My 2014 Specialized AWOL came with an FSA Omega MegaExo 19 triple crank and an FSA BB-4000 bottom bracket. I bought the bike in October and in March I started thinking about doing some post-winter maintenance. One of the things that I wanted to do was remove and examine the bottom bracket. Since I was not familiar with outboard bearing bottom brackets, I did some research about the BB-4000 bottom bracket, and here is what I found out.
I could not decipher what was written about the wheel hubs in the official spec sheet for the Specialized AWOL. For both front and rear hubs, the specs say:
Specialized Hi Lo disc, alloy, RCC bearing system, QR, 32h
What exactly is RCC bearing system? I could not find anything related to this term anywhere. So I figured I’d ask Specialized through their dedicated Twitter support account. The dialogue that ensued was quite comic.
It’s been about six months ago that I bought a 2014 Specialized AWOL. I have the standard edition in size Large. I’ve ridden it almost every day since I bought it, all through the Winter, but no long distance rides yet, at most 25km. I have been mostly using it for commuting so far.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the bike, but the impressions are not all peachy.
I’ve been comparing different bar tape with the idea to find something that’s not much more expensive than $20 and provides good enough grip and cushioning. I first tried the SRAM Supercork tape and liked it. I then messed up my handle bar and had to re-tape, so I got a pack of Bontrager Double Gel Cork Tape because I liked how it felt on a Trek touring bike (was it the 520) that the local bike shop had on display.
My 6 year old’s bike was stolen from our front porch, so I set out to find a reasonable replacement. I was looking for a 20 inch wheel bike with no shocks, some gearing, and, after reading online articles comparing the bikes (here is one), I was certain that I wanted a bike that weighed less than 10kg. The odd thing is that there aren’t that many bikes that fit the three parameters.
