Honoring the Giro

   Although many teams in this year's event seem to be practicing some questionable sportsmanship and ignoring cycling tradition, I'm not going to bother commenting on the action. I've been frustrated too long by the financial pressures on teams and the negative influence it has had on pro racing - whether it is outright cheating or controversial tactics.

   Instead, I'm going to celebrate the 100th Giro d'Italia with photos of my recent bike projects, which are Italian of course! Most of you know of my love for Colnago bicycles, and I have been lucky enough to work on many and even have had a couple go through my personal collection over the past few years. I am so happy to see that the brand is a major presence in pro cycling again, with teams at both the World Tour (UAE Team Emirates) and Pro Continental (Gazprom-Rusvelo) levels riding Colnago bicycles!

UAE's Jan Polanc wins Giro stage 4 atop Mount Etna - aboard a Colnago!

    A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a Master X-Light that I picked up in the Bronx. The bike came with a Campagnolo Record Titanium 9-speed groupset and a high-end Fir wheelset. After a bit of cleaning and some new tires, here it is...

   The 2008 "Extreme Power" Aluminum bicycle was also a fairly quick build, as I already had a Campagnolo Chorus Carbon groupset on hand, and just needed to collect a few parts, like seatpost, stem and bars, before assembly.

   Although this next project has the flair of the Azzuri, not all my bikes this week are Italian. LOOK was originally a ski equipment manufacturer established 1951 in Nevers, France. Through partnerships with companies like Rossignol and Dynastar, they became a dominant manufacturer of ski bindings. That technology was used to pioneer the development of clipless pedals, and Bernard Hinault's 1985 Tour de France victory with Look pedals effectively helped bid goodbye to toe clips/straps forever!

   The company touched off a second cycling revolution, this time in carbon fiber frames, when Greg Lemond won the 1985 Tour aboard the Look KG 86. The frameset was completely handmade with a combination of Kevlar and carbon for rigidity. In the early nineties, the KG 196, featuring aerodynamic shaping and extreme stiffness, became the company's first monocoque (one piece) frame, made with a weave of Kevlar, carbon, ceramic and aluminum.

   Grandchild to these frames is the KG 271 (above), which features a more traditional frame construction of tubes and lugs - except with carbon. Curiously, in an old 1999 catalog I found online, I noticed that Look was a supplier of pedals to the Mutuelle de Seine et Marne team that existed at the time. The color scheme of this frameset matches the unique team colors, and I wonder if the company was also set to be a frame supplier before the team folded that year - it's fun to speculate!

   Anyway, I don't have a definite plan with this frame, as I have plenty of work on my plate, but I do have a Campy Record Titanium 8-speed group that needs a home. I've had enough trouble collecting (French) Mavic parts for the Vitus 992 Lotto frameset - I don't really want to go that route again! 

Load 'em up and (hopefully) move 'em out!

   All of a sudden, as it usually happens this time of year, I find myself all backed up with work – and a good portion of it is my own doing. I can’t complain too much, because it is also a result of completely clearing out my stock of bikes for sale and having to “reload”. However, there are also a couple projects brought in by some old and new friends.

   First Brendan, my fellow Sean Kelly/Vitus bicycle fan, brought in his De Rosa for a few tweaks, such as changing up his mismatched 3T stem and Cinelli handlebars – yes he’s picky like me! He also asked what I thought about derailleur situation he had (Campagnolo Chorus and Record parts from different eras), and I suggested to match up C-Record parts with the Delta brakes he already had installed.

   He was very receptive to that idea, as he remembered seeing the C-Record rear derailleur (photo below) on the Colnago Mexico I recently sold. I believe the words he used were, "Looks pretty tight!" The only problem is that the derailleur is a bit rare and pricey, so we need to be a bit patient for a good deal. 

   A new friend I made during the sale of the Wilier “Snow” recommended a friend of his to me to do some work on a vintage Cannondale he picked up. The bike is way too big for Jeff, even if he had been managing to ride it pretty well, so I am spiffing it up a bit for eventual resale, while keeping an eye out for something affordable in his size.

   Speaking of Cannondales, I hadn’t even received as much as a sniff for the R1000 Optimo bicycle in the past month, as I feared folks would be wary about the dent in the top tube. Well, it wasn’t like I spent a ton on the frameset, and maybe someone will want it as a wall-hanging or a really cheap build of their own. The high-end Campagnolo parts from that bike are now destined for the Colnago Alu’08 I mentioned last week.

   During some preliminary searching for a new ride for Jeff, I found a really pretty 2005 Cannondale Six13, a frameset of bonded carbon and aluminum, named for the atomic numbers of the two elements, respectively. Although the bike might be out of Jeff’s price range, it will give me an opportunity to use the rest of the parts from the R1000.

   Next, my old pal Ron, for whom I did a custom build and paint job on a Monteverde bicycle, stopped in for some adjustments. Unfortunately, he also brought along with him the twisted wreckage of his Fuji Altamira bicycle, which his wife accidentally backed over with her car! I’m not a huge fan of Fuji bicycles, but it really was a sharp looking modern carbon bike, and I couldn’t bring myself to share photos of the tragedy on this blog. Anyhow, I’m disassembling and salvaging parts for resale on his behalf.

   Ron also returned the Basso frameset that I had restored, since he couldn’t find any takers in his family. He was willing to take a small hit on his original purchase price, since he knew I would give it a first-class treatment with parts appropriate to its era. You never know - when he sees it assembled, he might want it back!

   So if you are keeping track of my mental “to do” list, that’s the Basso, Battaglin, Cannondale R500 (Jeff’s), Cannondale Six13, Colnago Alu’08, Colnago Master X-Light (really just needs some tires/tubes) and Vitus 992. Oh, and my Coppi bicycle is still in Bruce’s possession – I guess telling him that “I’m not in a hurry for that” was more accurate than I thought!

   I just finished watching today's coverage of the 100th Giro d'Italia, with the finish of this stage occurring in Messina, the hometown of last year's winner, Vincenzo Nibali. Fittingly, his team was driving the pace as the peloton headed into the city center for a couple of six kilometer circuits. As the pack was nearing the finish line for the penultimate lap, one of Nibali's Bahrain-Merida teammates jumped out in front, and I figured he might be just maneuvering his leader forward, out of danger.
   However, as his gap quickly increased, and I could see the effort with which he was driving the pedals, I thought, "Oh no, does he think..." Sure enough, poor Luka Pibernik threw his arms in the air in a mistaken victory salute. I suppose the crowd was cheering so loudly that he didn't here the bell ringing, but what a sad sight to see him totally spent and spit out the back in confusion when the peloton charged by him for one more lap!