Building the QR Illicito

I say this time after time after time. No one does anything in triathlon by themselves...no one. That statement applies to the assembly of my new Quintana Roo Illicito as well. Many hands in the pot.

It started on March 5th, when my QR Illicito arrived, along with my Shimano Pro Missile EVO bars and stem. I love BOXES...especially when they are on your front porch. In the boxes are 2 products that are not that 'available' which means 2 things. 1) Cool factor. 2) Not too many people will be able to help you if you run into a problem. I'm ready...open the BOXES!

Boxes. All good things come in boxes...like donuts

Nice internally routed for Shimano di2

Finally in the shop!

Shimano Pro Missile EVO and EVO stem

I will try and not get too 'technical' with things, but still give you a taste of the excitement in building this bike. Before building any bike I like to have all the "small parts." And trust me, as TT bikes get more and more technical, there are always parts you need that you don't have. Fortunately, Brad DeVaney at Quintana Roo, and his phenomenal staff (Tres in particular), answered a slew of questions and made sure I had all the 'right' parts. I am very fortunate to also have Fitness Fanatics here in Spokane too. They carry QR and always lend a HUGE helping hand.

After taking 100 measurements, and looking at spec numbers over and over, it was time to stop pussy footing around and start building. First things first... cut the fork. That way I can get the Pro EVO stem on and then everything else falls into place so to speak.

Here we go...

I was only able to allocate an hour or two per day building this bike. I know, normal bikes would be done in that amount of time. But routing Di2 internally and through stems and aero bars is a little more time intensive. AND this where I ran into my first hurdle. The front Di2 wire harness I have, is from when Di2 first came out. It is slightly different than the ones today. Because back then (yes, a whole 3 years ago), aero bars and frames were not designed for di2 to be internally routed. Short of it is, the wires did not reach the end of my aero bars. Crap. This is where you take a deep breath and hope for a simple solution. I called Shimano and explained my situation, and 2 days later, wires showed up in the mail. AWESOME! But not just any wires, the RIGHT wires. Now I was ready to roll. My BB30 bearings were pressed in, I threw on the BB30 to standard adapter, and we were off and rolling...not really, more like looking at a frame and fork in a stand.

I could not stop staring at this stem/bar combo

The whole process was pretty simple. But since I did everything 2 or 3 times, it took me a bit longer. When you route housing through a stem and the bars, you only want to cut it and grind it once. Pulling it all through again and re doing it is so frustrating and a waste of materials. And with Di2, you pull a wire too hard, or press/pull against something sharp, cha-ching...$200. I also took some extra time sitting on the shop stool admiring the beauty of the bike. I seem to find myself doing that a lot. It really does not matter too much what kind of bike, I just like looking at the design of it all thinking of all the punishment and abuse that will be had on the steed.

Time to play.

The left side...minus a seat stay

The cockpit.

Drivetrain

Nice butt

Where did it go?

Clean front end

SRM and Di2. I'll have that.

Illicito...this is why

Thank you to Jessi and my family for putting up with me the last week. I know Jessi can only absorb so many stories about how cables and wires are run through a stem and bars and little tricks I have found. She brought me a few coffees and even dinner once.

Build:
Quintana Roo Illicito frame- Large
Crank: Dura Ace 7800/7900 SRM 42/54
Pedals: Look Carbon Keo
Base Bar/Aero Bar: Shimano Pro Missile EVO
Brakes: TRP
Rear der: Shimano Di2
Front der: Shimano Di2
Brake Levers: Shimano Di2
Shift Levers: Shimano Di2
Chain: Shimano 7900
Cassette: Shimano 7900 11x23
Wheels: Shimano Dura Ace C50 Clinchers

Interesting USADA Testing Information

So, I have made some random statements from time to time about drugs being in all sports, but it's cycling that gets all the media attention because of how much they are tested. Take it or leave it, I still believe that to be true. I believe there is a problem in all sports, but again, cycling gets all the attention.

It must be because the cycling world is so fond of using drugs. Being on the bike just demands a needle in the ass. Just kidding, we know that is not the case. But why is it that those in cycling seem to take the risk? Is it the money? The fame? The need? Why? Because, apparently, those in other sports don't use anything.

So I thought I would look at USADA (United States Anti-Drug Agency) and see what sports they really go after. Because cycling in the United States is HUGE (insert sarcasm tone)...way bigger than football or baseball or basketball. By the way, the last 3 sports are true American sports. What I found was a host of amazing resources. One of them really caught my eye though. It was a search engine called, "Individual Athlete Test History." You can find that Here. It allows you to search specific sports and names. I decided to give 'er a go. So I started with baseball. Lots of money, lots on the line, must mean lots of testing...right? I searched only the first quarter of 2011. This is what I found:

How about Basketball?
Football?
Triathlon?
Cycling?

Granted, this was for only the first quarter when cycling and triathlon are HUGE in the USA. Ya know, January and February (again, sarcasm). But the only people being tested are cyclists and triathletes! This is the biggest time of the year for Basketball and Football...but not a SINGLE ATHLETE TESTED! The important thing to note is the number tested. The pic only shows a 'portion' of the list. Cycling: 68 Triathlon: 29

So, to be fair, I decided to look at the entire 2011 season in the same sports. Here is what I found:

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Triathlon

Cycling

Remember, the list of names are just a small shot of the full list. Here are the stats for the number tested in 2011 by sport:

Baseball:25 Basketball:33 Football: 0 (zero) Triathlon:83 Cycling:354

I am not a keen follower of baseball, basketball, or football. But I am familiar with some of the big names in the sport. That said, I did not recognize ANY of those tested in those sports. Maybe others do, but it seems to be missing people like quarterbacks, pitchers, running backs, wide receivers, linemen, etc.

Look for yourself at all the information and correct me. I am not saying that my perception is reality...but for the time being, it is to me. Seems like USADA avoids American sports that draw a lot of money. Maybe those players are protected by unions? Is there another agency that test those sports? I really don't know.

If you want to see who received sanctions, go HERE.
If you want to read about the sanctions, and other fun stuff, go HERE.