So, I have started doing a little bit of stuff for Cyclocross Magazine online.  The following is the first tech tip article that appeared on Nov. 23rd.  You can look for interesting tips and tricks from me every Monday at cxmagazine.com

Gut-Wrenching Mechanical Mondays: Custom Cable Housing Solution

November 23rd, 2009   Filed Under cyclocross tech, how-to

This is the first in a weekly series of from-the-crew-pits tips. Some will be straight-forward, others more involved, but they’ll all help you to keep your cyclocross bike humming smoothly along. Dave Drumm is the Webcor chief mechanic during the road season and wrenches on a freelance basis during cyclocross season for the likes of Amy Dombroski, Adam Myerson, Dee Dee Winfield, Will Duggan and many more.

by Dave Drumm & Josh Liberles

As you can read in our coverage of the Krueger’s Crossing race, this past weekend in Portland was the perfect testing ground for improvised techniques to seal out the weather. Shifting problems in muddy conditions are ubiquitous in cyclocross and finding a solution is akin to a ‘cross mechanic’s holy grail. Drumm actually had two different cable-protection prototypes out on the course, the “Myerson Method” on his own steed, which he raced in the Master’s B event, and a top-secret trick on an Elite Woman’s race rig which also looks very promising. We’ll focus on the Myerson Method here but will be reporting on the other trick in this column within the next few weeks.

“It got its name from [pro bike racer] Adam Myerson, who was sick of junk accumulating at the junction between the cable and housing on his seat stays,” said Drumm. “Myerson was just going on and on about it, so I had to give it a try.”

Any bike that features a top tube-routed rear derailleur cable will typically have two housing stops on the seat tube, with exposed cable running in between before the cable re-enters housing at the bottom and finishes its journey into the rear derailleur. That second junction is a famous collecting spot for mud, water and grit, which will quickly wreak havoc on shifting performance. The Myerson Method is quite simple: just run housing all the way for sealed-in performance.

“It takes about two seconds with a five millimeter drill bit. You just notch out the two cable stops enough to allow the housing to run straight through,” said Drumm. “Any monkey with a drill bit can easily do it.” (We still recommend a shop – and don’t blame us when you drill right through your carbon seatstay!)

“I have to admit, it works great,” Drumm continued. “It worked great yesterday, I had no shifting problems and had access to the full range of gears.”

Anyone who raced at Krueger’s yesterday – myself included – will be incredulous at that last statement. I was at the point where I could occasionally shift and he had no shifting problems? What gives?

“The housing made a big difference and I just sprayed a little Pam on the cassette to help keep it clean,” said Drumm.

Adam Myerson runs this setup on his team Van Dessels; Drumm runs full-length Gore cable housing with traditional steel cables on his Blue CX 6.5 and says that a similar setup is ideal for Redlines and many other similarly-cabled bikes that see inclement weather.

Although Drumm’s setup will slightly add to overall shifting friction in pristine conditions and the 11 grams-per-foot penalty of housing may be an issue for true weight weenies, any negatives are more than offset compared to the performance breakdowns that happen when a shift cable gets gummed up.

Norco and Redline bikes provide fittings for full-length housing on their ‘cross bikes. Norco’s bike comes with full rear housing as pictured below. Other options include Gore’s fully-sealed cable system or Gore’s professional semi-sealed system that comes with the SRAM Red gruppo, but Drumm swears by this Do-It-Yourself technique.

Stay tuned for more weekly wrenching tips.

USGP and Nationals are quickly approaching.  I have been lost on the cross scene for awhile,  It isn’t all about wrenching.  CX season is my time to dance on the pedals although this season it been more like spinning squares but with the help of Al Donahue and Rick Crawford I hope to be in the hunt come Natz time.  Sunday at Krugers was a good test.  Not only of the work I have been doing but of the “Myerson Modification”  The mud at Krugers put it to the test and the bike performed flawlessly.

In the coming weeks there will be lots of fun to be had.  Little Dombro and Simon Burney and Rebecca Much will be heading to Portland for USGP and then it’s off to Bend for Natz.  I will have my hands full for sure.   The best racing is yet to come.  Stay tuned

Yours truly (Hudz-Subaru kit) about to attack the back like nobodys business

Starcrossed- awesome event up in the Seattle’s. I had a sweet time hanging out with Johnnie, Stephan and Helen. I got to “race” my bike and all in all it was a good time. Helen killed it from the gun and there was no drama in the pit. Colleen and I got to break in the Westy with it’s first CX adventure and it surely was… it seems she doesn’t like to start after being driven hard for 2+ hours. Colleen and I pulled some little miss sunshine action and we made it there in time for me to warm up and race- I was so jacked from almost not making it in time that I felt like I had raced before even getting to the venue.  After working the pit in the Elite women’s race I helped out Troy Wells in the pit.  It rained…alot and I got cold and I got very wet.  Immediately following the race I had a beer and went to bed.   In hindsight,  not the best preparation for the steaming hot weather that Rad Racing GP had to offer the next day. On lap 2 of the Masters 3 race I thought I was stroking out. I lost vision in my right eye on the descent following the run up and couldn’t hang on to the handlebars… the world went pear shaped an my heart rate was off the chart. I pulled out and  then curled up into the fetal position.   Not a good idea to race when the only thing consumed in 16 hours is a beer and a cliff bar.   Helen’s day went to poop for her when she punctured her front wheel just after passing the pit.  she went from the very front to the very back in short order.    She did manage to make up 20+ places and finished 4th by the end.   Nice work on her part.  Then it was off to vegas for Cross vegas and the Interbikes. CV was cool as always and I spent the night hanging with Dombro, the Kona crew, Simon Burney, Lance from Hudz,  Tim, Johnnie, Steph etc… it was a blast. Until I returned to my hotel room.  It had been broken into and those bastards took everything- Passport, Laptop, Ipod, Cycling shoes, backpack- complete with dirty kit from dirt demo. The kicker- they did it while Frank was asleep in our hotel room! People have some massive balls! Items are replaceable but the images of 2 seasons on the road in 9 different countries are not. I learned a valuable lesson about backing up your hard drive regularly. I also learned how important music is in my life.   After Vegas I  drove cross country and back in 8 days with no Ipod- and oddly enough no way to import my music into a new one becasue IT WAS ALL ON MY HARDRIVE. I officially hate that festering sweaty gooch that is Las Vegas and oh yeah, don’t stay at Harrahs Hotel and Casino unless you want your room broken into and your shit stolen.

P.S. this post was written on a borrowed Laptop.  Here’s to looking up.  Until next time…..

Kona’s newest hotshoe Helen Wyman was ranked 6th in the world last season.  She is a multi time UK national Cyclocross champion and one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  The other day a bike box was delivered to my front door.  In said box was Helen’s new Team Editon Major Jake.  Helen and her husband Stefan arrived in the PDX later that day.  I got the pleasure of doing an easy ride with Stefan, Helen and Johnnie yesterday-  Helen is a monster!  I can’t wait to see her race in person.

Helen will be racing Starcrossed, the Rad Racing GP and Crossvegas.  Here are some pics from our impromtu Photo shoot in Portland!

 Helen sporting the UK national champ kit-  Kona style

Stefan checking the bike against the fit sheet.  Helen’s bike fitter is the same guy that Tom Boonen uses.  You can too!  only 150 euro per bike, a 6 month waiting list and a plane ticket to Belgium!

Monster General Lee and the Major Jake

 Dream Team!   Mechanic: Dave Drumm, Rider:  Helen Wyman and  Soigneur: Johnnie Salamee  and Manager Stefan Wyman (taking the pic)

See you in Washington!!!

Stars and Bars….  Nuff said.  It’s picture time!

Amy Dombroski now needs an editon on her house in Boulder after winning yet another stars and strip jersey- this time  its the U23  Road title.   Amy also earned  an impressive 4th place finish in the Women’s Elite Road Race after forcing a move that initiated the 4 woman breakaway.    In the past 12 months Amy has won 3 National Championship titles in 3 different disciplines.  She will be attending the World MTB championships in Australia to take a crack at the World Champ title as well-  Good luck Dombro!

Mighty midget-  good for 4th

Mooch got 6th in the TT which was awesome considering the amount of drag caused by that nose hair.

KCM felt a little off her game but still managed to rock to an 8th place finish in the TT

Face of an Angel. heart of a killer. 

Eveyln learned some valuable lessons at Nationals. 

1. It is really hard to win nationals with no teamates and you have a massive target on your back (she rode for her club team out of respect- very pro)
2. Don’t drop your headphones into your rear wheel while warming up on the trainer-  cuz it will chop that shit up!
3. Never, ever back pedal in the TT start box when you are cross chaining a 54-26 (Evelyn got 2nd in the TT in Webcor colors only one second behind former Expresscopy rider Jessica Phillips)

Time for some serious training.  Road season is done and I am gonna be racing some CX on my new Spooky Super Touch.  I can’t wait.

The Cascade Cycling Classic is one of my favorite events on the NRC schedule and the 2009 edition did not disappoint.  The Webcor team was down three riders heading into Cascade-  Janel broke herself pretty bad in San Diego after coming back from another broken collarbone.   Nikki was in Boulder recovering from a MTB related head injury and Alex had a major pain in her ass. 

It looked like Webcor was going to be completely outgunned racing against the other teams  with a full roster, but that was not the case.   Guest rider and the hottest thing on two wheels, Evelyn Stevens,  came away with a stage win on day one and the team rallied.   It is always difficult when a team  brings on a guest rider.  New blood can really mess with team dynamics- experience, ego and “fealings” can all get in the way  but not here, not this time-    Evelyn  is a quick learner, a tactical sponge with legs of steel and the lungs of a whale (doesn’t sound very fast-  but if you really think about it…)    She fit right in and proving the previous statement-  she won the first stage.

Having possesion of the Yellow jersey following stage one  put the pressure on  but KCM, Dombro, Mooch,  Ernie and Gina had it all under control.   The girls rode like absolute pros.  They rode flawlessly and it was the best I have ever seen them race AS A TEAM.  Each day they took control from the gun protecting Evelyn and setting tempo at the front to make sure no one went anywhere without their permission.  It was like watching the tour during the Postal days.   It was so Pro it hurt.   Evelyn brought a new vibe to the team and I hope we will be seeing more of her in the future.

Also at Cascade….. Jeremy and I had a seriously sweet host setup.  Frank and Nancy were awesome.  The food was good, the beer was cold, the garage was big and the view from the ranch was epic.  Colleen even came down for a few days and did a ride along in the team car and helped Jeremy in the feed zone.  The green machine was well lubed and running smooth-  enough of the lovefest on to the pics….

Ranch life is alright by me…

Ohhhh… Time Trial prep MY FAVORITE!!

Our hosts Nancy and Frank are part owners of Elk Lake Lodge.  After the TT they invited us up for a little dinner, some swimming and kayaking.  It was pretty frickin’ sweet.  Best hosts in the biz!

Mooch buried herself in the TT and pretty much went into a coma at the Lodge.  Thats Evil passed out in the background

How hard did the girls work for that yellow jersey?  take a good look at Gina… CRACKED!

Das Mooch- Women’s Prestige Series best young rider-  finishing up the day after setting tempo and launching Evil up the last climb on the Mt. Bachelor stage-  good work

Dombro’s favorite dots?  Polka of course.  She rocked the Climbers jersey for most Cascade.

Yellow is our favorite color.

Yeah… She fits right in.

This is what happens when midgets hijack your camera…..

Anyway.  Cascade kicked ass.  Thanks for looking.

D.  Out.

Philly is the biggest, best one day race in the USA. And ya know what?  Philly can suck it!    We have one of the best teams in the American peleton, hell in the world.  But you would not have known that at Philly.  The race plays out almost the same every year-  there are several stock scenarios-  if one doesn’t play out by lap 3 then move onto the next one.  I don’t know what happened (actually I do but I am trying not to dwell on it)  moving on……

Amy Dombro proved she was worth the trip with the best young rider award!  Nice work Diesel!  The women caugh and passed the men’s peleton and I had the scariest caravan ride to date.  Then Jeremy and I were loaded and ready to drive the 23 hours to Minnesota at 1:00 and we had to wait till 4 to leave.  OK. Enough. On to the pics…

Always a cool view at the start!

Gina with a  little pre race interview with Cyclingnews.com

My view of the  “Wall” for 4 laps

Get behind her now-  She is the future.  CX season is coming…….

Getting the hell outta Philly… finally.

Jeremy gets a shitty view all the  way to St. Paul… but he is really good at drafting!

Nature Valley Grand Prix. 

The shit show of  the 2009 racing season.  Never has a team had such rotten effin luck as the Webcor women at this years NVGP.  3rd on GC 4th on GC two more riders in the top ten and then BAM-  20 rider pile up and  6 of our girls are on the bottom!  including all the GC contenders.  The ones who make it out barely survive and Much, who made it clear, looses 6 minutes due to a puncture she is forced to ride because no one can service her. Myself and Neutral are servicing those on the ground-  miles and minutes behind.   3 bike changes and 1 wheel change all in one accident.  A seasons worth of shit in one stage. Geeezuz!

Janel.  Words cannot describe the respect I have for this girl now.  She crashed in the crit on lap two.  She got up and staggered to the pit.  She Could not physically push Jeremy with her right arm, the side she landed on in the crash but insisted on racing.  Against my better judgement I gave her a new bike.  One hour later she finishes the crit in the front group on the lead lap- WITH A BROKEN AND DISPLACED COLLARBONE.

Alex.  Pheonix from the flames-  after a devastating day that pushed the Webcor ladies to the nether regions of the GC.  Alex Rhodes rode her ass off and attacked the shit out of everyone-  you should look up the TV coverage online-  an amazing effort that brought her from 40th place to 2nd and only 12 seconds down from  race leader Armstrong with one stage remaining!!!!   Alex’s – diet pure fucking cement!  There is no one harder than her.  Most girls would have cried themselves to sleep over what happened and what could have been-  instead she dug into her Gucci handbag of courage and ripped everyone’s legs off and got her time back along with a few jerseys to boot-  IT WAS EPIC!

No one finds Alex more amusing than Alex herself

I got all Artsy with my Pics on this trip

The Pit at the Women’s NVGP Still water race:  You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany and …. really good bike mechanics.

My pride and joy-  Soon I will give you all a  digital tour of the ultimate team vehicle.

Rockabilly and massage go hand in hand-  don’t you know anything?

“You got that Earl?  Leave yer frickin hand cannon in the truck!”

Driving to CA after NVGP there were tornado warnings in NE and WY.  Guess where this pic was taken?

Yeah-  it got worse.  And there was no place to stop and seek shelter.  Nothing else to do but put both hands on the wheel and put the pedal to the devil.  The sprinter is not exactly a short heavy vehicle and it was all over the road  in the ever building winds and then the rains came…. and the hail… and the locusts and flying monkeys

Within 15 minutes of passing through this-  6 tornados touched down in the corridor that I80 covers between Western NE and Cheyenne Wyoming.  I don’t know how close to me and I don’t really want to know.

Montreal World Cup-  it couldn’t be as bad as last year, right?  right- it wasn’t.  Pretty much the one word that can be used to describe the whole thing is-  Meh.

Highlight:  Joelle Numanvaille :  “Eh.  Eh, yah you!  yeah haut dawg, Looking sexy mah friend”   this was directed at me when Joelle saw me in kit before the staff race.  Proving once and for all that Joelle really does not know what the hell she is talking about.  ever.

Pics.  I will let them do the talking.

“JEREMY, WTF  IS THAT MANGY THING DOING IN MY SPRINTER!!!”

Amy’s super cool Fasha, Ed,  came up to Canadadia to hangout and watch his daughter crush souls and get the poop scared out of  him riding in the team car.

Yeah,  Numeric order.  PRO.   It’s in the details.

Tibco’s Bruce Miller gave it her all in the TT and collapsed at the finish.  When she realized no one was watching, or cared, she got up and went away.

The fully clothed Erinne Willock and Mr. Fliss.  We got to do a little riding one day around Montreal.  It was windy and it was fun nuff’ said.

The crit in little Italy.  I got to race in the staff race.  I haven’t been able to ride very much this season so I had NO fitness at all.  That did not stop me from drilling it from the gun and holeshotting the race reaching 34 MPH through turn 2 and 3 and then nearly getting killed in turn 4 by some over eager jackasses who dove tight to the inside.  I sat up and will live to ride another day.   Good times.

I guess you could call it a break.  I drove an extra 602 miles to bring J. Fliss and the TT equipment to Minnesota before hauling ass over to NY to my parents and then on to Pittsfield MA where I emptied my house, put what little I got into storage,  finalized the Divorce paperwork and then hopped on a plane for the west coast where I did some  more stuff before driving to Seattle and Bellingham WA for a few days of R and R .  Some highlights for ya’ll

My parents Llamapalooza in NY

yeah, those kinda Llama’s-  they raise them.  You know-  for burgers and such….

Kurt Cobain’s “memorial” bench in  a Seattle park.  Pretty cool stuff.  Nirvana and Kurt had a big impact on me in the 90’s so I had to pay homage.  Every inch of that bench was covered with writing.

Melissa is also a big Nirvana fan and had not been to the bench before (and she lives in Seattle)

The space needle as seen from the Olympic Statue park at the Museum of Art-  yes I like artsy things too…

But it doesn’t mean I am still not a smart ass about it….

On the way to Bellingham WA we passed a full size truck complete with full sized dogs.

Colleen getting rad on a Planter bike in Bellingham

After stopping into see my old friend and leader of HupUnited Zac Daab in Seattle.  He insisted that when in Bellingham that we go to Casa Que Pasa for their famous Potato Burrito.  We did and it was gooooooood!

After a few days in the Northern Pac NW it was back to the PDX for a day.  I helped finish up the Chicken palace that Colleen built.    I drank coffee and put a few screws in the hardware cloth-  that’s all her work.  She is  pretty handy for a hippie.  

I hopped a red eye back to New York.  My dad picked me up at the Airport at 9:45 am.  I took a quick trip to Mass to sign the last bits of paper and then it was pedal to the devil to make it to Montreal by 4:45.  I rolled into arrival gate at 4:47.  Not bad.  The girls were out at 5:12.