a few sets of cool brakes from the second floor

a few cool sets of French brakes. Nice looking boxes as well

Mafac Criterium cantilever brakes.

Mafac Top 63 brakes

Bebolux braze on brake calipers

CLB Racer cantilever brakes

Vintage chainguard installed

A customer came in to have a vintage chainguard installed on her early 1980s Schwinn world that was converted into a single speed. Davis came up with an ingenious solution using Simplex single sided shifter clamps. It proved to be an excellent support, rigid and looks good as well. Too bad we didn't have any domed M5 nuts, that would have made it even more elegant. Next time.

Hill Cycle van

I thought this photograph of the Hill Cycle shop van was really cool. It was taken post race, with these young lads in front of a Gitane track bike with TA cranks and an underslung track stem. One kid has a trophy, one has a pump and some boxes(tubes?) and the middle kid is holding something unidentifiable. I assume all prizes. Hill Cycle shop was a big supporter of cycling and cycle races in the Philadelphia area for many decades.

Dr. StrangeVan (or I learned to stop worrying about the transmission)

Curtis returned from out west with a van full of bikes and goodies. It's like Christmas unpacking the surprises. This is the first time in many years that I did make the trip, but I was more than happy to do my bike ride instead.

400km bike ride

On Saturday morning I awoke at 3:45am to take a shower and get prepared to begin a 400km bike ride that started at 5am. I should add that I was as prepared as I could be at that point, other than dressing myself, everything else that I needed for the ride as been taken into account days and weeks before. 400km is a bit hard to comprehend, even when I give it the American equivalent of 250 miles. I usually look at distance from point to point- so it would be the distance if I rode my bike from my home in Philadelphia to Richmond, Virginia, or from New York City to almost the border of Maine and New Hampshire.

As one can see from the ride profile, it was a varied course(almost 19,000 feet of climbing) which included a cross over the Appalachian Trail. It is rather difficult to gauge the severity of climbs by looking at these types of charts until you have done enough of them and it starts to make sense. Let's just say, it is tough.

The ride went seemless and smooth. No mechanicals, my body felt great other than a little saddle sore from lack of chamois cream, and I still felt fresh when I finished. My bike has performed very well, given it is was not originally intended for this type of bicycling. It is an early 1980s Eddy Merckx, that I installed 700 x 28c tires(the largest the frame would allow), Schmidt Dynohub with Edelux headlight affixed to the fork with a plastic clamp for a reflector and a Carradice handlebar bag. I also outfitted it with a TA Pro 5 Vis crankset with a 46/30 chainring combination. The bike is fast but lack of braze-ons for fenders, front bag support, and lights were definitely a big drawback. I have now ridden it in this current state for over 1250miles in less than 3 months, and have only had one punctured inner tube. That's pretty good.

All that said, I can't wait to ride my new bike(Hanford built by Simon Firth), currently at the painter(Peter Weigle), getting painted. One more ride until I am qualified to ride Paris Brest Paris.

Youtube- how Brooks saddle are made

Shame it is not in English, but still worth watching. I just starting riding a Brooks Swift after many years using Brooks Professionals on my fast bikes. It is very nice. My city bikes have always been Brooks B-72.

More information on Brooks is at their official website HERE

Anjou Vélo Vintage in France this summer

Anjou Vélo Vintage is a new Classic Rendezvous friendly event(CR has nothing to do with this event) happening in France this June. It is intended to help merge vintage bicycles, food, cycling heritage and camaraderie. Bikes are to be be made before 1987 and riders are to be dressed in period attire. Like in this video below.
If anyone who is fluent in French can translate what the use of white wrapping around his ankles is about, I would gratefully appreciate it. I have seen it used in old photos of racers before too, but I have no real idea, only guesses.

The ride is June 19th, 2011, and is the Loire valley region of France. Looking at profile maps of the ride, it appears to be rather flat. There are 3 lengths to choose from-30, 73, and 99km routes.

More info for the ride is HERE on their website(all french as well)