AN ADDED LETTER TO THE ALPHABET! (the Campy alphabet!)

Stumbled across this on eBay over the weekend... first time I've seen the mtb rear derailleur guard "letter".  So as the self-appointed Campy alphabet curator, I had to remake it and post it to my google album.

I can't imagine the importance this item must have held even in those unenlightened Euclid-era days! I can't say I've ever seen one of these in the flesh, however I believe some old Italian mtb ads in Bicisport had these mounted on bikes that not even I would want to ride!

THE CINELLI EXA HANDLEBAR

Conflicting reports online as to the inspiration of this hexagonal shaped bar. "Cinelli, The Art and Design of the Bicycle" states that the idea came from a windsurfing boom while Antonio Colombo's own instagram feed quotes him as stating it comes from a tennis racket.

Both are plausible, and yet you begin to wonder why things like the undersized hex'ed Gary Fisher mtb foam grips in the 90's didn't go further even though many mtb grips remain hex-shaped.

Either way, I got a set of these for the Rossin, furthering my 'odd, rare and stylish' component selection for this Holy Grail bike build. I wasn't fortunate enough to get the even rarer purpose-built bar plugs, but that just gives me more to search for on eBay!