..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
campagnolo potenza: going for a ride
mrs washingmachinepost, who is mistress of the superstitious arts, has frequently reminded me that it is bad luck to wear a new pair of shoes for the first time if it's raining. and apparently the harbinger of poor fortune will also pay a visit if i dare to place said pair of shoes on the kitchen table in order to affix an appropriate set of cleats. as one devoid of a superstitious nature, i figure this is a bunch of hokum, but she who must be obeyed will have none of it.
i am fervently hoping that the same restriction does not apply to bicycle groupsets, for my first 'proper' ride on the colnago master, newly outfitted with campagnolo's latest potenza groupset was carried out in rain the likes of which i have rarely seen in recent times. to place this in perspective, on arriving back to the village of bowmore, there were white water rapids streaming from main street right across the junction with shore street and the drain at the cross roads half way to the round church had morphed into a fountain, sending four jets of water at least one foot into the air.
to be honest, that's hardly the best of conditions under which to assess the functionality of one of italy's finest sets of componentry. however, the plus side to such an inclement baptism (quite literally) revolved around the thought that if it survived that, all future ventures ought to be a walk in the park.
to be honest, i was less concerned about the efficacy of the groupset than of my skills at affixing everything to the bike in the first place. generally speaking, provided hydraulics and electronics are not involved, i'm generally a dab hand at this sort of thing, but even after having done so for more years than i care to recall, there's still that sneaking thought at the back of my mind that i may have missed something so obvious, that a mid-ride malfunction would be nothing less than embarrassing.
the potenza groupset is essentially fourth in line to the throne, preceded by the carbon inflected chorus, record and super record, to say nothing of the electronic versions of all three. oddly enough, though the potenza groupset is directly aimed at those who may usually opt for shimano's ultegra setup, campagnolo have said that there's no likelihood of an electronic version anytime soon. as an electronic agnostic, as far as i'm concerned, that's not much of a problem, but in these days of marketing parity, it does seem an odd choice.
however, suffice it to say, i do have serious misgivings over why anyone would opt to purchase any of the aforementioned superior groupsets. potenza to all intents and purposes is identical in looks to its big brothers, particularly in the anodised black version under review. the latest four-arm chainset, capable of accepting both standard and compact chainrings misses only the look of carbon fibre, though even the hollow crank arms are perhaps a tad heavier than burnt plastic and probably the same goes for the ergopower levers and eleven-speed rear mech, but functionally they seem identical. granted, carbon has the greater caché and undoubtedly lighter weight, but i figure the latter factor is one of little concern to most of us.
what was something of a revelation in these days of disc brakes was the stopping power offered by the alloy skeleton brakes. granted, i have the pads set mere millimetres from the rims, but before i had even left the safety of the car park at the foot of my road, i'd almost managed to tip myself over the handlebars. the colnago c40 owns a pair of elderly chorus calipers, dual-pivot up front and single-pivot at the rear. i've always found the braking power of those to be just the wrong side of adequate, but the potenza calipers which are dual-pivot front and back, offer handfuls of stopping power with all the modulation that an amateur roadie could need. there was no hint of any grabbing while slowing down.
i must put my hand up to failing miserably in the correct adjustment of the front gear mech. having plucked up the courage to shift into the big ring and appear to anyone able to see past windscreen wipers on maximum speed to be master of all i surveyed, the chain nonchalantly carried on over the big ring to settle on a rotating crank arm. i achieved this demonstration of ineptitude on two further occasions, remedying my potential embarrassment by shifting back to the inner ring while pedalling slowly and allowing the mech to place the chain just where it need to be at that point in time. doing so in torrential rain was accompanied by my sighs of relief; the thought of attempting to untangle a nice shiny chain while standing in six inches of deepening water was not high on my to-do list at the time.
stopping down the outer adjustment screw easily remedied this self-inflicted problem.
there have been a couple of trouble-free bike rides since that first skirmish in the rain, so presumably bad luck does not always follow the pattern prophesied by riding in new shoes in the wet.. i've had to adjust the cable tension on the rear mech, but that was hardly unexpected and it appears that i applied insufficent initial rotational force to the fixing bolt on the left lever. other than that, i have enjoyed every bit the same smooth luxury as campagnolo's factory sponsored teams.
if there's ever an opening in nairo's phalanx of domestiques, i do have a full movistar team kit in the cycling wardrobe...
to be continued.
monday 3 october 2016
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................lizard skins 2.5mm bar tape
i used to be able to impress my cycling colleagues by telling them that i'd once passed mark cavendish when participating in the annual braveheart ride several years ago. it's a perfectly true story, but what i failed to mention was that he was actually riding in the opposite direction at the time, information that would have seriously harmed my street cred. so i judiciously left that bit out.
at that point and until recently, co-participation in the braveheart ride was essentially the only thing that mr cavendish and i had in common. let's face it, though i might have occasionally proved victorious in the sunday morning sprint at bruichladdich, there's no way my winning speed could be compared to the manx missile. and though i pride myself on being one of the first to the top of port askaig brae, even cavendish's confessed lack of climbing ability is more than just a smidgeon better than my own.
the closest i've ever been to the tour de france was watching the opening stages of the ill-fated 1998 edition, many years prior to cav's first green jersey. but more recently, circumstances have brought the two of us closer together, not quite to the point where he's likely to invite me round to see his jersey and olympic medal collection, but a tenuous connection nonetheless.
it transpires that mark and i both ride with not only the same brand of bar tape, but according to recent images i have come across, the very same pattern. it's just a shame that it's a pattern of which i'm not overly fond. however, if i'm riding with my spirits still intact, my head will be up and the handlebars won't impinge upon my direct vision. the lizard skins black and white swirly pattern, which takes on similarity to camouflage when installed, might look rather fetching on the dimension data cervelos, but i fear it does no favours for a molteni coloured colnago master.
it transpires that this is what may accurately be termed a superficial disagreement, for in practice, the tape does everything it promises and then some. though cavendish, cummings and teklehaimanot depart a hotel breakfast each morning to be greeted by professionally fettled bicycles, bar tape expertly wound to the point of obsession, in this case (and probably yours too), yours truly was entirely responsible for its affixation. it's a task that offered its own set of difficulties.
till now i have experienced only cinelli style cork ribbon and the brooks leather variety, both of which allow the inept user to pull the tape tightly as it reaches from the bar ends, up past the levers and on towards the stem. so doing all but exorcises any irregularities in one's bar wrapping skills. lizard skins, on the other hand, expressly forbid any propensity to stretch whatsoever and that's where i quite literally came unstuck. at the close of the initial installation, along with the once mentioned campagnolo potenza groupset, aside from admittedly untidy finishing tape (i mistook the endpieces for those fitted beneath the levers and spoiled the whole effect), all seemed fair to middling.
but then i did the unthinkable and actually rode the bicycle, both to check the veracity of my groupset install and investigate just how grippy the lizard skins tape actually was. in the latter case, which involved more rain than was employed in the noah movie, i was very, very glad to have my ritchey handlebars thus wrapped. 'grippy' was a scarcely adequate description.
it transpires that my 'no stretching' adherence was considerably further from perfection than my publicity handout would attest, though i'm resting the bulk of my excuses on a loose left-hand lever. unfortunately, that was also installed by yours truly. thankfully, and unlike many cork-type bar tapes of which i have experience, re-wrapping a single side of lizard skin was almost childsplay, meaning that symmetry is now mine of which to boast.
the tape, however, is available in colours other than that used by my best friend mark and myself; in fact, it's also used by my other pals, nairo quintana and alejandro valverde, though unlike us brits, they've opted for a more sombre black regime. as if variation of colour were insufficient, there are three thicknesses available, making this the ideal bar covering if your velocipedinal proclivities extend to paris-roubaix or, perchance, cyclocross (1.8mm, 2.5mm and 3.2mm). price, depending on thickness, is between £23 and £25, while its recently and successfully explored waterproofing abilities make it ideal for anyone who rides a bike in the uk or portland, oregon.
in a word, superb.
sunday 2 october 2016
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................ride of the falling leave it alone
in the years when our kids were still of an age to attend school, our annual 'summer' holiday usually took place in the month of october. though the summer months would seemingly offer the traditionally ideal time for a family of four to spend sometime together away from home, mrs washingmachinepost and i were more usually gainfully occupied during those months. we therefore found it more suitable to holiday in the autumn.
our preferred location in which to spend a relaxing week initially sported access to eurosport on the telly, meaning that any cycle racing, including, at one time, the world championship road race, could be viewed in solitude while the rest of the family occupied themselves elsewhere. what's not to like?
however, the homeward journey, as do all those to and from the island, involved trains, buses, overnight stays and the final two-hour ferry trip to islay's most northerly port. most often these assorted trips brought us home on a saturday and i would fervently hope that on disembarking the ferry, there would be a bus, ready and waiting to get us back to bowmore in time to watch the last few kilometres of il lombardia, otherwise known as the 'ride of the falling leaves'.
sometimes luck was on my side, sometimes not.
however, for reasons to which i am not party, it was decided to mess with the annual schedule, moving the race from its traditional end of october slot and having it take place not only prior to the world championships, but before paris tours. according to my opinion, this would be the equivalent of holding the olympic games in early may. if lombardy has enjoyed the distinction of the falling leaves simile by occupying a slot at the end of october, whose bright idea was it to shift it lock, stock and barrel to a point where those leaves are merely preparing to depart the branches?
along with the inventors of powerpoint and facebook, they should have been taken outside and slapped.
and as if the earlier slot in the calendar were insufficient antagonism in itself, someone then had the bright idea of moving it from saturday to sunday. now i'd be fibbing if i didn't find that at least partially equitable. there is little more satisfying at this time of year to return from autumnal sunday morning exertions of a velocipedinal nature, scoff a satisfying lunch before settling down to watch some fine world tour racing. but it seems just a tad iniquitous on my part to moan about one move, yet smile sweetly at another.
however, it concerns me somewhat that an italian someone presaged my inevitable complaining by shifting the race back to a saturday for this year. if the giro d'italia takes place every month of may, le tour occupies the traditional three weeks in july and la vuelta spends several days in august each year, what in heaven's name gives someone the right to push one of the year's finest single-day races hither and thither?
having recently praised the uci for inaugurating their live youtube channel, allowing unfettered access to last weekend's jingle cross, i must now register my disappointment on our collective behalf at their needless meddling. yes, i'll have been glued to eurosport player on my macbook air most of this afternoon (october 1), but i'd be a lot happier if il lombardia moved back to its original end of october, saturday slot.
sometimes tradition ought best to be maintained, even in the face of so-called globalisation.
saturday 1 october 2016
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the intrepid velocipedinist
we are the arbiters of all that you survey and potentially everything that you'd like to survey. it is we who decide what it is you'll ride next, what you'll wear when you're doing so and where on this earth you will ride thus attired. for we are blessed with a level of perspicacity that scarcely impinges upon your daily existence, altruistic to the last in selflessly assisting the great unwashed through the jungle that is modern-day cycling.
oh, if only that were true.
in point of fact, the milieu of the blogger, at least in the case of yours truly, is akin to bravely hanging on by the fingertips. agreed, i may have access to certain items of apparel, componentry and the occasional bicycle, that allows me to impress my carefully considered opinion upon my reader, but basically, i'm exactly the same as everyone else, except i write an awful lot of words on a daily basis.
i have seen advertised, one, two and three day courses offering to provide insights into the blogosphere and how to gain access, usually accompanied by a somewhat inflated number of pounds, shillings and pence. i have even considered, in a moment of misguided fancy, that i could provide a similar service to the eager citizens of islay, but fortunately, mrs washingmachinepost has kept me totally grounded by sniggering at the very suggestion. and with my honours degree in hindsight, i know she's entirely right.
for though i agree today's post may well appear to be a wordy exercise in narcissism, in point of fact, that alone would be apportioning more credit than is entirely due.
yet there are those well-meaning souls in our midst who are keen to make use of reticence such as my own, not only to further my own sphere of influence, but hopefully to make use of my current hard-won ineptitude to alert my reader to their own very worthwhile cause. i cannot truthfully profess any great perception into the nature of blogging; basically i sit myself down of an evening for an hour or so to write appropriate words relating to a product review. and on more occasions than i'd care to admit, the slate is alarmingly clean at the point of opening the html paragraph code.
but it seems that my so doing brings with it occasional sparks of recognition. only a matter of weeks ago, i received notification that the post was regarded as one of the top ten cycling blogs in the uk. this is not the first time such has happened, but though i am grateful to have been noticed at all, i rarely examine the applied criteria of judgment too closely, just in case there has been an all too obvious administrative error. and more recently, i was approached by intrepid travel to offer a brief discourse on where in the world i would most like to ride my bicycle.
intrepid travel began life in 1989 with "two bearded backpackers, a typewriter and a kitchen table", but has now expanded to annually lead 100,000 travellers all across the globe. having admitted dabbling in cycle tours over the past 25 or so years, 2016 has seen the instigation of 17 intrepid cycle tours worldwide, a series of expert-led trips to destinations such as tanzania, andalucia, south africa, croatia and cuba. and as a means of launching this set of intrepid cycling adventures, they asked half a dozen of "the world's best cycling bloggers" (their words, not mine) and asked us where we would most like to ride.
i cannot deny that a lack of photographic illustration to accompany my own paragraph is entirely my fault. for when one is intrepidly leading the life of a world famous cycling media expert, one just never knows where the time has gone.
at least, that's my story and i'm sticking to it.
photos are from intrepid travel's tanzania trip.
friday 30 september 2016
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................brainier bike lights
i live but a mere five kilometres from the village of bridgend, a small community of individuals that barely deserves the appellation of hamlet (not the play or the cigars), never mind village . out of all proportion to their number, bridgend consists not only of an eleven bedroom hotel, but a small grocery store appended by a petrol station which itself is adjacent to a well-manicured bowling green. as if this were insufficient for such a small gathering of folks, just round the corner is the former substantially sized home of the lord of the manor, recently converted to a rather luxurious hotel.
in my early years of domicile, unaquainted with as many friends and colleagues as is currently the case, should i have wished to attend evening meetings or concerts, the only method of travel was on my trusty bicycle. and as is the legal requirement since time immemorial, it is necessary to havae a front and rear light attached to the bicycle's person. though this requirement, as pertains to urban or inner-city use, may be predominantly at the behest of an appropriate level of visibility, in my more rural setting, aside from the above, a front light is wholly necessary in order to find one's way along roads totally devoid of illumination.
though the invention of the light emitting diode has dramatically reduced the weight and size of a pair of bicycle lights, it has also allowed a concomitant reduction in the size of the batteries, as well as considerably lengthening the period over which they continue to work. in the early nineteen nineties, bicycle lights pretty much meant ever-ready for both lights and batteries. these were not a lot smaller than the searchlights used by the navy to send signals between ships.
in order that i might attend a concert by northumbrian piper, kathryn tickell, held in bridgend hotel, i purchased two of those comparatively large double-cylinder batteries for my enormous ever-ready lights, featuring a couple of metal strips atop their considerable mass. lights securely affixed to front and rear forks via the necessary metal brackets (no handlebar mounts in those days), i set off for bridgend, only to be severely disappointed, not to say dangerously exposed to passing traffic, by the front light dimming to the point of non-existence before even half distance.
needless to say, the return trip was fraught with concern.
not only have bicycle lights become considerably lighter, brighter and energy efficient in the intervening two and a half decades, there have been substantial strides made in tailoring the technology to the needs of the cyclist. not least by the folks responsible for the original brainy bike lights. these bucked the trend somewhat by dint of their increased size over many of the compact and bijou lights currently available, necessary to feature the bicycle icons that separated them from the competition while alerting passing traffic to the nature of the beast, so to speak.
i had the good fortune to review the original set of brainy bike lights, illumination which achieved just what it said on the tin. the lights were attached to the bicycle by means of a slotted rubber strap, adjustable depending on the size of rack, seatpost or handlebar to which they were affixed. mere days after i had completed and posted my favourable review, the strap on the rear light fell to pieces, shaken by less than billiard flat roads, allied to a light which may have been a tad heavier than the strap was designed to accommodate.
but now, rising like a phoenix from my disappointment is the triangular brainy bike light mark 2, on which i am assured that the fixing strap has been completely renewed. aside from which, the new version is considerably smaller than its predecessor, yet seemingly every bit as effective. cathy hollingworth of brainy bike lights told me "The original lights had faulty straps which we withdrew immediately! (The original Brainy Bike Lights now come equipped with straps that do what they are supposed to do.)
"The strap for the new light is very flexible yet robust and has no rigid mounting block. And the light itself weighs a mere 30g, so there is no heft to contend with. We developed the new lights because so many cyclists told us they liked lights which were usb rechargeable (the originals required replaceable batteries)."
according to the brainy people, the bicycle symbol that appears on both lights allows observers to process the information they convey (that there's a bicycle in front/behind) in around 100th of a second. assuming this to be the case, these rechargeable triangular lights make you stand out midst the often conflicting amount of bright, flashing information that surrounds the majority of commuters in the city. but, as is the case with many a bright idea (pardon the pun), it needs a certain amount of financial wherewithal to bring it to market; the brainy bike light is no exception, hence the attendant kickstarter campaign.
i need hardly fill in the blanks. the link is below.
brainy bike light kickstarter campaign
thursday 29 september 2016
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................higher, further, faster
i cannot truthfully recall whether i have made mention of this on a previous occasion, but if i havae done, it was so far back in the annals of time, that i doubt it will trouble too many folks if i emulate tv's e4 channel and repeat myself. though not an ambitious person per se, i would be fibbing if i did not admit to the odd ambition every now and again. certain of these have already been achieved, like meeting bill bruford, travelling to portland and riding in southern france. but the long-term ambition, as far as thewashingmachinepost is concerned, is to pen a review without actually reviewing the item under consideration.
though this would appear to be a superficially simple task, i have complicated this aim just a tad by maintaining that my reader ought totally to comprehend the wiles of my ways and gain an implicit understanding of that of which i write, as every review should, indeed, achieve. but this ought to be attained without actually mentioning the product other than in the endpiece alerting the reader to pricing, sizing and colour choice.
though this may appear from the outset as a self-imposed existential task, originated in those bland moments while the advertisements run midway through yet another repeat of the big bang theory, i cannot claim credit for its instigation.
way back when, in the days when the new musical express measured up to every millimetre of its masthead, the music journalist, charles shaar murray reviewed a record, the title of which is lost to the modern-day me. however, rather than debate the veracity of the song's lyrics, the production qualities of its three-and-a-half-minutes or even the ability of the group's lead guitarist, he related an unconnected anecdote about fitting a set of kitchen cupboards over the course of a weekend.
i interpreted this as veritable disdain for the endless groove on that circle of 45rpm vinyl and made no attempt to source the record for my own collection. but i did greatly admire his chutzpah in cococting this particularly eccentric style of review. since that day, i have yearned for the ability to do likewise, positive or negative regarding an item of velocipedinal interest. i feel i may have come close on one or two occasions, but as yet, the ambition remains wholly unrealised.
it is this overweening necessity to justify the nature of one's writing; why fit a specific groupset as an alternative to others, choose one route from even a minimal selection or even our reasons for riding our bikes. the latter can be justified on so many levels, depending on the argument levelled against doing so in the first place. i cannot disagree that the grass needs cut, or the fence needs painted, or the obvious fact that the weekly shop will not choose and deliver itself. even in the face of such demanding social oppression, i'd still rather go ride my bike.
and i probably will.
but others have more specific reasons for riding their bicycles, one of whom happens to be half of the brains and impetus behind the renowned this is cambridge, originally responsible for some very fine, hand-crafted, cotton cycle caps, but more recently having branched out into a particularly outstanding line of cycle clothing, soon to be augmented by a choice of baselayers.
daphne kaufhold and owen blandy both have specific reasons to ride their bicycles up the side of iconic mountains such as the galibier about which they have made a particularly excellent short movie. though both profess riding a bicycle, like most of us, offers relief and escapism from the daily humdrum, owen does so with a particular interest in improving his ability to race, while daphne, as a sufferer of chronic back pain, finds that cycling offers a means of managing that pain, as well as a means of recuperation.
whatever your own reasons, attached to an ambition or otherwise, the film, a link to which is posted below, will not only provide dramatic inspiration, but forms the basis for a competition on the this is cambridge website to win £150 worth of tic cycling kit. so now you have two reasons to watch the movie. and even if you don't win, you'll be very glad that you did.
this is cambridge: higher, further, faster
wednesday 28 september 2016
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................rapha helmet
on the whole, reviewing stuff is a rather excellent way to spend time on the bicycle. it does, however, bring with it an inability to switch off, meaning even bicycles, componentry and apparel that has been around for a while, is still subjected to velocipedinal scrutiny, even when the review was written weeks previously. i tend to look upon that state of affairs as a means of honing my limited abilities and hopefully leading to better and more pertinent features in these black and yellow pixels.
over the course of many years, i'm rather hoping that the necessity of discovering a set of upper and lower limits specific to that under review has improved not only my cognitive function, but that of my adeptness on the bicycle. for instance, in the quest to check the veracity of any manufacturer's claims regarding tyres, bringing into play those roads kept for special occasions has brought trials and tribulations of its very own. islay was once more dependent on agriculture than is currently the case, having fostered all manner of minor single-track roads conjoining farms that have been absorbed into the greater good.
a surprising number of those tributaries are trammeled only by heavy farm machinery nowadays, leading to severe degradation of the surface. ally this with a considerable depreciation in the island's roads budget, and many have not seen a lick of tar for many a long year. this may be of some concern to summer visitors less than adept at map reading, expecting to have found a shortcut to nowhere in particular. potholes and nice new cars are rarely comfortable bedfellows. but on the plus side, thundering over these parcours on tyres still sporting those little prickles that arrive with all new rubber, is an ideal means of giving them a rude awakening.
and once again, the island's endemic climate offers the ideal testing ground for that which purports to fend off the elements. for not only is it possible to experience rain that would have given noah cause for concern, but no nook and cranny is safe from an atlantic gale. i have no doubt that any provider of garmentage worth their sea salt has already scared their apparel within millimetres of its taped seams, but it never does any harm to offer a hebridean fright just to make sure.
and that, charlie brown, is how the reviewing thing works.
except, of course, when the conversation turns to helmets. though i'm more than amenable to finding the cornering limits of a cyclocross bicycle and yours truly, i'd be less than inclined to tip myself over the handlebars in order to report on the protective parameters contained within the warranty leaflet. for should the manufacturer have been fibbing ever so slightly, the ability to speak and/or write may well have been subject to substantial deterioration. so unlike most of the stuff that passes through washingmachinepost croft, a helmet has to bear comparison with that of an insurance policy; you live in hope that you'll never need it.
yet it turns out that though we've accepted those terms and conditions as every bit as valid as the paragraphs in the average home insurance policy, there may have been a minor glitch in the firmament. while hitting the ground head-first is never going to end particularly well, it appears that historically our helmets may have lulled us into something of a false sense of security.
getting marginally technical at this stage, it appears that the majority of real-world impacts impress both linear and rotational forces upon the human head. such a combination of forces is the most common cause of brain injuries as a result of falling off, or over, your bicycle. as you would expect, the helmet industry, once aware of the above, took steps to remedy the situation, resulting in what is acronymically known as mips, or, in our language multi-directional impact protection system.
simply put, a mips equipped helmet consists of three separate constituents: the outer polystyrene shell, an inner, low-friction liner and an elastomer interface between the two. in practice, this allows the inner liner to rotate independently of the outer shell, reducing the severity of the rotational forces incurred by a crashing head and reducing the likelihood of concomitant brain injury. but once again, short of throwing myself over the handlebars on a grassy descent, we'll have to take their scientifically tested word for it.
not every helmet on the market (yet) features this advanced form of head protection, but one of those that does is giro's well-respected synthe on which rapha's first foray into the helmet market is based. the collaboration between the two is nothing particularly new; rapha's current shoe range was also developed with giro's footwear department and their chief of design, alex valdman previously worked for giro's parent company.
though imperial works may have a very big handle on cycle garment design, as a far as i know, there are no boffins beavering away in a darkened corner, fashioning mips equipped helmets from sportwool and egyptian cotton. therefore, the rapha helmet is an exercise in minimal design couture applied to giro's expertise in the field of head protection. not surprisingly, the giro logo is (mostly) missing in action, replaced by the rapha script logo atop the outer shell, while two of the topmost vents have received textured, vented inserts.
other than that, all remains as it once was. the helmet features easily adjustable straps and the dial-in roc-loc system at the rear. the review model was classic shiny black, though without any sign of a contrasting pink, even on the straps. the weight is an almost invisible 254 grammes and the fit has already convinced me on one occasion that i'd left home without it.
yes, i did fall off once, but at a rather low velocity and onto thick, soft grass. i figure the only rotational forces on display were demonstrated by the front wheel and a left foot that failed to rotate free from its pedal. there is no shame to wish for unhindered sartorial co-ordination on the bike. we already have rapha jerseys, jackets, caps, gloves, socks, bibs and shoes; a helmet was the obvious gap in the imperial works firmament, one that has now been more than adequately plugged.
the rapha helmet is available in black, white or chartreuse in small, medium and large, at a cost of £230. there is also a light grey/white version available to rapha cycle club members.
tuesday 27 september 2016
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