ERIC SAMPSON'S, MY .02 CENTS PAGE

Welcome to my 2 cents, Eric Sampson's place to ramble, as well as educate and inform you of new trends and products.

My 2 Cents #6

Hopefully you made it through the holidays unscathed, warm and rested. If not, you probably live in Colorado where tossing snow is becoming our main exercise the past couple of years!

The good news is we have a LOT of snow this year. The bad news is I hand carried some of our new parts back the first part of December for a little on-bike testing. Little did I know that thanks to all the snow, I would be giving the new shifters, derailleurs , the Diablo S and myself a little torture testing too!

I have instituted about 30 changes into the shifters and derailleurs since last summer. While none of them are exceptional on their own, cumulatively the effect really is huge! The new levers jump onto the bike, routing is a snap, and shifting is fast, smooth and crisp. The shift speed is now very much what you expect from a top level shifter, but the feel is totally unique. There is little hand force required to shift, yet the shifter imparts a precise, notchy feel. For the front derailleur, I will go out on a limb and say that the Sampson front shift is excellent. I kept a full steel cage on the FD. Though I could have easily gone to titanium or aluminum to save a few grams, the stiffness of the steel cage is noticeable when shifting to the big ring under load. I like the trim we have on our front ring too, it is clean and keeps the bike silent in all 10 cogs!

Sampson is now introducing the new Stratics TT saddle. While for racing only, the new saddle is just 111 grams! The Stratics TT features a full carbon shell, carbon rails, and high density foam pads covered in lycra on the contact areas. Super light and pretty darn nice to ride too!

Speaking of TT, our new Stratics TT bars are now in full production! You will start to see these all over shortly as they are light, and super-adjustable. The best speed weapon is getting the rider into a great position-and these do it awesomely!

Before I forget, big, no, GIANT kudos to Mirinda Carfrae who has been using Stratics pedals and brakes in 2007—Mirinda was just named the 70.3 Triathlete of the Year and she also set a new world record time at the 70.3 IM championships this year. Sampson is also going to be working with Chris Legh, Abi Bayley, and Sarah Haskins with various items. Abi is the only one who isn’t super well known, but she has been consistently in the top 5 this past year, and is one of those sneaky UK athletes. Hopefully Abs will sneak out a bunch more podium finishes this year!

- Eric Sampson