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FEATURES: LIVING IN WAYNE'S WORLD
Zap
May 30, 2011
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Try as you might, it is probably impossible to find a bigger (and better) bike geek in the whole world than Shimano's Wayne Stetina. The 57 year old (r) is the second youngest of the Indiana bred Stetina clan (Troy, Joel, Wayne, Dale) which at one time was the most famous cycling family in America. In fact, his nephew Peter (son of kid brother Dale) just came out of the Giro d'Italia as top ranked American in 22nd place.
A former winner of the Little 500 (as seen in "Breaking Away"), and National Champion, Wayne has been working for Shimano for 27 years and he is currently their VP & Road Product Specialist. If you've ridden any bike with Shimano parts in the last two decades, you can be assured that Wayne Stetina had a hand in its development.
At the HTC-Highroad team recon of the Mt. Baldy stage for the Tour of California a few weeks ago, we had a few minutes with Wayne before the Pro honches showed up. We touched a variety of subjects, which are offered here for your education and entertainment.
Wayne rides a few different bikes, but his current race bike is a Specialized Tarmac SL3 that is outfitted with a Pro seatpost, stem and handlebar, two bottles, a big saddle bag, an old SDG saddle, and yes, those are Rotor chainrings that he is currently testing.
What's missing in this photo? How about the cable guides on the downtube. Wayne recently had his Tarmac frame retro-fitted with the Di2 internal battery system from the master craftsmen at Calfee.
Wayne sez.. "So far there’s been no difference in performance, but I want to run it
dead a few times to see what kind of mileage I get. I figure that will
probably be in another 6-10,000 miles. The Calfee guys did a good job and I think It’s obvious that the high-end
consumer wants this kind of set-up and I think Shimano will have to make
a version of it fairly soon. If we don’t it would be awkward to get
into warranty claims and such. It is a little hassle to have to take the
seatpost out every time you need to charge the battery, but at least
for my personal experience that only has to happen every 1500-2000
miles, which for some people might take a longer time. I’ve never had to
recharge a battery at less than a 1500 mile interval, but it also
depends on what kind of riding you do. If all I was doing was trips up
Pacific Coast Highway I could probably get 4000 miles between charges
because I would be shifting less than I would on the climbs around here.
Making front shifts is also a bigger drain on the battery because each
shift is made under tension. I know some people (that live if Florida)
that recharge the battery whenever they replace the chain."
Wayne was proud to show-off his computer - touting lowly a number of 30,536 miles on it - which he initiated in October, 2008. He said that in that time he's replaced nine chains, four cog sets, and at 18,000 miles he installed new chainrings and derailleur pulleys - but, he had yet to change any of the Di2 components themselves.
What about that new quick-link on Wayne's chain?
Wayne sez..."This is a new prototype master link that we’re working on and the
benefit over the first version we did a few years ago is that it should
last the length of the chain. With our first version I was never able to
get more than 400-600 miles out of it before it would become
overstretched. I mean the link worked great, it just didn’t have the
kind of durability that Shimano is known for and that was a little
embarrassing. With the kind of power that Pro riders put out, they would
never use the old link. Cyclists should know that all re-usable links
wear quicker than a standard master link and I would warn everyone
against using an old quick link with a new chain."
What about the Gucci bolt kit on his bike?
Wayne sez..."That's the Umeya Ti hardware kit that we came out with a few years ago. The
whole package saved about 20 grams and I know Cancellara used to use it,
but we screwed up and created no buzz around the launch so no one
really ever found out about it. But, I’ve got mine and it looks good so
it’s all okay!"
Besides the time spent racing himself and hanging out with the Pro riders, Wayne has put in ample miles for two very worthy cycling related charities - Breakaway from Cancer and Ride2Recovery. The latter works with injured war vets and Wayne has been able to discern the special needs of amputees and configure unique drivetrain options to help them ride - bravo Wayne.
What's it like for an old guy trying to keep up with the kids?
Wayne sez..."Even though I can't always keep up with them, I've learned to be happy riding with Pro riders. It offers me a great opportunity to hear their feedback and discuss the parts as they are being used. That day on Baldy was hard, but I stayed with (National Champ) Evi Stevens so at least I didn't get girl'd too bad!"
Wayne doesn't know it yet, but we wanted to offer RBA readers the chance to ask him any tech or trivia question they need answered - we'll do our best to get a reply. One lucky entry will get a Tour of California jersey (actually donated to RBA from a SRAM guy!). Send your Wayne's World query to Road Bike Action. |
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