New Time Trial Gruppos Coming

From the web: Campagnolo is planning to introduce time-trial-specific gruppos for 2012. 10s and 11s versions will be available. Both include shift levers, cranks, brakes, and brake levers specifically designed for time trial bikes. One cool feature--after shifting, the bar-end levers (out there in front of you on your aero bars) will return to the most aerodynamic position.


More words and photos here.

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Today's Bike: 1974 Malagnini

Here's some classic Italian steel, although reader Don G's choice of crankset leaves something to be desired ...



Attached is my recently restored Vittorio Malagnini, circa 1974/75. The restoration and painting was performed by Ed. Litton, Richmond, CA. Originally built in Erbe, Italy.

Columbus S/L frame and fork
Campy NR downtube shifters
Campy NR front changer
Campy NR rear changer
Campy Gran Sport brake calipers
Campy C Record brake levers
Mavic 501 hubs
Ambrosio Synthesis rims
Continental Competition 25mm tubulars
3ttt Stem
Nitto handlebar
Brooks Professional saddle
Silca pump
Nitto seatpost
SKF bottom bracket assy.
TA chain rings 39/46 (I'm 71 and I cannot handle 52/42 in S.F. bay area hills.)
Shimano Ultegra crank pedals

300K Video: Yes, It Did Rain!

We've posted two versions of a video from Saturday's wet and wild 300K brevet. It was quite a day--5 hours of steady rain, followed by 5 hours of on-and-off showers, punctuated by near-freezing conditions at the top of Cobb Mountain.  Glad it's over and in the books.  Next up: 400K brevet with the San Francisco Wheelmen on April 9.
Here are the videos:

"Director's Cut," with soundtrack by The Doors

"Standard Edition," with alternative soundtrack

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Looks Like Rain ...

... for the Davis Bike Club's 300K Brevet tomorrow (March 26). So, our brevet bike is outfitted with rain gear (and we will be too). Check back for photos after the ride.

Clip-on fenders by SKS keep you dry-ER, but not dry

Official Brooks rain cover on our Brooks saddle

Brevet Bike

Look for us this weekend at the Davis Bike Club's 300K brevet on this bike:

No entirely Campy (Phil Wood rear hub and a Velo Orange crankset), but close. Very comfy ride, perfect for long days and nights in the saddle.

New Nuovo Tipo?

Fans of retro Campy equipment will remember the Nuovo Tipo hubs of the 1980s. They were a lower-priced version of Campagnolo's high flange Record hubs with round, rather than oval, holes in the flanges.

Online retailer Velo Orange has introduced a new product into their lineup of retro-flavored goods that recalls the Nuovo Tipo:




The hubs come in 126mm and 130mm widths (nothing in 120mm) and come with a matching front hub. We haven't seen these in person, but they look like a good high-flange alternative for riders who want the look, but not necessarily the potential problems, of a classic Campy hub. A set (front and rear) will set you back $145. More info here.
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Not Campy, But Nice

When the high flange "retro" rear hub on our Benotto failed a few weeks ago, we needed to find a replacement that we could trust for brevets and long rides. Our search ended with a pair of 1970s-era Phil Wood hubs, refurbished for us by the folks at Phil. Here is the new rear end of our Benotto, which features a 36-hole Phil hub (with the original steel center section) laced 4x to a Velocity Aerohead rim.


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Has Campagnolo Gone Too Far?

Thought readers here might want to chime in on this email from one of the online communities we read:

"I look forward to the new Canti's from Campagnolo, as I have a cross bike that could use them. My biggest problem with Campy in recent years is that they have pushed so far into the 11-speed madness across most of their range and they don't really sell much that I'd want to buy. They discontinued their silver hubs and low end triple cranks as well.

I have 3 Campy equipped bikes but if I bought a new bike this year, I'd be hard pressed to outfit it with new Campy stuff. 11-Speed Chorus? Man, I don't think so."

What do you think? Has Campagnolo gone too far in the 10- and 11-speed direction and abandoned some of their customers (CampyOnlyGuy, for instance, still runs 9-speed on his Ergo-equipped bikes). Use the Comments function to let the rest of our readers know what your opinion is.

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Campy Cantis Are Coming Back--Is an All-Campy Mountain Bike Possible?

BikeRadar reports that Campagnolo will be reintroducing cantilever brakes for 2012. The brakes are intended to be part of a cyclocross setup, but they could easily be adapted to move us all one step closer to the dream of an all-Campy mountain bike. Click here for the full report.


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Italian Wheels

For today, a mix of Campagnolo, Colnago, and ... Ferrari!  Reader Joachim, of Austin, TX, talked his local Italian motorcar dealer into letting him use their showroom for a photo shoot of his '07 Colnago. More info after the photos ...

Joachim writes,

It is a new-old-stock 2007 Colnago Master B-stay with the Flash carbon fork carefully built up from parts I curated to the theme of "tradizione e tecnologia" - my take on building a timeless, modern classic steel bike with the edge of today's technological refinements. 

Highlights of the build are the full 2010 Campagnolo Chorus 11v group, handbuilt wheels by Harris Cyclery consisting of Ambrosio Excellight SSC rims laced to Record hubs (2x front, 2x rear ND-side, 3x rear D-side), and an ITM Millenium stem and carbon bar in 26.0mm clamp size.

It was built up just last Friday by my local Campy Pro-shop Music City Cycles, and promptly ridden over the weekend. It rides as good as it looks. For the cherry on top, Ferrari of Austin was also kind enough to let me use their showroom so I could take pictures of the bike!

New Campy Only Blogging Tool

Lighter, faster, better ... But we're not talking about Campy components. No, it's the new Campy Only iPad, purchased yesterday, that we'll be using to make blog posts. Here's a photo taken right after purchasing it at the Apple store in Sacramento, CA:


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From Yesterday's Ride

Here's the CampyOnlyGuy (right) finishing the Davis Bike Club's 200K brevet with our friend, Randy Roten. Big smile despite pushing our 35-pound bike around the course ...


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Today's Video: 200K Brevet

Gotta admit, our bike today didn't have even a tiny bit of Campy equipment, but it was still a great ride on a great day.

Today's Video, Featuring Our Pashley Guvnor

From Last Week's Ride

Here's a photo by California Triple Crown honcho Chuck Bramwell of the CampyOnlyGuy cresting a climb in Alison Viejo on the Camino Real Duble Century. Shortly after this photo was taken, I had my first flat of the day ...


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Cool Campy Memorabilia

Great entry about Campy memorabilia over at the Cycle Italia blog: http://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2011/02/campagnolo.html


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Today's Mod Bikes: Tommasini Time

Reader Terry A sent these photos and this report on his growing stable of Campy-equipped Tommasinis:

The Red Carbo Light (my 8th ever Tommasini) is 10 speed equipped but I’ve added a Super Record 11 rear derailleur (plus thin shims both sides of the pulleys due to the slightly wider chain. Shifts great and looked even better. This bike is my “everyday” hammerfest and race bike.

The black carbon Velocista (my 9th ever Tommasini) runs 2010 Super Record throughout. I am a bit more choosey as to where/when I ride this bike – it does get it’s share of competitive group rides but it’s not used (yet) for any all out pack racing situations.

#10 Tommasini is on order……custom geometry and it will be fitted with 2011 Super Record and Bora Twos……can’t wait.





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Photos from Saturday's Campy-Equipped Double Century

Photos from our Campy-equipped ride on Saturday (a wet and cold Camino Real Double Century) are now online. We shot a bunch of video--that's coming as soon we have the time to edit it.  Below, a photo of the CampyOnlyGuy by our friend, Lynn Katano.

Rainy Campy Ride

We're here in Irvine for the start of what promises to be a wet and wild double century tomorrow. Check back for photos and a report ...


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Things We're Using: Spark Mini Video Camera

Many readers who have watched our recent videos have asked what camera we've been using to record on-the-bike video.  Answer: the Spark mini camera from Bad Vision.

We've used a variety of video cameras on the bike, and the Spark is one of the best. It's certainly the smallest camera we've ever used. It takes decent video (see an example here), and it's very easy to use--push a button to start recording, push and hold the same button for two seconds to stop. It's easy to upload the videos to your computer, where you can use your favorite editing software to create your own videos.

The Spark is advertised to take up to three up to two hours of video. I haven't tried to take that much, so I can't vouch for that claim.

On the downside, the camera suffers from the same wind noise problems that have plagued every videocam we've ever used on a bike. The Spark offers a "windproof" cap that also makes the camera (according to Bad Vision) totally waterproof, but it muffles the sound too much.  In practice, I usually replace the loud windy noise in my raw video with music.

The camera also doesn't take HD video--it produces nice 30FPS video at 640x480. If you're looking for HD, try a Hero of Flip Mino HD camera (which is much larger).

Bad Vision's Mike Boester is a former bike shop manager and definitely knows customer service. I was having problems with the audio on my camera (problems that turned out to be specific to that camera), and he promptly sent me a new one. He's easily accessible by email if you have questions: badvision10@gmail.com

We'll continue testing the Spark in the coming months--our goal is to take video during the Paris-Brest-Paris randonee' in August.  Check back for updated results.

Full disclosure: We paid full retail price for our camera at a local bike shop here in our home town.