Builder's Choice

   Before I move onto the intended subject matter, I wanted to give a bit of a shop update. I’ve sold a couple of bikes after a long inactive period in that department, so I will be getting back to working on some of my projects soon. In the meantime, I’ve had plenty of customer work, including two interesting builds.
   My friend Jonathan brought in a unique 2000 Cannondale Raven 700 SX mountain bike a couple weeks ago. He had purchased the bike at a very reasonable price, mainly because its aluminum rear suspension arm was cracked, but he was able to have someone weld the part back together.
   Jonathan has a taste for the unusual, and this machine definitely fits his preferences with a magnesium spine holding together the halves of the swooping carbon frame shapes. It also had Cannondale’s distinctive lefty fork (only one fork blade) and a front disk brake. Strangely the bike came with a rear rim V-brake, common to MTBs of the era, but had drilled/threaded mounts for possible disk brakes.
   Jonathan wisely decided to ditch the V-brake and set the bike up with full disk brakes, and after a tricky reassembly of the pivoting mechanism on the rear suspension, due to the lost material during the weld process, we were good to go!

   Another friend brought in his recent Ridley Fenix purchase for some upgrades, including a set of carbon wheels and some carbon bars with internal cable routing that absolutely drove me nuts! Mark also has a bit of a taste for the unusual, but only in his willingness to step away from the mainstream manufacturers. Yes, he has a really nice American-made Specialized Roubaix SL4, but he also has an Orbea Lobular (Spanish) and now the Ridley (Belgian).
   Ridley makes some very nice bicycles, and they have been a long-time supplier for the Lotto pro cycling team. I have worked on a couple different Ridleys over the years, including an Icarus and Boreas. The company’s bikes usually have wonderful designs and tube shapes, and the Fenix is no exception on that account.

   I was having a conversation with a client about parts on my custom builds and started thinking about compiling a list of all-time favorites, whether they are modern or vintage. Most people know of my affinity for Campagnolo, and really, when it comes down a complete group, it doesn’t matter much to me whether it’s Chorus, Athena or Record – most of the time it just comes down to cost and condition.
   There are a couple individual components I would like to mention, such as rear derailleurs, since their design differed greatly over the years. Visually, I really like the Victory derailleur, with its art-deco elegance:

   The C-Record rear derailleur goes a step further in its design, with curvier edges and a cowling over the lower pulley, and unfortunately, the customer really pays extra for it (often 3 or 4 times more):

   These two previous models were for 6- or 7-speed, down-tube friction shift levers. If I was selecting something for more modern shifters, I would take the Chorus Carbon version, which is lightweight, well-designed and provides super-quiet shifts.

   If I was choosing Campagnolo brakes, they would be the Athena D500, which are simply beautiful. Many people incorrectly call these “monoplaner” brakes, but those Campagnolo products had a slotted hinge that pivoted in one plane, hence the name. Both products had a similar shape, but the monoplaner caliper arms were slightly more angular – I prefer the lines of the D500:

   Ultimately, the best functioning rim brakes ever made, if you can find them at a reasonable price, are the Mavic SSC set:

   The only other item I wanted to mention that is technically from a Campagnolo groupset is the Record Aero seatpost. I had a small stockpile of these beautiful posts, back when they were less expensive, easier to find and in decent condition – a very rare “trifecta” these days!

   While we are at the back end, I’ll refer to saddles. I’d certainly take a good Selle Italia Turbo or Selle San Marco Rolls saddle, if I was lucky to find one at a good price, but the Selle Italia C2 Gel Flo looks good on any bike, is comfortable and won’t break the bank:

   My favorite saddle is the Prologo Scratch model, as it is the most comfortable seat I’ve ever used. Unfortunately, the design and look has changed recently, not for the better.

   I’m not overly choosy about handlebars, although I do like to match up with stem brands, whether it is ITM, 3T or Cinelli. I will say that I’m not too fond of putting bars with anatomical bends on vintage bikes – I prefer the traditional curved drops. If I had to pick, I would go with Cinelli (Giro d'Italia model pictured below), only because my favorite stem is the XA, though a couple of competitors have copied it.

   I don’t usually include pedals on the bikes I sell because they are such an item of personal preference. Certainly a vintage bike would look great with the old platform-with-toeclip-style pedals, but if someone is looking to ride often, I would choose a classic Look pedal. Today’s KEO model, with a slightly smaller delta cleat is my current favorite.

   Now we’re talking wheels, and I would want to match up a set of Campagnolo hubs with a set of their excellent “hoops” (Omega or one of their Olympic-themed rims), but compatriot companies Ambrosio, Fiamme, FIR and Nisi make excellent products as well. There are a few other manufacturers of note, but if I had to pick just one, I’d go with Mavic and a set of their MA40 rims. The quality of the French company’s products is high and consistent.

   On that note, a set of modern Mavic Cosmic wheels with aluminum braking surfaces are hard to beat. The rims are durable with a nice aero profile and the hubs have the typical smooth-spinning bearings. I also like the hypnotizing graphics as they revolve when the wheel is moving.

   However, my all-time favorite is the Campagnolo Vento wheelset, with their funky spoke arrangement and “angry bees” freehub sound when coasting. Over the years, I have had several bikes with these wheels, and I have NEVER had to true any of them. The only issue that ever occurred was a snapped spoke when I hit a pothole, but there was no damage to the rim. Spoke replaced and properly tensioned, I didn't have problems with them again!

   While we’re at it, we’ll throw on some rubber, and the Vittoria Corsa Pro would be perfect for any vintage build, but I’ve even used it on some modern bikes. The tan walls look great, and the tire wears/performs well – I generally ride 23mm width, but they somehow feel plusher on the road, like 25s.

   The go-to, everyday tire would be Continental Ultra Sport. It may not have the super-puncture resistance of the GatorSkin or the race pedigree of the Grand Prix 5000, but it has that magic combination of durability, ride quality and affordability!

Hope you find something useful here for your future build project.

Pedal Power

   I had mentioned a couple of times previously that Sue and were looking for an e-bike for her. She was doing some longer rides during our stay in Rochester this summer, and I asked her, if fitness and hills weren't a consideration, what type of distances she would consider riding.

   There are plenty of routes that I do regularly that I know Sue would enjoy, and I thought, with a little boost, she might be able to join me a little more regularly. I also mentioned to her some of the longer rides and the fact that being able to do them at a little quicker pace would reduce time in the saddle.

   So a bicycle with more of a road setup became the priority, but we also considered a bike with some flexibility, maybe with mounts for a rack and wider tires for gravel trails. Because she enjoyed a test ride on an Orbea e-bike with pedal assist, we came up with the Bianchi e-Impulso Allroad, essentially the electric version of the bike I recently purchased. This bicycle had the same motor as the Orbea and had all of the flexibility features we had discussed.

   Normally we wouldn't consider a Bianchi that wasn't celeste, but we really aren't the "his and hers matching bikes-types", and the black and silver color scheme looks pretty slick. We also had real trouble finding the bike in an extra small size, and this was the only one available anywhere!

   It is going to take a bit of trial and error to find the maximum range at the desired power output, and we had a real taste of what that might involve during a recent trip to the shore. We had set out on a 40-mile loop from Stone Harbor, down to Cape May and then out along the Delaware Bay side of the peninsula to return.

   This route is practically pan flat, except for the steep bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, so we were doing a fairly consistent pace of about 18 mph. With the pedal assist, Sue seemed to be handling that speed fairly comfortably, but as she had mentioned a few times, "It's not like you are just taking a ride on a moped - you are definitely pedaling!"

   Light rain started about 25 miles into the ride, and we decided to cut the ride short, but we didn't quite escape a drenching. Unfortunately the power started to fade shortly after our decision, so Sue was forced to pedal the 30-pound machine back to the house, completely unassisted, in the pouring rain.

   A couple weekends earlier, we had a Saturday with spectacular weather, and we put out trail bikes in our Fit to head out to the Enola Low Grade Trail. I had heard that the re-decking of the 1560-foot-long curving steel bridge at Safe Harbor had been completed, and was itching to check it out. I had been to this trail many times in the past and dreamed of being able to one day ride high over the Conestoga River on this structure.

   The bridge did not disappoint! 9 million dollars of locally donated funds were put to excellent use, affording wonderful views 140 feet above the Susquehanna River gorge. A couple of binocular stands were installed to exploit the vantage point, and construction of the concrete decking included a couple of glass panels, through which viewers could look down into the Conestoga River and the labyrinth of steel beams supporting the bridge.

   Amazingly, we found out that repairs to the Martic Forge Trestle had also been completed last autumn. The previous wooden deck and railings on the bridge had been destroyed by arsonists in 2018, and the detour to connect the two isolated sections of the trail involved a rather unpleasant 150-foot climb in each direction. Wisely, the new decking was made with concrete and the new railings with galvanized metal.

Sue pedals high over the Pequea Creek on the new trestle deck 

   We had equally spectacular weather when five members of my regular crew joined me for the annual Tro-Bro Brandywine ride last Saturday. Many of us noticed that what once was about a 50/50 proportion of asphalt and gravel roads has "improved" to about 60/40, but we weren't sure if all of the involved roads had actually been resurfaced, or if the gravel had just been scrubbed clear over time from weather and traffic.

   We had some unexpected company along our route when we found the Marshallton "Triathlon" was taking place around Northbrook, Bragg Hill and Unionville/Wawaset Roads. This is more of a fundraiser than competitive event (760 participants - three of the top five were over 60), involving a downhill bike ride to Northbrook Canoe for a rowing trip down the Brandywine's West Branch, a walk back to Northbrook and finally the ride back up to Marshallton.

   Near the start of our ride, we briefly shared the road with walkers, and at the end of our ride, we shared the road with cyclists, but other than a few clueless walkers, no one seemed to mind that we were there. The area seems to have events planned every other week, and I think folks are used to occasional having to share space.

   Otherwise the day was full of the normal beautiful scenery, as well as the suffering on over 2500 feet of climbing. I told my friend Dan, who is good on ascents but was not used to the quantity of hills in this relatively brief circuit, that it probably would have been more fun with company that was out of shape!

Thanks for snapping the photo, Steve!

   The Bianchi Camaleonte (C-Sport 3) is now officially on the market. Below are some photos of the reconfigured bicycle, and you can find the full spec sheet on the For Sale page.

   We're going to do something a little different for this year's Turkey Trek, starting at Riverfront Park at the end of Haws Avenue in Norristown. Our leisurely-paced, 42-mile loop will start on the SRT into Philadelphia, but then, at the Art Museum, we'll follow the bike lane on Spring Garden Street to reach the new bike path at Penn's Landing. We'll work our way south to Spruce Street and cut back across the city on the bike lane there. Along the way we can check out a couple of my favorite little streets in Society Hill and Rittenhouse Square. The MLK Drive bridge is being repaired, so instead we'll weave over to the west river trail on some bike-laned streets and make our way back towards Manayunk for the return on the SRT. Please join us, and feel free to ask a friend or two!