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Photo ©: Schaaf

Pro bikes, January 24, 2006

Pro Bikes: Barb Howe's Rock Lobster

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All Photos ©: Keli Medcroft/www.keliskolor.com

Bikes of 'Cross Nationals, part 3

B52 Bomber

By Steve Medcroft

Bundled up against the cold
(Click for larger image) Bundled up against the cold  Barb Howe preps her Rock    Lobster cyclo-cross race bike an hour before the elite women's national race in Providence, Rhode Island.
Howe runs Zipp 303 Paves
(Click for larger image) Howe runs Zipp 303 Paves  on her main race bike and 404s on her spare. She says the 303 Pave has more carbon fiber than the road version of the 303, a higher hub flange and greater spoke count.
The rear derailleur cable
(Click for larger image) The rear derailleur cable is routed up over the top tube to avoid it getting clogged or damaged by the terrain in cyclo-cross races.
Barb's custom 'cross race bike
(Click for larger image) Barb's custom 'cross race bike is built by hand with Easton's Ultralite and Scandium tubing. Sadoff says it's a good time to be a frame builder. "There are so many new great materials to work with and plenty of customers seeking something that the big companies might not be focusing on. There's also lots of new blood in the frame building community; some great new craftsmen out there. They'll be at the American Handbuilt bike show in San Jose, Calif. on March 4-5th, along with yours truly."
In the cockpit
(Click for larger image) In the cockpit  Barb runs Easton's EC90 bar and Shimano Dura-Ace levers. Just like we saw on <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2005/probikes/?id=skerritt_vanilla">Shannon Skerritt's 'cross pro bike article</a>, Howe routes her front brake cable over the stem to allow a cleaner route from lever to the cable mount at the top of the headset. You can just see the SRP front brake in this picture.
Eggbeaters
(Click for larger image) Eggbeaters  - Howe says she's run Crankbrother's minimal pedals since they first came out.
Paul Sadoff's signature head badge
(Click for larger image) Paul Sadoff's signature head badge is an homage to music. A musician himself, Sadoff has been known to play live in his Interbike trade show booth. "I have been playing professionally on a part time basis since 1982," he says. "At Interbike, I invited people to come and jam around an hour before closing time. As far as I know, I was the only booth in Interbike history to that point to have live music. I think it wasn't actually permitted. I am supposed to play at the Handbuilt Bike show with (fellow frame builder) Bryan Bayliss. In 1988 I gave up a fulltime gig in a 50's-60's dance band to launch Rock Lobster full time."
Much of Barb Howe's race bike
(Click for larger image) Much of Barb Howe's race bike is built from Eastom Scandium and Aluminum tubing. Sadoff believes in strong welds and has been rewarded with a months-long backlog or orders from loyal customers.
Chris King's Pretty and Strong headset
(Click for larger image) Chris King's Pretty and Strong headset  - team issue for the Bella's.

In this third and final installment of our look at the independent builders of U.S. Cyclo-cross Nationals, we take a look at Barbara Howe's Velo Bella team-issue Rock Lobster.

The women of the Velo Bella racing team stand out in any race they attend. Not only because they hammer on the bike but because they have a penchant for sparkly pink hair and lipstick while racing. When framebuilder Paul Sadoff was challenged with the opportunity to provide bikes to the flashy and femme Velo Bella elite 'cross racer Barbara Howe, he answered with a stocky, purple racing steed.

Who is Rock Lobster

Sadoff says Rock Lobster's history is rooted in two truths present in his life in 1978. "I was an obsessed bicycle mechanic, curious about how frames were built," he says. "And I was too broke to buy the shiny blue Bob Jackson Messina 56cm road frame I wanted."

Sadoff worked at a bike shop owned by the father of framebuilder Dean Covey. "Dean had a bunch of tubing to sell and was willing to give advice to anyone on the crew who wanted to learn." Sadoff built his first frame under Covery's tutelage and followed it up with nine more. In 1988, after a decade as a hobbyist focusing on racing frames, Sadoff went full time. Producing mostly mountain-bikes at first, Sadoff, a musician who had given up membership in a gig band to pursue framebuilding, named his company after the B-52's new wave anthem, Rock Lobster.

Today, Sadoff, along with an assistant, builds about 100 steel, aluminum, Scandium and carbon frames a year. About a third of them go to racers and are given at no or little cost to the rider. "I learn things from racers I couldn't learn from my own riding," Sadoff says. "Class riders like Barb are great for my product research and reputation. If she likes the bikes, it's naturally a good thing. If she doesn't it is still good as will get valuable humbling and feedback. You have to keep improving in this business."

Rock Lobster builds three cyclo-cross models (Team Tig U.L., Aluminum and 'Cross Euro) but says the frame he built for Howe isn't a named product. "Barb's model [which Howe calls Rock Lobster Easton Ultralite Al] isn't on the Web site yet although I build many of them now. It is a combination of Easton Scandium and Ultralite tubes."

Designing the build for Barb was relatively easy, Sadoff says. "She made it easy. She brought her old bike in and told me what she liked and what she didn't like about it. She needed a shorter top tube and less front wheel overlap."

Barb Howe's cyclo-cross bike

Howe remembers the meeting. "I had another bike and I knew what I wanted to be the same and what I needed to be different," she said. "The other bike had a sloping top tube, for example. I was always smacking my elbows [while carrying the bike on her shoulders during 'cross] so I wanted more space in the triangle. We also didn't need bottle cage braze-ons. " 'Cross races are too short and intense to be concerned with hydration.

"Paul builds a really good bike," she adds. "He specializes in 'cross and his bikes are hugely popular back home. If you ride cyclo-cross in the Santa Cruz area, you'll see more people than not riding a Rock Lobster."

After Sadoff built Howe's bike, the Velo Bella elite 'crosser finished it up with a mix of sponsored parts and components robbed from her summer-season road bikes. "The brakes were sponsored by SRP. All the Easton stuff is sponsored – stem, seatpost, bars and fork. The saddle is sponsored by Fizik. The pedals are sponsored by Crankbrothers; the chain from Wipperman. Chris King gives us their sweet pink headset."

Howe says two of her favorite sponsored pieces are her Zipp 303 Pave wheels. "The special cross version of the 303 Paves have a higher-flange hub, a higher spoke count, and more carbon fiber under the rim so they can withstand higher impacts," she says.

Howe runs Dugas 32cm tubular tires and says she doesn't know how 'cross racers get by with clinchers. "I ran mine at 24 pounds at nationals," she says. "You have to run the clinchers so much higher; I know I would end up pinch flatting. And when a clincher flats, the bead sometimes rolls off the rim and kills your momentum. With a tubular, if there's enough glue, you can usually ride a little ways on a flat."

As for the drivetrain, Howe ponied up the cost of a Dura-Ace group herself ("I bought the shifters and the derailleurs and cranks came off an old road bike") and protects it from the most simple of mechanical errors with the ingenious Third-Eye Chainwatcher. "I have one on almost every bike I own," she says. "Road bike too. Your bike can be set up perfectly but you can shift and hit a bump and there goes your chain. It costs ten dollars and weighs almost nothing so the way I see I'd be dumb not to put them on my bikes."

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Keli Medcroft/www.keliskolor.com

  • Barb Howe's custom Rock Lobster 'cross bike - Builder Paul Sadoff says that in 2005, sponsorship bikes accounted for almost a third of the 101 frames he built.
  • Bundled up against the cold Barb Howe preps her Rock Lobster cyclo-cross race bike an hour before the elite women's national race in Providence, Rhode Island.
  • Howe runs Zipp 303 Paves on her main race bike and 404s on her spare. She says the 303 Pave has more carbon fiber than the road version of the 303, a higher hub flange and greater spoke count.
  • The rear derailleur cable is routed up over the top tube to avoid it getting clogged or damaged by the terrain in cyclo-cross races.
  • Barb's custom 'cross race bike is built by hand with Easton's Ultralite and Scandium tubing. Sadoff says it's a good time to be a frame builder. "There are so many new great materials to work with and plenty of customers seeking something that the big companies might not be focusing on. There's also lots of new blood in the frame building community; some great new craftsmen out there. They'll be at the American Handbuilt bike show in San Jose, Calif. on March 4-5th, along with yours truly."
  • In the cockpit Barb runs Easton's EC90 bar and Shimano Dura-Ace levers. Just like we saw on Shannon Skerritt's 'cross pro bike article, Howe routes her front brake cable over the stem to allow a cleaner route from lever to the cable mount at the top of the headset. You can just see the SRP front brake in this picture.
  • Eggbeaters - Howe says she's run Crankbrother's minimal pedals since they first came out.
  • Paul Sadoff's signature head badge is an homage to music. A musician himself, Sadoff has been known to play live in his Interbike trade show booth. "I have been playing professionally on a part time basis since 1982," he says. "At Interbike, I invited people to come and jam around an hour before closing time. As far as I know, I was the only booth in Interbike history to that point to have live music. I think it wasn't actually permitted. I am supposed to play at the Handbuilt Bike show with (fellow frame builder) Bryan Bayliss. In 1988 I gave up a fulltime gig in a 50's-60's dance band to launch Rock Lobster full time."
  • Much of Barb Howe's race bike is built from Eastom Scandium and Aluminum tubing. Sadoff believes in strong welds and has been rewarded with a months-long backlog or orders from loyal customers.
  • Chris King's Pretty and Strong headset - team issue for the Bella's.

Full specification

Frame: Rock Lobster Easton Ultralite Al
Fork: Easton EC90X

Crank: Dura Ace 10spd
Bottom bracket: Dura Ace
Chain: Wipperman 10s
Front derailleur: Shimano Ultegra
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace
Brakes: SRP Mr. Grumpy
Levers: Shimano Dura-Ace, 10 speed
Sprockets: Dura Ace 12-27

 

Wheels: Zipp 303 Pave
Tires: Dugast 32

Bar: Easton EC90
Bar tape: Easton

Stem: Easton EA70
Headset: Chris King special edition Pink
Pedals: Crank Brothers Eggbeater Triple Ti
Seat post: Easton EC70
Saddle: Fi'zi:k Arione