Track Cycling Portraits

An amazing picture of former US racing cyclist Rebecca Twigg whose professional career spanned the 1980s and early 1990s. She won several US national championships and was six times world champion in what was -doubtlessly- her favourite discipline, the individual pursuit.

This portrait by Annie Leibovitz was part of a photo assignment of Olympian athletes commissioned by the magazine Vanity Fair and certainly succeeds in capturing simultaneously the beauty, dedication, sacrifice and expectations which always accompany the practice of any sport at a professional level.

A truly inspiring picture! Pity I couldn't find a better resolution image....

Specialized Epic gone, Salsa El Mariachi in!

Finally I decided to sell my Specialized Epic 2006. While its handling and performance is more than correct, I never become fully 'attached' to this bike in the same way as I am to other bikes I have built myself over the years.

There is no doubt that this is an excellent XC bike as I could regularly do almost 1/3 more kms than with my other fully rigid MTB, feeling much less tired at the end of a long ride. This is certainly down to the comfort and absorption provided by the full-sus. The downside, however, is that I don't like the way that modern suspension 'contaminates' the steering and overall handling of the bike, not to mention the extra-weight added. This bike can roll over almost anything you might find in your path, but I do miss the more precise steering and general 'alertness' about what the the bike is doing that you are required to have when riding a full-rigid. Likewise, the hydraulic brakes have a tremendous stopping power, ideal for long and abrupt descents but certainly an overkill for the kind of XC or 'single track' riding I do regularly.

The other reason which finally put me off this bike is the inability to do any mechanical maintenance of some vital parts without having to buy a whole new set of specific tools: a) the new hollow BBs have a small life-span compared to traditional tapered ones and it doesn't take too long before they start to make creaking noises once their relatively small bearings start to wear down or get dirty with sand or grit, b) the hydraulic brakes are excellent but a pain in the arse in terms of maintenance -thanks Jeebus for the new Avid BB7 mechanical system which finally got rid of all the cumbersome process of bleeding, removing air bubbles in the system, and adjusting hydraulic disc brakes, c) the front and rear suspension forks are just the same story, great to have it there for extreme MTB riding but difficult to service without buying a whole set of expensive tools and oils and following complicated owner's manual instructions.

Yeah, I know, it is just a matter of time and of trial/error to learn how to do these maintenance tasks, etc.. But for my part I was not very excited about the prospects of having to study a front suspension fork manual, spending the equivalent of a new fork in getting all the tools required to do it myself, and then take apart / put the whole thing back together only to find out that it works much worse than it originally did... So, at the end, every time I needed to have any of these things checked, the bike have ended up going to the LBS for a service. I don't like this. Neither I like to be overcharged for a bike service.

After this relative short cycling experience with the presumed major advantages afforded by modern MTB technology, I finally decided that I want to go back to basics with my new build and purchased a Salsa El Mariachi frame. The original plan is to build it first as a single speed (I already have a 26" Kona SS) and, then, if I like this 'big wheels' thing so talked about these days, will probably upgrade it to a 1x9 and perhaps fit a front suspension fork. What is certain is that all components are going to be of the best quality I can afford and serviceable by myself. The rule of thumb, in this case, will be : keep it simple!

Some pics of my former Specialized Epic can be found here in my Flickr account.

The new 'steel is real' frame I purchased at a relatively good price (ex-demo) is this:



Hopefully I will be able to source most parts in the forthcoming months to have it ready to ride for this summer!!

The BMX bike all'Italiana

Lo and behold! The Italian take on the budding BMX market of the second half of the 1980s. A wonderful Cinelli frame made of Columbus tubing, gorgeous Campagnolo anodised hubs and crankset, Clement 20" rims, and legendary Regina chains, all the big road Italian manufacturers banding together to create a truly bling-bling "motocross racing" bike, as they liked it to call this Ultima BMX. Click on the image for a larger view.

No wonders then that Cinelli is nowadays taking a similar approach to the fixed gear "hipster" market issuing limited edition frames in collaboration with riders-collective MASH or with artists like Barry McGee. At least, Campagnolo has not considered for the moment a limited edition reissue of its classic vintage track crankset in a whole array of anodised colours... That will be blasphemy, indeed!

Cycling Portraits from Barcelona.

Looking for some cycling memorabilia, I have just come across this pair of portraits dating back to the early 1900s. The dashing figure cut by these young men, dressed up with their jackets and loose fitting trousers, will not certainly look unfamiliar in any of the popular tweed runs that have taken place recently in the UK, USA or Australia.

For the first originators of these "nostalgic" rides, well before the fixed gear scene took them over, check The Tweed Cycling Club. Their motto: "Style not Speed. Elegance not Exertion"; wise words, indeed, for any would-be urban cyclist.

The Classic Italian Racer Project: 1st version

At last I have managed to complete my "winter" bike project: a pure-breed, classic racing Italian frame from the mid 80s, fully equipped with a Campagnolo Chorus groupset from the early 90s, and 4th generation Delta Brakes. A humble tribute to that fantastic machine, the steel racing bike of 8 speeds, that characterised, both in terms of the employed frame building techniques and materials, as well as the technological solutions applied to componentry, the history of ciclying race through most of the 2nd half of the 20th century. I have nicknamed it, unknowlingly turning again a blinking eye to ciclying history or legend, "La dama bianca".

Specs:

Frame: Columbus double butted CIÖCC frame. Size 55. NOS. I believe from the mid 80s.

Groupset: Campagnolo Chorus 8 speed including indexed gear shifter. Early 90s. Acquired in a relatively good nick so only a throughout disassemblage and polishing has been needed to leave it in nearly spot-on condition.

Wheelset: Campagnolo Chorus hubs laced to Mavic M40 rims. Used wheelset but the hubs are still going strong. In few months I am planning to build the hubs again, but this time laced to a Campagnolo silver tubular rim, another humble tribute to the history of ciclying and an extra bonus to get the whole "retro" experience when riding this bike.

Headset: Campagnolo Record (modern version from the mid 90s). I couldn't find the old style Campagnolo headset at an affordable price and perhaps rushed to install a modern one just to get the project going. Even if I find one now, the steerer tube is, alas, too short.

Pedals: Campagnolo Chorus pedals acquired in well-used condition: a tenatious polishing was required to leave them in relatively good-looking shape, plus the replacemente of bearing, new dust caps, cages and buttom straps. I found by chance on a LBS a pair of rare, NOS brevatto road straps, a defunct-manufacturer from the mid-80s I believe.

Brakes: 4th Generation Campagnolo Delta Brakes in nearly NOS condition. Breathtakingly beautiful set of brake calipers with astonishing manufactured finishes, above all its internal mechanism, plus a look which enlivens any frame in which they are mounted. They are, however, a minor pain in the arse to set up correctly, especially due to its top cable entry.

Steering: A 3ttt stem and handlebar, a sleaker look than a Cinelli combo I tried before on the bike. Fizik Microtex handlebar tape for that vintage look. I need to source silver bar plugs and some white electric tape for the tops.

Saddle: San Marcos Rolls and 26.8mm Campagnolo aero seatpost.

Enjoy!!












I hope to do an update with final version of the bike, once I get those tubular rims laced and deal with few other, minor improvements just to complete the whole project nicely.

What a craftmanship! Otero pista 1960s.

Just check this lovely fillet-brazed pista frame, produced by one the most reputed Spanish frame builders of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, Enrique Otero, and allegedly ridden by Federico Bahamontes, nicknamed "the eagle of Toledo", in six day events during the late 50s and early 60s.

Otero, the brand name, does not longer produce any frame in-house, all production having migrated to the Far East, but still have one of the most respected road bike shops in Madrid, where just a few of these "beauties" still hang from the top of the walls of the workshop.

More pics can be found in Classic Rendezvous's recently added entry for Otero: certainly, a great addition to this wonderful resource for all vintage bike enthusiasts. Well done!

Playing bike polo old-style

A lovely set of pictures of King George playing grass bike polo with his pals, plus a picture of an original polo bike: check out that curved seat tube, back & forth adjustable saddle position, and "circus-like" gear ratio for furious spinning and ultimate rear-wheel control.

The full set of pictures can be found here. Enjoy