2008 Colnago Master X-light, Saronni

Project X-light

I’ve had this bike frame for several years now and have been collecting parts for it. I pretty much have everything I need to complete the bike so recently I began putting a few things together to get it started. It could go pretty quickly and the only bigger task is to buld the wheels. Here is a list of the components I’ll be using:

   • Campagnolo Athena 11 speed gruppo

   • Athena 50×34 Crankset

   • Athena 12×29 cassette

   • Campagnolo Record Hubs

   • Campagnolo Record bottom bracket

   • Campy record headset

   • Deda Zero 100 seatpost

   • Deda Zero 100 stem

   • Deda handlebars

   • Brooks Swift Ti saddle

   • Mavic Open Pro rims, silver, 32 hole

   • DT 14/15 double butted spokes

   • Campagnolo Athena brakes and levers

   • Brooks leather bar tape

   • Continental Grand Prix 25c tires

Once again I am going for a bright looking bike, using polished aluminum wherever I can. The older Record hubs are 11 speed compatible so that was easy and the Athena gruppo is all nicely polished aluminum. The polished skeleton brakes were also an easy find but here is where it started getting harder!  You simply cannot find a modern Italian seatpost, stem or handlebars in polished aluminum. There are none made today! That was un-acceptable so I had to come up with my own solution to the problem.

Deda makes some light-weight and beautifully finished parts, but they are dark anodized and wouldn’t look quite right. My answer was to strip off the anodized finish to reveal the polished aluminum beneath. I do not recommend that anyone try this at home but here is what I did.  I applied spray on oven cleaner to the parts and with a non-abrasive cloth I was able to remove the anodized finish. It took several applications to remove the finish completely. It worked pretty well on the polished surface. I do not think it would work quite as well on a satin finish metal base. It is kind of un-nerving to take beautiful new parts and apply caustic chemicals to their finish. But the results speak for themselves. The finished post shown above (without seat clamp) is stunning! The same result for the stem and bars, a beautiful bright finish. The only thing I lost was the painted on Deda logos. Oh well, if they sold these parts in silver they could have kept their logos on the bike!

 

1983 Bianchi Nuovo Racer

 The L’Eroica bike completed:

Original Bianchi 1983 catalog photo

Excerpt from 1983 Bianchi catalog:  “Sleek Italian styling and proven European components make this an excellent choice. Campagnolo Nuovo Record derailleurs, double butted Columbus frame, TTT stem and handlebars, Ofmega Compettition hubs, headset, crankset, pedals and seatpost, Mavic G-40 rims and Clement 100 psi skinwall tires complete this thoroughbred Italian.”

 

PCH 200 km Brevet, 1/7/12

This early season ride is on a route that I thought I had ridden before but as it turned out much of the route was new to me. It started in Foothill Ranch and wound through the back hills to Anaheim before dropping down to the coast. There was a long out and back section through Camp Pendleton after which we turned inland and back to the finish. I have to credit the route designer Willie with creating a unique and often car-free itinerary through what can be a congested area.

 

Vintage cycling gear

The L’Eroica “kit”

For a vintage bike rally you need vintage cycling gear of the same period as the bike you are riding. My L’Eroica bike is a 1983 Bianchi so I will need to put together a kit appropriate to that bike. Now, I was riding bikes in 83 but I dont have any of my gear from that era. It was mostly crap anyway and if I still had it I would probably just throw it out. The gear I need will have to be functional and look good which means it needs to be new or near new, and there is also the “style” factor to consider since I’ll be riding in Italy. No problem, I’ll just go down to the vintage bike store and buy some new cycling gear, right?

 

Aquisitions and mergers.

2011 Moots Mooto XZ, Titanium 29er full suspension MTB.

Here is the new acquisition in my project line-up. I’ve got several bikes in the works ahead of it but this one may get merged in to the queue ahead of some others and fast tracked a bit. I hope to have it up and riding and be doing some business on it by mid summer 2012. It was built to order for me by Moots Cycles in Steamboat Springs Colorado with a couple of special requests that I wanted included in the construction. I ordered the frame from Cyclepath Bicycle Shop in Portland Oregon, perhaps one of the best and most knowledgeable bike shops I have ever been in! They accommodated my needs and got the frame to me in just a few weeks. It is so nice to do business with real cycling professionals!

 

The finish of the build, the beginning of the adventure!

The L’Eroica bike, continued.

The bike is now essentially complete and except for some minor adjustments it is good to go. I am quite pleased with the way it rides, it feels crisp and tight. It handles quickly but seems stable at higher speeds. Acceleration seems good even with the 28c tires. I’ve chosen a set of Ene Ciclo Gran Compe tires from Velo Orange, partly for their vintage look but also for their size and relatively light weight. They give a smooth ride even over rough pavement due to their size and lower inflation pressure. The Campy NR drive train works nicely but has limited gear range as you might expect from a 12 speed. I have never ridden with Modolo brakes before and these seem adequate if not great, but they will stop the bike. The Brooks B-17 saddle (in blue) is new and will take some time for it to break in. I have my own secret method of accelerating that process and in a couple of hundred miles it should be “well seasoned”.

 

Verboort Sausage Populaire, 100 km

Forecast, 90% chance of rain, temps 40 to 44 degrees, let’s go for a ride!

Apparently about 60 or so other people thought it was a good idea as well. The ride started in Forest Grove Oregon, about 20 miles outside of Portland. The actual temp at the start was 38 degrees on my thermometer but who’s quibbling over a few degrees. It was generally a good group to ride with, there were a few newbies but also many PBP anciens. The pace was brisk but not over the top and I was able to stay with the “B group” for much of the early part of the ride. For this short distance there were few controls, 2 were manned and 2 were informational. I had ridden much of this route on previous rides and that time it was wet also. I wonder what it would be like to ride these roads on a warm sunny day?

 

The Bianchi enters the home stretch.

The L’Eroica bike, continued.

The Bianchi is nearing completion, most components are mounted and have been tested on the work stand. Shifting, brakes and alignment are are dialed in and should be good for a test ride. Of course some fine adjustments will be required later. I still need to find a set of tires that I like for the intended use. This bike will probably need at least a 28c tire to be suitable for use on gravel roads but I may have to test several tires before I get one that I like. Actual tire sizes can vary from the stated size but I would like to get the largest tire that will fit in the frame. That should give it best ride on the bianca strada (white roads) of Chianti. For testing purposes I have put on my SPD compatible pedals, but rest assured that the finished bike will have toe clips and be “period correct”, as required at L’Eroica.

 

Moto reconnoissance of Tuscany

This fall my wife Sara and took a trip to Italy; Tuscany in particular where we toured the area by motorcycle. We had over 10 days to see the region and covered over 1200 km during the trip. We saw the countryside from Cinque Terre to Siena and many of the backroads in between. All the while I kept an eye on the cycling opportunities in the region. After a thorough investigation I can report that the area is a cycling paradise, particularly the area north of Lucca as well as the Chianti region of Tuscany. The trip also helped me get a feel for the area of Chianti where the vintage L’Eroica event is held each October. For more on L’Eroica click here. If you want to read more on our adventure, here is a full detailed account of the trip, or if you just want the quick slideshow click here. We are back home now and I am making plans to hopefully return in 2012 to ride the bike. To keep track of my preparation for next year you can follow the L’Eroica posts.

 

Building a worthy set of wheels.

The L’Eroica bike, continued.

The Bianchi came stock with wheels built from the following components: Campagnolo Victory hubs, Mavic G-40 rims and straight guage steel spokes. The hubs are in good shape so even though I have a set of Campy Record hubs on hand I will re-use the Victory hubs. The Mavic rims are in nice condition but I have never liked anodized rims. Mavic doesn’t make anything like the G-40 anymore but I did find some rims from Velo Orange. They are a polished box section rim that is very similar to the Mavic. I think they will be a good choice and keep the bike looking more original than any other replacement rim. Finally, the spokes: The original spokes are okay but they are rusted and pitted; same with the nipples. I will replace these with new DT double butted SS spokes and brass nipples. I have lots of DT spokes on hand so I just have to cut them to the right length and thread them.

For the rest of this episode click,  

 

Progress on the Bianchi.

The L’Eroica bike, continued.

Okay I have started by tearing the bike down to the last removeable item and then cleaned all of the parts throughly. Once you have everything cleaned and prepared then assembly can go forward in an orderly manner and progress will be swift. The headset and bottom bracket are repacked with new grease and then installed and adjusted properly. On older bikes these areas are poorly sealed so I will use a waterproof grease. I am re-using almost all of the original parts with just a couple of exceptions. I start with the crankset and seatpost which go on quickly. The crankset is the Italian brand Ofmega and its quality is just below Campy Nouvo Record.  I have added a little trim color to these parts to dress things up a little. The derailleurs and brakes will also get a little accent color to tie it all together.

The stem, handlebars and brake levers go on quickly along with the brakes and it is starting to look like a bike again. Click on any of these pics for a larger image. Next I’ll have to start work on the wheels. I love building wheels!

Previous posts on this topic:

Dreaming of L’Eroica

The L’Eroica bike

 

Bryce Canyon 200 km brevet

Strong thunderstorms rolling through the area the night before the event left some riders anticipating bad weather for the Saturday ride. At the 7 am start everything was wet and there were lowlying clouds from all of the moisture. The forecast looked pretty good however with a chance of showers building again by afternoon. If riders could finish in time it shouldn’t be a problem.

3 riders departed Panguitch in the early morning dew and under some lingering clouds. Temps were in the low 40′s and there was definitely a feeling of fall in the air but it was a good day to be riding. Winds were light and temperatures were expected to reach the mid-60′s.  The weather did become threatening again by the afternoon but didn’t cause any problems for the riders.

All three riders finished together in 8 hrs 50 min, with veterans Richard and Bob taking care of first timer Sharif until the finish. For Richard and Bob it was just another 200 km brevet but for Sharif it was a much bigger deal! He suffered a bit but hopefully learned a little from the veterans and will come back and join us soon! Congratulations to all three riders on their finish of a beautiful and under-appreciated route!

 

The L’Eroica bike

Okay, I have chosen a bike from my stable to hopefully ride in the 2012 L’Eroica event. It is a new aquisition, a 1983 Bianchi Nuovo Racing, which is basically an entry level race bike. It came spec’d with an Italian Ofmega headset, bottom bracket and crankset, Modolo Sporting brake levers and calipers and Campy NR derailleurs and shifters. The wheels are Campy Gran Sport hubs built on Mavic G40 rims. I will keep it mostly original and make only minor changes. It will be gone through completely mechanically, but the finish condition will remain that of a 30 year old bike. This will not be a museum piece as much as it will be a working antique and it should look the part.

Here is a picture of the bike before major assembly begins. In later posts I will update the photos as I make progress on this build.

 

Dreaming of L’Eroica

I first became aware of this event about 5 years ago and it has intrigued me ever since. I enjoy vintage bicycles and have a few, some of which might be ideal for a ride like this. I hope to participate in L’Eroica in 2012, so I have a year to prepare a bike and gather the neccessary items such as vintage cycling gear and clothing. For more on this unique event the story continues below.

 

Chris King’s Gourmet Century, July 30, 2011

I was fortunate enough this year (along with my stepson Justin) to be able to participate in a great event which after only 3 years in the Portland area is already becoming a local classic. This event began in McMinnville and wound a 103-kilometer loop around the gentle slopes and quiet, scenic roads of the Willamette Valley wine country. Due to it’s quickly growing notoriety it was recently featured in Bicycling magazine which is either a sign of it’s distinction or a warning of it’s demise.

Was this a bike ride or was this event about something else entirely different? You will have to be the judge.

 

Grand Tour Double Century

The 53rd annual Grand Tour Double Century hosted by the LA Wheelmen was held on June 25th, 2011. This was my fifth participation in this event and my second ride in the 200 mile version. They also do a 300 mile event which I have done before as well as a 400 mile event which I have not tried. Each of these events has a 24 hour time limit in which you must finish to receive credit for completion.

So far this season I’ve had the worst weather on almost every ride. Wind, rain and cold temps have been my constant companion at nearly every event and in every region, but the weather forecast for this years Grand Tour looked pretty good. Only time would tell if my riding partner Joe and I would have a good day!

Cruising up the PCH in the early morning.

 

 

PCH 600 km brevet, May 28, 2011

This is a route that I have been looking forward to riding for many years. The weather forecast was good, the route looked great and I was ready to go!  I thought that this could be a ride to remember, little did I know what it would be remembered for!

For the full story click

 

Davis Bike Club, 400 km brevet

April 30, 2011

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, a beautiful day, clear blue skies, quiet country roads, a perfect day for a bike ride right? But what this picture does not show are the ridiculous winds that we had endured up to this point. Almost immediately the vicious winds broke the ride into 3 or 4 smaller groups and by mile 30 the entire ride was down to bunches of two’s and three’s. For the rest of the story click

 

Route 66, the Mother Road 300 km brevet

This was a new event on the Arizona Brevet calender and I thought I would give it a try. The route is basically an out and back from Chino Valley to Peach Springs via Hwy 89 and old Route 66. There aren’t many sections of old Route 66 left and I thought it might be interesting. The weather forecast was pretty crappy with winds at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40! My plan was to start out and then if it was too horrendous cut the ride short. Here is the story of the days ride!

 

Solvang Double Century

It has been about 5 years since I have done this ride and I was looking forward to riding it again. It is a beautiful area to be in the springtime and the wildflowers are often spectacular. This year however, many parts of California have seen a lot of rain and the Central Coast is among them. The weather forecast before the event looked okay, 40 percent chance of rain showers, no problem! But, by the night before the event the forecast had changed to 70 percent for rain but not starting until the afternoon. I thought that maybe I could get a lot of the ride done before the rain started. As it turned out that would be wishful thinking.

 

Front Bag mounting options

I have been a little unhappy with the load carrying position of my bar mounted Berthoud bag. The bag itself is great and I like the supplied mounting hardware, but mounting it on the bars puts the bag pretty high up and a little far forward. I wanted it to be a little lower down and I also wanted to get back a little room on the handlebars for computers and other accessories. Here is what I came up with.

 

Oregon Randonneurs, 200k brevet

 

 Mr. Surly goes to Oregon

If you read in an earlier blog post about my budget brevet bike project, well, this is the first real event for that bike along with a brief phot0 essay about the ride. I like doing rides in Oregon; almost anywhere I go there is new country to see and new people to ride with. It doesn’t hurt to have a little good weather either.

A Gloomy Start

About 3 dozen riders gathered at what looked to be a pretty gloomy start of the day. The forecast had the chance of rain increasing to 50% and in Oregon that means you are going to get wet. Local riders are not phased with the threat of rain though and had come well prepared. Real rain gear, booties, fenders and mud flaps are the norm. An hour later the rain began.

 

Rear bag ideas

I thought I would share my idea for a rear bag mount on a brevet bike. I have never been fully satisfied with many of the options that I have seen and used over the years, both functionally and aesthetically. I have used racks with trunks, seat post mounted tailrider bags and dangling seat mounted bags. I eventually came up with this idea which I have not seen before. I think it is a simple, elegant and functional solution to adding carrying capacity to almost any bike. It is both economical and versatile as well as ridiculously simple!

 

San Diego, Rainbow 200 km brevet

This was kind of a make up ride for me. I had intended to do the PCH 200k on January 8, but a family crisis forced me to cancel. I was able to reschedule to do this trip at the last minute. The weather forecast was perfect with inland temps in the 80′s, and 70′s along the coast and there was a predicted tailwind for the end of the ride! Recent rains had also left their impression on the landscape and there was green grass everywhere.

The ride started just at sunrise which meant, no lights and no reflective gear was required. That is pretty good for the short days of January! At the start I was able to visit with a number of friends I’ve made over the years from other events here in SoCal. It is always good to see the guys and gals you have ridden with before! I think that about 80 riders started the event which is a great turnout for an early season ride. The group stayed together for a short while but traffic controls and hills split the ride up into several bunches before long.

 

Building a budget brevet bike

First, let me say that I’ve got lots of bikes. Bikes are like tools, and depending on the job you are trying to do you need to choose the right one. Sometimes a guy needs a lot of tools to choose from. I already have a brevet bike that I love! It’s a Co-motion Nor’wester that I had built for me about 5 years ago. It fits me perfectly and is all I could ask for in a brevet bike. I consider it a “legacy bike” and ride this bike at most brevets and in all of my big events (including PBP in 2007).

We travel to Portland frequently and have a condo there. I like to keep a couple of bikes in Portland so that when I am there I have something to ride without having to transport anything. I haven’t really had a suitable brevet bike there but there is some great riding in the Portland area. Oregon Randonneurs is a very active club and puts on some great events. I decided that I needed to have another brevet bike in Portland so that I could ride more of these events. I felt that I already had one “legacy bike” but to buy another one might be a little over the top, so I decided that I would see what kind of budget brevet bike I could find and set up for my rides in the northwest.

 

The thing about bike clubs…..

First, let me offer the definition for a club;  “a group of persons organized for the mutual support and benefit of it’s members and their common interest”.  In the case of a local bicycling club, riding with friends or promoting cycling issues in a local community are generally the focus, and the main reasons why many people join.  This can be expanded to include supporting local cycling events which are often helpful as fundraisers for the club.

 

Last call for the high country.

Posted in absentia; durante el viaje en España

This was to be the last prime day riding in the high country above Cedar City. My loop would start at Navajo Lake which sits at 9000 feet elevation, just above Zion National Park. The last of the Fall colors were still visible around the lake and the trail had dried out nicely from recent snowfalls. The campgrounds were empty and there were few fishermen out. I cruised the backside of the lake loop around to the Virgin River Rim Trail and started to climb. In the shade of the trees the trail was a bit muddier, getting more-so the higher I went. Once I hit the ridge top though (over 10,000 feet) the soil was a little rockier and there was less mud so the good riding continued.  The views opened up and temps were about 50 degrees with no wind and clear skies, it was a beautiful day for late October.

A stunning day at Navajo Lake.

 

Las Vegas Century

I’ve done this ride several times in the past but not for a couple of years. The highlight of the ride this year was to be among the first riders to be able to go over the new Hoover Dam Bridge. It is a spectacular concrete arch bridge spanning the Colorado River just south of the Hoover Dam itself.  It has just been finished but is not yet open to the public.

 

The civility of cycling

This post was written after a recent cycling trip to the northwest.

I live in the wilderness. Oh, my town may have all the modern conveniences like shopping, schools, an airport and interstate highway, but in many ways it may as well be 1000 miles from civilization.  Among the things you just can’t get here are a decent meal, locally brewed beer or a choice in coffee.  There are restaurants, but the quality of food in local establishments leaves a lot to be desired.  The nearest brew pub is probably in Las Vegas and Starbucks is your coffee house.  There is one other thing that I really miss by living in southern Utah and that is a mature and developed cycling community.  We have a small local cycling club and there are good riders among them, but their experience and vision of cycling are limited.  It is all race all the time and there is little civility demonstrated among riders.  Most of the members have not experienced cycling outside of Utah and at times they can be scary to ride with due to their lack of experience.

 

Crater Lake 1000 km brevet

The Crater Lake 1000 km brevet is a point to point ride that goes down the Washington and Oregon coasts and then turns inland to finish at Klamath Falls Oregon. My riding partner Joe and I were really looking forward to riding in some new country.

Seattle to Bremerton ferry

The ride begins in Bremerton Washington, but our trip started in Portland Oregon. That’s where we loaded our bikes on the train and enjoyed a nice 3 1/2 hour train ride to Seattle. From there we rode our bikes all of 4 blocks to the Bremerton Ferry terminal where we caught the next ferry across to Bremerton. It’s about an hours boat ride.