campagnolo delta brakes: Stasis booth

Friday, April 29, 2011

Stasis booth

If you are a Red Dwarf or Star Wars dweeb (highly unlikely given that you are on this supercool blogsite) you would know that a stasis booth is where the occupant rests in suspended animation so he/she/it does not age. The occupant thus leaves the stasis booth at exactly the same age and condition as he went in (excluding exiting ambulation time) regardless of the time that has passed in the world outside. Very useful for long distance space travel. And also very useful for storing old bicycle bits and bobs.

Speedbicycles (in Switzerland) has one sitting in his closet. He is currently selling an unregistered, NOS, 50th Anniversary Campagnolo groupset on ebay. That alone isn’t particularly special and there are plenty of old bicycles and assorted componentry out there in immaculate or NOS condition. What is particularly impressive in this case is, well, the case. The vinyl cover appears unblemished and the tacky rubber sides utterly undamaged. In the real world where the sun's rays make the flowers grow, the birds sing, gives a “healthy glow” to the beautiful people, and rots rubber and plastic products, this is a pretty amazing find. Campagnolo may have produced an iconic groupset with its 50th anniversary edition but chose to put it in a cheap case prone to spoiling with the slightest of UV exposure.