Gloria Garibaldina Extra Donna

Possibly one of the coolest mixte bicycles in existence. Currently listed on ebay by a well-known Boston seller and closing in less than an hour. Listing states this bicycle is unrestored and in original condition which is exceptional for a bike built circa 1939-1940.

Ebay troll can only watch with empty pockets as Sauron keeps his eye on other worldly matters...

ADDIT: passed in at USD $2,125. May well be a crisis on the horizon...

Negative sentiment

Over the past 6 weeks the Australian property market has plummeted. The media have reported a significant reduction in auction clearance rates which is a useful measure but has its flaws when used in isolation. Nonetheless, as a person standing on the brink of buying a property over the past 18 months, there is currently a definite sense of trepidation in the market.

A couple of months ago the number of houses for sale in an exclusive suburb exploded. Sales were doing well (actually, picking up since mid 2009) and Australian property rode a wave of enthusiasm. Sentiment has changed. Far fewer houses have hit the market more recently. Three properties that I have watched for some time have sold for significantly less than their original asking price.

No doubt the concerns over the Greek economy and the financial state of the European Union has a lot to do with this negative sentiment as does the rising interest rates within Australia. This may be just enough to tip the scale as Australia is in a rather unusual balancing act. Demand for housing far outstrips supply which drives up prices. Yet prices are overinflated when compared to average income, rental yields, and long-term historical averages. Australian housing affordability is rated as one of the worse if not the worst in the world.

Human sentiment is a powerful force in financial markets. When we are positive we buy up and live the good life. When sentiment is down we sell and markets dip. A rising economy and a falling economy follow a broadly predictable course - that is, until the market turns. What is harder to measure is when sentiment changes. In the main, sentiment bobs up and down with little change in the market on a broader scale. Occasionally the sentiment escalates and leads to dramatic changes or less dramatic “corrections” in the market.

Negative sentiment stemming from fear of the unknown presents an opportunity. And negative sentiment is often just that, a bobble of opportunity in the long-term market trend. In my opinion this is one such time and the Eye of Sauron will now look deeply into the Australian property market. It’s a little too early to predict what will happen next but the negative sentiment is palpable.

I may of course be completely wrong. We could be on a precipice and I am about to take a great stride forward into an abyss. But to be successful one requires a good measure of endeavor and luck. You just have to be more often right than wrong.

1st generation Campagnolo Nuovo Record brakeset

1968 Campagnolo Nuovo Record brakeset. The first year that Campagnolo produced a brakeset of their own, and for its time, the best looking and most effective caliper on the market. Distinguished from later generations by the lack of the Campagnolo logo on the caliper arms.

This set is NOS and still in it's box (itself in very good condition). Certainly very rare to see in this state and the the price reflects this: currently on ebay for USD $9,999.

From a pragmatic point of view, if you take it out of the box & stick it on a bike (nutted brake mounts of course...) you would be disappointed by its underwhelming performance compared to modern brakesets. Even if you are a collector you would lose monetary value by mounting them on a period build. My guess is that if (and it's a big if) this set is bought then it's destined for a showroom behind locked glass. Truly a brakeset that is haughty and arrogant in its exclusiveness...

I have a shiny set of these on my pre-1965 Cinelli SC with the quirky (to say the least) orange repaint. It was probably fitted as an upgrade to the original brakes. For me, that gives it a sense of proportion in keeping with the manufacturer's original intention. A brakeset that is cool and classy and with genuine real world experience...

ADDIT: Just an interesting aside. The 1968 calipers have a noticeably finer grade of polish than the subsequent Nuovo & Super Record calipers. Even the calipers of the highly polished 50th Anniversary groupset lacks the warmth of the 1st generation. Sound familiar? Same trend is seen in the production of the Campagnolo delta brakeset one and a half decades later. Appears that a lot of elbow grease goes into the 1st run then the effort seems to drop off as production gains momentum.

Baum Cubano

Understated class.

Unused 2009 Baum Cubano titanium frame with Chris King headset just sold on Australian ebay for AUD $2275. Pretty good buy given that this is Baum's custom-built, custom-butted titanium frame and just one down from their top-of-the-line Corretto. Spec indicated as: 53cm TT, 51.2cm ST (sloping TT), 12.2cm HT (excluding CK headset), 73 deg STA, 71.5 deg HTA with 50mm fork rake.

Well, it's a good buy if the the spec fits your requirements...

If you are in to quality TIG-welded steel & titanium frames take a look at Darren Baum's website http://www.baumcycles.com/

I assume fans of steel lugged bicycles already know about Australian framebuilder, Darrell McCulloch http://www.llewellynbikes.com/main.htm

1966 Campagnolo Record derailleur set

Ever thought about the number of teeth used on the rollers of the rear derailleur? Well, it's more than 9. In the transition from toothless to the now standard 10-11 tooth rollers there were these 9-tooth rollers. The tight bend in the chain lead to increased radial loads on the plastic pulleys resulting in them fracturing.

Live. Learn. Evolve.

Cycling faux pas

What is appropriate kit for riding on the road these days?

If you are riding a carbon-fibre “race” bike then there appears to be a number of unspoken rules. For a start wear a good fitting set of bib & brace knicks and a matching top with sleeves. Never wear loose shorts on a road bike (unless you are commuting to work on a step-through/ mixte frame - and even then expect a couple of beer bottles to be thrown at you). Never wear mountain bike shoes on a road bike as it suggests that you walk your bike more often than you ride it. Never wear full-fingered gloves unless it’s the depth of winter and you you are wearing arm warmers as well. They should be reserved for mountain bikers who spend a good deal of time going over the front of their handlebars. If you have to wear corrective lenses then only wear the latest protective eyewear developed specifically for cycling (preferably Oakley or some other very expensive brand). And, under no circumstance should you ever be seen with a mount on your helmet for anything (light, camera, rear view mirror, any device to fend off magpies...).

Even if you ride really early in the morning and no-one sees you - one day you will be caught...

The only thing missing for full negative marks is a mojo

(which was removed as it kept falling off)

Must be time to get a skin-suit for single speed off-road riding...

Photo courtesy of www.hdimagetank.com.au who run a guerilla campaign of unsolicited shooting of everything that goes up & down the road to Mt Glorious

Frame build

David Bohm has posted more pics of the frame we built on his flickr account. Just a teaser as I (impatiently) await its passage through Australian customs...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bohemian_bicycles/sets/72157623211710526/?page=2

3Rensho track bike

Today is ANZAC Day.

Specifically it relates to the 25th of April, 1915 when Australian and New Zealand forces (the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps) landed at dawn on the shores of Gallipoli. What was meant to be a quick strike against the Turkish forces (to open the Dardenelles for the allied navy) became a drawn-out 8-month stalemate with appalling casualties on both sides.

More recently ANZAC Day is taken as a time for Australians to remember those that fell in the service of their nation. Since 9/11 the various theatres of war have been thrown into the forefront of public consciousness. We fight to preserve the right to live in freedom (from restraint) and (the) liberty (to choose from what’s available). The more cynical will say that we fight to live in a manner we are accustomed to. And for resources that are important to us.

Whatever the slant, today is a time to reflect. And for many that reflect, today is a sad day for humanity.

This is a bicycle blog site and I dare not venture any further than a superficial reference to this important date.

Going back to the reason for this post, here is a 3Rensho (San Rensho) keirin track frame from the 1990’s. There are a number of variations of 3Rensho lug styles and this example is almost certainly made by Makino after the retirement of his master, Yoshi Konno. A Japanese bike through and through with full NJS parts (Suntour Superbe Pro, Hatta, Nitto) made for the most Japanese of bicycle sports - keirin racing.

During the second world war Japan was Australia’s greatest threat. In the 1990‘s Japan was Australia’s most important trading partner. Go figure.

San Diego Custom Bicycle Show

Well, well, my bike made it to the SDCBS. It's the bike with the blue head tube sitting behind Dave's "Uberbike" in the pic from Velo Cult. Yeah, you can barely see it on this shot but I couldn't find any better pics of it on the internet.

Kind of like being an extra on the set for Lord of the Rings...

For some great profile shots of the main actors at SDCBS take a visit to the Velo Cult website.

www.velocult.com/index.php/

Lotus Sport 110

A design icon and fast enough for Chris Boardman to win the 1994 Tour de France prologue. I prefer the BT Superbike but then again I’m Australian... And there's something special about the clean lines of a track frame... And maybe the issue of fatigue fractures seen in the Lotus top-tube...

These great pics come from a Lotus enthusiast in Melbourne, Australia and posted in a Lotus (as in the car) forum.

http://web.mac.com/robinjp/iWeb/ebay/Lotus.html

This particular bicycle was sold to another Lotus enthusiast in the UK in Dec 2006 for $7,500USD.

BT Superbike

It’s amazing what you can find when you poke around. This is a BT (Bike Technologies) Superbike developed in the mid 1990s from a chance collaboration between the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) and RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology).

This particular bicycle was given to its previous owner by his employer at the completion of the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000. The bike sat in his office for 10 years as a conversation piece before being passed on to me. It is almost certainly a hand-me-down from the AIS track team as evidenced by the decals which are placed beneath the clear coat (standard production frames do not wear the AIS decals). Not to mention the numerous battle scars from past exploits on the track. And this specimen clearly had a tough life.

Superbike. A name so presumptuous on a design so audacious that it’s become cool and iconic. It also helps that the Australian track team under Charlie Walsh was a tour de force whilst riding these bikes (1994-1996).

Typical for the AIS track team, this bicycle has full Campagnolo componentry albeit from a mixture of groups. With the assortment of parts, one can imagine this being a competition pursuit frame (wearing full C Record componentry and Ghibli disc wheels) that has subsequently devolved into a training bike (with Chorus road cranks and Campagnolo "Sidney" 2000 rims). The bike has been tidied up but nothing has been changed. Nice to think that maybe some rising track star has ridden these exact components...

For me this is how a carbon fiber bicycle should look. Simple, swoopy, aerodynamic lines.

Excellent information on the BT Superbike can be found through these links to the Powerhouse Museum (Sydney).

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/background.htm

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/development.htm

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/features.htm

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/testing.htm

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/manufacture.htm

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/article.htm

Monocoque bicycle frames like the BT Superbike came into being following relaxation of the UCI regulations in 1990 leaving Mike Burrows to bring out the Lotus Sport track pursuit prototype in 1991 (conceived much earlier then shelved in 1987). This subsequently became the Lotus Sport 108 in 1992 and hit the headlines when Chris Boardman won the 4000m individual pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics setting a world record of 4 min 27.357 sec, and lapping the 1991 World Champion, Jens Lehmann, in the final.

Lotus then went on to make the production Lotus Sport 110 road bike and Mike Burrows went on to design similar frames for Giant.

Lotus Sport 110

Giant MCR

It is a shame that these bicycles are now, once again, illegal under UCI regulations (current rules require a double triangle frame) but let’s leave that discussion for another day...

ADDIT: BT with Ghibli's http://campagnolodelta.blogspot.com/2011/10/revisiting-bt-superbike.html