Electronic Costs

From one of the email lists we subscribe to. (The writer is referring to Grant Petersen's new book, "Just Ride")

Just ride? Naw! A new paradigm: "Just spend"! Looking thru a new Co Cycler flyer recently received I had to let out a belly laugh when I saw the prices for the new electric Super Record 11 kit on page 12 -- prices that beat satire into the ground.

RD: $925

FD: $850.

Not to mention: Cable set: $165, Power Unit $580, PU Interface $215.

And a FD "Stiffener" for $110.

Who needs satire?

Patrick "gonna get me a $400 helmet, too" M

For the record, we here at Campy Only have predicted that Campagnolo will sell each and every one of the electronic gruppos they produce, regardless of price.

Posted with Blogsy

Campy + Schwinn = Nice

Reader Steve H sent in these photos of his very nice Schwinn Circuit, which was repainted by Campy Only sponsor Joe Bell. Steve writes:

Was going through an old hard drive and found these. Here's some pics of my 86' Schwinn Circuit that JB brought back to life for me in 09'. Disregard the title of the pics. JB replaced the down tube and attached cable guides and managed to preserve the original chrome on the stays. Bike is equipped w/ Camp Centaur.

And here are the photos (more after the break):

 

Only $500 Per Gear

There's a very nice 1946 Olmo on eBay right now ... equipped with the rare Cambio Corsa rod-shifter. 

Bidding is at $2,000 as of this blog post, which works out to $500 for each of the four speeds you'll have access to.

If you've ever wanted a Cambio Corsa-eqiupped bicycle, this one is worth a look.

Lightning, Danger, and Bicycle Riding

This item caught our eye today: NPR followed up on a tweet from the National Weather Service, which reminded its Twitter followers that 80% of the victims of lightning strikes are men. Among the potential reasons why this is so, according to the experts that NPR spoke with:

Men, said [NOAA's] Buchanan, don't want to be seen as "wimps." This theory, she said, was backed up by talking to the Boy Scouts who said no one wants to be the one to say it's time to go inside.Men, said Buchanan, don't want to be seen as "wimps." This theory, she said, was backed up by talking to the Boy Scouts who said no one wants to be the one to say it's time to go inside.

That sounds about right, and it brings to mind Monday night at last year's Paris-Brest-Paris, when those of us who had started riding on Monday morning were caught in the midst of an extreme electrical storm. With flashes and thunder happening simultaneously, we were riding drenched to the skin in a downpour on top of (often) steel bicycles ... sitting ducks (or sitting lightning rods) for getting fried by a  lightning strike.

Did we consider stopping? Not really. We cowered in a doorway for a few minutes, but then kept riding. Here's my video from that moment:

We did pass a few groups of riders who sought cover, but most of kept pressed on through the pouring rain. Nobody was struck by lightning that night, but based on NPR's reporting, it wouldn't have been surprising if somebody had been, and it would almost certainly have been a guy who was hit.

So ... What are the worst conditions you've ridden through? When did weather (or some other danger factor) convince you to stop riding? Tell us in the comments below.

Yesterday's Ride Photos

Trying out a new camera ... Here are yesterday's shots.

 

Yesterday's Campy Machine

Yesterday's bike of choice: our 1980s Benotto, which saw plenty of service last year when we rode a brevet series and Paris-Brest-Paris on this fine piece of Italian-designed machinery. The Rally dérailleur did a great job shifting ... now, if we could only have done something about the 100-degree-plus heat.

More photos from the ride after the break.

Not Campy, but ... Campy

Anyone setting up a classically styled machine who doesn't want to hunt for an old Campy crankset now has a very similar, modern option. Interloc Racing Design now offers a crankset that's a dead knockoff of the Campy Record design from the 1970s and 80s. At about $160 for a crankset (not including a tapered bottom bracket), it's a very attractive package.

The cranks are also available in double and triple models, opening up possibilities for riders with older bikes who don't want to risk snapping a crankarm on their retro Campy equipment. According to IRD, all of the cranks are cold-forged, not CNCed, just like the originals.

Let us know if you've tried the IRD crankset--tell us in the comments, or email us: enorris [at] campyonly [dot] com

Today's Retro Hit: Classic 1980s Viner

Campy Only sponsor Joe Bell did the outstanding paint work on this classic 1980s Viner. Very nice setup!

More photos here.

 

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Photos from Today's Ride

Hopped on our bike this morning, and ended up talking with a hop farmer near Winters, CA. They're reintroducing hop farming in the area, with the crop heading for a microbrewery in Sacramento.


More photos from the ride here.

Today's Retro Hit: Gran Sport

Spotted these great retro items at a recent bike swap in Sacramento, CA. The rear derailleur is marked "Nuovo Gran Sport," and that's a classic 3-arm crankset.

The owner was selling this bike, but we had to pass--frame was too big, and the Campy Only Bike Room is getting full ...

 

Shimano Goes to Eleven

The race to jam the most cogs into the rear wheel has reached parity with the announcement that ShimaNO is releasing 11-speed traditional and electronic gruppos.

Anybody ready to make it an even dozen?

 

Photo from Today's Ride

Quick spin out to Sacramento for coffee, followed by a visit to the monthly bike swap at Fremont Park (more photos from that to follow). Yes, that's a Campy BMX crank on today's bike of choice.

 

 

Yesterday's Ride Photos

We dusted off the Campy-equipped retro-style Benotto that we rode all last season (including Paris-Brest-Paris) and went for a ride through wine country. More photos here.

Today's Retro Note: Record Brakes

Campagnolo's Record brakeset from the 1960s-1980s was the gold standard in bicycle braking. Sturdy and durable, this single-pivot design survived for years in various incarnations (such as the Cobalto brakes of the late 1980s) until it was supplanted by the more powerful (and heavier) dual-pivot design.

One of the nice features of these brakes is the on-brake quick release lever, which was also infinitely adjustable (opening the brakes a little or a lot). Modern Campagnolo brakes have the quick release on the brake lever, limiting the operation to fully closed or fully open.

These brakes grace Campy Only's 1972 Cinelli, and are as far as we know original to the bike.