I'll Take One of Each

   This blog topic has been planned for a while, but a recent visit from my friend Brendan had us discussing the rearrangement of our collections, and I felt this was the perfect occasion to finally post an article on the subject of dream bicycles. I told him it was going to be a list of my top ten - not that I in any way intend to have that many – if money and storage space was no object...

   First, a little lead-in to this list, as Brendan had a purple Vitus 992 that he was dropping off for me to work on, and, because he was also purchasing my Look KG 231, the thought of “thinning out the herd” crossed his mind.
   “Wait a second,” you’re saying to yourself, “Glen sold one of his own bikes?!!” Yes, and that is because I bought a dream bike that I really didn’t even know was out there until last week. A little over four years ago, I wrote about the death of Belgian legend Claude Criquielion, who was a hero during my early years as a pro cycling fan. I carry a little figurine of Claude as a photo prop to use during cycling adventures and maintain a Facebook page called the Wandering Walloon (Claude was from the Wallonia region of Belgium), featuring images with the figurine.

   Anyhow, a 1989 Eddy Merckx Century bicycle, painted in the colors of the Hitachi team for which Claude rode that season, became available on eBay. I said to Sue, “I don’t want or need any more bicycles – I just want THAT one!”

   Funny enough, I found out later that Brendan and I were for a short time bidding against each other – our tastes are frighteningly similar – but my desire to have the bicycle went far beyond his, and I now had to make room for the Merckx. The Look bicycle was the low man on my totem pole, and because Brendan told me to let him know if I ever wanted to part with it, we did a bit of a swap last weekend, though I’m not keeping the purple Vitus!

   I am so excited about the Century, and I plan to do it up in style with a Campagnolo C-Record component group, including the iconic delta brakes, with only a slight tweak, substituting in Ergo shifters and an 8-speed compatible rear derailleur. I’m making sure to install Cinelli Criterium bars and a Selle San Marco Rolls saddle like Claude used, as well as a vintage set of white Look pedals.

   I found the above photo of Claude climbing the cobbles of Flanders - I would hope it was the Muur de Geraardsbergen, but it is probably the Koppenberg - on the same model of the Merckx Century. I was later thrilled to find/watch a YouTube video of him winning La Flèche Wallonne in 1989 upon the same bicycle and remembered walking up the finishing climb of the Mur de Huy during our summer of 2017 trip to the Benelux region.

...and now to the list of my top ten bicycles, numbered but in no particular order:

1. I originally included a De Rosa bicycle, in the form of an Eddy Merckx Molteni team-painted machine, but my Criquielion bicycle has knocked that one off the list.

Bumped for MY new Merckx

2. My 2012 Cannondale SuperSix in Liquigas team colors – I have always been a “Cannondale guy” and had been looking for a while for this model. Many top stars rode for the team during this era, including Peter Sagan, Vincenzo Nibali, Elia Viviani and Ivan Basso.

3. Regular readers will know I am big fan of Sean Kelly and Vitus bicycles. I have built a couple Kelly tribute 979 bikes for Brendan (found here and here), and one of those beautiful machines would be nice. However, I have a Vitus 992 that represents the brand perfectly, is in my favorite color and has that cool sticker from the French shop where it was originally purchased.

4. Don’t get me wrong, I really like my 2008 Saronni-inspired Colnago Master X-Light, but I’ve been a bit frustrated caring for its “stare at it too long, and it will chip” paint and maintaining the unpainted chrome sections – sweat is the enemy! I would love to have the bucks to swap for a Colnago Extreme Power (carbon fiber frame) in the same colors.

...the alternative would be a Mapei Colnago C40, a nod to another favorite cyclist, Johan Museeuw

5. I had a VERY brief thought that my 1992 Pinarello Asolo could be the bike on its way out when my Hitachi team bike arrived, but I also thought that would involve some tears.

...however, if a miraculously inexpensive Pinarello Prince of Spain (Alejandro Valverde’s beautiful machine during his 2007 season with the Caisse d’Epargne team) became available, that would be a different story.

6. I do a “Hail Mary” search for an affordable Look 795 every week, and I have written about this amazing bicycle a couple of times and will again provide a link to video examining the machine here. Maybe I can find one without all the bells and whistles, like electronic shifting? By the way, a 695 or 586 might be acceptable, but man, I like that funky continuous line on the 795 from the bars all the way back to the rear dropouts!

695

586

7. I would normally go the vintage route with a Wilier-Triestina bicycle in a cromovelato ramato (copper), but you read my earlier comments about my Colnago’s paint, and the same idea applies here. I’d go with the modern Wilier Cento10Air Ramato – and no disk brakes please!

8. This is another shared taste between Brendan and me, the Bottecchia Leggendaria – though he prefers the Malvor-Sidi team’s black and white colors to the red and white that I would choose.

9. No collection would be complete without some celeste color, and I would select a modern Bianchi Oltre XR4.

10. I realized that I didn’t have a trail bike in my collection, and I thought that I might turn to another all-time favorite cyclist, Fabian Cancellara, for inspiration. Fabian not only helped Trek develop its Domane (pronounced doh-MAHN-ay) model, he rode it to victory in Flanders twice (2013-14) and Roubaix (2013).

   His 2014 bicycle was distinctive, with silver artwork of a gladiator helmet and weapons (photo above) that referenced his “Spartacus” nickname. I certainly don’t have an imposing nickname like that – the best I can do is “G” or “Big G”, but I don’t imagine coming up with anything too creative when working with only an initial!

   I was thinking maybe using something from my family heritage, and since I already have the French part covered with the Vitus and Look bikes, perhaps a dark green Domane with light green (perhaps silver or white if it would show better) Irish knots, crosses, harps or other Celtic symbols.

   I created the color scheme at Trek's Project One section of their website, the artwork would just have to be added, along with wider/knobbier tires (it has clearance for 38mm)!

...and just to throw in a “bonus”, as the e-bike phenomenon is sweeping the nation, I'd pick the Vintage Electric Tracker, as there just isn't a cooler-looking bike of its type out there!

I encourage readers to please share their comments and their own lists, so in review:

  1. Eddy Merckx Century Hitachi Team

  2. Cannondale SuperSix Liquigas Team

  3. Vitus 992 Lotto Team

  4. Colnago Extreme Power Saronni or Mapei C40

  5. Pinarello Asolo or Prince of Spain

  6. Look 795

  7. Wilier Cento10Air Ramato

  8. Bottecchia Leggendaria

  9. Bianchi Oltre

10. Custom Irish Domane