Dear Lennard,
I read with interest your article "Wobble? Not!" in the September 20issue of VeloNews.Of special interest was your side bar on page 61 in which you discuss smallpads inserted in your shoes to relieve pedaling induced foot pain.I too suffer from what I describe as "hot foot" which becomes very problematicon longer rides. I use custom footbeds in my cycling shoes, but theyoffer little relief. I live in Denver - can you share more informationabout the pads that you use and where you got them?
RayDear Ray,
It is a small, foam metatarsal pad that lifts the metatarsal arch (atthe "ball of the foot") and keeps the metatarsals spread apart so theydon't grind against each other (and move up and down while grinding againsteach other), causing "hard handshake" pain. If the pain is between themetatarsals, it will help. If your pain is below them, I don't know thatmet pads would relieve it.I got mine done by Russel Bollig at Podium in Marshall, (303) 554-0505.The BoulderCenter for Sports Medicine can also do it, (303) 544-5700.
LennardSee also: Wobble-NaughtSo what tempo is it?
Dear Lennard
When I hear Phil Liggett saying the peloton is riding "tempo," I wonderwhat he means by that.I'm an amateur racer and I 'm a bit confused with this term. Does thismean going easy, like a walk in the park. What's the average speed in whichyou consider "riding tempo?"
Felipe
Puerto RicoHere’s an answer from Neal Henderson, a certified coach and Coordinatorof Sport Science at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine:

I would say that the professional peloton riding tempo is probablyabout 25-30 MPH, on rolling terrain. On a climb, someone may ridetempo to start to string things out...but on the flats, because of aerodynamicsit's not going to drop many folks. Riding tempo on the flats willalso sometimes decrease the motivation of other racers to attack, as therace is already going pretty quickly, they aren't likely to gain much advantageif the group stays riding tempo, and it is also more likely for the teamriding tempo just to pick it up to reel them in quickly, too. Overall,it's going along quickly but not near all out. The guys on the frontare probably about at LT, those behind well below, but not quite chattingpace.Chris Carmichael uses the term Tempo to talk about riding at an intensitybelow LT but above the Easy/base training range. The zones that weuse here describe Tempo as sustained efforts just sub-LT...and I mean JUSTsub-LT. Carmichael's Tempo range is equivalent to our Endurance Range.
Neal

Repairing carbon
Dear Lennard,
I recently was clipped by a car while riding my Colnago with the resultthat the vertical part of my B-Stay rear triangle was cracked at rim level.My question is: can a carbon rear triangle be replaced or repaired? itseems such a shame to throw away the entire frame.
MichielDear Michiel,
Sure it could. Another B-stay can be glued in there after the old glueis heated up to allow pulling it apart. But Colnago would have to do it,since B-stays are not generally available for purchase by other framebuilders.
LennardDropping to a lower gear
Dear Lennard,
I bought a Bianchi in 2002 with an Ultegra triple that has a 52-42-30.Dura Ace is 53-39-30 and I saw a FSA with 53-39-30 the other day and heardthat in 2005 you can get Ultegra in 53-39-30. How much effort andcost would be involved in switching my 52-42 to a 53-39?
FredDear Fred,
The effort is minimal. Just unscrew five bolts, switch the chainringsand re-install the bolts. Cost is on the order of $30 for the 39T and $41for the 53T, in Ultegra. Don’t be surprised if it does not shift as well,though.My experience has been that the 52-42-30 shifts better than the 53-39-30(we install a lot of these setups on my custom-length cranks, so I am veryfamiliar with this issue). Also, make sure you are getting a 39 designedfor a triple! It is different (has shifting ramps) than a 39T for a double.
Lennard8- 9- 10-speed
Dear Lennard,
For my touring/cyclo-cross carpe diem, I'd be grateful of youropinion on the feasibility of this setup: Shimano MTB chainset in 10 speedCampagnolo drive train.
DougDear Doug,
It will work fine, especially if it is a crankset intended for a 9-speed.An 8-speed one will also work okay.
LennardBrazed Ti
Dear Lennard,
Just a quick question about frame building: can a Ti frame be brass-brazedtogether like a steel frame? Is the lower heat able to effectivelybond the metals, or is TIG welding the only option with Ti?
DevinDear Devin,
It can be brazed in an entirely inert-gas atmosphere. Cecil Behringer,Clyde Forney and PinoMorroni did a few this way in the 1970s and are the only people I knowof to have done a bike this way. Their inert-gas oven (the “hearth-brazed”them, rather than using a torch, which requires oxygen) got contaminated,and that was the end of that.
LennardWrist action
Dear Lennard,
The Lance/Jan aerobar position with more-or-less straight extensionshas been out for quite a while now and others (Tyler, Bobby Julich, MichaelRich among others) are using similar style bars. I have several questionsabout theses:Does their aero advantage come solely from having the wrist turneddown? It seems like this is a rather small change.With the wrists turned down I am curious is riders are still able to pull on the bars as they would in the wrist up position (or if they were in the sweet spot on the drops on regular bars) if so, would the flatextensions be more suited to some courses than others?
NickDear Nick,
According to Armstrong’s past and present aero gurus John Cobb andLen Brownlie, there is a slight aerodynamic improvement as well as a leverageadvantage when pulling, especially with the elbow pads closer to the wrists.
LennardFeedback from last week’s Q&A
Dear Lennard,
Regarding Tim's question (Earlier in the year, Giro sponsored athleteshad those nifty clear covers for their helmets. Does Giro have any plansto mass market those?): A cheap latex swim cap makes for a simple and effective,if tacky, solution.
JefDear Lennard,
In deference to you reply to the "More mix-and-match," I have beenusing a Shimano 10 speed cogset with Campy Centaur shifters and it worksgreat! The Campy neutral support guy at the Fitchburg Stage Race (whereI used the set-up for the first time in the TT, with my Spinergy wheels),only had to tighten the lockring a bit more than the 40 Nm suggested toget it to shift smoothly. As a matter of fact, I'm just about to head homeon the wheels now after a long day at the office.
WaydeDear Lennard,
I'd like to report first-hand that at least on some bikes, you canuse a Dura-Ace 10 cassette with a Campagnolo Record 10 drivetrain and chain.I couldn't tell the difference and the shifting was flawless.
EricI also contacted Dave Batka at WheelsManufacturing in Boulder, who makes conversion kits to adapt variouscogsets to work with different shifting systems. This is what he had tosay about it:

Dear Lennard,
I have heard this (that Shimano 10-speed cogsets work with Campy 10-speeddrivetrains) from a few folks but it is a "spotty" deal. I had arace mechanic in CA call me who said he was having good luck with thisstraight across set up on one of his bikes. I asked him to pleaseTry the wheel on a different bike andTry the set up on a different wheel - but same bike.He called me back to tell me that it didn't work either way and was reallybaffled. I told him this is the way shifting goes. Sometimesyou can hit it right on the head and it works but most of the time youcan't.I have a full set of this junk I have been testing for a few months.First I tried it on my bike and it was absolutely awful. Jumped allover the place. So I pulled everything and put it on a smaller bikeand the rider said it was still pretty bad, but maybe "acceptable for aless discerning rider."We have also found that it all "degrades" over time. As we hitthe 1000-mile mark on the stuff, everything started to loosen up just abit more and the shifting got noticeably worse. As with all shiftingconversions, the difference here is quite substantial. About 4mmover the whole range. That Dura-Ace is really, really narrow.I am already making a spacer kit for next year that makes everything workperfectly. Actually it is a pretty reasonable change to make withjust changing out the spacers and certainly better than dealing with badshifting.
Dave

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Technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder (www.zinncycles.com), a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance including the pair of successful maintenance guides " Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance" and "Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance."Zinn's regular 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. Zinn’s column appears here each Tuesday.