clicking noise when I ride out of the saddle. The quick release needs to be tightened very, very tightly to create sufficient friction to prevent movement. I have no such problem with wheels with Shimano hubs - they all have serrations on the outside of the locking nuts that easily create sufficient friction.
Steve
More on chain links and tools
I forgot to point this out, but in Jim's letter from last week's column, "the skipping on the 11 issues I have heard about," I think this is always a function of having the Wippermann link upside down. Unlike the SRAM, it is not symmetrical, and it will skip on the 11 and sometimes even the 12 if it is installed upside down. Correct installation procedure is in the Wippermann instructions (as well as in my maintenance books and DVDs).
Lennard
Dear Lennard,
In response to recent letters regarding the use of other brands' connecting links with Shimano 10-speed chains, I'd like to add a note. Trek just shipped us a 2006 Madone 5.2 SL with an Ultegra 10-speed chain ... connected with a KMC 10 speed connecting link. The guys at Trek say the link is quicker to install, and easier, with less chance of improper pin installation, which is an issue. If it's good enough for Trek to factory install one, it's good enough for everyone else.
John
Dear Lennard,
I can't seem to find a source for the Wippermann chain-break tool pictured in your June 13th Tech Q & A report on chain issues. Googling got me nowhere. Any thoughts on a source?
Scott
Dear Scott,
Your bicycle shop can order this from Quality Bicycle Imports.
Tom Petrie, Velimpex Marketing, Inc.
KGS Bikes technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder (www.zinncycles.com), a former U.S. national team rider and author of numerous books on bikes and bike maintenance including the pair of successful maintenance guides "Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance" and "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance" as well as "Zinn's Cycling Primer: Maintenance Tips and Skill Building for Cyclists."
Zinn's KGSBikes.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn (veloqna@comcast.net) Zinn's column appears regularly here on KGSBikes.com.
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