C-Record... 11 speed Ergo! Why not!?!

All props to La Rueda Tropical for the concept and the awesome Photoshop work. This is most definitely an old article (over a year old!) but for some reason I only found it today... brilliant.

I'm pretty sure you can come fairly close to these ergos with Hudz gum-flavored rubber, but check out the brilliant Campy shellack for the bar wrap! I think this paired with a Kara Ginther carved Brooks saddle and a Revolution Cycle custom head badge (Cicli Masini) would be right up my alley!

I though about this a while back, and you can come fairly close with the current Athena group. They also used to offer an alloy lever with the Centaur group. So all that, combined with a bit of Easy-off and polish would get you in the neighborhood. Next up, figure out how to laser etch or engrave the logos. OR better yet - make some anniversary-like coins. How about cobalto stones for the brake calipers? I know, now I'm getting away from the C-Record concept, but you get the point. With all the carbon out there, doesn't this stuff look great?

Training for l'Eroica!

So the long weekend presented many opportunities for some training d'epoca. This entails my best wool jerseys, clips and straps, and climbing the local hills in the hardest gear possible. Here's a taste... with a little help from Photoshop to make it "period-correct"!

Old Legnano and Bianchi Signs

So my late purchase at the Reggio swap were these two old signs. A rusted out Legnano and a heavy "cardboard" Bianchi, both terribly dirty but also terribly vintage! I got them from a moto guy who was asking FAR less than the "sign guy", who wanted hundreds of euros for some better looking ones. If you ask me, I like these better anyway!

Flashback: La Battaglia Italiana!

Simon at La Gazzetta della Bici recently resparked some interest in the Lampre-Caffita Battaglia Italiana event and bikes that we did back at the 2005 Giro rest day. From the actual press release...

Coppi-Bartali, Hinault-LeMond, Roche-Visentini… Simoni-Cunego! Once again, the cycling world has a rivalry between two champions on the same team that captures the fascination of the tifosi and press. Emotions run high as these battles play out on the roads of Europe. And it will be on the road where ultimate glory will be decided.

2004 saw Damiano Cunego catapult to the top of the cycling world as he sprinted and climbed to overall victory in the Giro d’Italia, leaving his designated captain for the race, Gilberto Simoni, biding his time for another chance at Giro victory.

This year, Cannondale suggests a slightly American way to settle the dispute… take it to the boxing ring! Much like Muhammad Ali’s greatest fights “The Thrilla in Manilla” and “The Rumble in the Jungle”, we see this clash as being 20 rounds (plus prologue!) of pure boxing excitement… the “Battaglia Italiana”.

So published for the first time... here is the actual invitation to the event.

The kit was great. Unfortunately, it was just after the UCI began to enforce rules about team kits not changing during a stage race, so we had to rely on rest-day shenanigans.

As far as the rivalry, it's been well known that these two had issues. This event was possibly the best public breaking of the ice between the two of them.

Check out the fake Everlast-styled Cannondale logo on the gloves... detail!

As far as the bikes, they sold out like THAT (snaps fingers).