First Rule of Italian Cycling ...

We just ordered an interesting device that puts a tiny brake light on your rear brake. Apply the brakes, and a small red light comes on to alert the rider behind you. However, we wonder whether this conflicts with this rule, which should apply to all Campy-equipped riders:

 

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere ...

Check out today's blog post from the folks over at Rivet Cycle Works for photos by and mention of your CampyOnlyGuy: http://rivetcycleworks.com/wind-thats-worthy-pt-reyeslighthouse-200k/

Nice writeup of the experience of Rivet's Deb Banks on last weekend's Pt Reyes Lighthouse 200K.

Today's Bike: Campy-Equipped Vitus 992

Back in the day, Vitus' glued-together aluminum frames were all the rage. A little to flexible for anyone much over 125 pounds, but very light and durable enough.

Reader Paul P rides this very clean Vitus 992 around Kansas City, MO. It features modern components, including an Athena 11S gruppo.

Brand-New 1939 Raleigh For Sale (Warning: No Campy Content)

No Campagnolo content in this post, but we think it's well worth the time to read it. Here goes ...

If you're a fan of classic bikes, and you happen to have $27,000 burning a hole in your pocket, check out this very unusual offering on eBay: a mint condition, never-ridden 1939 Raleigh. Click through to read the lengthy description, but suffice to say this machine has essentially been in a time capsule for the past 74 years. A real gem of a bike from the classic era. Why it was bought all those years and then never ridden isn't revealed in the listing, but it's a tantalizing mystery. (Question: If you bought this bike, would you ride it?)

Is it worth $27,000? Hard to say. If there's one person out there willing to pony up that kind of cash, it is. On the bright side, shipping is free.

See the eBay listing here.

Pt Reyes 200K Brevet 1-26-13

What a great ride! The San Francisco Randonneurs annual Pt Reyes Lighthouse 200K brevet was held yesterday, and your CampyOnlyGuy was there with our Campy-equipped Benotto. Great weather--except for some very strong headwinds that made the outbound leg to the lighthouse ... somewhat challenging. More photos at the link below. Enjoy!

Pt Reyes 200K Brevet 1-26-13 - a set on Flickr

Calculation Problems?

I think my iPhone may be broken. Asked it to calculate today's average speed, and it returned this:

 

Today's Ride Photos: A Trip to Napa

We took our Campy-equipped Benotto out for a ride to Napa today. Here's the proof:

Mishka approves of my choice of jersey

Got ride photos taken on your Campy-equipped trip? Send them to us: enorris [at] campyonly [dot] com

Ride Photos 1-19-13

Ride Photos 1-19-13, a set on Flickr.

Today's Campy-equipped photos. Look closely and you can see the CampyOnlyGuy, a cormorant, and the Yolo Needle. Enjoy!

Today's Ride

We'll be taking this bike — our retro-Campy Benotto — out for a ride today (as soon as we can build up some motivation, anyway). What are you planning to ride? Send us a photo, or respond in the comments.

Our email: enorris [at] campyonly [dot] com

 

A Rare Campy Item, Potentially for Sale

One of the more unusual Campagnolo items from the classic era is the bicycle workstand that the company made for (apparently) a short time. We here at Campy Only have never seen one in the wild, and the photos below are only the second time we've come across pictures of this rare bird.

As shown in the photos, the workstand is definitely classic--all steel and built to last. This particular one is potentially for sale--the owner is looking for a collector who might be interested in picking it up. If you might be that person, email weston357 [at] comcast [dot] net

Now, the photos, which continue after the break.

Cyclists and ... Everyone Else

Today's "Pearls Before Swine" comic strip is definitely worth a blog post:

P.S. This goes out with special affection to the fellow cyclist (in a car) who took the time to school me on the need to stop at each and every stop sign. He can decide where on the pyramid he is.

Today's Ride Photos

Bloggie Photos 1-13-13, a set on Flickr.

I dusted off the Campy Only Richard Sachs today, and took it for a spin from Davis to Suisun. From there, we took the train back to Davis. A great ride, but cold! The Sachs, of course, performed flawlessly ... why don't I ride it more? Hmmm.

Waterproof Photography

Here's one of the new waterproof cameras we're trying out: Sony DSC-TX5. Nice camera that takes good pictures and video. Reasonably easy to use with long-fingered gloves on today's cold weather ride. And it's waterproof, so if we get stuck in another rainstorm (or if we go for an underwater ride) we'll have one less thing to worry about.

We bought this particular camera used on eBay for about $55. Saved about $150 by accepting a few scuffs ... and the pink color.


We'll post some sample photos soon.

Selle Anatomica Goes Back to the Future

Update 1-11-13: We received a nice email from Selle Anatomica pointing out that their new TruLeather saddles have always been made of 100% leather--they mix different types of leather. TruLeather is different only in the way it has been tanned; it's designed to be stiffer than SA's other saddles.

SA's Ryan Hosmer wrote:

Eric,

We saw your post on our new TruLeather and thought we'd take this opportunity to clarify a few points. 

First, both TruLeather as well as our Watershed leather offerings are reinforced by the same laminates. Laminate is simply our word for a thin stiff piece of cow hide (not synthetic) that we glue to the underside of our leather tops to reinforce them. Our saddles have always been made of 100% leather. 

TruLeather is commonly referred to in the leather industry as veg (pronounced vej). It gets its name from the vegetable oil used in the tanning process. The net result is a stiffer piece of leather than our Watershed offering. 

TruLeather will come from the factory pre-treated with Selle Anatomica Saddle Sauce, an acrylic based product that seals the leather and will repel the water.

Please feel free to post portions or all of this email to your blog for your reader's clarification.

Kind Regards,

Ryan Hosmer

Selle Anatomica 

Our original blog post follows after the break.

Iowa-Bound and Campy Equipped

From reader Dan S:

My 1976 Proteus Century that I still ride on RAGBRAI.  One of 3 Campy equipped bikes that I have.  Maybe more pictures to follow of the stable.

Today's Retro Bike: 1990s Ciocc San Cristobal

Reader David A recently finished this rebuild of a very nice Ciocc for a friend. Complete with Delta brakes, this a great example of a pro-level machine from near the end of Campy's dominant era in the pro peloton. The Synchro shifters on this bike worked OK, but not as well as offerings from ShimaNO and Suntour, and the days of integrated shift/brake levers were not far off, sounding the death knell for downtube shifters.

Hollywood Rides a Bike Gallery

The bikes in the gallery are mostly cruisers or town bikes from the 40s and 50s (so, no Campy that we could see). but this gallery of Hollywood stars aboard bicycles is still fun ... and a reminder that even celebrities enjoy riding a bike:
Hollywood Rides a Bike Gallery - The Hollywood Reporter