Hurray my bike fever is down by a bit! lol... Had the accessories-buying bug, upgrade bug, learning-more-about-parts bug, excessive cleaning bug, roadie bug, dreaming of dream bike (Trek 5200) bug. Yeah i had gone past all these! lol... but now i'm hit by the saving bug... for the Trek 5200! =P''''''
For all those who are still kept the dark, this is Trek 5200 OCLV 120 Carbon
hehe... i'll first start crapping about "What is OCLV?"
OCLV or Optimised Compaction, Low Void is the technology used in making carbon frame. Trek used layers of carbon fibre and some epoxy (glue, super STRONG glue) moulded into a frame mould. As i mentioned in a previous crapping session about carbon and its characteristics, layers of carbon aligned properly can give us a very strong but lightframe. In the process of layering of carbon, air might be present in the layers. Ever tired using a adhesive tape on a surface and still find some pretty irritating air bubbles inside? Same logic here. The "air bubble" or void (the term used here) degrades the strength of the overall carbon frame. Well, that explains what "LV" is!
*(Commercial break: Eating cup noodles now, to be exact Nissin Chilli Crab cup noodles)*
As many bikers know, there are many important places in the frame where high tensile strength is experienced - Bottom Bracket, seatstay( the part under the saddle post), headset part. So the strength of the layers of carbon fibre around these parts are specially optimised for strength. So that's why carbon frames have smooth curves! O_o
Overall, the whole process is time-consuming and very labour intensive as it is handmade by layering a single layer at a time. And the result is a smooth and cool carbon frame. There're 3 grades of OCLV 150, 120 and 110. So the lower the value, the lighter is becomes and the more expensive it is. If you wanna check out OCLV 110, look at USPS Lance Armstrong's 5900 and his latest toy, Madon 5.9 .
I checked out the bike at Cheap John today. Yup, i "outraged the modesty" of the displayed 5200! Hehe... Smooth curves! When i tapped it, it gave out a gentle plastic groan. Sweet~! *sniggers* 5200 Is equipped with the Shimano Ultegra grouppo, the 2nd in line after the Dura Ace. I didn't need the high-end racing equipment. Well maybe in the future if i wanna go into racing or when I have too much money to spare. I would go for the 2 chain setup as SG doesn't have any steep hills that need the 1st chainset. But i think i do know of some, one at bukit timah road. hehe, after i get the bike i have to re-learn the basics of cycling on a road bike. And i would be getting SPDs, road helmet, maybe a Giro Pneumo =P. Then i off riding on the roads!!! Hehe, i even planned out the route. lol... That's what you get when i dream about it.
Ok, the route's set! My house all the way down Thomson Road, ECP, Coastal Road, End of Coastal Road toilet, into the dark pathway and back to coastal and back home. About 60km =) NO STOPPING! hehe, then i start trying out new routes with hills to climb!
hehe, one thing nice about NS is the allowance they give me! First month $540, following months $350. After BMT, it'll get increased till $400 - $500? If you're lucky enough to get into OCS, it's the freaking 1.2k monthly! Out of boredom, i caculated that we earn about $0.70 per hour per month in NS, and that includes sleeping...
haha! I wonder who would read such a long post from me..... Nvm just crappy again! Gd night!
For all those who are still kept the dark, this is Trek 5200 OCLV 120 Carbon
hehe... i'll first start crapping about "What is OCLV?"
OCLV or Optimised Compaction, Low Void is the technology used in making carbon frame. Trek used layers of carbon fibre and some epoxy (glue, super STRONG glue) moulded into a frame mould. As i mentioned in a previous crapping session about carbon and its characteristics, layers of carbon aligned properly can give us a very strong but lightframe. In the process of layering of carbon, air might be present in the layers. Ever tired using a adhesive tape on a surface and still find some pretty irritating air bubbles inside? Same logic here. The "air bubble" or void (the term used here) degrades the strength of the overall carbon frame. Well, that explains what "LV" is!
*(Commercial break: Eating cup noodles now, to be exact Nissin Chilli Crab cup noodles)*
As many bikers know, there are many important places in the frame where high tensile strength is experienced - Bottom Bracket, seatstay( the part under the saddle post), headset part. So the strength of the layers of carbon fibre around these parts are specially optimised for strength. So that's why carbon frames have smooth curves! O_o
Overall, the whole process is time-consuming and very labour intensive as it is handmade by layering a single layer at a time. And the result is a smooth and cool carbon frame. There're 3 grades of OCLV 150, 120 and 110. So the lower the value, the lighter is becomes and the more expensive it is. If you wanna check out OCLV 110, look at USPS Lance Armstrong's 5900 and his latest toy, Madon 5.9 .
I checked out the bike at Cheap John today. Yup, i "outraged the modesty" of the displayed 5200! Hehe... Smooth curves! When i tapped it, it gave out a gentle plastic groan. Sweet~! *sniggers* 5200 Is equipped with the Shimano Ultegra grouppo, the 2nd in line after the Dura Ace. I didn't need the high-end racing equipment. Well maybe in the future if i wanna go into racing or when I have too much money to spare. I would go for the 2 chain setup as SG doesn't have any steep hills that need the 1st chainset. But i think i do know of some, one at bukit timah road. hehe, after i get the bike i have to re-learn the basics of cycling on a road bike. And i would be getting SPDs, road helmet, maybe a Giro Pneumo =P. Then i off riding on the roads!!! Hehe, i even planned out the route. lol... That's what you get when i dream about it.
Ok, the route's set! My house all the way down Thomson Road, ECP, Coastal Road, End of Coastal Road toilet, into the dark pathway and back to coastal and back home. About 60km =) NO STOPPING! hehe, then i start trying out new routes with hills to climb!
hehe, one thing nice about NS is the allowance they give me! First month $540, following months $350. After BMT, it'll get increased till $400 - $500? If you're lucky enough to get into OCS, it's the freaking 1.2k monthly! Out of boredom, i caculated that we earn about $0.70 per hour per month in NS, and that includes sleeping...
haha! I wonder who would read such a long post from me..... Nvm just crappy again! Gd night!
Flowed by Wilson at
11:48 PM
