[everything you never wanted to know about fixed gears from a guy you'd be afraid to ask!]
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No.1 ~ Spring 2005
In this issue:
* Fixed gear conversion * Bits * SUB * Gear Selection * Track test: Orero * The Great Chain Debate * Ranting and Raving
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*THE FIXED CONVERSION
Why would someone take a perfectly good bicycle and remove all the gears and freewheel?
This question is often asked of those who choose to ride fixed gears, be they cyclists during winter training, urban messengers, former track junkies, or simply retro-minded souls who favor the simplicity of the fixed gear. There are many reasons to ride fixed, first being that it is fun. This is indeed the most important reason. If it isn’t fun, it becomes a task rather than a joy. And nothing keeps Americans off their bikes and inside watching TV more than the feeling that it might not be as “fun” because it is “hard”.
Well, no lies here. Riding a thousand dollar bike with a zillion gears is easier. But easy is no way to go. Was this country founded by people seeking the easy way? Hardly. Riding a bike is fun in part because it is something not all are willing to do. As the old saying goes, someday, everyone will ride a bike. Until then, we are special.
But tho a fixed gear may not be as “easy” to ride as its geared brethren, it is much more fun. It gives the rider a subtle form of control -- “resistance braking” -- that geared bikes lack. It has better traction in foul roads, and it gives you a feeling of accomplishment when you top out on a steep hill, look back and say “wow, I climbed THAT?” Granted, this can be said for climbing any hill on any bike. But on a fixed gear it feels extra special.
From a practical standpoint, a fixed gear drivetrain is easier to came for and maintain. There are fewer parts to be fouled by riding in rain, snow, or mud.
Plus, these bikes are often much lighter than their more complicated, geared brethren, and are less likely to be stolen. And if they are stolen, unlikely the thief will get far. Many are the tales of stolen fixies avenging themselves by pitching unknowledgeable thieves over the handlebars. Fixed gears also teach the rider to spin or pedal better, which improves what riders call “cadence”, a skill or learned habit that is transferable to a geared bike by the rider.
There are plenty of reasons to ride a fixed gear, but the best one is the feeling you get when you try it yourself for the first time. To recap an old saying: Someday, everyone will ride a fixed gear. Until then, we are special.
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*BITS: Specialized Cyclecross lever:
When buildin' a fixed gear you usually only use a front brake. But how to activate it? The choices are endless; I have used, in the past, everything from road levers, to a bar-end shifter.
However, as "safety levers" are making a modern comvback, fixedgearheads are offered another choice: 'cross levers.
Back "in the day", safety levers were common on entry-level and cheap roadbikes -- even those with okay frames. These allowed riders to brake from the flats of the bar. Unfortunately they worked by pushing on the regular brakes via a lever arrangement so they didn't allow as much stopping power and their method of attachment made riding the hoods painful. Most went out of their way to avoid or remove these "suicide levers" as they were sometimes dubbed, due to their tendency to be less than effective.
However, modern "'cross" levers work by running a cable through them on its way to the main brake levers. They allow those riding on the edges of the bars where the flats start to curve to hit the brakes. Or, of you're so inclines, you can mount it further in and ride the actual flats.
While designed for working as part of another system, these new "safety levers" can be used by themselves, giving your fixie the look of a brakeless track hotrod, in terms of no road levers -- while still have a little "emergency brake" just in case you need it. Many companies manufacture the levers, including Profile and Tektro. But I found a nice pair of Specialized ones at the LBS so I used those.
FINISH: The finish of the Specialized 'cross levers is, like most Specialized products, darn good.They are a nice shiny black and work smoothly, with not too much play in the handle. The lever can be run with either a mtb or road-type brake cable, as the cable head doesn't fit into anything, just catches on the edge of the hole on the lever. Installation takes seconds.
ON THE ROAD: Hooked to both old single-pivot sidepulls, centrepull brakes, and a modern Tektro rx40 road brake, the Specialized 'cross lever is Da Bomb! This things works every time, with very little effort. If you so desire you can brake with just one finger, perfect for when those cars cut you off and you wish to keep the channels of nonverbal communication open!
NOTE: On older road bars, the Specialized lever does not tighten fully due to the narrow diameter of the bar; it was loose and shifted a bit if force was applied to it. Overtightening to try and solve this problem will strip the threads! What I did to sold the problem on my Panasonic fixed gear is file some material off so the clamp can make a smaller circle. After this it got tight and stayed fine.
There are other ways of stopping your bike, from old road brakes levers to draggin' your feet. But this way works good. Anyone who rides a fixed gear should consider trying a 'cross lever.
[ABOVE: The Specialized 'cross lever on the Panny]
*SUB: The "Sport Utility Bike"
What is a Sport Utility Bike?
Like SUVs, or Sport Utility Vehicles, a SUB is a bike designed to handle both work an play, dirt and road, fun and errands; an all purpose bike. Except unlike the SUV, it is suited to its task, not posing any risk to others on the street, and it certainly fits better on the road, too!
This could be said of any bike fitted with the right tires or components, but the particular model here is a fixed gear SUB. The basis is a 700c frame as the bike will be spending at least half and probably most of its time on the pavement. But it will have to handle the odd sidewalk, gravel road, dirt path, and jaunt through the woods as well. To this we add sturdy wheels, and wide tires with somewhat of a knobby texture tread. In this case, 700x35c Specialized cyclecrossers. Mountainbike handlebar, basic casual road seat, and a front brake complete the package, as can extras such as short fenders, lights, or a rack. Then you pick your gearing.
This particular specimen is a old lugged steel Centurion which has gone through several incarnations. It evolved from a bike with more offroad gearing and roadster bars to the 39x18 urban fighter jet of the blacktop it is today.
Handlebar setup: Most fixed gears are thought of as track bikes, or road bikes converted to track bike clones. So why a mtb bar? The answer is easy. On a fixed with road or track bars, the brake is either a bmx or ‘cross lever mounted to the flats of the bars, or a road lever. If it’s a road lever, the rider riding on the hood of the brake lever; if it’s a bmx/cross lever, the rider is riding on the corner or the bar where the hoods would be. Either way means a forward position [though not as forward as when riding in the drops] and puts the riders hands somewhat far from the brake lever. While most fixed gear stopping is via the pedals, a brake can take off just enough speed to avoid a crash if you have to react to traffic. In urban or around-town environment, the mountainbike bar keeps your head up and your fingers right where they can reach the lever. It also makes you more visible to drivers by keeping your position more upright. The downside, of course, is that is doesn’t offer as many hand positions unless you install fugly bar-ends. I used a riser bar, shortened about a tad more than an inch on each side.
Gearing: Most road fixes have 42x16 or thereabouts, give or take a few teeth on each end of the equation. Track bikes have higher front gears – mid to upper 40s and sometimes low to mid 50s, and offroaders have smaller chainrings and bigger cogs, aiming for that 2:1 gear ratio. This bike, however, sports 39x18. Why is that?
[ABOVE: The sport utility bike" at home in the secret test facility ("garage")!]
On a fixed gear gearing choice is about compromise. the gear you have is the gear you start in and cruise in, so it has to be easy enough to turn over from a stop but big enough to ride distance in. Then you have to figure the ability to go up and down hills. Is it small enough to get up the hill, but not so small you will lose control spinning down the other side? 39x18 is easy to get off from a stop which is one of the reasons It was selected: This thing beats the cars at the stoplight. Another reason is that for carrying stuff, it isn’t too hard a gear, and lastly, while it is fast to accelerate, it reaching maximum RPM pretty quickly so its top speed isn’t all that high. This keeps me moving at a brisk but not dangerous pace is traffic. Also, with the bigger rear cog in relation to the front chainring, the bike is easier to slow via resistance braking.
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*GEARING SELECTION FOR YOUR FIXED GEAR
What Your Orthoscopic Surgeon Doesn't Want You to KnowFor those riding fixed gearing is important. However, browse the web or look at your local fixies [if there are any 'round] and you will see no set pattern. Classic road fixes, especially converted roadbikes, use the inner chainring which on older bikes is usually 42 teeth in circumference, in combination with a 16 tooth cog. Sometimes, however, a 17t or 15t cog is used.
But some will be pushing a 44t chainring. Others a 39. Some bikes will be seen sporting 48 teeth rings and some even use a "big ring", pushing 52 teeth. What rear sprocket goes with this, varies by rider's strength and the hills you'll be going over, along with many other factors. But it is important. After choosing your frame, gearing choice is the most important aspect of buildign a fixed gear -- and *the* most important factor in how often you'll ride it. A poorly chosen gear can mean aching or even injured knees. Many "street fixers" have had to have knee surgery as a result of riding. While some chance of injury is inevitable in any endeavor, especially physical activity, and overextending or injuring the knee a risk peculiar to cycling, choosing a "good" gear can make the fixed gear as safe for your knees as any other bicycle.
Fortunately, many die-hard fixed gear riders are a brainy bunch. Many have worked out detailed equations to find "gear inches" -- the "size" of the gear one is turning.
However, for beginning and casual fixers -- or even longterm converts to the Fixed Way who may not be too keen on math, or have simply learned "what works" by experimenting -- many of these somewhat complicated forumlae seem like something out of the bizarre black-and-white film "Pi". Moreover, before one begins factoring in crank length and tire circumference, there is a basic thing you need to know: which cog and chainring combo is easier or faster, and by how much?
There is a very simple formula for finding this out, and it is very helpful. Once this has been learned, you can go full-hog and start calculating whether 175mm crankarms are really better than 170's for all around riding, or if dropping your tire thickness by those 3 millimeters will really make you faster on flats or going uphill, even if the loss of impact-absorbancy will cause your bike and you to take a beating bombing down the other side.
To find out how one gearing combination relates to another, you have to do some basic math. Find the number of teeth on each gear. A 42 tooth chainring, for instance, will be marked "42t". Or just count the teeth. Do the same for the rear cog. Then divide the larger number by the smaller one. For example, to find out the data for a fixed gear bike with 42x16 gearing, do 42 divided by 16. This will give you 2.625, which is a Gear Ratio.
What this means is that for every one turn of the cranks (and hence your legs) the rear wheel turns 2.625 times.
Similarly, a bike geared 44x16 has a Gear Ratio of 2.75 -- the rear wheel makes two and three-quarters revolutions for every one revolution of the cranks and front chainring.
There are some basic things to remember; if you take or add teeth from one side, all you have to do is make sure you do the same to the other. Then, the gearing is approximately the same. Find the total number of gear teeth by adding the chainring teeth to the cog teeth. 42x16 gearing is 58 total teeth. This is particularly important for garage mechanics working on their own bikes with a bin of salvaged parts. Many times the chainrings or cogs for the gearin' you'd be most comfortable with is not in the parts bin. But don't go out and spring money for that chainring! Save $30 and just use a different sized rear cog. Thus 44x18 is similar, in terms of difficulty/ease of pedaling, to 42x16, and vice versa, because the total number of gear teeth involved has not changed. The Gear Ratio, however, has. 44 divided by 18 = 2.444, whereas 42 divided by 16 is the aforementioned 2.625, meaning though the same total teeth are turning, the 44x18 gearing combo is "easier" -- the rear wheel makes slightly fewer revolutions per turn of the cranks.
However this does not mean finding total teeth is a wasted exercise. In terms of keeping the chain slack, if you want slightly easier gearing but don't want to have to change your chain AND your gear combo, knowing the total number of teeth, and keeping it similar, can reduce the resulting slack or tension to level that can be managed by sliding the wheel fore and aft rather than engaging in the messy, greasy practice of pulling links.
So which combo is best? There is no hard and fast rule, but for many, including myself, who ride over hills, 42x16 seems the best overall compromise for a road bike fix. This gear, or its approximation, is just easier, for reasons unknown. But depending on your strength or the terrain you ride, others may work as well or better. Using the Gear Ratio is one way to figure it out.
Knowing this allows for more efficient gearing choices: less time tinkering and more time riding. But it also saves your knees.
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*TRACK TEST: Orero
Orero was an Argentinian who built custom and semi-custom track bikes in the 1960s and '70s. The store he sold out of in New York has since been converted into an eatery, but his bikes are still around, a legacy of steel gracefully fused via old lugged frames -- if you can find one.
Some time ago I was fortunate enough to do just that. I had gotten the frame from a fellow "old bike" nut at the local bike shop [thanks Pete!], and he was kind enough to install some old 165mm cranks with a 130 bolt pattern. While not proper track cranks (they were actually salvaged from a women's road bike!) they are short enough to pass for track cranks visually, and serve the same purpose of being rideable through leaning corners with less fear of pedal strike.
The bike came to me with yellow-orange paint and chromed head tube lugs and dropouts, with a antique but very good condition campy road headset. The previous owner also threw in a seatpost, and I was set.
The bike appears somewhat taller than my normal size frame, but that may be on account of the custom frame angles. Eyeballing the height of the head tube between the top and downtube lugs, I guessed it at 55cm. According to my yardstick measuring from top of the frame down to the bb, the thing is 54.61cm. Normally I take anywhere from 52 to a 54 (assuming that, for a 54, it is sized small). But though standover height is somewhat tight -- about an inch of clear air -- once on the bike it feels just the right size, and it is no harder to put a foot down than when stopped than on a regular bike that might be more in my normal size range.
Some work was desperately needed on the drive-side chainstay, seat clamp lug, and seatstay bridge, which were badly scratched, but the rest of the frame was fine except for a few nicks here and there and a tiny tiny spot of surface corrosion on the underside of the bottom head tube lug point.
So how is it? The bike is light, and rides exceedingly well. I fitted it with LOW gearing for a track bike [42x16 with the 165mm's] because I plan to ride it locally on the street and the frame and fork are not drilled for brakes. But even there the bike urges you up to speed, seeming to know it's true calling is the velodrome. A turn onto a sidestreet becomes a steep banked track and that Jeep passing by your arch-rival whom you must blow past to win... Ah, the things the mind can do when provided the right stimuli!
As the several small nicks in the paint have yet to be touched up (due to an inability to find the right color yellow!) I have not ridden it extensively, fearing the risk of rust. However, I made laps about the neighborhood, and around, over to the next town, and the result was pure joy. Perched on a yellow missile I felt like I had stepped back in time 30 years; the bike feels very light when hefted, and this translates into amazing road manners; it is stable as a road bike, but in the turns just seems to lean against gravity as if Newton's laws had just been repealed! It encourages you to throw it around in the turns, which was a bit disconcerting at first as my left shoulder was just repaired following last summer's crash, and my internal gyroscope gets nervous leaning that far over as if sensing an impending impact. But before long, worries are forgotten in the pure joy of a pure fixed gear: A vintage track bike.
[ABOVE: Orero track bike, a sweet vintage find, after its test run. Currently, the handlebars have been adjusted to a more true track tilt, and the front wheel has been replaced with a better one. The nicks in the yellow paint still need some touch up work.]
SPECS:
Frame- Orero track, vintage lugged steel
Rims- 700c
Tires- Continental Duraskins, 700x23c
Seatpost- Titec ["Titec" logo polished off]
Seatpin- Sugino
Seat- Old skinny Nashbar (saving for another San Marco) Stem- Road stem with a track-like angle
Bars- Nitto road bars. Cinelli cork tape of course (!)
Cranks- 165mm Sakae CR (road) w/ 42t chainring
Overall result = pure sick kick-@ss fun!
Verdict- There are some things money and bike parts can't buy. For everything else there's a vintage trackbike!
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* THE GREAT CHAIN DEBATE
Road or track chain?
This is the first question many fixed gear builders and riders forget to ask. It impacts your overall drivetrain, as cogs and chainrings come in both widths.
First, what is the difference? A road chain is narrower and lighter and usually makes less noice. It is also easy to operate one with home chain tools and is the "standard" bike chain. There are several versions with the 9 and 10 speed cassettes that have become popular on high end roadbikes now, and some are slightly different.
A track chain is 1/8", which is way thicker than a road chain. For those seeking a sturdy put-it-on-and-forget-about-it chain, a 1/8 chain may be the way to go. However, on a bike using road cogs and chainrings, a track chain fits loosely. It will, therefore, make some noise, and the slight lateral play may impact longterm tooth wear.
You can get your cog and chainring in 1.8 width, but then they will be too thick to use with a road chain, should you change your mind.
Another thing to keep in mind for those using a half-link to fine tune chain tension: half-links usually only come in track or BMX width.
If you decide to go with a track width chain, you then have two choices: a BMX chain or a true track chain. BMX chains are the same width but be careful, the outside width of some is bigger than others! This can impact your ability to use a chaintool on the chain, so find one with a master link unless you know the limits of your toolbox. Also, the outside diameter may be too large for some half-links, or the pin size slightly different.
Some 1/8 chains also come with special corrosion resistant coatings. Look around int he BMX case at your LBS -- you will be surprised at the innovation. Bushingless chains are also common, and there is a plethora of discourse on the 'net as to whether or not these are better or worse. Like any new technology, only time -- and realtime riding -- will tell.
Whatever chain you use, periodic checks are a must. You wouldn't be remiss to check it out before and after every ride. Unlike the chain on a derailleur-equipped bicycle, whose shifter also acts as a "shock absorber" for the drive train, the chain on a fixed is one immobile link between the riders feet and the rear wheel. Whenever the bike bombs over a pothole or other uneven surface, the chain takes a beating. It cannot "flex" in the sense that a geared bike's chain will.
The biggest factor in chain choice -- for me -- is piece of mind. Some find a track chain makes them feel more secure, especially if they ride brakeless as the chain, then, is their brake as well as drivetrain! However, I have never had a chain that was correctly installed and cared for fail on me. The only chain I have had "break" was a three times reused only road chain, installed without a chain tool, on my old Gitane ten-speed. I have never had chain failure on a fixed gear, using road OR track width chains.
Both road chains and track chains have their passionate defenders. Some say that it is more fitting to the track aesthetic of the fixed gear to use a track chain. Others say that in keeping with the spirit of "doing it yourself" with a fixed gear build-up, it is more appropriate to utilize a road chain, just as you might utilize a chainring from a roadbike. Likewise, the practical aspects have their supporters. "It'll never break!" say the 1/8 fans. "It's lighter and smoother" say the fans of running a road chain.
Either side could be right. Me, I'm running road chains on every bike except my Trek 1000-Fix (currently stripped for renovation), which used a Zchain 1/8 and a half-link, and ran great.
Try one of each, but do your homework. And pic what runs best for you.
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* RANTING AND RAVING
The “Make Way” mentality and the destruction of civilized road use...
If you ride a bicycle long enough in the state of New Jersey, you are bound to realize how inattentive many drivers are, and how woefully inadequate the enforcement of motor vehicle laws is.
Many are the states [including NJ] that have passed laws making use of a handheld cellular telephone while driving a ticketing offense for which you can be fined, provided it occurs whilst, or contributes to, erratic driving or other dangerous conduct. The idea of these laws is to strike a balance between an outright ban and doing nothing; if a policeman sees a person talking on a phone he is supposed to use his judgement; if he sees them talking on a phone and running a stopsign, that judgement is supposed to tell him "pull the jerk over".
Why a law was even needed on this int he first place, is beyond me; police already have authority to stop people who swerve, run stop signs, drive too fast and speed or too slow and stop up traffic, and other things that incite havoc. Yet, rather than enforce the rules that already exist the political element of the Garden State has simply made more. And some towns are even stricter, with outright bans on the cell phone whilst driving.
Sadly, cell phones do not make bad drivers. It is the other weay around; the bad drivers choose to distract themselves with cell phones because they are already bad drivers. You can observe their dangerous driving even when they are not on the phone; they speed, the don't use turn signals, they "float" stopsigns or they drift into oncoming traffic across the yellow line, or cyclists to the side of the street. And it is this last part -- when considered alongside all else -- that is particularly frightening.
According to some number crunchers, U.S. cyclists are anywhere from 2-3 times more likely to be killed riding their bikes than those overseas. PArt of this can be put down to the large numbers of cars in America, and their frequent use -- people tend to drive up the street when it's less than half a mile -- and to the fact that so many of these vehicles are SUV's ["trucks" in the vernacular]. Two cars passing in opposite directions when there may be cars parked at the curb on either side usually works okay; if there is a Chevy Suburban parked on one side, a Jeep on the other, and only one of the moving vehicles is an "SUV" it will be a tight fit. Two SUV's passing on a street with SUVs parked on the side -- not uncommon in many parts of NJ - will mean a cyclist riding off to the side of the street will become road pizza. It is simple physics; the roads are built to fit cars. The SUV's are built for offroading. Surely they are made to fit on the street, but in such numbers? With one it is workable; with several at once it becomes a traffic nightmare.
To make matters worse, the burgeoning SUV population wreaks havoc on the winter roads. Pavement which might just take a minor or average beating from cars and the occasional SUV, has become littered with increasingly large and dangerous potholes as more and more of the cars on the street have actually become trucks. Like the width of the street, the surface is not intended for so many such vehicle at once. Potholes are no laughing matter. Nearly half a foot deep, some of them can damage a car tire. So imagine what happens when you go over them on 700x23c bicycle rubber.
Add to this the inattentive attitude of the "bad driver" and you have accidents waiting to happen. And they do. So many dangerous factors cannot converge without leading to, in fact, danger.
The SUV's popularity has been driven by the government's, and environmental activits', desire to force people into smaller cars. Sadly, the two are not always seperate entities. Many officials are so far to the left, especially in areas concerned with environemntal policies, that they might as well take down the U.S. flag and hang up the Sierra Club shingle. While "green" leanings amongst parks' or land-management and wildlife officials is old news, the story of fuel standard's transformation into a green club is strangely untold. But it is reality. And the primary vehicle for this reality has been CAFE.
CAFE, or Corp. Average Fuel Economy standards -- gov't regulations about how much gas a car can guzzle -- require carmakers to produce ever more fuel-efficient cars. Unfortunately, the government either doesn't realize, or doesn't care, that the cheapest way to do this is to make cars smaller. This has been the overall trend. However, not everyone wants a small car. A large family cannot go to the dealership and buy the large station wagon they used to. So they buy a "mini" van that isn't mini at all, or a 4x4 that will never see the dirt, beyond that tracked in by the kids at a soccor game. They buy these vehicles, not for their offroad capabilities, although some are tempted by the 4-wheel drive's somewhat better traction in NJ winters, but primarily as a substitute for the larger cars that are no longer made in sufficient quantities to supply them. Surely there are exceptions; perhaps some take their SUV offroad or onto dirt roads when on vacation; maybe some use it to haul fishing gear or other items. And some just buy it as a "status symbol", the way someone might purchase a Rolex dive watch even though they don't even know how to swim, just cause it looks good. But most of them are simply getting in the "passing lane" of SUVdom in order to skirt CAFE regulations.
Does this mean CAFE needs to be stricter? Hardly. Any stricter and it will have us driving matchbox cars or pinewood derby autos, whilst those willing to pay the extra dough for the extra gas will take to the streets in even bigger trucks.
The fact is, Corp. Average Fuel Economy standards have been hijacked by the environmentalist fanatics. What was once about energy efficiency has become about forcing Americans to "conserve" gas and reduce "pollution". All it has done is herd those who are unwilling to make that sacrifice into large trucks, accomplishing the opposite end, and, simultaneously, endangering us all. For as more of the population find their way into SUV's, so does a greater percentage of that segment of the population which has "bad driver" on their forehead! And this is beyond the "size crunch" of a straining infrastructure and roads that are not designed to fit so many SUVs at once!
The so-called "greenies", who are normally considered friend's of the bicyclist, are nothing of the sort. But like the bad, inattentive, dangerous driver who expects us all to "make way" for his running of stopsigns, or somehow clear a path for him when he makes unsignalled turns, the environmentalists have demanded that logic, reason, and safety "make way" for the mantle of "saving the earth".
The Earth, however, is doing just fine compared to the roads, and the attitude of many who drive them. The immediate goal should be saving America's motorways, instead. This would benefit not only cyclists, but even those angry, stopsign running, cellphone using SUV drivers.
And the place to start is by getting rid of CAFE.
-- Elvis
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... THIS PAGE ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
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E Zine No.2 -- summer 2005
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