Hey, remember me?

   About a month ago I started rebuilding an Atala bicycle with a cyclocross setup, and although I had been really busy lately with repair jobs in the shop, my component search had been ongoing. While some of the parts were found fairly quickly and easily because there was a decent selection available, it took quite a while to find the Campagnolo aero seatpost that I like so much to complete the project.

   I always liked the look of the Campagnolo Triomphe rear derailleur, and after some research I was excited to find out that much of the same gruppo was included on this bicycle. The brake levers and crankset already matched up, so It was only a matter of finding the rest of the set, including both derailleurs and the downtube shift levers.

   The white brake lever hoods helped to influence my decision, but I wanted the classic pro look of the white saddle and bar tape for the Atala. I matched up a new Selle Italia saddle with some Fizik tape that both had a perforated leather look. The original owner had some gel strips on the bars for additional cushioning, but I thought the overall appearance was too bulky. Since I don’t ride in the drops much, I removed all strips but those on the upper bars. I thought with the narrow vintage bars, softening up the vibration to my hands while riding off-road might be a good idea.

   All of my bikes have a compact crankset, since I don’t have a need for the big, honkin’ 53 tooth chainring that professional legs churn within the peloton, and the hilly terrain in my home area makes a 34 tooth inside ring helpful for climbing. Unfortunately the compact setup is a fairly recent development, so coming up with vintage Campagnolo parts to fit my needs is practically impossible.

   The root of the problem is something called BCD, which stands for Bolt Center Diameter. This is measurement of the diameter of a circle that would intersect all of the chainring mounting bolts. A standard 53-30 tooth set of chainrings would have a BCD of 130 mm, while a compact crankset would have a BCD of only 110 mm to compensate for the smaller size of 50-34 tooth rings. Just to be crazy (those Italians again), my Campy crankset is 116 mm BCD!

   After extensive research for some type of equipment compromise, a Campagnolo Gran Sport “touring” crankset with 116 BCD appeared on eBay. While I didn’t really want the quirky look of its small diameter 41 tooth outer chainring on my bicycle, I decided the 36 tooth inside ring would be “close enough” and keep me from having to mismatch with something modern on my build.  I then sold back the unneeded rings and crankset to nearly balance out the cost.

   I had been wondering for a while what model my bicycle was, and made some inquiries on several online Forums. After some useless responses from the regular internet “trolls”, I found out that Atala bicycles derived their model names from the type of tubing used in the frame and the component group level. My bike would then be an Atala Cromor Triomphe!

   By the way, I am posting today because I'm heading down to the shore tomorrow morning, and I won't have my laptop with me (oh no!). I'm actually cycling down because the rest of my family is already in Stone Harbor, and I didn't think we needed to waste the gas driving a third vehicle there. They took two cars partly to haul their bikes and all the stuff they wanted to take, but also because my older son Colin will be commuting to help out at a film camp in Cape May all week, and my wife didn't want to be stuck without any transportation.
   I will start the 92 mile ride at my brother-in-law's place in West Conshohocken to cut off some of the distance, and head off towards Philadelphia on the Schuylkill Trail. There is an access point to Race Street just beyond the Art Museum, and I will make my way across the city to the Ben Franklin Bridge and use the pedestrian-(and bike)friendly crossing of the Delaware River there.

  Once in Camden I will head south on Haddon Avenue and then turn right and ride down Mount Ephraim Avenue and the Black Horse Pike for a few miles. I'll take the opportunity to get off of the busy roads for a while by connecting with the Blackwood Rail Trail in Hilltop. Just above Grenloch Lake I'll be back on the Black Horse Pike for a short time, until I veer south onto Route 655 just east of Glassboro.
   I'll hook up with Route 47 in Franklinville, and that will be the road travelled the majority of the rest of the way. There is a shortcut opportunity around the 65 mile mark by taking Route 347, but it is very remote out there and that particular road is notorious for dangerous driving habits, so I will choose the extra handful of miles in the name of safety!
   Just south of Dennisville I will turn left onto Court House South Dennis Road, which will link directly with Stone Harbor Boulevard at Cape May Courthouse. I'm hoping for a rare land breeze so I don't have that usual nasty headwind as I head across the causeway onto the barrier island, but I don't expect miracles. I know I will be struggling in those last few miles, and I won't need any hindrances at that point!

I will be taking a week off from writing, but maybe I'll have an interesting story or two to share next time.