Last Chance 200K 12-31-13

Last Chance 200K 12-31-13, a set on Flickr.

Photos from yesterday's ride with my fellow Davis-area randonneurs. One lesson learned is that there is *no* water on the American River bike trail. 30+ miles of twisting, turning trail, often packed with families, joggers, and strollers ... and NO place to get a drink.

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

PTSD Ride 2013 11-29-13

PTSD Ride 2013 11-29-13, a set on Flickr.

Yesterday's traditional Post Turkey and Stuffing Day Ride--128 miles from Davis to San Francisco, returning via BART and Amtrak.

PTSD Ride 2013

Follow me today as I do the annual PTSD (Post Turkey and Stuffing Day) Ride from Davis to San Francisco. I'm about 50 miles in so far. 77 to go to the finish at the Embarcadero.

Look for me on Twitter @campyonlyguy or hashtag #ptsdride2013


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

About that advice not to take any wooden derailleurs ...

You might want to re-think that, after you see this fantastic wooden Campagnolo derailleur ("Tree-opmh," perhaps?) created by a U.S. woodworking student.

There are some fantastic wooden frames that this would be perfect with. Add some old school wooden rims, and you've got a real theme going!

 

Yesterday's Ride

11-17-13, a set on Flickr.

Cool temps and great scenery made for a nice ride yesterday in Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties.

Today's Retro Bike: Eddy Merckx 50th Anniversary

Reader Francis S sent this photo from Singapore of the very nice restoration he recently completed on a classic Eddy Merckx frame, which is now built up with a 50th Anniversary Gruppo.

Very nicely done, right down to the toe clips and the classic Molteni orange.
To see your bike here on the Campy Only blog, email photos to enorris [at] campyonly [dotcom]

Leaning In to the Weekend!

Polish up your Campy-equipped bicycles! We're almost there ...

Using Campagnolo Shifters With ShimaNO Cassettes. Why?

OK, maybe you're caught in the middle of nowhere. Your Campy rear wheel is trashed, and the only alternative is a ShimaNO wheel set. You have to ride home because ... well, because. So, you have to fix your bike. What to do?

A Japanese tinkerer has the answer: a special cam that fits inside the body of your Ergo lever and adjusts the cable pull to allow your Campagnolo shifting system to work with ShimaNO.

If this appeals to you, click here for more info.

Campagnolo Disc Brakes ... Again

OK, we've been a little remiss in sending along the not-so-news that Campagnolo is planning to introduce a hydraulic disc brake system for road bikes. Here's a reminded from one of our readers:

Hi, accorsing to the german website roadbike.de Campagnolo is preparing hydraulic disc brakes for roadbikes. You can read more underhttp://www.roadbike.de/news/heisse-rennrad-geruechte-scheibenbremsen-uci-legal-hydraulische-schaltung-von-sram-26-zoll-laufraeder.878694.9.htm?odckampagne=42er_Geruechte

Look for the paragraph under "Hydraulische Bremsen von Campagnolo". Viva Campy, Charles

We'll look forward to seeing these, perhaps on one of those throw-it-away-when-the-EPS-battery-inside-wears-out frames.

Note: This would not be the first time Campagnolo has made disc brakes!