# Michael Ball's new "cool" wheels



## CDB (Oct 20, 2005)

Are these the wheels that he was going to make that were better and cooler than the HED's? Are those the same hubs Neuvation uses? Is the "cool" part the way the nipples are not accessible at the hub or rim? I bet it's cool when it's time to true them. To me, the cool part about the wheels is how they took normal off the shelf carbon rims and added those custom green stickers. Wow! That is really nifty! Hed must really be kicking themselves.


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## CDB (Oct 20, 2005)

*Cole Hubs*

Well, they're not Neuvation, just the standard Cole hubs.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

I thought this thread was going to be about Escalades. 

Good lord, those are fugly bikes.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

I thought you meant this.

fc


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

and I thought you meant these...


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

blackhat said:


> and I thought you meant these...


You found his secret plans! I call industrial espionage on you. 

Is that a Rolls he's driving? You're kidding, right? You can't be a bad boy in Rolls. Bad boys drive Bentleys.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

California L33 said:


> You found his secret plans! I call industrial espionage on you.
> 
> Is that a Rolls he's driving? You're kidding, right? You can't be a bad boy in Rolls. Bad boys drive Bentleys.


He's has one of those too.


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## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

I'll say this: you gotta appreciate the fact the he actually went out and put together what probably is a pretty decent wheelset. Even the decals look ok.

The arrogance is off-putting, however at least the guy is interested in cycling, and is trying to put together the best team he can. Running a team like that has to be a money pit.


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## Davoosie (Mar 17, 2007)

Are those actual DeRosa frames or pedal power rebranded with the DeRosa logo? Yes, I'm serious. I've heard from a few people that was the case.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Einstruzende said:


> Even the decals look ok.


Given that is all that is changed relative to a default cole shuriken c50, it better look nice....


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

Davoosie said:


> Are those actual DeRosa frames or pedal power rebranded with the DeRosa logo? Yes, I'm serious. I've heard from a few people that was the case.


You mean Pedalforce, not power. I would be skeptical. The frames don't have the same curved top tube and stays.


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

I like the Bourges Telecom guy in that picture of the Rolls Royce
I can just picture him saying to himself
"whats the point of that?!"


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## MIN in PDX (Nov 29, 2007)

cipo weeps !


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

Davoosie said:


> Are those actual DeRosa frames or pedal power rebranded with the DeRosa logo? Yes, I'm serious. I've heard from a few people that was the case.


they are de rosa idols


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## gojita (Jan 25, 2007)

*king3's*

they are DeRosa King3 frames, you can see the decal on the right chainstay in the pic.


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## gojita (Jan 25, 2007)

sorry... left chainstay...


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

gojita said:


> they are DeRosa King3 frames, you can see the decal on the right chainstay in the pic.


oh yeah, my mistake.

Also one of the riders is on the 'protos' frameset.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Cipo is riding his own bikes and wheels. You can esp see that in the fact that dispite the rest of the team being on campy Cipo is running shimano.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

Mootsie said:


> He's has one of those too.


I don't care if you paint it black. I don't care if you paint a green skull on it with tribal designs to show how bad**s you are. A Rolls is still an establishment car. It doesn't matter if he's go the Bentley in the garage. This is so discouraging. Just when it looked like we finally had substance over style- sigh... It's like seeing 50 Cent skip down the street singing 'Walking on Sunshine.' 

Does anyone else think all the emphasis on 'image' takes away from the... from the... wait, I remember, cycling?


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

32and3cross said:


> Cipo is riding his own bikes and wheels. You can esp see that in the fact that dispite the rest of the team being on campy Cipo is running shimano.


Cipo's rig from today. It was great to see him race. I thought those days were gone...


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## ceebee (Jun 21, 2006)

Einstruzende said:


> I'll say this: you gotta appreciate the fact the he actually went out and put together what probably is a pretty decent wheelset. Even the decals look ok.


Those wheels are made by Cole. Did you really think it was possible for him to design, test and manufacture a wheelset in the two months since Hed dropped their sponsorship?


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## jch2112 (Feb 5, 2004)

[Maybe it's just me, but their bikes remind me of this:


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## jm3 (Mar 22, 2003)

Cole's are made here in SoCal - we've had a test set for a few weeks and have been very impressed. We gave them to our bruiser boys who destroy all sorts of wheels, and they all came back happy with them. Tough market to break into, but they're offering a solid product.

The Kind3's are better looking up close, and I suspect you'll see a few different schemes throughout the season.


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## MIN in PDX (Nov 29, 2007)

Fogdweller said:


> Cipo's rig from today. It was great to see him race. I thought those days were gone...


That ride is certainly more fitting for Cipo. Thanks for the picture. :thumbsup:


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## Kris Flatlander (Sep 9, 2006)

32and3cross said:


> Cipo is riding his own bikes and wheels. You can esp see that in the fact that dispite the rest of the team being on campy Cipo is running shimano.


Has Cipo always run Shimano, you'd think he'd have the whole Campy connection. I guess he did ride a lot of Specialized...


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## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

ceebee said:


> Those wheels are made by Cole. Did you really think it was possible for him to design, test and manufacture a wheelset in the two months since Hed dropped their sponsorship?


Of course not.

I will however, admit that I didn't know of Cole, or that they built the whole wheel. What I thought Ball did was buy some boutique hubs (Cole), and then buy off the shelf rims and have them hand built.

So I take back my original statement if he just bought a bunch of wheels and put new decals on them.


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