Colorado Custom and Vintage Bicycle Expo

Wish we could be in Denver on Feb 15 for this event! The Colorado Custom and Vintage Bicycle Expo will have something for everyone who appreciates the art of handmade bicycles:

Custom Builder Expo

Concours d'Elegance

Swap Meet

Check out their web site for more info: http://coloradobicycleexpo.com

Cleaning a Stinky Bike Helmet ... in the Dishwasher!

Thought there might be some interest in the method my wife discovered to clean my bike helmets when they get sweaty and gross: the dishwasher!

My helmet now gets washed and disinfected every week or so. It keeps my wife’s sensitive nose happy, and I like having a clean helmet. 

Despite the soaps and high temperatures in the dishwasher, there have been no ill effects to the helmet that I can detect. The padding is still firmly attached to the shell.

To save energy, we don’t use the “dry” feature on the dishwasher, so the helmet air dries after going through the regular wash cycle.

P.S. In response to one question that was asked about this ... No, none of our guests have complained about the silverware tasting funny!

Polaroid Cube Road Test: A Ride in the Rain

Our latest Campy Only video--a road test of the new Polaroid Cube video camera. We took this cool little camera out for a spin on a rainy afternoon, and here's a sample of the footage we came back with:



Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on Twitter to be the first to learn about new CampyOnly content. We are @CampyOnlyGuy

Nicoletti Update: The Sport Derailleur

Readers of this blog will know that we recently purchased an Italian "Nicoletti" bicycle originally built in 1959 or 1960 (according to the builder's son). The bicycle was mostly complete--only a few pieces were not original to the bike.

One of those pieces was the Campagnolo "Velox" derailleur which, while being somewhat unusual, dated to about a decade after the Nicoletti was built. We inquired with the Nicoletti shop (still in business in Verona), and they responded that the Velox was, indeed, not original. The bike's original derailleur, they said, would have been a Campagnolo Sport.

So ... off we went to eBay in search of a Sport, eventually finding a very nice example from an international seller in Rome, Italy. After a few weeks' wait for our package to arrive, we were finally in possession of a true Campagnolo anachronism--a rear derailleur with a single pulley.

We installed the Sport today, in the process returning the Nicoletti to a condition ever closer its original state.

Amazingly, despite having only one pulley, the derailleur shifts reasonably well. The lack of an articulated two-pulley cage severely limits the derailleur's ability to handle wide ranges in cog teeth--the markings on the back suggest a limit of 16 to 22 teeth (the Regina freewheel on our Nicoletti is a four-speed, with 15t and 22t small and large cogs).

More photos of the bike with the Sport installed are available after the break. A video is coming soon.

Speaking of Electronics ...

We here at Campy Only love our electronics. Not EPS (we still enjoy cable-actuated shifting). No, we're talking iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc.  And for those long rides and brevets where phone or iPod batteries may start running low, we're hoping to use this product to charge them up while riding. We'll post test results after we have a chance to use it.

BikeCharge USB Charger with Built-In Headlight and Taillight

BikeCharge: http://www.ibikeconsole.com/detail.asp?catid=71298&subcatid=0&pdtid=571697

Bikes on Main Street

Spotted this "bike shop" a few days ago on Main Street in Disneyland. The purveyor, Bob Gurr, is a renowned designer of vehicles for Disneyland. More photos here.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy