(Mostly) Happy Trails

   A couple of weekends ago I was contacted by a gentleman who was interested in the Flandria Freddy Maertens bicycle I had built this spring. Robert lived in Rhode Island, but he mentioned that he preferred not to have the bike shipped and that he would be willing to drive. I suggested, since I enjoy riding in the New York City area so much, that we link up part way. After thinking about it for a little while, I decided to revisit the Putnam & North County Trailways, a ride I did back in 2019, and we planned to meet in the village of Elmsford, about four miles southwest of Sleepy Hollow.
   The drive and sale went smoothly, and I set off on a beautiful morning on a cycling route that would approach the metric century distance. Having visited this corridor on the Croton Aqueduct loop I’ve ridden many times, I am very familiar with the North County Trailway as it parallels NY Routes 9, 100 and the Taconic Parkway. I soon noted that some of the on-road parts of the trail were now on a completely separate paved pathway along Saw Mill River Road.
   I recalled that the trail was definitely not flat, climbing from about 200 feet at the bridge crossing the New Croton Reservoir up to 700 feet at Lake Mahopac, but it was built on a New York Central railroad grade, so none of the inclines were too steep. There was a cool breeze and my legs felt pretty fresh, despite a 40-mile ride I had done with my regular cycling crew the previous day.
   I was remembering many of the landmarks, especially the reservoir bridge:

   …and the station in Yorktown Heights. The structure had undergone a historical renovation, including replacement of a gable over its entrance and the restoration of its original chimney. The station had also been repainted to a brown and white scheme, instead of the two-tone green I had seen during the past trip:

   I had an entertaining conversation with an older fellow where the trail splits near Lake Gleneida. The trail markings weren’t obvious here, and I could not see that the path dead-ended shortly to the left. When I asked if the right-hand trail leads to Brewster, he replied, “I’ve lived all my life here in Carmel, and I have no idea! I walk all these different segments of trail regularly, and I don't know what they are named or anything.” We laughed, and I told him that if I ended up in the right direction, I’d probably be seeing him on the return leg (I did).
   For some reason, the approach to Brewster seemed unfamiliar, though it was probably only because I was going the other direction. I circled around the village to find the connection with the Maybrook Trailway, which is part of the Empire State Trail system, which starts near the Connecticut state line and links to the Dutchess Rail Trail, the Walkway Over the Hudson and eventually the Erie Canalway Trail to form a statewide cycling route with very limited miles on trafficked roads!
   I did a couple of miles on the Maybrook line, until I reached a bridge that was being reconstructed, then had a nice conversation with a gentleman who “used to be a REAL cyclist” and was accompanying his young grandchildren out for a spin. I told him I could tell he used to ride, if only because when I replied to his question about where I was from, he didn’t act stunned to see someone from Philadelphia riding all the way out here! He told me about some of his longer cycling adventures across the state, and I reciprocated with tales about great rides around the Finger Lakes and near Rochester.
   I told him that I was off to town to find a bathroom and a water refill, then said my goodbye. I laughed to myself when I heard him tell the kids to watch as I clicked into my pedals.
   The climb back to Mahopac was a couple hundred feet over a shorter distance, and I was looking forward to the long stretches of slightly downhill on the way back. The knobby terrain and thick forests out here keep some segments of the asphalt from ever seeing direct sunlight. I remembered parts of the path being covered with a thin layer of slippery moss, but it had been dry for over a week, so my caution when traversing these sections proved unnecessary.
   Now, with no need to keep anything in reserve for the trip back, I was really able to open up the speed on the gradual descent. I realize that familiarity with surroundings can make the return miles seem shorter, but I felt like it took only half the time to get back to my car!

   Sue and I are University of Maryland alumni, and during our years there, we made several trips to Baltimore, but during our time at school Memorial Stadium was still standing. We saw a couple football games there and attended an Orioles game against the Yankees. I fondly recall all-time favorite Rickey Henderson hitting a leadoff homer for the Bronx Bombers.
   Being a baseball guy, you’d think sometime since its opening in 1992 that I would have made a trip to Camden Yards. I’ve seen Inter Milan and Liverpool soccer games just a short walk away, at the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, but alas, no baseball! Well, with the O’s having a resurgence with division titles the last two years, I made it a mission to go see a game this season.
   So, we planned to stay a few days in the Charm City, catch a game and also check out some of the area trails while we were there. Wouldn’t you know it, the Birds have had a completely disastrous season full of injury and underperformance, and although we were able schedule our visit while the Pirates, my favorite team, were in town, they’ve sucked for years, and all enthusiasm was essentially sucked out of the atmosphere, as far as the crowd was concerned.
   Still, it was a beautiful late-summer evening, and the stadium remains a fantastic venue. When it was built, Camden Yards led the way in the construction of “retro parks” that occurred during the 1990s-early-2000s. The wonderful, nostalgic feel it still there, and at least the game was competitive, going into extra innings before Pittsburgh’s bullpen let them down, again.

   The next afternoon, we drove from our hotel in Jessup, MD, out to the town of Glen Burnie, where there was a trailhead for the B&A Trail, built on the former route of the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad. The 13-mile, smooth tarmac path leads southeast along the Severn River through the neighborhoods of Pasadena, Severna Park, Arnold and Cedarwood Cove to the bridge across the river onto the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy.
   Much of the route is in forested suburbs running along MD Route 2. At the upper end there were a couple of intersections with heavily-trafficked roads, but crossing signals at those locations aided safe passage. The rest of the route was fairly rural. We passed a couple of small farms along the way, and we encountered just a handful of road crossings with maybe a car or two.
   It was a sunny day, but we were mostly in the shade until Annapolis. We rightly expected the route to be pan-flat, that is until the off-streets section ended just after passing below U.S. Route 50 and its intersection with MD-450 (Governor Ritchie Highway). From there it was a rolling descent to the Chesapeake estuary.

High above the Severn with the Naval Academy on right, Chesapeake Bay in distance

   The wind was whipping a bit across the bridge, making for a challenging crossing high over the Severn. Obviously, the Naval grounds were off-limits to cyclists, but we made a left turn on King George Street and worked our way to the marinas downtown. We’ve never been big shoppers, but I can understand the charm of Annapolis, especially if you have money to burn.
   I really did enjoy the narrow, brick-surfaced roads, as they had a European feel, and I think Sue even got a kick out of the short climb up Francis Street to the Maryland State House and the loop road around it:

   We went around about one and a half times, then turned onto the appropriately-named Maryland Avenue and met up again with King George Street. The climbs back to the trail proper were not welcomed by my riding partner, but I appreciated the chance to get in a brief workout after all this “leisure riding”.
   Always Ice Cream in Severna Park was a “must stop” on the way back, and we enjoyed their lemon-poppy, chocolate (was like a ball of Fudgesicle) and black cherry flavors. We sat outside to eat, right across from yet another railroad station that I could add to the “collection” (number 717 on my list).

   We had originally planned to do the Gwynns Falls Trail on our last full day in Baltimore and have a lazy check-out the following morning, but the weather wasn’t totally cooperating. Sue wasn’t as enthusiastic about the last ride day, either, so we checked out early, and she accompanied me over to the trailhead and did her own thing while I rode.
   Honestly, she didn’t miss a whole lot, when I consider some of the really nice trails we’ve ridden during our travels. The trail started in a rather strange location, where Interstate 70 abruptly dead ends, west of its intersection with I-695, the Baltimore Beltway. The story is that construction was brought to a halt by protests about the destruction of natural areas, homes and businesses in the path of the proposed I-70 route through Baltimore to its planned link with I-95. Now there is a strange paved U-turn at a park near the upper reaches of (appropriately named?) Dead Run, right at the city’s western border.
   The trail’s condition overall seemed influenced by an under-budgeted parks department, as it mostly lacked any maintenance. I could also tell there was no regular patrol of the trail, because I passed at least half a dozen abandoned "Lime" electric scooters from the city's rideshare program. There were a few nicer sections through small parks that the trail intersected as it ran eastward toward Inner Harbor, but that was probably thanks to local community volunteer work.
   Strangely the path had nice little distance markers every half mile, but there were few direction signs at splits in the path or at road intersections where the trail was changing directions. I have a familiarity with Baltimore and have an innate sense of direction. I also studied the trail map available on the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s TrailLink site, so I had minimal problems negotiating my way into the city, but I can imagine the frustration a visitor might encounter trying to follow the route with the current lack of signage!

   The paved route had a couple of fun, short switchback areas where elevation changed quickly then did a brief stretch to the north before turning to a more rugged, gravel path after crossing the bridge at Windsor Mill Road. Just under two miles later, I was back on the asphalt along Franklintown Road and heading into Leon Day Park.
   There was soon a series of bridges over the Gwynns Falls stream and over the railroad local freight lines. One amusing railroad overpass immediately sent the trail steeply ducking under the historic Carrollton Viaduct, the first stone masonry bridge for railroad use. Built for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1829, it is the oldest such bridge still in service in the U.S. Now occasionally seeing trains for CSX Transportation, the viaduct is one of the world's oldest railroad bridges continuing to handle rail traffic!

   I was soon into Carroll Park and then the “grittier” section of the ride, the industrial area southwest of the stadium complex. The Gwynns Falls Trail actually extends over 19 miles, past the stadiums and looping into the Inner Harbor. I’ve been through those parts of the city before and didn’t want to keep Sue waiting too long, so I eliminated the areas by cutting straight across Bush Street to meet the trail as it heads south to Westport, shortening my outbound route to about 12.5 miles.
   This neighborhood really seems to be a real case of “the other side of the tracks”, as the light rail system splits one of the poorer, rowhouse sections of Baltimore from another with a waterfront that has seen some revitalization. The trail here really needs a facelift with many old, warped boardwalks adjacent to the route detracting from the pleasant views across the Patapso River basin and the distant city skyline.
   After turning around just past the waterfront trail section near Medstar Harbor Hospital, I retraced my outbound path. Again, in an effort to cut down on ride time, I reduced the return leg to 10.5 miles by staying on Franklintown Road after passing through Leon Day Park. I returned to the marked trail via the abandoned bridge to Wetheredsville Road.
   I was very appreciative of Sue’s patience while I was exploring with my bike, but there was a good amount of climbing overall, and I’m sure she enjoyed her books and “vegging out” more than she would have riding one of Baltimore’s less-polished trails.

Plus ça change...

...plus c'est la même chose.

   Fans of the band Rush will recognise the lyric from the song "Cirmcumstances" and its meaning, "The more that things change, the more they stay the same." This statement is particularly accurate when it comes to the setup on my Vitus 992.

   I purchased the bike in December 2016, at which time it was equipped with a Campagnolo Veloce triple groupset. I varied the setup a couple of times, before settling on one with some rare Mavic derailleurs and some early 8-speed Shimano Dura-Ace shifters. This Vitus was primarily the bike I used at the shore, and I realized that I shouldn't really expose these one-of-a-kind  (really, I can't find another 845 derailleur listed ANYWHERE) components to the salt air. I noticed the parts that weren't painted or made of aluminum were starting to rust.

My Mavic 845 rear derailleur

   I also wanted to get rid of the shift cables that criss-crossed in front of the headtube within my field of vision. Cleaning up the Mavic derailleurs and reselling them seemed to be the smart thing to do. I'm thinking they'll fetch enough money to pay for all the upgrades I want to do. I decided to do a bit of a retro-mod build (much like I did on my Colnago RDV) and purchased a set of new wheels, Mavic Cosmic, to go with the brakes and stem by the same company. I returned to Campagnolo Veloce derailleurs and shifters but now part of a 9-speed compact double drivetrain.

   A subtle part of this transformation are the shop decals on the frame from (now closed) Cycles Reboul in Montelimar, France. Because of where they were located on the top tube, the decals were slowly rubbing away. I created a composite image of the artwork by taking photos of the logos on each side of the bike and had the folks at Vinyl Disorder create some replacement decals.

   Obviously my preference for Campagnolo parts has not changed, nor have the occasional complications that come with installing them. I purchased the second version of Campagnolo Chorus EPS, their electronic groupset, for the Pinarello FP Quattro I had bought last month. I liked that this set had the internal battery, instead of the unattractive exterior-mounted battery pack that came with the first version of their EPS group.

   The battery in this case fit inside the seat tube and ingeniously used the bottle cage mounts to secure the power source in place. This was not the latest wireless type of system, so I had to undertake the somewhat frustrating task of threading the connection within the frame.

   At the time of this group's release, Campagnolo sold an installation rod that screwed into the end of the battery, creating an extension that would aid in locating the battery behind the bottle cage mounts. This rod tool was no longer available, and I bet if it was, it would have been very expensive.

The threaded hole in the upward-facing battery end

The Campagnolo installation rod being attached

   I took a long wooden dowel and drilled a hole in one end. I then found a long bolt that fit the battery hole threads and sawed off the bolt head. I tightened two nuts against each other onto the bolt, so that I would have something with which to wrench the bolt into the dowel. My homemade tool worked perfectly, and Sue helped to screw in the bottle cage bolts while I held the dowel in the right spot. I had applied some masking tape on the dowel before inserting the battery and tool into the seatpost in oder to give me a reference to the distance to the upper cage bolt.

   

   There were three cords coming from the bottom end of the battery, two for the derailleurs, one for the interface box at the shift levers and one for the charger port. Three out of four were fairly simple, but I couldn't locate the front derailleur cord. I straightened a paper clip, bent a small hook in the end of it and spent about an hour trying to find/fish the stray cord out of the seatpost.

   I kept fishing out the other three cables by mistake, not realizing the missing one waa lying straight down alongside the seat tube, right next to the access hole that was provided in the frame. I had been digging around too far into the tube and had been sliding my hook right past it repeatedly. I just happened to be rotating the hook in the other direction while pulling it out and snagged the lost cord by accident!

   Everything is now hooked up, but I am awaiting delivery of a protective sleeve that fits over the crankset spindle when it is installed. The sleeve would prevent the wires from making contact with the spindle and being damaged. The bike looks great, and I'm really looking forward to getting it out on the road. Photos of the finished build are in store next time!

   One last project worth mentioning is from a return customer who had purchased the Tommasini Sintesi from me earlier this year. Robert has been collecting Campagnolo Nuovo Record parts for the Somec frame he had in his collection. SOMEC (the SOcieta MECchanica) is an underappreciated Italian brand that I became familiar with when I built a beautiful Pieroni model back in 2022.

   Robert's frame has obviously had new decals applied and has been repainted (a high-quality job). Because of the lustrous aquamarine paint, he is willing to overlook that the frame has been personalized with "Dick Blanchard' script on the top tube (unfortunately under layers of clear coat).

More to come...

Frig Newton

   Not that I have anything against the town of Newton, New Jersey, but three out of the four times I've ridden through the area, something bad has happened. About a dozen years ago, during my first visit to the Sussex Branch Trail, the rear derailleur on my mountain bike blew apart. During the Cycle Tech Sojourn in 2022, my friend Ed was removing one of his clothing layers and accidentally left some subscription glasses behind (amazingly retrieved them the next day).
   On Sunday Sue and I were doing a shortened version of the Paulinskill/Sussex Trails route, starting from Footbridge Park in Blairstown, and just before reaching the junction of the two trails, I felt a strange click and wobble at the top of my right pedal stroke. There is a removeable rectangular metal strikeplate on the bottom of my shoe that fits between the cleat and sole, which protects the surface from gouging by the pedal, and when I looked at the bottom of the shoe and saw that plate had twisted slightly, I thought maybe it was causing an uneven connection between the cleat and pedal.

   Sue passed me her mini multi-tool, and I straightened/tightened the respective parts, but that did not solve the problem at all. About a mile later the hitch in the pedal stroke became worse and then an awful creaking sound came out of the bottom bracket area. I looked down, and the large chainring was no longer parallel to the frame. As I came to a stop, I realized the driveside crank was separating from the spindle. 

   Being very familiar with how FSA cranks go together, and knowing that it is the non-driveside crank which is bolted into the spindle, I was positive this was going to be an issue not easily fixed out on the road. Since I was much more familiar with the remainder of the route, as well as the roads returning to pick up the disabled bike and stranded rider, I was the chosen one for the ride back to our car in Blairstown.

   It was a real shame that Sue didn't get to complete the ride with me, as we had been having a brutally warm and humid past couple of weeks, and we were treated to some dry days with temps in the low 80s that weekend. Much of the route is also in thick forest, which kept us out of the sun the majority of the ride.

A large portion of the Paulinskill Valley Trail looks exactly like this.

   When I picked up Sue, about an hour later, she mentioned being a little concerned, but I asked her exactly how fast she thought I could ride ten miles and then keep the car respectfully near the speed limit on the way back! She amused me when she told me that the very nice people who lived in the house near the spot where I had left her came out to check if she was okay. When they asked if she needed any tools, she replied with thanks but added that unless they had some welding skills, nothing was really going to help.

   I took some photos of the problem (shown below), not only to share here, but also in case I needed them to submit to FSA for (hopeful) replacement. This was original equipment on my Bianchi Impulso Allroad, and the bike is not even two years old! With a bit of online research, I found out there was a recall on that model of crankset for exactly the same spindle/crank separation problem, so I am hoping to be sent an alternative part.

   ...and no, I didn't fall and get a head injury when the crank fell off. I had actually made the decision to once again change up my bicycle collection, after a visit from an enthusiastic female customer. Really, I had been considering switching things up for a few months but just needed a "push".

   The mentioned customer came to me with her husband, who had broken a rear spoke on his mountain bike. He had managed to limp his bike back to their car after a ride, and they stopped by on the way home, hoping I would have the right length spoke in my collection of spares. I had been at Bikesport at the end of 2024, when they were clearing out some old stock, and I walked away with a great deal of a few dozen spokes of mixed lengths - traditional J-bends, straight pull, bladed, black and silver - for just a few bucks. I just hadn't had the time to sort them all out.

   I asked if they might like to step inside to my shop, where it was a bit cooler, and look around at my mini-museum while I sifted through the pile of spokes. She was immediately drawn to my "dead" Pinarello Prince. "Look at the fantastic curves on that frame - wow!" Her words didn't leave me for days, and I kept thinking about what first drew me to the fantastic Pinarello frames of that era.

   I certainly did not want to sink more money into repairing the Prince - it already had three flaws, and who knows if more might develop. This could have just been a fluke of a poor carbon setup for that frame. Pinarello started phasing out the double-S-curved Onda stays and fork about ten years ago, in favor of a more simplified curve, so I thought maybe I could hook up with a really late model of their earlier carbon design, hoping to take advantage of more time-tested technology in the material.

   LONG-time readers may recall that I once had an FP Due (FP2) in my collection, purchased back in 2012. What I came up with this time was the FP Quattro, and because I have a few red bikes, I was so happy to find one in Movistar team colors (by the way, very similar to those of my Cannondale SuperSix). Alejandro Valverde, an all-time favorite of mine, influenced my love of these Pinarello bikes, and he finished his career riding for the Spanish team, so that was a nice connection, too!

   Unfortunately the seller, despite my questions specific to this particular detail, misinformed me about whether the frame was compatible with mechanical shifting, so the status of this build is up in the air. I am mildly interested in the idea of Campagnolo EPS (electronic shifting), but I'm definitely not interested in the cost of the parts, plus such a project is going to require a whole bunch of reading/education. If I can convince the seller in Japan that refunding me the shipping cost is a better idea than having to pay the return shipping, maybe I'll take a shot at it.

   So, to obey my personal rule, one bike moving in means one had to be moved out. With the Saeco-Cannondale returning to my collection, I figured the SuperSix should find a new home. My friend Dan has been toiling around on a very average Scattante aluminum bike for years. For a while I had been on the lookout for something of great quality for him at a very affordable price, as he has two kids now in college (yike$!). I thought the SuperSix would be perfect for him, and I like the idea that I would still get to see it regularly on our group rides!

   Lastly, my friend has conceded that his physical ailments are going to keep him from enjoying his large collection of bicycle, so the link to Walt's Wonderful Wheels is back. Check out what he currently has for sale!

   

   

My Current Stable

Below are photos of my personal collection - I have made significant upgrades to all of the bicycles. As always, you can click on any of the images to enlarge.

   Much of the time I refer to myself as a "Cannondale guy", so it's no surprise I have a companion to my SuperSix, a 2002 R2000 Si in Saeco team colors. Probably because of the dominant Italian Saeco team, the bike came stock with a Campagnolo Record headset and a pair of the company's Proton wheels. Otherwise the bike came with Shimano Ultegra, though I installed the cool, spiraling Sakae/Ringyo CR compact cranks. See more photos here. 

   My 1995 Vitus 992 Lotto Team bicycle features ovoid aluminum tubes bonded to aluminum lugs. I initially built the bike with a complete group of rare Mavic components but have made many changes over the years to improve its fit and performance. Blog entries about the original build start (way back) here and an article on the finished bike can be found here.

   The 2023 Bianchi Impulso Allroad has hydraulic disk brakes, and the shop from which I purchased the bike upgraded the stock parts with an FSA /Shimano GRX drivetrain. I then swapped in a Cinelli stem/bar combo, Ritchey carbon seatpost and Mavic wheels. You can read an introduction to this project here and shots of the final build here.

   Claude Criquielion was a favorite of mine when I first became a pro cycling fan. The Belgian star won La Flèche Wallonne in 1989, while aboard his Hitachi team Eddy Merckx Century similar to this. I've used Cinelli Criterium bars, a Selle San Marco Rolls saddle and first generation Look pedals, like Claude used, but I built up my version with Campagnolo C-Record components. More photos can be seen here.

   Only 200 of these Roger de Vlaeminck tribute frames were built by Colnago. Essentially an early-1980s Master, the frame was originally blue with white banded logos, but it now has some cable guide mods and a sort of yellow/red flame custom paint job, probably for a small pro team. Just for fun, I put a #27 card in the braze-on hanger, which is the race number worn by the Belgian legend during the last of his four Paris-Roubaix wins. The retro-modern build was done with Campagnolo and Cinelli parts. See more photos here.

   My 2008 Cervélo Soloist Carbon is in the CSC Team colors, as all-time favorite Fabian Cancellara rode this model bicycle to victory in that year's Milano-San Remo. The bike has SRAM Force drivetrain, 3T stem and fork and Zipp 30 wheels. You can view more photos of the bike here.

   This 2012 Pinarello FP Quattro takes the place in my collection left by a Pinarello Prince that was damaged. I went a completely different direction with this build, using Campagnolo Chorus 11-speed EPS (electronic shifting). I've always been a fan of the Campagnolo Vento wheels, so on this bike is a similar, yet updated and lighter set of their Eurus wheels that have bladed spokes. More photos are coming in a future blog article.

Mad Skills

   I mentioned to a recent customer how I really enjoy the building and selling of vintage bicycles, but the repair/tune-up side of my business is far more consistent. It is not always the case when I want a repair to be interesting, because that often means I am running into some kind of complication, but occasionally I learn something new and useful for future projects.

   In this case someone brought me an inexpensive BMX bike that had gyro brakes, that is, a mechanism that keeps the cables from being tangled when the handlebars are rotated 360 degrees. The bike had been stored somewhere damp and the cables rusted in the housings and were completely seized. I found an inexpensive new cable kit on eBay and was enthusiastic that I could pull off reassembling the brakes, even though it wasn't something I had performed previously.

   The configuration (shown below) is made up of a top plate that is connected to the bars/steerer tube, just below the stem. This plate is where the housing for the right-hand brake lever is anchored and connected with cables to a middle plate. This plate is actually two pieces, joined by a flange, which rotate independently. The middle plate is also connected by cables to the lower plate, where housings are anchored to the head tube of the bicycle.

   The two cables on each plate are necessary to keep even pressure on the round plate as the bars are rotated. These split cables come together at a covered mechanism cyclinder on each end - one going to the brake lever and one to the rear brake. In the photo below of the Y-cable section for the handlebar end, you'll note that one side of the split is a bit longer. This compensates for the shorter length of travel needed on the right side, over to the brake lever.

   After studying all of the parts before disassembling the non-functioning brakes, putting it all back together wasn't too difficult. The real challenge was setting up the brakes, since there isn't a lot of travel in the plates up and down, which meant there wasn't much room for making corrections to the brake pressure. The rim had to be perfectly straight and the pads aligned properly on the rim's braking surface!

   As promised in my last blog entry, here is a more in-depth collection of photos of Brendan's Malvor-Bottechia bicycle. Right now I have the bike parked below the huge poster of Giuseppe Saronni that my buddy Ralph game me, as it looks incredibly similar, except with more white paint and chrome seat/chainstays. By the way, in keeping with the blog theme, this was my first experience with cloth bar tape, which is far less forgiving than cork tape! I was patient, and it turned out alright.

   I'm sure you will agree that this is one of the most beautiful machines I have built:

   Over the last few years, I have built some interesting bikes for another customer named Tom, who has learned (the hard way) about the myriad compatibility issues with custom builds. He had an old TREK 520 touring frame custom painted in a hue eerily similar to the "Congac" color of my first 10-speed, a Ross Grand Tour II from the early 1980s.

   Tom's intent was to have fatter tires, and in order to clear the frame, he went with some 650mm wheels. The front wheel had a hub had a dynamo to power lights or charge small devices, so the wheels became the priority when we realized that no adapters could possibly lower the V-brakes to a position to provide enough braking power. The only solution was to have someone re-braze the brake mounts lower on the seat stays.

   It was a shame to somewhat ruin the custom paint, but Tom had the affected area covered in black paint, and it blends in pretty well with the brown. Yet another new process for me came about when I hooked up a set of Problem Solvers "Travel Agents" to improve the cable travel from linear pull drop bar levers to V-brakes. Simply put, the contraption loops the cable around a pulley to provide the correct length of cable travel:

   Tom collects some really nice parts for his bikes, as we outfitted the TREK with Velo Orange cranks, old-school pedals and stem, a Microshift Sword drivetrain and Shimano Deore brakes. The vintage Sakae Road Champion handlebars with the randonneur bend are a nice throwback touch.

   My friend Johnathan stopped by a few weeks ago for a little "Bicycle University", as he performed a good portion of the work putting together his 1998 TREK 5500 OCLV carbon bicycle, with some minor instruction. He has watched me assemble a few bikes that make up his eclectic collection and has often lended a hand or two, so he has acquired some real wrenching skills! No, we are DEFINITELY not Lance Armstrong fans, but Johnathan works for the Postal Service, so this bike was the highlight of our work together.

   He snapped a couple of photos for me to share before proudly loading it into his car:

   Back in April, a potential customer inquired about the Colnago Export frameset I had featured in the queue of my For Sale and Projects In Progress page. I explained that I had a few builds planned ahead of it, and that my repair/tune-up work would be a priority, but he mentioned it was a future birthday present for himself and that there was no rush.

   I had all of the parts ready to go, so during a spell of bad weather days, I set to the assembly. After a few exchanges with Rich about his preferences, etc., the Colnago was completed, and we scheduled a pick up of the bike within the next couple of days.

   The specs are Campagnolo Chorus 8-speed group, Cinelli bars and stem, Selle Italia X-1 saddle and a wheelset built with Regida CSB DP-18 rims, Campagnolo hubs and Vittoria Zaffiro Pro V tires (my new vintage-look tire of choice).