Today's Bike Ride

[Mike T]

Haven't been to Gran Canaria, but 120 Euros a week for the base level road bike didn't excite me - it would be cheaper taking your own wouldn't it?

If your daughter is aiming at Sardinia, you could tell her that you've booked a holiday on an Italian island beginning with an 'S' and then take her to Sicilia; warmer, cheaper and you could ride this year's Giro d'Italia route up Etna!

Sardinia does have some absolutely gorgeous beaches - as does Corsica. I cannot comment on the cycling on either island. I was on a beach with my daughter in northern Sardinia about 20 years ago when some models and photographers set up camp right next to us - it was boiling hot and there was only one shade-providing tree nearby - they proceeded to model various swimming costumes - we called it Model Beach after that. Unforgettable.

[Graham Breeze]

Graham, you know why Costante Girardengo, Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Silvano Contini and Marco Pantani didn't ride tubeless - they hadn't been invented then! They all rode on tubular tyres however, the spiritual predecessor to tubeless, so is your Bianchi shod with tubs???

Correct. Tubeless are a recent fashion manifestation.

However I had one puncture in 2270 miles on my first tyres (with inner tubes) which I then changed to the graphene ones and have had no punctures in 2332 miles.

So why change what works?

[Gambatte]

Haven't been to Gran Canaria, but 120 Euros a week for the base level road bike didn't excite me - it would be cheaper taking your own wouldn't it?

If your daughter is aiming at Sardinia, you could tell her that you've booked a holiday on an Italian island beginning with an 'S' and then take her to Sicilia; warmer, cheaper and you could ride this year's Giro d'Italia route up Etna!

I was a big fun of taking my bike around 25yr ago. At the time it was a cheapo, was always travelling by train in a cheap soft bag. Always a big mess at midnight in the station mounting the wheels back on the bike. Even took it all over the world, UK, Japan, UK, when I moved for studying/work. Air transit damaged the frame.
No longer, thanks. Taking the present carbon one would mean at least sourcing a hard bag. Probably expensive and a big hassle. Plus, airfare surcharge. It would force a car rental and bike-carrier rack rental, extra cost. I see bicycle rental with 120eur cost the best option...

[Marco]

Correct. Tubeless are a recent fashion manifestation.

However I had one puncture in 2270 miles on my first tyres (with inner tubes) which I then changed to the graphene ones and have had no punctures in 2332 miles.

So why change what works?

As usual, I agree with you.

I'm not sure if there's a future in tubeless tyres, (at least on the road), or whether they'll go the same way as Shimano's AX dynadrive pedals (great but incompatible) or Modolo's Kronos brakes (great to look at but sod all use at stopping you).

I'm struggling to see how three incompatible tyre systems, (tubs, wired-on and tubeless), can co-exist together. The fact that the first two have been around over 100 years suggests that there must be considerable merit in them.

I Have ridden tubs, (Clément, but not the seta ones), nearly 40 years ago. The performance was great, but the high cost and puncture problems were not so great. When high performance clincher rims came in the early 80s and then Continental introduced the GP tyre at the start of the 90s it was wired tyres and inner tubes for me.

Your right, it's tried and tested so why change?

[mr brightside]

As usual, I agree with you.

I'm not sure if there's a future in tubeless tyres, (at least on the road), or whether they'll go the same way as Shimano's AX dynadrive pedals (great but incompatible) or Modolo's Kronos brakes (great to look at but sod all use at stopping you).

I'm struggling to see how three incompatible tyre systems, (tubs, wired-on and tubeless), can co-exist together. The fact that the first two have been around over 100 years suggests that there must be considerable merit in them.

I Have ridden tubs, (Clément, but not the seta ones), nearly 40 years ago. The performance was great, but the high cost and puncture problems were not so great. When high performance clincher rims came in the early 80s and then Continental introduced the GP tyre at the start of the 90s it was wired tyres and inner tubes for me.

Your right, it's tried and tested so why change?

Whatever happened to Tange tubing? What were those massive delta shaped rim brakes?

[mr brightside]

More to the point, why didn't i buy that Klein Quantum frame when i had the chance.

[Marco]

Whatever happened to Tange tubing? What were those massive delta shaped rim brakes?

I believe that Tange tubing is still being made; there's a frame builder called Soma in the US building with it.

I think you mean the Campagnolo C Record Delta brakes, which were an even more beautiful update of the beautiful Modolo Kronos. The problems were that they were heavy, expensive, very complicated internally, and just like the Kronos they weren't very good at stopping you.

[Marco]

More to the point, why didn't i buy that Klein Quantum frame when i had the chance.

Whatever you buy, you've still got to pedal it - and that's what makes it go faster or not. Just the same as fell shoes really, they don't power themselves either.

[Graham Breeze]

I believe that Tange tubing is still being made; there's a frame builder called Soma in the US building with it.

I think you mean the Campagnolo C Record Delta brakes, which were an even more beautiful update of the beautiful Modolo Kronos. The problems were that they were heavy, expensive, very complicated internally, and just like the Kronos they weren't very good at stopping you.

I have Campagnolo 75 Years of Cycling Passion by Paolo Facchinetti and Guido Rubino which is a coffee table book of great cost.

It is an adoring hymn to all things Campagnolo but even it says the Delta brake was:

- problematic

- brakes worked too abruptly

- pads overheated

- pads displayed unusual consumption

Nevertheless "although not highly valued by the public (because of their weight) ...outstanding example of technological and aesthetic research".

"Not highly valued" is a delightful example of damning with faint praise. An apart from the weight I also believe they were extremely expensive, incredibly complicated and difficult to adjust.

But they were very striking!

[Graham Breeze]

And having gone to my bookcase:

I have Frank Berto's The Dancing Chain - History & Development of the Derailleur Bicycle 5th Edition 2017 which is 400 pages of mindboggling detail of just about every derailleur ever marketed with pages and pages of the original brochure drawings.