Come down to our booth at 3:00PM on Wednesday and grab some food, a cool cider or beer and check out the latest announcements from Pro-Lite in a special World Exclusive Presentation.
You won't want to be the only one who missed out!
Wheelset Videos
To help our customers with doing basic servicing on their own, we have been providing an extensive and detailed manual on all of our wheelsets for some time now. With recent updates to our product line, it seems that a different approach will be needed. In response
to that, we are unveiling a new set of wheel service videos showing the procedures to clean and service hubs.
While many riders will feel more comfortable having this done by experienced hands at their local bike shop, there are still plenty of riders who have a garage full of tools and can sling a wrench pretty handily. Still, if you have never done this before, the idea of delving past the freebody, past the seals and into bearings and pressed fittings can be more than a little daunting.
A new series of videos is currently in the process of being edited and presented online. We will continue to improve this series as the need demands.
For now, the focus of the video series is on how to do the work with simple tools that average home users might have available and showing the work in a clear and simple way. Hosting the videos for display on YouTube's friendly interface allows viewers to pause for details while keeping the pace quick enough to not waste any time.
Please feel free to send your suggestions to us directly at
.
*Note: To switch the freebody for the Loose Bearing models, you will need to disassemble according to one type and reassemble according to the other type. The freebody is held by a nut that is the last step in disassembly.
Please note that these videos are here for public information purposes. Due care and caution is necessary when working on wheel internals. Improper handling MAY cause damage to the wheels and MAY void your warranty. If you don't want to assume this risk, take the wheel to a shop with qualified mechanics or make use of our Global Service Program. Pro-Lite International assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY for damage incurred to wheels when you work on them at home or have them serviced by non-registered technicians.
Bradley Smith 2010 Reflections
As 2010 draws to a finish, Bradley Smith shows how he likes to draw his own finish. Taking first place in the last race of the season, the last race with his team even, Bradley stunned the crowd to beat out the three top Spanish riders on their home track in Valencia and landed Bancaja Aspar's 300th podium as icing on the cake.
As finishes go, they don't get much better than that.
From his website, November 7th entry, he says: 1st Bradley Smith:"Obviously this is a very emotional victory for me. I think that this is the best way to say goodbye to the Bancaja Aspar team and to the 125cc class. I had my best bike of the year today and the mechanics did a fabulous job with the Aprilia all weekend. I was lucky enough to open up a gap at the start and pushed with all my might to stop the others from catching me. The last ten laps were hard, a case of keeping concentration and not getting into a fight with Nico, Pol and Marc. I'd like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to the Bancaja Aspar team, who have been my family for the past two years. I can't think of a better way to thank them for all that they have done for me. It is hard to end such a great relationship, but I am convinced that we can be together again in the future."
Looking forward to 2011 will see the young Briton moving to another team in another class, stepping up to Moto2.
The Tech 3 Team is delighted to announce that Bradley Smith and Mike di Meglio will lead the French squad's second campaign in the ultra-competitive Moto2 World Championship in 2011.
British rider Bradley Smith joins Tech 3 Racing having established himself as one of the brightest young talents in Grand Prix racing since he first burst onto the scene in 2006. He finished runner-up in the last year's 125cc World Championship with two stunning victories in Jerez and Mugello...
This was written the weekend before he blew everyone away on Nov. 7. Imagine how good they feel about their decision after that amazing win!
From the same article:
Bradley Smith:
“I'm really excited and so pleased everything has been sorted out for next season. It's the next step in my career and it could not be with a better and more experienced team. I get the chance to ride the Tech 3 Moto2 bike after the Valencia Grand Prix on Monday and I can't wait. Of course I'm nervous about the next step but the Tech 3 Team have such experience and success at World Championship level I know they will really help in the transition from 125 to Moto2. It's a big step but I'm ready and I'm glad it's all sorted. It's been stressful but I always thought it would happen with Hervé Poncharal and Tech 3. I'm too big for a 125 and so the time was right for the move and I will be starting from step one once again. First I will focus on the testing in Valencia, which I'm really excited about, and then starting a new season in a new class. It will be a massive challenge and I look forward to carrying on where I've left off. Moto2 is going to be a new experience and I certainly will have to learn to push to my limit in qualifying because it's absolutely vital to be near the front. I'll have to get used to a bit of rough and tumble but scrapping is something I've learnt to do in the 125 class.”
Getting an early start, Bradley has been working overtime at feeling out the new class of bikes and getting a feel for what the machine can do. His thoughts on the new ride after some serious track time:
Bradley Smith 1.38.70 – 90 laps
“What an amazing day and it was great to finally get to work with the Tech 3 Racing Team. They are a really professional outfit and I was immediately able to strike up a good rapport with Tom and the guys. Today was all about getting confident and comfortable on the bike and learning as much as I can. Obviously we've got a long way to go but it feels like we've done so much already in such a short space of time. Coming straight off the 125 yesterday, the difference with the power and weight was pretty big but I adapted to the bike pretty fast. I got myself into a ballpark area with the times but finding that next one or two seconds is when it becomes a lot more difficult. But I am really happy with the way the test went and can't wait until I'm back out on the bike again.”
As always, Pro-Lite stands behind this rising star and will continue to support him with professional quality bikes to help him keep up his fitness and continue his secondary avenue of competition - triathlons.
All the best for 2011!
Pro-Lite 2010 Reflections
2010 really got its start for Pro-Lite with the Taipei Cycle Show.
At the show, we were able to announce the extremely important advancement of completing our own carbon manufacturing section in our factory, complete with skilled workers laying up carbon fiber by hand, air-filtered and sealed clean room, custom compression bladders for our high-end, high pressure vacuum forming machine and of course our own curing chambers.
The fruits of our labour were displayed with the twin monocoque carbon fiber frames the Modena and the Menaggio, each with an impressive 10 day manufacturing time. The first two production frames sat on the walls gathering stares and comments from industry people, press and consumers alike. These frames were so new that the factory staff had stayed up all night finishing and checking them, spraying the paint while the rest of the country slept. The frames arrived just 30 minutes after the doors opened on the first day, having left the factory at 4:00 that morning.
Things have settled down a bit and things are business as usual with these exotic beauties, with an order of 100 of each model leaving the factory just yesterday (as of the time of the writing).
Another exciting development that was unveiled at the show was the Rome Monocoque 5 spoke wheel, which had gone under several years of development, from advice from aerodynamic experts to solving the unique challenges presented by manufacturing such unusual shapes. This wheel never ceases to inspire and awe, be it turning heads on the street as it glides by, eliciting knee-jerk salivation from the people who get to ride the wheel regularly or getting fondled and caressed by designers and industry folk who know exactly how hard it is to make such an engineering marvel.
Monocoque this and monocoque that... What's all the fuss about monocoque? It's a question that comes up a lot since carbon fiber is still something of a 'magical mystery material' for many people. Everyone is familiar with the shimmery checker pattern that is so frequently associated with carbon fiber, but really, that's just what is on the outside. Carbon Fiber is made up of layers, like fabric. Few people give any thought to what is going on beneath that outer layer.
The simplest way to work with Carbon fiber is to start with lugs and some manner of aluminum or titanium alloy to take care of the tricky bits like corners. It follows naturally that this is also the cheapest way and the most popular for companies looking to pump out product to make a quick buck.
Unfortunately, it can also cause all kinds of problems with the product itself since the carbon can have a difficult time bonding to the metal and the metal itself can react with the polymers that bind the fibers together.
Eliminating these lugs requires a whole different approach to making a bicycle. Suddenly a handful of welds and a little bit of reaming becomes a wildly complicated affair requiring planning and patience. It's a bit like building a bicycle from the inside out, but instead of using metal, you are using some old bedsheets and you have to shape the whole thing with balloons. Oh, and because it's done in layers, you have to do it several times in a row. And you have only once chance to get it right because instead of dealing with a few welds, you do all the welding at the same time... inside an oven where you can't touch it.
But is it worth it?
Well, the payoff is rather dramatic. If you can do it right.
Due to improved control over the physical shapes and geometry, you get increased strength and rigidity, improved aerodynamics, improved longevity and reliability and while you're there, it's lighter too. So monocoque really is the way to go for the best of the best in carbon fiber molding.
Pro-Lite's carbon manufacturing is capable of building monocoque and multi-stage lugless carbon constructs.
That means quality, but because we do it ourselves, you can also get it at amazing prices too!
On top of the advances made with our carbon manufacturing, we also made significant strides with our other mainstay products, collecting more accolades for the acclaimed Bracciano and Gavia wheels, with plenty of great feedback for the Gavia's sibling, the Vicenza. The Bolzano hub moved to a second generation with the new v2 becoming available in shops and online, often referred to as the 2010 model. This somewhat minor shift in design allows for faster and easier disassembly, but more importantly also allows for fine tuning the internal tension on the bearing when mounted on the bike. Discerning riders know that this basically translates into faster and smoother.
We also received testing certification from UCI approved testing facilities in Europe that saw the Gavia and Vicenza added to the UCI List for Mass Start Races. Booyeah!
The last few months have been focused largely on meeting the demand as orders continue to rise, with even more growth in Europe, notably in Spain, France, Belgium and of course the UK. At the same time, interest within Asia and in North America is coming along very well too.
We were very proud when we discovered that a NZ rider living in the US took the title of Rider of the Year at the World Series of Cycling. 19 year old Aaron Gate pulled across the finish line with a Pro-Lite Padova disc wheel providing power transfer as his rear wheel.
2010 was a great year for us and with plenty of great stuff in store, we look forward to 2011!
As 2010 draws to a finish, Bradley Smith shows how he likes to draw his own finish. Taking first place in the last race of the season, the last race with his team even, Bradley stunned the crowd to beat out the three top Spanish riders on their home track in Valencia and landed Bancaja Aspar's 300th podium as icing on the cake.
2010 really got its start for Pro-Lite with the Taipei Cycle Show. 