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More Recommended Reading: Road to Valor
Many long-time fans of bicycle racing likely know the name of Gino Bartali, the Italian cycling legend of the 1930s and 40s. Many might be familiar with his two Tour de France victories, or his three...
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Classic Tubes: Columbus
This version of the classic Columbus tubing decal wouldlikely have been seen on bikes from the mid 1970s.While I'll always have a soft spot for vintage bikes built with Reynolds tubing, it's hard to...
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Cycling in Alaska
With our current outside temperature hovering somewhere around 1º fahrenheit, I can't help but think back to better riding time and memorable rides. Perhaps ironically, the place that comes to mind...
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Tubeless Bike Tires
I'm thinking about switching to the latest tubeless tires on my road bike.Yeah, I know traditional clinchers are really easy to work with, and come in all kinds of sizes, tread patterns, and price...
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Classic Tubes: Tange and Ishiwata
As the next installment of what I suppose has become a "series" on steel tubing used on classic bikes, I'll take some time to look at Japanese tubing manufacturers Tange and Ishiwata. Both companies...
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Cold Weather Cycling
In the past couple of years I have become a more-or-less year-round cyclist. It wasn't always so. When I first started commuting to work by bicycle on a regular basis, I wasn't sure how long into the...
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Total Electronic Integration: The Fly-By-Wire Bicycle
BREAKING NEWS! Shimano has just unveiled its newest breakthrough in bicycle technology: Shimano TEI, or Total Electronic Integration. Building on their Di2 electronic shifting system, which is already...
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Forester's Effective Cycling
John Forester's Effective Cycling is one of those books that all serious (and maybe even not-so-serious) bicyclists should read, but for whatever reason, I never got around to it until recently. God...
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Seventy Three Degrees
I just picked up Seventy Three Degrees: The World's Finest Bicycle Builders, a very attractive coffee table book that might appeal to some Retrogrouches and serious fans of hand built bicycles.From the...
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Niche-Niche Marketing: Gravel Bikes
You need a Gravel Bike. If you're a "proper" cycling enthusiast then I know you've already got a "fast" Road Bike, a "comfort" Road Bike, and a "winter" Road Bike, plus a Time-Trial Bike, a Fixed-Gear...
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Wheel Size Fashions: 29er, 650b, 26 inch
Wheel sizes, like so many other aspects of bicycling, are subject to fashion. But fashion is a really poor reason to buy a bike, or to equip a bike in a particular way. This is one of those things I've...
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More Wheel Size Madness
In my last post, I delved into the fashion trends of wheel sizes -- but it occurred to me that when it comes to wheels and tires, there can sometimes be a lot of confusion. Some of that confusion goes...
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Still More Wheel Madness
I wish I'd seen this video a couple of days ago.from Bike RadarThat's right - 26-in. wheels are dead -- or dying, anyhow. Even as I'm here writing on the Retrogrouch Blog that we need to think of wheel...
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Mercian Cycles - History and Tradition
Back when I was still basically a kid first discovering really nice bicycles, one of the first people I encountered who shared my passion was an older guy who rode a Mercian that he'd owned since the...
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Weight Weenie Woes
It's tough being a weight weenie. Expensive, too. That's why I gave it up a long time ago.Being a weight weenie throws all perspective and good sense askew, like wearing those "Drunk Goggles" they use...
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New Cycling Necessity: Bike Cams
As a Retrogrouch, one might expect I'd be pretty negative about bike cameras. But I'm thinking they may be a bit of new technology that I can actually get behind. The harsh reality of riding on the...
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Classic Components: Campagnolo Record Hubs
The first Campagnolo components I ever bought were a pair of Record hubs. At the time I bought them, they were probably about 10 years old, but they were brand new, perfect in their faded yellow box...
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Classic Components: Decorative Derailleurs
There was a time when the way something looked was nearly as important as its function. I know I'm going to get some push-back from people who tell me that there is just as much emphasis on design...
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Snow Day
I've lost count of how many snow days we've had this year. The school where I work, and all the schools in NE Ohio have been closed so many days for weather this year, it's ridiculous. I can't remember...
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Vintage Advertisements: Reynolds Tubing
While I've been more or less snowbound -- at least as far as riding my bicycle is concerned -- I've been perusing old vintage bicycle magazines. One of the things I enjoy about them is seeing how...
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