Alex Singer Shop in Paris

We were fortunate to be able to visit the Alex Singer shop in Paris when we were there for Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011. Even got to check out the back of the shop, which was overflowing with stacks of parts and an amazing assortment of Singer and other bicycles.

For those who can't make it to Paris, here's an interesting video from French TV. It's only in French (no subtitles), but you can learn a lot just from watching.

Enjoy!

Update! Couple of photos from my visit to Alex Singer:

Brunch Ride to Sacramento with my Bleriot

Brunch Ride to Sacramento with my Bleriot, a set on Flickr.

Photos from today's ride. That's our new Rivendell Bleriot in one of the shots--a bike we plan to ride for the 2014 brevet season.

Magnic Light Review

It's been a few months since we purchased a Magnic Light system and began using it on two different bikes. Now, it's time for a review. This review continues the intro we posted here.

The System

Magnic Light began as a Kickstarter project that promised something so outlandish that it was dismissed by some as a hoax: a friction-free, effort-free dynamo lighting system that drew power from the movement of an aluminum rim past small, self-contained headlight and taillight units. Still, the project drew enough backers, and last year the first version of the lights (more on that later) was released.

It's currently available in two places: the Magnic Light web site (located in and with shipping from Germany) and Clever Cycles, a Portland, OR, bike shop that sells both from their store in Portland and online. Clever Cycles sells a complete system (two headlights and one taillight, plus mounts to fit your bike) for $250. The price at Magnic's web site is about the same: 192€ (currently $262US).

A complete system looks like this (photo from Magnic's web site). The light head snaps into a bracket that fits onto the bike.

Campy Eye Candy: Building a Colnago

The folks at Vecchio's, the iconic Boulder, CO, shop, built up a Colnago for reader Rick Hess, and he made a nice video of the process that also highlights the historic ambience of the shop. Enjoy!

 

 

SRAM Red electronic road group: more images and info - BikeRadar

SRAM riders can now join those fortunate Campagnolo and ShimaNO riders who need to check the battery charge on their derailleurs before every ride. Welcome to the future, brothers and sisters.

Black tape is probably a pre-production feature. We hope.

SRAM Red electronic road group: more images and info - BikeRadar

Today's Retro Shots: Campy BMX Hubs

Campagnolo made a brief foray into the then-exploding area of BMX cycling in the 1980s, producing a mini-gruppo of hubs and crankset (we have one of the single-speed cranksets on our 1970s Motobecane). The parts were available in several anodized colors, including blue and gold.

Reader Warren M sent these photos of this NOS set of low-flange BMX hubs, which are (as he points out) most likely a set of Gran Sport hubs that have been repurposed with bolt-on axles.

For a photo of an "all-Campy" BMX bike from the Campy Only archives, click here.

Fascinating Classic Cycling

Hard to tell if there's any Campagnolo in these videos, but this archival footage, mostly from Paris in the 1930s and 40s, is full of fascinating images. Look closely and you'll see many things that recently became "new" again after all these years--recumbent bicycles, small-wheeled bikes, arm-powered "rowing" bicycles, high performance trailers, and more.

http://youtu.be/jdlpJqHxLxk

 

Annual Campagnolo Toy Drive December 7

If you're going to be in the greater San Diego area on December 7, you should plan to take part in Campagnolo's annual toy drive/fun ride. Great event for a great cause.

Please don't bring any ShimaNO-made gifts. That would be cruel.

 

Magnic Light Nighttime Demo: A Campy Only Video

We'll have a detailed written review up soon ... for now, here's some nighttime video of Magnic Lights in action aboard one of the Campy Only test bikes.



Click here to see the video on YouTube