Return of the Adventure Bike

   Yes, it's part three of the Adventure Bike Series, and there is still one to go! A customer has a Marin mountain bike conversion waiting in the wings, but my recent project was quite similar, involving a Giant Boulder SE that was just sitting unused in my garage. There are a few friends in my cycling circle who only have road bikes, and since we have a few regular routes that travel unpaved roads, I thought it would be a good idea to have something on hand to borrow for such occasions.

   The plan wasn't too complicated, and I've experimented a bit with some non-name-brand components, just to keep the costs down. This Giant isn't exactly state-of-the-art and has a good deal of miles on it, so I didn't want to throw a lot of money at the build. The bike originally had a lower-level Shimano 3x7 drivetrain, so I decided to go with simplicity and install a 1x setup.

   Although the long-cage derailleur that came on the mountain bike would take plenty of the chain slack, it wouldn't work like the modern rear derailleurs with a clutch to maintain chain tension, so I was a bit concerned about chain bounce. I installed a narrow/wide chainring to help ensure the chain stays put!

   I had experience with Microshift seven-speed levers from building my friend Kathy's vintage Terry bicycle, and I really liked the way they operated. I found that they had the added plus of a slightly angled brake lever, which keeps the shifting paddle, located behind the lever blade, clear of the bars when applying the brakes. This is important because the Giant came equipped with V-brakes, which require more cable pull to work properly - being able to grab a full squeeze of the lever is a necessity!

   Come one, come all - decorate your bike with lights (not a requirement) and join us for a ride out to Reading and back. In the community of Stowe, we'll meet at the Grosstown Road trailhead of the SRT, right near the Continental Concrete factory. The trail is now almost entirely off-road, and the sections of street we will have to travel are practically traffic-free, as most cars are diverted onto parallel Rt. 724! The majority of the trail is unpaved, so I would suggest bringing a bike with wider tires.

My Current Bike Collection - A History

 I put together this page as a reference to a future blog entry. Presented in the order that I acquired each bike, here is a background story to the machines I currently have in my collection. I used the photos and text below to create small plaques to display with the bicycles around my home:

   The story of this brand’s famous color is a bit murky, but to me, if it’s not celeste, the bike is not a Bianchi! I felt it was necessary to have a bike by the world’s oldest existing manufacturer. Since 1885, the Milanese company has supplied bicycles to legends such as Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi (pictured) and Marco Pantani. The 2022 Bianchi Camaleonte allows me to take advantage of the many unpaved rail trails nearby.

 

   My 2012 Cannondale SuperSix 5 is in the colors of the Liquigas-Cannondale team. The squad during that time was loaded with stars like Peter Sagan (pictured), Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso and Elia Viviani.

   Because all-time favorite Sean Kelly rode a Vitus to countless victories, I simply had to have a bike by the French brand in my collection. I went a slightly different direction with this 1995 Vitus 992 in Lotto-Isoglass team colors, which is similar to the one ridden by Andrei Tchmil (pictured) in that year’s Paris-Roubaix. The Soviet star had won the “Hell of the North” the previous season, and won many other Classics during his career.

   The Del Tongo team rode bikes in a paint color that became known as “Saronni red”, named after Italian legend Giuseppe Saronni, who won the Giro d’Italia twice. The Colnago he rode to a 1982 World Championship had a scheme similar to that on my 2008 Colnago Extreme Power.

   Claude Criquielion was an immediate favorite when I first became a pro cycling fan. When I saw a 1989 Eddy Merckx Century in Hitachi team colors, just like the one the Belgian star rode to victory during that season’s La Flèche Wallonne, I had to have it! Although the team bike would have been outfitted in Mavic components, I decided to go with Campagnolo C-Record – the stuff I lusted after in catalogs when I was a teen during that era. However, I did equip my bike with the handlebars, saddle and pedals that Claude used.

   Spaniard Alejandro Valverde has been a more recent favorite of mine, and I loved the 2008 Pinarello Prince bicycles ridden by his Caisse d’Epargne team. My desire to own one of these machines intensified during a 2011 visit to the Lazzaretti bike shop in Rome, where I saw dozens of the frames with the cool, curvy fork and seat stays.

Heart Wrenching

   A couple of weeks ago, a nice gentleman took two of my bicycle projects home, as part of a trade and cash deal. The bicycle I received was a 1987 De Rosa Professional with Columbus SLX tubing and built up with Campagnolo C-Record components. Some enthusiasts may be disappointed that the legendary delta brakes are not included, but the Cobalto brakes perform much more reliably, are very much easier to set up and are pretty darn beautiful in their own right!

   I can't really nail down exactly why De Rosa steel bicycles are comparatively so expensive when considering Colnago or Pinarello products. The brand is of extremely high-quality and production numbers are perhaps slightly lower than those of its rivals, but maybe it just comes down to owners being extremely loyal - finding people willing to sell them is difficult.

   De Rosa's headtube logo is quite appropriate as my heart is in need of a little mending, after the recent death of my mother. I had referred to a "family situation" in my previous post, that being a bad fall Mom took, the subsequent hospital visits and her move to a rehabilitation facility that followed. She unfortunately did not recover well and passed away shortly after returning home.

   I'm sure you'll understand my lack of writing enthusiasm this time around - my main goal was to post photos of the De Rosa in order to promote sales of the bicycle. Give the people you love an extra hug today, and tell them "Cycle Tech" sent you!