Standards matter. If a bike isn’t well thought out with regards to standards, it’s not built to last. You won’t think about this much on a new bike unless something goes awry or until you need service. But if you’ve ever dealt with a proprietary bottom bracket going bad or a derailleur hanger shape being phased out and immediately disabling your once expensive bike, you’ll be on board here.
The bike industry has done a great job of making sure standards aren’t actually standard. Bikes have become complicated in ways that benefit the marketing machine but don’t benefit you as a rider. We’ve noticed that our bikes tend to be kept longer than the industry average and it’s become important to us to ensure that this is not only possible but easy to do. Standards - let’s dive in.
Seatpost: 27.2 Round
We do our best to make all of our bikes easy to service and easy to understand. The Esprit is no different here. One thing you might notice is that the Esprit is using a round seatpost rather than a proprietary D shaped post. Easy to find, easy to replace, comfortable. We used to use the slogan You Do You in our marketing, and we still believe in that - we want you to be able to choose the parts that speak to you.
Bottom Bracket: Threaded T47 - 68mm External
This is the most standard T47 bottom bracket with the widest compatibility. T47 works seamlessly with larger spindle cranksets by allowing for larger bearings. Think of it as an updated BSA.
The 68mm width shell works with external bearing cups - these provide the best tool engagement and the best compatibility with crank / gearing options. So they are easy to install and remove without fuss and you can be assured they’ll work with any normal road gearing or cranks.
We’re sticking with the original T47 standard - no wonky spacing, no partially internal / partially external cups, and no marketing. This is a threaded bottom bracket that’s widely available and easy to live with. From Campy to King, Stainless to Ceramic - there are no shortage of options for T47.
UDH - Universal Derailleur Hanger
This is deserving of its own writeup, and we’ll dive into that more later. But the key point is that this is a truly standard hanger - the first of its kind. It works superbly with all road drivetrains, it’s already available worldwide, it costs just $16, and it provides a phenomenal shift quality.
Steerer Tube: 1.5” to 1 ⅛” Taper
I’m a little bit shocked that we even need to say this, but you can use any standard road bike stem on this bike. 1 ⅛” is the standard size for threadless road bike stems and has been for nearly 3 decades. We’re using a standard, round steerer tube. Feel free to use our integrated bars, other integrated bars, or any normal bar and stem setup that you like. And normal compression plugs work here too.
Headset Bearings: IS52
You’ve probably never thought about your headset bearings, and you really shouldn’t have to. It wasn’t until a few years ago that there would be any question about being able to find the right bearings - but some brands have chosen to manufacture proprietary bearing sizes. That leaves a question - will you be able to get them in the future? We’re using a standard IS52 upper and lower bearing. These are available from a large number of manufacturers and have been for well over a decade - so we’re confident in their future availability.
Easy to live with
So there you have it - no head scratchers, no trends, no flavor-of-the-month components. Just easy to find and easy to service parts to keep your bike easy to live with now and into the future.
