The Joy of Retro

The rediscovery of vintage bicycles has brought new enthusiasts into the fold and it was fun to watch this video highlighting the difference between modern and classic bicycles, the latter being one of Stephen Roche's race-winning mounts.  There are definite disadvantages to old technology.  The brakes in the pre-dual pivot era were not very good; the hairnet "helmet" is completely useless and even though it might ruin the look I use a modern helmet whenever I ride; and the clip-and-strap pedals are not very good as to be effect the straps have to be tightened up enough that they are difficult to get out of quickly.  And, yes, the gearing sometimes seems crazy to me.  Several of my bikes came with a 44-tooth chainring as the small one!

On the positive side, friction shifting seems to work well with the short cable run, there is nothing too difficult to work on, the frames tend to be comfortable and offer a smooth ride and the aesthetic value of these colourful bikes is superior to lookalike carbon bikes, although style is of course always a matter of personal opinion.   Steel bikes evoke a classic era not only in racing but touring as well and it is a good thing to see that what was once perceived as obsolete is making a comeback.  Retro rules!

The Spokesman

Here is a very charming little film, less than 3 minutes long, that came out last year (2013) on Vimeo.  The filmmaker, Dean Saffron, only had an hour to conduct an interview followed by a mere 30 minutes to shoot the video!  The protagonist is an Australian collector of bicycles, James McDonald.  In the words of Mr. Saffron:

I simply had to make this video after meeting "James" a very enigmatic man who has taken it upon himself to collect one bicycle from each developmental epoch for future generations to enjoy , a kind of time capsule if you will !

Hi Everybody ,sadly my friend James "The Spokesman" has passed away from lung cancer last week. (postscript added by the filmmaker in 2014)

There are some iconic bicycles in the video, from an 1816 Draisine replica to a fine highwheeler, a classic Dursley-Pedersen and even a Moulton.  It is a shame that there was no opportunity for a longer video since the collection, which is probably dispersed by now, was superb.


The Spokesman from dean saffron on Vimeo.

Retro-Rides Everywhere: What Hath l'Eroica Wrought?

Cycling appears to be booming, with a surge in commuting and just-for-fun riding and for those more sportingly-inclined an equal growth in events, whether gran fondos or stage events for amateurs.  But one unusual trend has been the growth of the retro-ride in Europe, which sees old steel bicycles with toe-clip-and-strap equipped pedals and downtube friction shifters, returning to fabled roads to recreate some of the magic of the past.  The granddaddy of these is clearly l'Eroica, begun in 1997 with only 100 participants and now limited to 3000.  It has spawned imitators not only in Italy but throughout Western and Central Europe.  Some of these events are developing their own histories and some will start only this year.  Distances seem to vary between 25 and 150 kms but none of the events are timed.

The general rule is that bicycles should be pre-1987 steel framed with non-aero brake levers, downtube shifters and no clipless pedals but the classic clipped version instead.  There are variations on this as to date of manufacture but component requirements seem pretty standard.  Since none of the events can be considered races emphasis is put instead on authentic bicycles, the more obscure the better.  Historic clothing is particularly welcome.  There is a very strong social element as everyone admires and comments on each other's bikes and the competitive atmosphere in a typical amateur race is completely lacking.  Also lacking pretty much is the presence of women:  old bicycles seem to be A Guy Thing.

They can also be A Fairly Cheap Thing.  Rideable pre-1987 steel bicycles can still be bought reasonably although those equipped with Campagnolo Super Record parts have definitely gone up in value.  Unfortunately the economics of collecting means it is more profitable to strip a frame of its parts and sell them separately rather than as a complete bicycle.  I learned from restoring my Raleigh Team Professional that the frame is probably the least of your costs if you want to be period-accurate.  Nonetheless there are lots of good bikes out there still to be had.  My 2011 l'Eroica bicycle was a 1981 Peugeot PXN-10 with Simplex components that I bought for under 250 Euros from its original owner.  I merely replaced the old tires with 28mm Continentals for the gravel of Chianti.  If you are happy to ride a less-celebrated frame brand than a Cinelli, Colnago or Masi you would be hard-pressed to spend more than 1500 Euros.  Compare that to a new carbon frame with no storied character.  Although the brakes on the new bike will be infinitely better.

Here are the retro-rides I plan to attend in 2013:

1.  April 7: the second Klassikerausfahrt of the year here in Düsseldorf.  The ride is always on the first Sunday of the month.  Distances are a relaxed 60 kms or so and the rules are pretty well non-existent.  The next ride after this one is on May 5.

2.  May 25/26: The Retro Ronde in Belgium, featuring a criterium, a beauty contest (sort of) and a selection of routes (40, 70 and 100 kms) on the famous roads of Flanders.

 

3.  June 2: Retropedal is the third installment of a cycling event put on by the RV Opel 1888 Rüsselheim e.V. club in (surprise) Rüsselheim, not far from Mainz and the home of the Opel car company.  Bicycles here need to be pre-1983 but there is also an event for pre-1953 bicycles so the variety should be quite interesting.  Ride distances range from 45-154 kms for the more modern bicycles, while the elderly bikes (including high-wheelers) can enjoy a guided tour of 25 kms.  Registration is (gasp!) 10 Euros in advance, 11 Euros on the day.

4.  June 15/16: The Rommerskirchen-Düsseldorf Classic/Deutsche Rennradbörse is a two-day affair, with the first day featuring a retro-ride from Rommerskirchen across the Rhine to Düsseldorf and back and Day 2 is the racing bicycle jumble sale.  Last year's edition of the ride was the first and was a success in spite of miserable weather.

Rommerskirchen depart, June 2012

 5.  June 16: Tour d'Historique is the first running of a retro ride in the Netherlands and will start in Haarlem and feature rides of 35 and 80 kms.

 

6.  June 22/23: Anjou Velo Vintage will mark its 3rd edition as it establishes itself as the French retro ride.  There will be a week-long "vintage village" but the real event begins on the 23rd with an 86 km ride, the Retro 1903, retracing a segment of the final stage of the 1903 Tour de France. It will go from Angers to Saumur.  On Sunday there will be an 86 km loop around Saumur, as well as shorter rides of 37 and 46 kms.  The event is organized by the region of Maine-et-Loire, which has obviously learned something from those people in Chianti.

 7.  August 25: HALLZig-Historica is a new event that will have riders able to choose from four routes ranging from 48 to 153 kms in Saxony, with the start in Leipzig.

 

8.  October 5/6: l'Eroica.  The famous ride over the white roads of Tuscany.  I will be doing the 135 km route for the second time after my painful first effort in 2011.  This is the weekend when the retro riders take over Chianti.

Of course, there are also the Ones That Got Away.  I have registered for the rides above but could not for the following ones due to scheduling conflicts.

In Velo Veritas will go through the wine region around Vienna, Austria on June 16.

The Tour de Trois will feature a 125 km circuit starting in France, rolling into Switzerland and then Germany before finishing back in France.  It will be on June 30 and also feature a jumble sale.

The fifth Badenweiler Retro-Velo-Classica will serve up a hill time trial as well as an 80 km road circuit in one of the most beautiful cycling regions in Germany, close to Freiburg, over the August 2-4 weekend.  Time is actually taken during this event and prizes given out.  The chief sponsor and moving force appears to be the owner of a local hotel in Badenweiler.

There are at least 10 retro rides in Italy.  A list of the events, with URLs, can be found at the excellent Italian Cycling Journal blog here.  The list dates from 2010 so some of the rides may not exist or there will be additional ones.  There is a good Italian website about vintage events here.  I am doing l'Eroica this year but would like to try some of these other historic rides in Italy in 2014.

Of course, the closest thing to the l'Eroica weekend in North America would be Cirque du Cyclisme, which takes place in Virginia on May 17-19 this year and offers a number of group rides, although the emphasis is probably on the display bicycles and market.

Klassikerausfahrt 03.04. 2011

Getting ready to ride
Photo courtesy of Klassikerausfahrt.de

Today I had the pleasure of joining a great group of around 20 cyclists for the monthly retro-ride in the Düsseldorf area. After yesterday's truly glorious weather, the forecast for today was not nearly as good although temperatures would still be around 12C but there there was a good chance of rain. Leaving the apartment around 10:15, it looked to me like the rain was about to fall but it was still warm enough to wear shorts and short-sleeved jersey.

My weapon of choice was my c. 1987 Chesini, which, since I bought it in October, had only been ridden around 25 kms in total. During the winter, I was helped by my friend Richard to build a new front wheel but it had yet to be tested. Just before reaching Ricci-Sports, the start location of the ride, my rear wheel suddenly pulled forward (am I that strong?) when I accelerated, bringing me to a very rapid stop. The rear wheel is somewhat out of true but I fiddled with the rear brake to get me to the shop, where I could use a flat wrench to reposition it. Otherwise the bicycle seemed very good. I noticed that getting back into the toe clips and straps was taking more practice than I recalled I needed, however!

There were some interesting bikes positioned outside the shop, including a really nice red and white Bottechia owned by Klaus of Eisenherz, who sold me the Chesini, and a lovely golden Gazelle from the Netherlands, as well as some other unusual bikes. The Chesini received some nice comments. I was just hoping on a longer ride it would perform well.

We all trooped into the shop for coffee and chocolate croissants and then it was time at 11:00 to begin the ride. Everyone was very relaxed but we quickly got into formation and headed out towards the west. This took a while as there are a lot of stoplights in central Düsseldorf (and every time we stopped I had to fumble around a bit to get my foot back in when we started rolling) but eventually we crossed the Rhine and were out of town.

Enroute: oldies but goodies
Photo courtesy of Klassikerausfahrt.de

The ride was quite flat but very enjoyable. I took the opportunity to ride alongside a number of the other participants as the traffic was not too bad. We passed through farmland and near some industrial areas and occasionally saw other cyclists. Everyone was good about keeping a lookout for road hazards. Just over 2 hours later we returned to Ricci-Sports for coffee and cake, this being the fine German tradition, having covered just over 50 kms. As we all prepared to leave, the rain began, so the timing was perfect.

After I had adjusted the brakes, the Chesini performed beautifully and by the end of the ride I was having less trouble getting into the clips and straps. I really need to work on this for l'Eroica in October as the Peugeot I will be taking also has toe clips and straps. This is one area (clipless pedals) where there has been real progress over the years!

L t R: Chesini, Gazelle, Gitane

The Klassikerausfahrt retro-ride is scheduled for each month and the next ride will be on Sunday, May 1. Useful information about the rides is posted here.

Of course, after this enjoyable start to the day, I returned home in time to open a bottle of Alt-Bier, make some popcorn, turn on the television and watch the last part of one of the best Tour of Flanders I can recall.

A Beautiful Mercian: I have Bike Envy

Fully-equipped for continental touring

To mark its 60th Anniversary, Mercian Cycles of Derby, England, has produced a run of 60 special edition bicycles. One of them was recently featured on the Velo Orange blog. It is owned by Mr. Kyle Brooks, a teacher in Medina, Ohio, who has a nice stable of bikes already. You can see more photos of the build-up here and here.

Mercian continues to build all its bicycles by hand, and the 60th Anniversary version is a tribute to the firm's artistry in steel, with gorgeous lugs and beautiful welds. Mr. Brooks has built up the bike with Campagnolo parts, but has avoided anything with carbon it to retain a retro look, and a stylish one. The bike is built for touring and is so pretty that if I ever find a space I might think of getting a Mercian myself so that I can admire those wonderful lugs. But I think I would have to go to the shop in Derby to place the order personally.

Mercian has a page devoted to its own history, and you can also read more about the company at the comprehensive website Classic Lightweights UK. After going to Cirque du Cyclisme earlier this year I have fallen in love with steel frames again and ordering a Mercian gives you the benefit of a new frame with all the style of the old.