Electronic Campagnolo Coming?

So say the people at Bike Europe: http://www.bike-eu.com/news/5248/campa-into-electronic-shifting.html

PBP: What It's All About

Munching on a hot-from-oven croissant at a boulangerie somewhere in the French countryside:

Campy Only's Paris Brest Paris Photos

Eric Norris, aka CampyOnlyGuy, completed the 1200-kilometer PBP randonneur with a time of 79:11. We're working on a complete video of the experience; in the meantime, here are our photos from the ride.

Tonight's PBP Report

It's nighttime here in France, and here's a link to my latest tweet: https://twitter.com/campyonlyguy/status/105027392149528577

CampyOnly Reports from PBP

Don't forget to check out my Twitter feed while I'm in France. Look for me @campyonlyguy, and the hashtags #pbp2011 and #rusapbp

Photo below, the parts bins in the back room at Cycles Alex Singer in Paris. A treasure trove of classic Campy stuff.

First Photos from PBP 2011

Posted a few photos from the trip thus far: HERE
Working on captions!

We're in France!

Our Campy-equipped randonneuring bike is together, and the final countdown to Paris-Brest-Paris is on! Follow my tweets from France: twitter.com/#!/campyonlyguy



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Visions of Paris

We'll be there soon!

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Today's Reader Bike

Reader Mark G sent this photo of his "new" bike, a 2007 Scott CR1 built with 2008 Record 10-speed.

Email photos of your bike to the CampyOnlyGuy and share them here with thousands of fellow Campagnolo fans.

PBP Will be Televised ...

... or at least Web-televised.  Your CampyOnlyGuy will be taking photos and videos as long as my memory cards and brain hold out, and transforming them into a documentary of my PBP 2011 experience. Watch for it sometime in September.  Videos we made during the runup to PBP:

• SFR 200K Brevet (200 kilometers in 90 seconds)
• Davis Bike Club 300K Brevet (Riders on the Storm edition)
• SFR 400K Brevet
• SFR 600K Brevet

Today, we made one last preparation for the filming. We went to San Francisco to rendezvous with Mike Boester of Bad Vision, who brought us one of his new HD video bike-mount cameras. We've tested it out, and it promises to provide great, high-def footage of the ride. (All of the videos above feature on-the-bike footage filmed with Bad Vision's Spark camera, which records in standard def.)  Learn more about Mike's products at www.bad-vision.net.

Mike Boester of Bad Vision, with the BadMobile (our name for it, not his)

Campy Only Reports from Paris-Brest-Paris

Follow the exploits of the CampyOnlyGuy as I travel to France and ride (Campy-equipped) in the 1200-kilometer Paris-Brest-Paris randonee. Watch this blog for reports, or look for me on Twitter: @campyonlyguy I'll be using these Twitter hashtags: #pbp2011 and #rusapbp

My 2007 PBP bike, a fixed gear Rivendell Quickbeam

Campagnolo Announces 2012 Wheel Lineup

The new lineup includes a new nameplate--"Bullet"--that will offer both tubular and clincher options and a special cyclocross version. The new wheels also offer rims with alloy braking surfaces (see photo below).

More info here.

PBP Prep: Cash!

Converted some US dollars to Euros today. Almost time to start spending money in France!


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Greasy Bike Stuff

There are many brands of bike grease out there, but how many people who don't use Campagnolo grease post photos like these (found on Flickr)?

The Campy Only PBP Bike is Packed!

Today was the day to pack up my bike for Paris-Brest. One major glitch came up: the stem would not come out. Somehow, even though it's only been in the bike a few months, it got rusted/corroded in place. The bike won't fit with the bars on, so Plan B involved unwrapping the bar tape on one side and taking the handlebars out of the stem (thanks to James at VeloCity for that suggestion). Once that was done, the bike went in easily. Now I'll need to re-tape the bars when I get to France :-)

More photos here.

Last Pre-Paris Brest Training Ride

We were rocking with 7-speed friction shifting (Rally rear derailleur) yesterday on our last training ride before Paris-Brest-Paris.  200 kilometers with about 7,000 feet of climbing and a finish (25 miles) into a stiff headwind, with a total time of about 8:15.  Today, the bike gets cleaned up and put in the bike box for the trip to France.

The Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/594860

Photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/35176895@N03/sets/72157627248430965/with/6015829133/

PBP Preparations

Just over a week before I get on the plane for France, so it was time today to put a new chain and tires on my Paris-Brest bike.  Last long training ride (about 200K) is tomorrow. Then it'll be time to wash and box up the bike.

New chain. That's a Velo Orange crankset with 48/34 rings.

New rubber. I've been using Panaracer Paselas with great success. When I rode PBP in 2007, I had no flats in 1200 kilometers.

Classic Italian Bicycles

This looks like a great event for any fan of Campagnolo and all things Italian--the Concorso Italiano 2011, which will be held this year on August 19 at the Laguna Seca Golf Course in Monterey, CA. The concourse will feature Italian cars, motorcycles, and ... bicycles.  Click here for more info.

Campy Only will be in France for Paris-Brest-Paris on the 19th, so if you go, please take photos and send them here. We'll post them on the C-O blog.

Today's Mod Bike: Custom Pegoretti Marcelo

Reader Toby C sent in these photos of his custom Campy-equipped Pegoretti Marcelo. We like the Zonda wheels and the alloy Athena gruppo, which goes very well with the frame.

A Different Kind of Campy-Equipped Italian

Campagnolo's expertise with metals isn't limited to bicycle components. Shown below is a beautiful example of a Campy-equipped vehicle of a different kind: the 1967 Alfa Romeo Stradale, which came from the factory with Campagnolo-made alloy wheels.

Generally regarded as one of the most beautiful production cars ever made, it was very expensive and made in limited numbers. It is rarely seen in public today. Read more here.

Countdown to France: 2 Weeks!

Just 14 days from today, Campy Only will be on a plane bound for France, where we will be riding our Campy-equipped retro-flavored Benotto in the 1200-kilometer Paris-Brest-Paris randonee. We'll be blogging from France (although probably not during the ride!), so keep checking back for our reports.

Classic Campy-Equipped Basso

From reader Dave comes today's retro-flavored bike, a classic Basso Gap. He writes,

Hello again, David from Pittsburgh PA. This is a fresh 11month long build of a classic NOS Basso Gap frame with Columbus SL tubing, I used NOS Campy C Record Delta components (seatpost & headset are chorus), Delta brakes with power grade levers, she is 8speed with Synchro down tube shifters, which actually work pretty damn good! Rims are NOS Campy Omega Strada tubulars, Nos Cinelli Grammo stem, Nos Cinelli Touch bars, Selle Anatomica saddle and Campy cables. Hope you enjoy and thanks for looking!