spring

[totient]

First good rain of the season was enough to wash the salt and much of the silt off the center of the road to where the street sweepers will get it when they start, which is Wednesday. By the 15th they will have made a full cycle, and the after the next good rain (to get what they miss) it will be time to bring out the Ciocc again. Meanwhile the tulips are up and the daffodils are about to bloom. Here's hoping any more snow we get is minor.

Comments

[cintyber.livejournal.com]

And there was thunder!

[omly.livejournal.com]

I can't see that image, but the internets are big enough for me to see what that is. Yay spring!

[c1.livejournal.com]

So what's with the fancy-pants pedals? Is that a clipless model I'm not aware of?

[palmwiz.livejournal.com]

The pedals are unusual in a number of regards. First, they were among the earlier clipless pedals and the first from an established premium brand, making them not quite period for the bike but close enough to fit the aesthetic. Second, instead of two sets of bearings each they have three; the inner bearings function normally but there is a center bearing that keeps the pedal aligned side to side so that the outer, load-bearing bearings can be roller bearings instead of ball bearings for a lower profile and better cornering clearance. Third and most importantly, the bearings are user-serviceable, which is how come I still have the pedals fifteen years later instead of having tossed them like I've tossed sealed-bearing pedals after riding them through a winter or two.

[palmwiz.livejournal.com]

not quite period

This picture (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5269/171/1600/Hampsten-Giro-Winning-Bike-1988.0.jpg) of the 1988 Giro-winning "Huffy" (actually Serotta) with the same pedals on it as I have is evidence that the pedals only miss being period by a year or two.

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That very "Huffy" makes me laugh again every time I see it.

But... clinchers?! My recollection of that era (when I was lusting after fairly similar gear) was that it was all about the tubulars. Though memories of such days of impressionably youth are a bit foggy.

(Do the original brake pads actually have any grip at all?)

[palmwiz.livejournal.com]

the bike was extensively rebuilt in the early 90s on a frame that was by then probably about 5 years old. I don't know if any of the parts were on the frame when he started; maybe none of them were and these parts are just what he thought would "go" with a nice red italian steel frame. That appears to mean "campy and cinelli" but if he didn't have period parts he merrily used new ones, like the cranks. The bike was a gift to someone who wasn't very knowledgeable about bikes, so sewups weren't a very practical option, and even by then people were starting to race on clinchers.