You Can't Keep a Good Bonty Down

Back in August 2020 I talked about my Bontrager Privateer S and My Road to Singlespeed
“Although I bought the “S” Sport level, I upgraded the hubs, shifters and cranks to XT, resulting in a XT gruppo with Avid brakes. The original shock was a Rock Shox T2; an elastomer version of a Judy XC, that is upgradeable with cartridge kit to the equivalent of the Judy. After attempting such an upgrade, I blew out the cartridges at a rate of 1 a month, so I replaced it with a Marzocchi Super Fly”.

The Bontrager with the Judy was a good race bike (with a crappy fork). The upgrade to the Marzocchi resulted in a bike to die for; in my mind the two are inseparable. As I mentioned in my previous blog, after riding the bike for about three years I converted it to a Singlespeed. After I had a custom Singlespeed made by Rocklobster, I reassembled the bike as original as I could; the primary missing components are the OEM shock (of course) and the OEM "Comp" seatpost I used when I built another bike and then sold it. I have since replaced it with a similar "Select" seatpost. You can imagine then my dismay when I sent the shock to Marzocchi and they told me a corroded stanchion made the shock un-rideable and new stanchions are no longer available. I immediately started going through the stages of grief. 1) Shock and Denial; well maybe it’s not as bad as they say. Yes, that’s it Marzocchi simply has super high standards on what they will rebuild due to liability issues. There was actually some validity to this, as the corrosion was a single pit on one stanchion. Unfortunately my wife picked up the fork and they put the fear of god in her that I should not try and re-build the shock as it surely would catastrophically fail. This of course led to pain and guilt. It was all my fault for not rinding the bike and keeping an eye on it. I just let it hang there in the garage for years as the corroded pit became deeper and deeper.

Next came anger and bargaining. I went back and forth between retiring the Bontrager and buying a new fork. Marzocchi had offered by $150 off a new fork, meaning for about $220 I could have a new middle level fork to replace the Superfly. Replace the Superfly? What am I saying? I can’t replace the Superfly, it’s what makes the bike “the" bike. One issue regarding the buying of a new shock is the travel limitation. One consideration in the geometry design of mountain bikes frames have a to do with the length of the fork. The first mountain bikes did not have suspension forks, so the frames were built around a fairly standard size fork; the first shocks were designed around this standard size. As forks developed more travel, bike frames were designed around them. My Bontrager Privateer was designed around a 63-80mm or 2.5-3 inches of travel, anymore could degrade the handling of the bike; also the fork needs to have brake bosses Most of the used shocks on ebay are around 4 inches or 100mm. However I did some bargaining in my head and picked up a Marzocchi EXR Pro for $40 (the price was actually $5, but the shipping from Canada was $35; shipping, the bain of ebay. The shock is a dreaded 100mm and I when it arrived the steerer looked very beat-up and I suspected it was bent. Indeed it was bent, the beat-up condition appeared to be the result of someone trying to straighten it.

Oh well, back to the bargaining board. I checked ebay again and saw a Marzocchi Z5 X-Fly. While it was quite a bit down the food chain from a Superfly, it was available in 80mm and according to the seller had been expertly rebuilt, so I bid a “buy it now” for $130 ($115 plus $15 shipping). After I bought the shock I suddenly has an epiphany, what if this guy can rebuild my Superfly. I sent the fellow, Mark an email and I jumped over 3) Depression right to 4) the upward turn; Mark said he had a stanchion and could rebuild my Superfly. Mark explained that he has a passion for Marzocchi forks, especially the older Bombers, and makes it his hobby buying up forks, rebuilding and selling them. He also agreed to cancel my purchase and put the X-fly back on ebay. So much for grieving!

I sent the fork off to Mark and about a week and a half later it came back. Now, granted the exterior of the shock was still in good shape, but Mark did a remarkable job; he didn’t just rebuild it, he re-manufactured it. Here is the work order;
it came back at least as good as new. I took the bike out for a ride, the first time I have ridden the bike in over 5 years and it was a pleasure. I had forgotten what a ride to die for the bike is with the Superfly fork. Unlike other forks I’ve rode with, you can’t really feel the Superfly working, it just does. It eats up small bumps and washboard like it isn’t there and takes a good part of the edge off bigger bumps. While the bike will remain an 8 speed, it will be ridden and hopefully passed on to my 12 year old son. Regardless I am really happy that the shock and bike are working together again; really stoked!

Campagnolo Components Part 2

Of all things I found the Cannondale specs (1987) on the parts I switched out from the Cannondale (SR900) to my Specialized Allez. When I really started to pay attention to the parts, I was under the impression that someone had spec’d the bike as some dream build; turns out it was true, but the someone was Cannondale. Here is what the spec sheet said on the parts I transferred that were the same;

Hubs......................Campagnolo Nuovo Record

Crankset...............Campagnolo Super Record, 42/52
Pedals...................Campagnolo SL, toe clips and straps
Brakes..................Campagnolo Nuovo Record, recessed allen bolt
Headset................Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Front Derailleur..Campagnolo Nuovo Record (Since the Allez did not have a braze-on front
derailleur mount, I replaced it with a Chorus clamp-on).
Parts that were different;

Freewheel............instead of a Suntour New Winner freewheel, there was a Regina Winner.
Handlebar............instead of a TTT Tour de France, there was a Cinelli Giro d’Italia
Stem.....................instead of a TTT, there was Cinelli 1A
Derailleurs...........instead of a rear Campagnolo Nuovo Record, there was an Athena that
replaced with a Chorus.
Shifters................instead of Campagnolo Nuovo Record, there were C-Record Syncro II

The inclusion of the C-Record Syncro II shifters and Syncro compatible Athena rear derailleur has me believe that the Cannondale swapped out the parts from was upgraded to Syncro after it was purchased. The bike and other components are 1987, but the Syncro II did not come out until 1989.

This may not seem interesting to many, but it is way cool to me.

Things That Go Bump and Ouch!

Well here I am, back from the dead. Well not really dead, just flat on my back and breathing slowly. It’s been 5 ½ weeks since the accident and I started riding at week three; all my rides so far have been to Sand Point at Nisene Marks). The first ride was okay going up and torture coming down. The second ride (week 4) was better, the third ride (week 4 ½ ) was way too cold; the temp was near 40 deg with a 15 mpg wind chill coming down. The next ride (5 weeks) was much better (I dressed better and it was a little warmer). Tomorrow will be 5 ½ weeks on Monday, with a planned 6 week ride on Wednesday; yes retirement is rough. But there will some added protection in the future.

This crash was a complete surprise to me. I was riding a trail I know very well and have done 20-30 times. This is however was my second helmet breaking crash in 3 months, which started around the time I switched handlebars, so I know part of the problem is I have not taken into account my new bars that do not have me naturally seated as far back as the old bars, leaving me weighting the front too much. But regardless, I have decided that broken ribs and hospital stays really suck ( even with health insurance is also too expensive), so at the risk of looking like some free rider, I’ve picked up some body armor.

This is the Troy Lee Design bp 5850-HW, protective shirt. As you can see, it has padding in all the right places. It is actually used as base protection as you can see, here . I also have to agree with the tester that “This shirt provides amazing coverage, breathes great, and is so comfortable, you totally forget you are wearing it.” I have also purchased some elbow/forearm protectors (different from those on the testers web site). Rather than padded they are more protective. While you can’t see my forearms in the photos, both have taken the brunt of my last couple of falls.


These are on back order so I'll have to wait until I tackle the Vienna Trail, but as soon as they come in its a must do and a confidence re-builder. I am thinking one of the reasons I was injured so badly was rather than bail early, I stayed on the bike too long. Hopefully with this padding I will not be so reluctant to ditch the bike and hit the dirt.

For Every Season There is a Time

I crashed my bike. These are the times that are best described as the quick or the dead; or better still the good or the dead. As the trails in and around Santa Cruz get ground down and washed out, what were once vices are now habits, or at least what were once non-threatening have become technical. Do I sound stoned? It must be the Percocet. There are several short, fun technical trails in Santa Cruz that can lead to your demise; the Delaveaga Top of the World Trail; the Vienna Woods Trail at Nisene Marks; and The Enchanted Loop at Wilder to name a few. Ride these trails in the fall at your own risk, as little trail maintenance has been done since the rains ended and you might need a rubber head and a spring like tail.



The fall was spectacular. I was riding down the Vienna Woods Trail, which is your standard Santa Cruz singletrack, transversing the side of gorge with two friends from my church. In one spot there is a tree growing on the cliff side of the trail that has 12" of root across the trail and the back side drops off about 2 feet. As I rode over and down the root, I lost my balance and rode off the trail straight down into gorge. By the time I realized I needed to jump off the bike I had picked up way too much speed, so reached out with my left arm and grabbed a tree. I really don't completely remember what happened next, but I ended up with a circular mark on my chest, which obviously came from the end of my handlebar. I believe what happened was when I let go of my handlebar to grab the tree trunk, my front wheel turned sharply to the left, causing me to catapult over the handlebar, my chest catching the left handlebar end in the process. I flew through the air about 8-10 feet, and landed on the backside of my right shoulder and the right side of my head. The end result was 5 broken ribs and a punctured lung. I later examined my Giro Athlon helmet and found there are at least 4 major cracks; 3 on the right side just above where my ear would be and another in the front just above where my left eye would be. The helmet was 3 months old; damn!

Fortunately I was not riding alone and my geared friends helped me hike out, by pushing my bike; most embarrassing. I managed to drive to the ER, assuring my friends I was fine, thinking all I had was a few broken ribs, but an x-ray showed my right lung was partially collapsed, so they stuck a tube in my chest, which was almost as bad as the ribs. Fortunately it only took about 24 hours and most my lung had re-inflated and they took out the d@mn tube so I could go home. The final part of this indignity is the worse poison oak I have ever had, but this has also introduced me to Zanfel; it's expensive and you have to really rub it in, but the stuff really works at all stages of poison oak even after the blistering stage. Fortunately I also have the most understanding wife in the world who is nursing me back to health and only insists I let the ribs reattach themselves before I start riding again; three weeks.

After two nights in the hospital I am home dealing with pain management, so I am a bit looped. Still I seem to be doing much better at this stage then my last major, rib breaking crash of 2007. This was a road crash that were, as I eluded to earlier, I landed in a similar manner and broke five ribs on my right side; but I digress. I am a very lucky person, something I take advantage of it as much as possible, as it's what god wants us to do.

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Whacky Hungarian ebay Descriptions

I recently bought a Campy Chorus derailleur on ebay. Apparently some guy, who refers to himself as norbike2009 has access to a butt load of Campy parts. What sets him apart is he operates out of Budapest. After purchasing the derailleur ebay showed me some of his other parts for sale and opened a treasure trove of English as a second language descriptors . In some cases I have no idea what he is trying to say.


Campagnolo Super Record cranksets (PART!!)

MADE IN ITALY

170 STRADA (7)
53 - 42
9/16" x 20

USED (State: was useful strongly, worn, scratched. The left side pedal crank taking the procession of a screw wrong)




Speciality from Campagnolo factory.

In original packaging 30 pieces of component not cultivated yet. (mat)

MADE IN ITALY


Campagnolo Titanium Record 8 Speed Rear Derailleur Part!!!!

USED (The ingot cracked, one of the cogwheels it is necessary to exchange a trundle for smaller one because the one with a suitable size is not in him.)


Misc Italian Frames
#1(On the frame on more place paint flaking, mainly on the lower pipe. Injury, dent, correction, I did not find it)

#2( On the frame on more place the paint is crackling.. There are not a correction, a dent, injury on him)



Campagnolo SYNCRO 2 NOS shifters, friction mode

NEW (The cogwheel, and the bowdenek they are missing. The box is visible on the pictures in a state)

MADE IN ITALY

FixGear Silliness

I do miss Bike Snob NYC when he used to cruise FixGear Gallery or Craig’s list and find some of those bikes that don't just rise to the top of the milk. So occasionally I entertain myself by writing one. The bicycle of this post was on FixGear Gallery; Sampson and his unknown brand fixie.

“ unknown road frame: paint stripped, with a touch of surface rust and sealed with a 'look through' paint. other parts found cheap on taobao handlebars: c-unit plus cheap hacksaw Built by Karl Ke (housed by Austin)”

rides like a dream, thanks









It amazing how much nonsensical information can be put into such few words, but first lets look at the bike. It’s tig wielded steel frame that has been almost stripped to bare metal. I say Almost, because for some aesthetic reason, or maybe the lack of a wire brush, the person who stripped the frame decided to leave a good quantity of the old white paint on the fork crown, bottom bracket and fork dropouts. This might not have been a big deal, except the “builder” decided to clear coat the frame, or “look through paint.” I’m not sure if there is a difference between clear coating and “look through paint,” but apparently it has something to do with a “touch of surface rust”. The next thing you notice is the artistic use of contrast by mounting a white painted front wheel, on a frame with "look through paint". Very nice.

Next we have the handlebars described as: "c-unit plus cheap hacksaw." One is left with a conundrum here; was there some aesthetic purpose to using a cheap hacksaw, or his he trying to mitigate a poor hack job, aka flop and chop minus the flop. I mean looking at the handlebars, how much could he have chopped anyway? 2 inches? There is also the issue with the length of the crank arms being used with this build. Traditionally one uses short crank arms to stop one from striking the ground with your pedals, but not this builder. Not only would these cranks necessitate the riding in one direction at a time without ever turning, it also can be used as a kickstand when the need arises. The owner says the bike “rides like a dream”, but he really doesn’t say what kind of dream. I would guess he dreams of walking besides his fixie trying to stop the pedals from putting divots in the asphalt. Finally one has to wonder about all the people involved with this bike. This bike is owned by Sampson, built by Karl Ke and housed by Austin. Wow! It took all these people to make a bike that looks and works like this does. I does make one wonder.

Identifying My Campagnolo Components

As I explained in an earlier post 3Rensho Specialized Allez, about ten years ago I bought an older Cannondale bike on ebay for about $500. The bike was originally a gift for my brother, but the old style Campy components (why the bike got my attention) proved too much for him. The bike hung around in his garage for a number of years, until I came across the beautiful Specialized frame at my LBS. I didn't have any components for the frame, so I traded the Cannondale back for another bike and swapped the parts. The only parts I needed to buy was a front derailleur, seatpost and brake levers. I ride the bike around from time to time, but have never sat back and really identified what parts are on the bike. Vintage Campagnolo is renown for not labeling their components with identifying markings other than "Campagnolo." There is really no way to know what vintage parts you have without doing some detective work. Most of the info I got was from Velobase.com and Campyonly.com. What I discovered was the Cannondale was obviously someone's project bike and they just draped it with some of the best parts they could find.

The first photo is the Crankset which I have identified as Super Record. There is also an "11" on the crank arm which I have read means it was manufactured in 1985.


Next are the hubs, which are Nuovo Record

The brakes are Nuovo Record

I can't photograph the bottom bracket but I'm fairly sure it looks like this; Nuovo Record

The headset is also Nuovo Record

The shifters are C-Record Syncro II (7 speed)

The original rear derailleur I later identified as Athena. One person who saw the bike said they believed it didn't fit with the rest of the parts; further my mechanic told me the derailleur seemed a little tweaked and might have been in an accident, even though it seemed to shift fine to me (as well as Syncros shift). Based on all this I bought a Chorus of the same vintage to work with the Syncro II shifters. I later discovered the Athena derailleur was indeed the right period derailleur for the shifters.

Here is the upgraded Chorus derailleur

This is the original Athena derailleur

The pedals are Record Supperleggeri; I added the toe clips and straps.

As I mentioned before, I bought three components. The first was a Victory front derailleur, which is probably the lowest part of the Campy food chain on this bike. I upgraded that derailleur to the Chorus you see below.

Here is the original Victory front derailleur

The next was a budget buster but worth it; the seatpost is a NOS Nuovo Super Record

And finally the brake levers, which are famous Super Record made out of drillelium.
So there it is, a fun lesson in Campagnolo components. I may be wrong about a part or two but I doubt it.