Bike Video: Bicycle Culture by Design

Recently, I've been listening to and enjoying TED Talks podcasts. So far, I haven't heard one about bikes or cycling, so I had the idea to search for them on YouTube and found what I think is an excellent talk.

It's presented by "urban mobility expert" Mikael Colville-Andersen. It's only 15 minutes long and I think you'll enjoy what he has to say...


If you're reading this post in an email (rather than on the blog) you'll probably need to click this link to watch the video https://youtu.be/pX8zZdLw7cs

To better road designs for cycling everywhere,

Jim

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays cycling friends!
In celebration of this joyous time of year, here's some Christmas-themed vintage art to inspire you. With a little creativity, you can use it to make your favorite into a printed or digital card to send.

My favorite here is either the December 12, 1942 The New Yorker cover from my collection (think you could bring home the tree on your handlebars - I doubt I could?), or the Western Auto window shoppers reacting to the Western Flyer ("the most beautiful bike in town").

If you're shopping for cycling gifts, don't forget to visit your local bicycle shop in person and/or online. Be sure to ask them for suggestions, too. They'll know what's popular right now and what others are buying for gifts, too.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and New Year,
Jim

Be a Bicycle Vampire Hunter this Halloween

Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of the season, and with all due respect to Roman Polanski’s classic 1967 spoof The Fearless Vampire Killers, I'm sharing some simple tips to help you hunt for, find and terminate your bicycle vampires.

 

Unlike the fanged variety, two-wheel ghouls constantly suck your energy by making your bicycle harder to pedal. And like Dracula, they’re apt to appear at any time and can be hard to find. In fact, it’s rare that cyclists ever notice a vampire while riding or even rolling their bike.

To help, here’s an easy and fun 4-step check to perform about every 90 days during riding season (or a few days before any major ride or event; which gives you time to mend problems). Finding and fixing a vampire is one of the most satisfying repairs you can make. Start with the drivetrain since that’s bicycle vampires' favorite hiding place.

Note: I’m assuming your bicycle and components aren’t abused or worn out. If so, more inspection and repairs will likely be needed than covered here.

1. Chain check
Perhaps the most common energy-sucker is a dry chain. Few lubes last long if you ride regularly and in all weather conditions. And many roadies end up with not enough lube and a chain that’s stiff and dragging. 

You can identify a dry chain by its shiny rollers and metallic sound when turning the pedals. Don’t let the chain ever get like this. Keep it adequately lubed for how and where you ride. I'm partial to Pro Gold Pro Link chain lube. Another favorite chain lube is Boeshield T-9.

Park Tool's article on derailleur pulleys

2. Pulleys check
The two pulleys on the rear derailleur are the second hardest working wheels on your bike. Even if you keep your chain nicely lubed and apply a little to the pulleys, too, moisture can make its way inside and bind or even freeze one or both pulleys. 

Check for this by lifting the chain away from each pulley and flicking them with your finger to see if they spin freely and smoothly. If not, you can usually restore them by simply disassembling, cleaning and lubing all the parts.

Bottom brackets require special tools

3. Bottom bracket check
The bottom bracket (BB) is the bearing mechanism that the crankset spins on so it influences every pedal stroke. To check yours, shift onto your smallest chainring and then lift the chain off the ring and rest it on the frame. 

Now, hold one crankarm (not a pedal) and gently and slowly turn the crankarm feeling for tightness, roughness and smoothness in the BB. It should turn freely with a slight hydraulic resistance from the grease inside. If it’s tight, dry or rough, you probably need a new bottom bracket (or a bottom bracket overhaul if yours can be serviced). Follow this link and first figure out what type of BB you have and then look up the service procedure.

A cartridge bearing hub

4. Wheels check
Like the bottom bracket, the wheels spin on bearings, which when bad become vampires. It’s almost impossible to feel bearing issues with the wheels in place on the bicycle. So, to check if yours are failing, remove both wheels. 

Then hold each wheel’s axle (not the quick release - wheel clamping mechanism) between your fingers and turn it. Like the BB check, the wheel axles should turn freely and smoothly with a slight resistance from the grease inside the bearings. If the bearings feel tight, rough or dry, you need the hub bearings serviced. Follow this link and first determine which type of hubs you have and then look up the service procedure.

Here's hoping these tips are like garlic for your bike - and they keep those vampires away. Trick or treat!
Jim
All photos courtesy of Park Tool.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Pedro's Super Prestige Professional floor pump

Pedro’s Professional Pump performs up to its name

I like Pedro’s Super Prestige Professional Floor Pump (about $65) so much I bought two of them. One is in my home bike shop and the other lives in our new Lazy Daze RV. I’ve been using these pumps for a couple of years now and they still perform like new. I actually have a compressor in the shop, but these pumps work so well, I usually reach for them.

I like to point out good floor pumps because the most common maintenance task is topping off your tire pressure. And, unfortunately even many so-called “shop-quality” and expensive models perform sub-par and wear out surprisingly soon.

Common problems include difficulty achieving a leak-free fit between the pump head and valve - or having to change or adapt the head to fit a different valve; needing to push excessively hard to pump your tires fully; and ‘blow-back’ - which is when you push the pump handle down and it pops right back up with enough force and speed to explode out of the pump - in a worst-case scenario.

Nearly effortless pumping
There are no such issues with the Super Prestige. It features a heavy-duty steel base for stability, a wide ergonomic soft-grip handle and a small diameter, long steel barrel, which all make for nearly effortless pumping up road and mountain bike tires of all types and pressures.

Ultimate pump head

Instant airtight seal on all valves

The Super Prestige's best feature is the automatic pump head that you simply press on whatever type valve you have and then flip up the thumblock lever to lock the head on with an airtight seal. Pump heads are a common point of failure. 

I’ve never had the Pedro’s let me down and I’ve used it on dozens of different valves and valve extenders and adapters (for example, an adapter is required to inflate disc wheels - my favorite disc wheel valve adapter is Silca's Hiro). 

Presta or Schrader valve, you attach Pedro’s pump head and it holds fast and doesn’t leak.

Convenient long hose

Another sweet detail is the 39-inch (99cm) long hose. This comes in handy if you’re working on a bicycle in a repair stand and if you’re trying to inflate tires while bikes are up high on a rear vehicle rack, etc. The hose actually attaches to the pump beneath the top-mounted gauge rather than at the bottom where most other pumps attach them. That adds to the hose reach.

Pedro’s also includes a built-in hose holder to their pump that really works. Lesser pumps have holders that let the hose fall to the ground, which can lead to failure.

Super visible top-mounted gauge

The top-mounted gauge is close to you to read it more easily and has a knurled ring with a pointer that you turn and place on your target psi. Also, this stellar pump has a small button on the head that lets you bleed air to get the pressure just right.

All in all, if you’re looking for a great inflator, you’ll find it in Pedro’s Super Prestige. Here it is on Amazon though they have the wrong photo - it shows an older model.

Happy pumping!

Jim

Q&A: Saddle positioning when your seatpost won't cooperate, and a wheel from my past surfaces

Greetings from Santa Cruz, California where we just updated our always popular county Bikeways Map. Click the link to download and print a copy if you're headed here with your bikes, and you'll get around our busy beach town much more easily.

Here are some of the interesting bicycle technical questions that have come in since last we met, with my replies.

Q: "I just bought a Trek Madone 5.2 from a bike shop in California. I live in Florida. It was to replace my Madone 4.3 that got stolen last year. Long story short, without having the old bike to take measurement from for seat height, I figured them both being 47cm would make it the right size for me.

Well that was mostly true except the 5.2 has a seatmast not a seatpost that limits the height the seat can be lowered.

I need to drop the seat about 3cm to get comfortable in the saddle. I already have a low-profile seat with little room for lowering there without compromising comfort. I could do smaller cranks, I guess, but that would only drop me .5cm and that still leaves 2.5cm to go.

Trek said that I already have the shortest mast available. Any suggestions to get those last 2.5cm? Surely I can't be the first person to have this problem."

Joyce

A: Thanks for sending the photos of your Trek and its seatmast showing the design, and your saddle and how it's attached (above).

You're right that there's no easy way to lower the seatmast and since this is the shortest one Trek offers, you can't replace it either (I suppose you could have a custom one made but it would probably cost a small fortune and end up not matching the finish of the bicycle, either).

Another option might be to modify the seatmast in some way, such as cutting out a section, but that would be a job for a carbon repair company, such as Calfee Design - and might cost a fair amount, too.

But, luckily, there's another way to lower your seat. It's an old 'trick' mechanics have used forever. It works on almost all types of saddles that fit on seatposts via a certain type of clamp. That type of clamp has to be capable of being mounted upside/down.

Not all clamps will do this, but many will, including yours, as your before and after photos, show. Thanks for sending the photos after following my advice, so I can share them!

The key thing to look out for if you're inverting your seatpost clamp to lower a seat, is to check that when a person's weight is fully on the saddle, that the seat doesn't compress so far that it bottoms out on the clamp or seatpost. This can happen in some cases and you never want to have your seat bottoming out when you hit bumps because coming down against a solid piece of metal like that could hurt or even injure you. The saddle is designed to suspend you from impacts for comfort and protection.

Note that one of the most common uses of inverting seatpost/saddle clamps is on children's bicycles. Sometimes a child is too big/tall for one size bicycle but when you look at the next size, it's a touch too large. If that's the case and you can make the too-large bike fit by inverting the seat clamp, they'll be able to ride the bike safely and grow into it, too.

Keep reading for another seating issue you might run into...
Jim
----------------------------------------------------------

Q: The following is an email back-and-forth between a roadie named Phil and myself. Phil started the thread with this question: "After three years on my wonderful Lynskey R230, I have finally decided the seat (Brooks B17) should be further back. I switched to a 25mm setback seatpost (I used to have a zero setback Lynskey seatpost) but I still want to push the saddle back a bit more.

At this point I’m sure you are saying, “Phil, you should have bought a Large instead of a M/L Lynskey frame.” Yes, probably -  but I did not, so here I am.

The problem, of course, is that the rails – like most rails – on my Brooks saddle narrow as they approach the saddle nose. The bracket (i.e., the platform which grips the rails) is wider than the rails (note – this is Lynskey seatpost does not use the Enve inserts).

Solution? Or out of luck?
Phil

A: I replied: "Usually there’s a way to increase the setback but it often involves compromise. By compromise, I mean that you may need to change to a seatpost with more setback and you probably won’t find a seatpost with more setback that’s a nice as the seatpost you have.

You also might need to shim the seatpost to get it to fit in your frame. Here are Cane Creek's seatpost shims, for example.

With a really quick search I found an example of a seatpost with more setback just to show you, the Nitto Lugged seatpost, which has a 40mm setback (photo).

Yes, this is a very old-school seatpost, but if it proved a huge improvement, you would at least know what setback works best for you and you could go in quest of a seatpost that provides it.

I haven’t done an exhaustive search for seatposts with extra setback, but there should be a few others out there with any luck. You might also ask Lynskey if they’d make you one with the setback you need – though I don’t know if they make custom components like that. Some framebuilders might.

Another option, though it means switching saddles, is trying to find a seat that’s longer or has longer rails or rails that allow putting the seat in the right position to provide the additional setback you require. So, for example, if you found a saddle that was an inch longer in the back, that might solve the problem, assuming you could sit on that seat of course. An example is Fizik's Arione.

Since bicycle shops that specialize in fitting people often run into this issue, they can be a good resource for the seatposts and saddles like this. However, it would need to be a large shop that carries a good inventory and fits lots of people. (The photo shows an SR "super-setback" seatpost that was around in the 1980s, and which you might find today on eBay.com.)

Hope this is helpful and you find a good solution.

To which, Phil answered, "Thanks.  Hate to get rid of my Brooks saddle but that may be the best solution. That Nitto seatpost looks really weird.

Wonder if there is a way to adapt the front half of the seatpost platform to the narrow portion of the rails on the Brooks saddle. Don’t want to go much further as I worry about the stability of the saddle."

And, I wrote back: "Yes, definitely weird. I have never seen an adapter like what you describe, however, I think one could be made with a little ingenuity. Today it’s much easier to design things like that with 3D printing.

If I was doing it, I’d look for a machinist that has the technology and likes to solve problems and has worked on bicycle components. Machinists will usually discuss projects for free so you know what you’re going to have to spend up front.

I would think, though, that it wouldn’t be too difficult or too expensive a part to design and make."

And, Phil then said, "Yes. Plus, although I have never looked at rails on saddles very closely, I just don’t recall seeing a saddle with “straight” rails – i.e., that don’t curve inward as they culminate in the nose of the saddle."

Summing up, I replied, There have been all kinds of bizarre saddle shapes and designs going back to the dawn of cycling, Phil. But, the traditional road saddle has the narrow nose and the rails that follow its shape.

There's at least one reasonably new saddles that has an I-beam running down the middle that requires a seatpost of the same design - both made by SDG (if you look closely at the photo, you'll see there are no rails, instead an I-beam runs down the center of the saddle). On these you can move it forward and back more, so it might be worth a look.

Hope you find the fit you're looking for,
Jim
----------------------------------------------------------

Q: I'm sure you get this all the time, Jim, but today while volunteering at the Bellows Falls, Vermont bike project I came across a wheel I'd been looking for, a Weinmann 129A 27-inch rear wheel.

Even better, it was equipped with a SunTour Pro Compe 6-speed 14-34 freewheel, which is about perfect. By itself this made me happy.

But after clearing off the years of grime I found this little sticker which made it even more exciting. Any idea when you were using these stickers as I doubt you would remember when/who it was built for?!

Thanks for your time,
Christopher C. Purvis

A: Thanks for making my day, Christopher! In 1978 I left the famous Andy’s Cycle Shop in Keene, New Hampshire and went to work for West Hill Shop, now in Putney, Vermont. At that time Neil Quinn the owner (retired now) had opened a second store in Brattleboro, Vermont.

I was managing that shop and working sometimes in Putney, too. Later, we closed the shop in Brattleboro to focus on our busier Putney location. I missed the wonderful cheese danishes I used to have every morning from the bakery next door to the Brattleboro store.

That’s my long way of saying that I probably built that wheel you found in one of those stores – and it would have been before 1982 when I left for California where I’ve been ever since. [Bonus: if you're hankering to build some wheels, click on the vintage Raleigh photo for my bicycle wheelbuilding step-by-step.]

Unfortunately, while I had the good idea to have stickers made for my wheels, I was not smart enough to record my wheelbuilds in a notebook, or use serial numbers, so I can’t tell you who I built those for. And, I’m still using the same stickers on my wheels because I bought way more than I should have when I ordered them from the printer back then. So I'm still using them on new wheels I build.

It’s very nice of you to send me the photo of that long lost wheel. I hope it’s still reasonably true and rideable! Just for laughs, here’s one of my favorite photos of back then. In case you don't recognize it, I'm in my Tour-yellow Richard Sachs T-shirt, back at West Hill in Putney building a wheel on the classic Var Atomic jig.

Enjoy that vintage Jim Langley-built wheel!
Jim

Be sure to also read my weekly column Jim's Tech Talk on RoadBikeRider.

Bicycling Across and Around the USA plus Around the World

Happy 40th Birthday Bikecentennial!

Here are a couple of informative and entertaining videos you'll enjoy if you are thinking about packing your bike with all your possessions and hitting the road for life-changing adventures. The first film is about the great cross-America ride to commemorate the USA's bicentennial in 1976, called Bikecentennial, which saw 4,000 people pedal across the nation. There are some fun events planned to celebrate their 40th birthday this summer.



And, here's a helpful Adventure Cycling Association primer on how to get started with bicycle touring. Anyone can do it on any working bicycle. Like the amazing Lloyd Sumner who pedaled over the horizon with $5 in his pocket, stopped and worked to earn money as needed, and ended up circling the globe. Adventure Cycling also has route maps that make touring a lot easier than guessing how to get from point A to B (which is how I did it).



Free 115-page photo eBook!
Speaking of around-the-world cycling and bicycling around the world (as in how people of different lands use their bikes and cycling), I just learned of the beautiful free photo eBook 'Bicycling Around The World'

Quoting the photographer, Paul Jeurissen (the writer is Grace Johnson),

"‘Bicycling Around The World’ celebrates bike travel and culture around the globe.

In 2010, Grace and I set off on a multi-year bicycle tour covering four continents. Wherever we go, we search out bike culture, dramatic landscapes and remote places.

So come pedal with us through the icy Himalayas, the barren Pamir highway, tropical East Africa and the chaos of Dhaka in search of unique cycling images.

We also show you glimpses of bicycle culture via painted rickshaws, overloaded cargo bikes and even two wheelers piled high with cotton candy.

By the end of this book, we hope you’ll agree that the world is best viewed from a bike saddle." Get the eBook here!"

Note that the link takes you to Paul and Grace's Bicycle Traveler International Magazine on Bicycle Touring, which has other free eBooks about bicycle touring subjects; a great resource.

Thanks, Paul!

2016 North American Handmade Bicycle Show Report (NAHBS)

2016 NAHBS Report

With spring comes great riding and quite a few bicycle shows!

Last month I attended my second North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS), which took place February 26 through 28. It was the 12th edition, and attracted a whopping 179 exhibitors and 6,500 paid attendees (I paid $22) - the largest NAHBS yet. 

Here’s the NAHBS website and NAHBS Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/nahbs/

The person we have to thank for coming up with the idea of NAHBS is founder, president and Kentucky framebuilder Don Walker of Don Walker Cycles https://www.facebook.com/DonWalkerCycles.

Don has created a fine thing in NAHBS, a unique show that changes locations every year, is open to the public and designed for makers of custom bicycles, products and the suppliers who support them to display their wares (like tubing and framebuilding tool makers).

Also unique is that you can even place orders and buy products from many of the vendors and I overheard some builders were happily taking full advantage. Keep in mind that many work in small - almost secret - shops and mostly make sales online or via the phone.

This year the show took place in California’s capital city, Sacramento at the Convention Center downtown. Along with its rich cycling history and famous bicycle club The Sacramento Wheelmen - of which I am an honorary member (don’t miss their Sierra Century April 16th!), Sacramento is where you can pick up the splendid 32-mile American River Bike Trail, also known as the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail

The convention center was an intimate setting very different from crowded bigger shows you’ve probably been to. And it’s always exciting to walk into an entire hall full of bicycles, products and accessories most of which are almost impossible to find at the retailer level. That’s because so much of it is special order or custom built for consumers. And then there are the one-off eye-candy pieces made to win the best-of-show awards.

Mark Di Nucci's work was the talk of the show

I was only able to attend the show on Saturday - nowhere near long enough to cover everything there. But, you can see lots of photos and read some excellent behind-the-scenes on the bike judging by my friend Patrick Brady over at Red Kite Prayer. He did a wonderful 4-part story with lots more to enjoy such as Mark Di Nucci's artistry (photo).

I hope you get to go to one of these NAHBS sometime. Maybe next year when it travels to the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 10-12. If you do get to the show, I want to share a secret with you. Don’t spend all your time gawking at the bikes and products. Instead find the bike builder whose booth it is and ask them to show you what’s cool. One of the awesome things about NAHBS is that the builder is usually in the booth and if you just ask, you can meet them and they’re delighted to talk to you. Here's some of what I learned doing that in Sacto.

BikeCad software (my Best of Show pick)

BikeCAD is my best of show

My NAHBS 2016 started when I met BikeCad Bicycle Design Software’s guru, Brent Curry. He was standing in a booth with a little signage and a computer on a table - no shiny eye candy here to attract the crowds. Because I’m toying with the idea of framebuilding again, I recently stumbled upon BikeCad so I walked over and introduced myself.

BikeCad is free online software that lets you design bicycles and lots more. In order to fully design and use the plans to build your bicycle(s) from, you’ll need to pay for the Pro version, which is $500 Canadian. This gets you some amazing capabilities as Brent demonstrated on his PC. First he put in body measurements to create a giant cyclist almost 8 feet tall and 300 pounds. Then he mocked up a crazy-small bicycle putting in its measurements. Immediately the rider and bike were rendered on the screen with this behemoth squashing an itsy-bitsy wheeled bike.

“But wait, said Brent, watch this!” And he started making changes. Very quickly the giant started looking like he was on a custom fit bicycle. Next, Brent clicked the mouse a few more times and the bike became a mountain and then a triathlon bike showing what the fit was on those. He also showed how when you were happy with a frame design you can even print out templates for marking frame tubes for cutting perfect miters even with hand tools.

The more Brent showed me, the more applications I thought of for BikeCad. For example, anyone can use it to plug in their body and bicycle dimensions and see a perfect animated representation on the screen. Then, by experimenting, you can see right away how you’ll look with a longer or higher stem or a different seat height. Previously, the only way I knew to do that is through video analysis on a trainer and the time consuming process of changing parts/positions.

Since returning from the show and thinking about it more, to me BikeCad was my favorite product at NAHBS. And, while it might not be a bicycle, frame or component, it’s definitely a handmade product so if I was giving out the awards it would be top of the list.

Wheel Fanatyk’s amazing bike tools

After visiting with Brent, I hustled across the show to the Wheel Fanatyk booth. I’ve only seen photos of their beautiful wheelbuilding tools and I just had to lay my hands on them. Husband and wife team Ric and Donna Hjertberg were working the booth. You might know Ric from his years owning the celebrated Wheelsmith bicycle shop in Palo Alto, California, or from his spoke brand Wheelsmith.

As the supreme wheel and spoke guru, I knew Ric would be busy talking to 5 people at once, which he was. I gave him a wave and asked Donna if I could play with their toys and she was happy to let me. I most wanted to see how the handmade dial indicators on their P&K Lie truing stands function. P&K call them “clocks,” which should tell you how sophisticated they are (photo).

Unlike standard dial indicators that swing wildly and are difficult to read, P&K’s make it a complete no-brainer to see how far out the wheel is both laterally and radially. Which means that you can exactly see the effect of every turn of a nipple to quickly true wheels. And, if that’s not enough, the stands are designed and constructed so extraordinarily they’re works of art, too.

Donna also let me try out the $2,900 Morizumi Spoke Machine. It cuts and threads spokes, which solves the problem bike stores/mechanics have of keeping on hand the right length spoke for every possible wheel. Wheel Fanatyk offers other ingenious tools for wheel lovers and a lovely wood display stand by Ric’s brother and woodworker Jon.

Two trick bikes

Back on the show floor one of the busiest booths was English Cycles. By the number of people surrounding it, I was drawn to a bare-steel road bike on a pedestal. English Cycles is Rob English’s company but he wasn’t near the bike to talk to. The person who was there told me to pick it up, which I did.

To my amazement, the STEEL bicycle (silver fillet-brazed Reynolds 953 tubing) weighed just over 9 pounds. English has made a name for himself by thinking outside the box and also for proving that his bikes work by racing and winning on them. So, it’s likely if you’re up his way in Oregon you’ll see him on this stunner of a roadster (note that UCI rules have weight restrictions but not the races in Oregon Rob competes in).

With gravel bikes and road disc brakes all the rage, I next took a look at Calfee Designs’ Adventure model. It has received rave reviews and I like the concept of a 650B wheeled go-everywhere carbon bicycle.

The fat tires provide a super comfortable yet still fast ride and the carbon frame could care less about rain, snow and slop. Plus for overnighters or even credit-card touring with a small load, you’ve got the control, power and minimal maintenance of discs.

Spurcycle Bells

You may have already seen Spurcycle bells because even at $49, they have taken the noisemaker market by storm. At NAHBS they were actually assembling the bells to show how much handcraftsmanship goes into each one.

The thing that makes them unique is their tiny footprint, which leaves plenty of handlebar real estate for all your perhaps more important accessories. They also make the perfect ping to grab attention yet not startle. And, they’re built of brass and stainless steel and even guaranteed for life.

Here's another very interesting new bell by Knog, the "Oi."

Rocket7 handmade shoes

At $1,450, you may think you’d have to be crazy to order a pair, yet seeing the Rocket7 custom shoes in the flesh would probably convince you that it would sure be fun to try a pair - because it did me. After you make a mold of your feet following their instructions (or have them do it - they’re holding a clinic in Northern California in May), they build custom shoes for you.

They use the lightest materials such as their Ultralite Carbon, which they say can build a size 42 at 125 grams! And they can customize the fit and feel of the shoes many ways for perfection.

No wonder so many pros choose Rocket7s, including Tom Boonen and Greg Van Avermaet. There are also stock models starting at about $495.

Eroica California

After NAHBS, the next big festival for those who love handmade things is Eroica California, taking place in Paso Robles April 8, 9 and 10. They had a nice booth at the show manned by Wesley Hatakeyama who runs the event and who brought a couple of his beautiful vintage rides and a display case full of super-rare goodies, like one of the first Campagnolo quick releases, circa early 1930s.

How rare? Enough that none other than Mr. Campagnolo himself, Valentino, walked over to meet Wes and see his rarities. Rumor has it that there’s now a possibility that Campagnolo might get involved in Eroica at some time in the future - a perfect match. There’s still time to register to ride Eroica, too. https://www.facebook.com/eroicacalifornia/

Final notes

Other highlights for me in no particular order included, SRAM’s eTap wireless electric shifting, which was just as cool as at Interbike and which I will be reviewing soon (rumors at the show were that Shimano has one in the works but their booth staff denied it); Honjo’s prototype titanium fenders(!); Silca’s Hiro adapter (photo) for those hard-to-access valves; Abbey Tools’ carbon/ti pro-mechanic superlight hammer; and Caletti Cycles best-in-show-winning artist-painted matching bicycle, shoes and helmet ensemble.

To learn more about these products and to find out a lot more about the 2016 NAHBS hand-makers, I’ll leave you with this excellent reference that provides the names, websites and social media links for all the companies that were at the show http://www.2016.handmadebicycleshow.com/exhibitors/

You'll also enjoy these extensive interviews with the builders.

If you see me at Eroica, be sure to say hi. Look for me on a fire-engine red LEJEUNE.

Jim