Part 2 of the interview in Cycling with Eddy Merckx, following his 1969 Tour de France win.
With Vinokourov’s “A” sample testing positive for blood doping today, I should point out that Merckx was plagued with doping allegations in 1969, having withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia earlier in the year after strong accusations of drug use.
I’m one of the few bike bloggers that hasn’t posted anything about the TdF yet. Well, I’m been busy, and I’m not actually that interested in it. However, I do like historical TdFs, and so this is the first of a 3 part series of interviews with Eddy Merckx after he one the 1969 Tour.
Please don’t eat me, Mr. Cannibal
click for large
See the original from the 1986 Bianchi catalog on bulgier.net.
While I usually go from classically-styled bikes, there’s something elegant about the curves of this design that just strikes me. It seems fluid and alive. It’s like the bike is as muscular as the sprinters who ride it.
I don’t believe this was ever really a production model from Bianchi, but that it was mainly in the catalog for upscale value. (Though I imagine they would make one for you if you were willing to pay Whatever They Want.) The only thing I could find about the C-4 Project is from theC4 company’s website:
“The C4 frames made their debut in cycling competitions in May 1987, when the Bianchi racing team took part in the time lap of the Giro d’Italia (Cycling Tour of Italy) equipped with fork frames designed and produced by C4. These frames were a world preview for some characteristic components, such as the entire carbon monocoque construction without joints, the frame without saddle pipe, the adjustable seat pin all dimensions with three unique frame sizes, and the carbon monocoque front fork.”
If anyone has any other info about these bikes, please post in the comments.
The most recent Resonance FM Bikes Show mentioned a new company, Dashing Tweeds, who make Lumatwill, a traditionally-styled tweed wool fabric with embedded reflective thread (like Scotchlite). They have a brilliant design for a Cycle Suit, complete with Plus 5’s, or what we in the states would call knickers or manpris. (Reflective knickers in Britain might only come in handy for the World Naked Bike Ride :)
Unfortunately, the fabric appears from the website to only be available at a few custom tailors in London and used in their (expensive) bespoke suits. Hopefully these will be available at least as raw fabric in the US, since my wife is taking sewing classes and I’m sure she can’t wait to make me more cycling garb.
My old gloves were falling apart, but I hate to try and find new things like these. Buying something that I’m going to wear basically everyday for the next few years is nerve-wracking. I really wanted the Rapha Special edition gloves, made from African hair sheep leather with silk lining and pads from army sniper gloves, but the $170 price tag seemed a bit much.
After trying on quite a few pairs, I settled on the Pearl Izumi Pittards Carbon Leather gloves. They were $35 at River City Bicycles ($31.50 with my coupon!). Nice soft, but durable-feeling leather palm, “wiping surface” on the top of the thumb, CoolMax on the back of the palm, and articulated padding on palm. I’m only a few days into using them, but they feel great so far.
Just a few things that came up today, related to good design and appropriate solutions to problems.
Designs for the Other 90 Percent on NPR, mentioning The Big Boda Load-Carrying Bicycle, and Xtracycle-style cargo hauling bike used in Kenya and Uganda.
Curvy, Loungy and Fun: The Work of Charles Eames
Seersucker, Still Well-Suited for Summer
Added: Someone posted to the iBOB list an LA Times article on Craig Calfee’s bamboo bike. I first saw this bike about a year ago, but I’ve never seen anything on it that indicated it was more than a cool marketing ploy, until now. Apparently he’s looking towards promoting it in developing nations.
I just got a few more recent issues of Cycling, but the format is too wide for my scanner. So, just a few photos. The issue is September 7, 1985, and the article is on Dave LeGrys attempt to break the world cycling speed record. Included are a few photos of past record attempts and holders.
More on cycle speed records here and a complete list of holders here.
Dutch cyclist Fred Rompelberg is the current record holder at 167 mph.
As always, click the image for the full-size version.
Jose Meiffret’s enormous Specialities TA chainwheel (more). He set a record of 127.243 mi/h with this 130 tooth ring in 1962:
Meiffret behind a pace car, though not for his record bid, which was done behind a Mercedes-Benz:
Dr. Allan Abbott, after breaking the world record in 1973. 140.5 mph is fast on a bike.
LeGrys crossover drive:
Last night on the Pedalpalooza Pizza Ride, the cyclecommuters among us were thinking of having a “drive to work day” and putting big signs on the backs of our cars that said “If I was on my bike, you’d be home by now”. Brilliant.
A few photos from the Pedalpalooza Kickoff Parade last Friday. Click through to the Flickr set for more.
From Cycling, August 31, 1985:
“AFTER the long-established Cinelli M71, after the recently-introduced Look system, the market for racing pedals which dispense with toe-clips and straps is being chased by Adidas, who have produced System 3, a shoe-and-pedal combination launched during the Tour de France.”
It’s interesting that all of my own bikes are clip or flat pedaled, I recently sold my only pair of SPD pedals and clipless shoes, and my only pair of cycling shoes are some 2006 Adidas Vueltano road shoes that I had a normal rubber sole installed on so they would work with with clips (more on these later).
If you’re interested in comparing these early systems, Speedplay has an excellent museum of them.
