My Other Ride

I'm traveling today so I don't have a special topic to write on. But as my friends told me, I thought I should take this opportunity to perhaps show you one of the bikes I ride these days. This one's a bit new, and I have shown you my primary bike some years ago. See here.

My bike on top of Rock City Hill, Olean NY (2400 ft above sea level)

This one is a pre-HP B stay Colnago C-40 lugged carbon bike in Mapei theme with all Campagnolo Super Record 11 Speed gruppo. C-40 has been one of most prolific of Colnago's offerings (sadly no more), and it has won more Paris Roubaix's and World Championships than any other. The lugs of course are beautiful to look at and they are one piece molded and hand finished. The bike not only rides buttery smooth, but it is a good climber, and a great downhill bike as well. The ride is very stable and precise that I imagine it must somehow be laser guided from a control room at Colnago's headquarters.

The seatpost is a Thomson Elite, handlebars are 3T's Rotundo Pro's adorned with Brooks leather handlebar tape stopped with sweet cork plugs. The saddle is a Brooks Swallow with titanium rails, while the fork is a straight bladed Easton EC90 topped off with a Chris King Titanium headset. The wheels are no-nonsense Dt Swiss 1450s and tires are Vittoria Open Corsa's at 320 TPI, which to me are pretty supple. The braking comes from a pair of KCNCs in red. This is one of the few brakes I have seen in the market that have some character in looks, are lightweight, and are very easy to adjust on the go. The bike was put together by Dennis Baldwin at the Elicottville Bike Shop, in Elicottville NY. Show him some love, ya'll!

As you can see, this bike is a medley of the classic and the latest in components. I like straight geometry and lines, and prefer curves mostly on my woman. The dashboard has no GPS or crazy computer systems. This is one of my pet peeves. I like to give my brain a workout and commit orientations, roads and street names to memory. If I get lost, I'll stop and ask a person which I feel is much better than having to stare into a dum computer screen on the saddle all day. Cadence? I'll just count. Miles? Who cares. Just ride.

In the end, beauty aside, I pedal this bike real hard and I expect to increase the size of my lungs, thighs and calves on it.

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