..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
off the back
when i was involved in reviewing cycling apparel, bicycles, components and the like, i did so on a saturday, while cycling alone. this gave me the opportunity to stop whenever i felt the need to take photographs, i could choose a suitable parcours that might suit the demands of whatever i was attempting to review, and i'd no need to apologise to any riding compatriots for riding slowly, or constantly stopping along the way. those days are, effectively, behind me. it would seem a tad incongruous to blame covid for this state of affairs, but there's no doubt that things have changed in recent years, predominantly, i would say at the behest of social media.
my sole strength, such as it is, is being able to write, but i'm none too good at podcasts, videos or any of the other means of broadcasting that have become far more popular of late. the majority of bicycle and component manufacturers, understandably, seem far more keen on video reviews, though i feel that clothing reviews haven't transferred so well, perhaps explaining why there is an apparent dearth of those on youtube or other social media formats. when it comes to book reviews, i do believe i'm the only one who actually reviews books these days, as opposed to the majority of the print media, which seems content simply to highlight the existence of newly published books.
i therefore concentrate on my purported strengths.
however, my saturday rides continue to be undertaken solo, and predominantly aboard my specialized cyclocross bike. i continually promise myself that i'm going to spend the pre-debbie's part of the ride in bridgend woods, attempting to restore the ability to mount and dismount in 'cross style, which i could almost accomplish with aplomb a few years ago, but which has now atrophied through lack of use. so far, however, that has remained a vague promise that has yet to be fulfilled. i should point out that, as someone never likely to participate in a cyclocross race, such skills are truly of little use, but a bit like my need to play displaced flammed paradiddles on the drumset, i feel a need for the accomplishment.
but the real reason for a saturday solo cycle, is the fact that i don't need to keep up with anyone. and that's a fact that allows me to ride the 'cross bike, which, by its very nature, is a smidgeon slower (but more comfortable) than my ritchey logic. it is, for the majority of us, one of the inevitabilities of velocipedinal life; becoming slower.
in my regular perusal of youtube, predominantly looking for percussion videos that might improve my abilities in that department, as well as watching one or two jazz concerts, i have come across well-meaning videos concerning themselves with the ageing process and how they might address our declining speed in the saddle. the majority lean heavily on the likelihood that we will be distraught at the possibility of being left behind by the sunday peloton and what methods might be employed to forestall this slowing of our average and peak velocities. but not everyone harbours such aspiration.
take the mighty dave-t, for instance, a man now into his eighties and quite content to go out on his bike and ride the day's parcours at whatever speed takes his fancy. do not, however, make the mistake that he is simply an old codger riding an elderly focus road bike. though i'm hardly the poster boy for untrammeled speed, when attempting to catch-up with him a few weeks ago, it was far more of an uphill task than you or i would like to think. the notion of speed ultimately becomes a means to an end, where once it was an end in itself.
i cannot deny that, as the years roll by, i have noted a distinct propensity to get left behind at certain points of the sunday morning cycle route. i'm mostly ok on the outward loop, but by the time we're heading towards uiskentuie, well, those advancing years come home to roost. it's gratifying that those considerably younger than yours truly are still inclined to every now and again, stop and allow me to catch up, but i would figure at some point in the foreseeable future, that's going to become an irritation (if it isn't already). currently, i'm inclined to put in as much effort as i can muster to remain as close to the peloton up ahead as i can. i'm refusing to resign myself to the inevitable.
i know i'm not alone in this. there must be cyclists all across the nation who find themselves in a similar situation. for those who still possess the competitive urge, i can probably point you in the direction of one or two youtube videos that might allow you to hang on as long as possible, and i'm sure there are many with the genes to make that happen. but for those, like me, who are already at the cutting edge of what's personally attainable, maybe dropping a kph or two might not be such a bad thing. granted, it's not much fun being left behind if you've been straining every sinew to stay in contact, but maybe just accepting the described state of affairs will lead to greater enjoyment than slumping, breathless, over the bars at the coffee stop.
currently i have pinned my hopes on a slowing of my fellow pelotoneers as they experience a birthday or two; perhaps i've already reached peak lag, and as i slow, so will they at a similar rate. that would mean there will be sufficient incentive to persevere, without placing myself in serious oxygen debt. but if all else fails, we do have some admirable scenery over here, and i fervently hope that you do also, if you decide to follow my lead, so to speak.
if so, you'll be the only ones following me.
monday 19 august 2024
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................do the strand
while i have no real desire to come across as one who might do well in a 70s pop quiz, the heading above brought to mind the roxy music song of the same name, which started off their second album (for your pleasure), released in july 1973. written by singer, bryan ferry, he is on record as saying he was inspired by the works of cole porter, the style of which he had attempted to emulate within this particular song. though released as a single in a number of countries, it remained an album track in the uk until 1978, when it was released to promote roxy music's greatest hits album. it failed to chart.
however, the strand to which my title refers is that of uiskentuie, an anglicisation of the gaelic, which originally defined 'water of the resting place'. come the winter gales, i have to admit it's not the place in which i would choose to rest. the farmhouse at the top of the strand (the end closest to bridgend) was once the stopping point for funeral carts en-route to the cemetery at kilchoman, but it's the farming procedures that are, indirectly and eventually, the subject of this particular monologue.
the strand predominantly consists of grass growing atop sand dunes, populated by substantial quantities of machair (sturdy grass which tends to grow on sand dunes) it's a four kilometre stretch that has proved particularly pragmatic in the winter months when riding my cyclocross bike. wide open to any south-westerly gales blowing in from the north atlantic and up the length of loch indaal, should i opt to ride on the road, there's a real danger that strong gusts would blow me into the path of passing traffic. however, the 'cross bike allows me to pedal the most open section with relative impunity. if i'm blown over (which has happened on a couple of occasions), i'm pretty much guaranteed a soft landing.
by the time the southernmost point has been reached opposite foreland road end, there is some shelter available from the topography, coupled with the fact that i am then slogging into a direct headwind, which obviously counts as the character building part of the equation.
the first couple of kilometres, when heading towards debbie's in bruichladdich, is generally the hardest to traverse given frequent gravel deposits at the start, combined with grassy tussocks attempting to throw the front wheel to one side or the other. concentration is required. but matters used to be a tad simpler until a change in farming practice that began last year.
on the right-hand side of the road from the farmhouse to foreland is grazing for both cattle and sheep. several years ago, following a tragic accident involving cows crossing the road after dark, that grazing ground was fenced off. the nature of the fencing prevented cattle from straying from their field, but still allowed sheep to graze on either side of the road. the presence of these woolly beasts on the dunes produced narrow tracks leading top to bottom, tracks that were used on a daily basis, easing passage for the sheep flocks, but also for cyclocross riders attempting to impersonate wout van aert.
thus, as long as my concentration kept me within the confines of those narrow sheep tracks, i could look down with insouciance upon those grassy tussocks which could no longer force my front wheel hither and thither. of course, along with sheep comes quantities of sheep poo, a great deal of which was always to be found inhabiting my challenge grifos, even following dislodging attempts in winter puddles on my way home. but attempting to navigate these tracks, barely wider than a 33mm 'cross tyre, did wonders for one's bike-handling skills; hit the side of the rut, and it would cheerfully attempt to throw me off my bike.
last year, however, it appears that a decision was made to keep the sheep away from grazing on the strand. the fencing on the opposite side was revamped to prevent sheep from leaving between the lengths of wire, and subsequently the grass on the strand has been allowed to grow unfettered, though it was once common practice to cut the grass on an annual basis. i'm hoping one day soon to meet up with the farmer who previously grazed his sheep there, to enquire whether this is a permanent change or whether it has been put in place for this year only.
with the sheep now absent, those narrow tracks, once highly visible midst the machair are now all but overgrown, entailing a need to pay even more attention to the ground beneath my wheels, since the odd little dips and bumps are now far better concealed. so far, i have encountered no navigational mishaps (though still guaranteed a soft landing if i do), but it does bring to mind, once again, newton's third law, positing that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. i wonder of islay estates, owners of the ground, realise just how much they have intervened in my saturday bike ride?
but perhaps more to the point, do they actually care?
sunday 18 august 2024
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................gone
i've broached some of this before, so for those who feel they're experiencing an attack of deja vu, please bear with me.
in the 1990s, i was a subscriber to america's bicycling magazine, a publication, in common with many, which was in the habit of pursuing seasonality, by which i mean, featuring effectively the same articles at the same time of year on an annual basis. how to ride in the winter, lights for the dark mornings and nights of autumn and riding your first century. the latter was the subject that caught my attention, initially because few on this side of the pond would refer to riding 100 miles as a century. but having never ridden 100 miles at one sitting, that was the article on which i settled.
thus, at an arbitrary point one summer, i arose in the morning and opted to undertake my first (woefully unprepared) century ride, on a mountain bike, with a packet of raisins and a fiver in my back pocket. the biggest problem with this particular strategy was discovering, when attempting to buy some sustenannce en-route, that the 'fiver' was in fact a co-op till receipt. on my return to the croft, mrs washingmachinepost had to assist me up the steps at the back door.
however, it transpired that this disaster of a bike ride (even though i did actually complete the 100 mile distance) was the foundation for what is now revered as the ride of the falling rain. it was, by some distance, the longest unbroken bike ride i'd ever undertaken. though riding to ayrshire from islay via arran logistically took more time, the distance was considerably less than half a century, and involved a lot of time sitting on calmac's ferries. that situation effectively persisted for the first two decades of my hebridean existence.
that was, until i witnessed a brief documentary on eurosport which follwed the riders undertaking the 2006 london to paris ride, during which i recognised the inimitable graeme freestone king, a gent i had met through campagnolo at one or two cycle shows. as one of the mechanics on the ride, he featured frequently in the back of a white van, performing repairs on behalf of those heading towards paris. inspired, i contacted graeme to ask if there was any way i could enter for the following year, ultimately leading to my participation in the 2007 event.
in that year, we departed from a golf club, somewhere near london and cycled to plymouth from where we sailed on an overnight ferry to st malo in france, periodically in the company of sean kelly. from there we rode north, ending, that particular year, at the palace of versailles. the route altered the following year, 2008, riding to dover, across the channel to calais, and south to paris, where i had the good fortune and pleasure to ride up the champs élysées alongside eurosport commentator and twice british road-race champion brian smith and anthony mccrossan, who were colleagues at cyclingtv at the time.
nine years after that first velocipedinal foray into foreign parts, owner of hotchillee, organiser of the annual ride, who had become a firm friend following those two initial outings, asked if i fancied repeating the exploit for my ten year anniversary, by participating in the 2017 event? needless to say, i took him up on his offer. that was the first year of a july running of the event, arriving in paris on the afternoon before the tour de france. despite that fact, we were still able to ride the champs élysées and curcumambulate the arc de triomphe on our way to the eiffel tower and the finish line.
you can wax lyrical all you like about the various achievements within the world of cycling, but i still maintain that gaining approval to do so in the the centre of paris on a saturday afternoon in july, on the eve of the tour's arrival, has yet to be equalled.
i have participated in other foreign rides during that past ten or fifteen years, but had i not undertaken to ride from london to paris, i'm not sure any of those would have occurred, or more to the point, i'm not sure it would have occurred to me to join in, being something of a home-boy.
you might recall my recent feature involving my islay friend, david brodie, who rode this year's event and raised over £10,000 for scotland's charity air ambulance, following which, i spoke to sven about the 2024 event being the final ride, and during which he highlighted the effects of brexit and covid on the escalating costs and logistics involved in organising each subsequent year's event, but indicated that september's london-paris gravel ride would still go ahead.
now it's all gone.
sven announced in an unexpected e-mail received on thursday evening "Despite our best efforts, the combination of internal matters, ongoing financial challenges following COVID-19 and the Brexit referendum, without sufficient capital injection to continue trading, as the director, I have sought advice in dealing with the company's affairs."
in other words - liquidation.
"We greatly value and appreciate our community, and we sincerely apologise for the abrupt nature of this announcement and the inconvenience it may cause. This is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone and your understanding and patience during this time are greatly appreciated."
though i am of the considered opinion that advancing years and a reluctance to travel too far have effectively nullified any likelihood of my undertaking any similar events in the foreseeable future, it's a great shame that the next generation will now not have the opportunity to realise the utter fabulousness that was the hot chillee londres-paris bike ride.
velocipedinal life will never be the same again.
saturday 17 august 2024
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................how long has this been going on?
the above heading is, not entirely coincidentally, the title of the 1974 debut single by uk band ace, a release which rose to number three in the american and canadian charts, but languished somewhat lower at number 20 in the uk charts. it has been named as one of his top ten records of all time by genesis drummer and singer, phil collins. written by paul carrack, the song enjoyed something of a reprise in 2020 following its use on an amazon prime tv advertisement, reaching number one in the billboard chart.
unsurprisingly, given its existence as a pop song, the title and hook of the song was originally interpreted by fans as an example of romantic infidelity, when in fact the lyrics were written by singer, paul carrack on discovering that the band's bass player, terry comer, had been moonlighting with the sutherland brothers and quiver (whose notable hit, 'sailing' was subsequently covered by rod stewart). however, in the present case, i'm inclined to apply the question to the start, this weekend, of the season's third grand tour, the vuelta espana.
i have made no great secret of the fact that, for me and many others, the majority of the cycle season, with the possible exception of the spring classics, simply gets in the way of each successive cyclocross season. races in the latter, apart from being eyeballs out from start to finish, are of a comfortably consumable nature, lasting as they do (for the mens' events at least) a mere sixty minutes. thus, when sitting down of a saturday or sunday afternoon, big bobble hat and cowbell at the ready, i well know when the event will end, allowing me to undertake any other chores or necessities of daily life.
the same can rarely be said of a grand tour stage.
yes, i'm aware that each of the above possesses three different schedule approximations, allowing race officials to plan ahead, based on fastest, slowest and median speeds. however, it's not only the length and unpredictability of individual stages (and this is every bit as applicable to le tour and il giro), but the three week length of each of these races. in short, are they too long? are we simply suffering through too much of a good thing?
i will admit that i enjoyed both the tour de france and the tour of italy, though one of my sunday morning colleagues was wont to point out that this year's giro was only two days in length followed by a nineteen-day lap of honour for tadej. the tour was, to be honest, somewhat similar. pogacar's absence from la vuelta ought to provide a hopefully different complexion to proceedings. but nonetheless, that complexion will still last a total of three weeks. would not all three of those events be every bit as fascinating and enjoyable were they to last one week (or two weeks) less?
there are, of course, the hardliners, the traditionalists, the luddites, my affiliation with which effectively puts me in direct contradiction with myself; those who consider it heretical to mess with the tours. but leaving that aside forever, are there any cycling aficionados amongst us who reach the jersey presentations on day 21, fervently wishing that any of the three tours continue for one or two more weeks? though i do enjoy watching every twist and every turn across the three week period, life has a habit of interspersing alternative demands and eventualities over such a period of time. multiply that by three, and that's a substantial chunk of time that we'll likely never see again.
so would it really be such a travesty to shorten all three by the same amount (no favouritism round these here parts), meaning, perhaps, occupation of just 'one week in july'? so doing might provide beneficial side effects, where the top three find it less necessary to conserve energy and thus attack each other on the penultimate climb, rather than the last few metres of the final summit. perhaps the entire peloton would be inclined to have a go at the intermediate sprints, while the carbon footprint of the following cavalcade could be reduced by up to two-thirds.
so who do i talk to?
friday 16 august 2024
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................it's a conspiracy
as part of my daily grind in a newspaper office, it's my remit to follow up on any and every specious rumour that arises in a community well-known for its rumour mill. around twenty years ago, a predecessor and i opted to test out the theory that rumours, no matter how fantastical, can spread like wildfire arising from the smallest of sparks. to comprehend the nuances of our cunning plan, it's necessary to point out that the island benefits from a sole supermarket chain, which has premises in both port ellen and bowmore. this monopoly of islay's food shopping not unnaturally, leads to frequent (and sometimes justifiable) complaints over lack of product availability, particularly when there's no viable local competition.
at the turn of the century, the primary school in one of the island's smaller and more remote villages was closed for good due to a notable lack of pupils, and the building put up for sale. in order to test the veracity of the local rumour mill, the newspaper's then editor made mention, in a resoundingly loud voice when the adjacent reception office was busy, that a rival supermarket brand had apparently purchased the redundant school in which it intended to install a new foodstore. bear in mind that the population of said village is but a few hundred souls, that there are entire streets consisting solely of holiday homes, and that it is separated from the rest of the island on both sides by seven miles of rapidly depreciating single-track road.
if you were planning on setting up in competition to the existing retailer, this is the last place in which you would choose to do so.
you may be pleased to learn that the carefully crafted rumour took less than three days to return to the editor's office, when someone dropped by, promising to inform us of an impending development, which, we were assured, was 100% true.
during my own brief tenure at the helm, there has been a number of rumours requiring investigative follow up, not least of which was the contention that ardbeg distillery had been placed on the market for what seemed an inordinately princely sum of money. there was, of course, no truth to the rumour, but on relating said denial to one or two colleagues, their riposte of "well, that's what they're telling you...", meant that i had to request a formal, official statement from the distillery's owners for subsequent publication.
extending on that theme, i am also infrequently party to what are referred to as conspiracy theories, reputedly made all the more likely by the predilection of the concerned party to indulge in the practice alluded to by the rumour. such aspects of alleged human conspiracy are, however, not only constrained to newspaper offices; there are those which occupy a larger, multinational platform, one of which i am about to relate. the fact that this particular conspiracy theory verges on the incredulous, apparently makes it, curiously enough, even more likely to be true.
neutral service duties for europe's principal cycling events were once perpetrated by a convoy of yellow cars and motorbikes belonging to french wheel and rim manufacturer, mavic. however, economic distress at the latter led to them having to withdraw from such a role at the tour de france, paris-roubaix and other major events, often owned and organised by amaury sports organisation (aso). their successor has eschewed the colour yellow in favour of a mid-blue, emblazoned with the word shimano, reputedly the world's largest cycle component manufacturer.
commercially, they are in competition with the sram corporation and italy's campagnolo, so there's a certain frisson to be engendered by having shimano responsible for servicing wheels and componentry which are not of their manufacture. there's a certain commonality, of course, between sram and shimano, who both employ the same cassette freehub pattern, and similarly-spaced sprockets. the outlier here is that of vicenza, which often seems intent not only in making their componentry incompatible with the other two, but frequently incompatible with its own products.
so where, precisely, is the conspiracy theory within that well-known little snippet?
have any of you joined the dots and realised that there is not a single world tour team riding on campagnolo components? coincidence? are we expected to believe it is pure happenstance that one of shimano's main competitors has been squeezed out of top level competition, in favour of aso's favoured neutral service provider? this is a conspiracy theory that may ultimately feature a more demonstrable outcome; shimano has just signed a four year extension to its contract with aso to provide neutral service until 2028.
over the next four years just keep an eye on the number of world tour teams sponsored by sram. (of course, like most rumours and conspiracy theories, i could be spouting complete nonsense).
thursday 15 august 2024
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................downtrodden
the day in the office on tuesday has now officially been designated ouroborous day, given that aspects seemed specifically, yet unconsciously designed to confound. the company responsible for supplying the credit card reader did, at one time, post out monthly statements, before that was subsequently viewed as distinctly caveman-like behaviour, and replaced with the necessity of logging onto a portal (a modern ubiquity) to download that which previously arrived by post.
but, in comparison to postal statements arriving with unfailing regularity due to the mechanical nature of the delivery system, and the fact that our main street address hasn't changed in the last 34 years, attempting to gain access to the portal was fraught with difficulties, based entirely on the system's inability to recognise our account number (also something that hasn't altered in the last few decades). as you might expect, this entailed several telephone calls to customer services, who sent a new access code in one e-mail, with a promised password to arrive in a second missive.
the second e-mail didn't arrive.
contacting customer services once again to follow up on the missing password e-mail, elicited the fact that the company apparently didn't have any registered e-mail contact details for the office on file. intent on providing just such an e-mail, we were informed that any address supplied would have need of being verified by photo-id possessed by either the company's owner or a director, something with which we were unable to immediately comply, due to the lack of any such person on the premises.
yet, despite the reputedly necessity of providing these credentials to verify the validity of the e-mail, the password immediately arrived at said e-mail address, as do the verification codes sent out everytime anyone of us logs into their 'portal'. none of the foregoing can be seen as isolated incidents; i can see many nodding heads as these words are read, with eccentricities such as these becoming a remarkably unwelcome part of everyday life. in order to make life easier for the company and its employees, life has been made incrementally more difficult for the customers. the imposition of non-negotiable strictures from on high, bears certain comparison with those of the bicycle industry.
though possibly somewhat of a sweeping generalisation, much of what occurs in road cycling these days is either instigated by the professionals, or pre-supposed on their behalf by the cycle industry. for instance, neither you nor i have any pressing need to be 'more aero', but when you're riding at the cutting edge, any so-called marginal gains that might provide even the tiniest of advantages over your fellow pelotoneers is apparently worth exploring. if, perchance, you're wondering why this seems a more prevalent and pertinent observation nowadays, we can possibly lay the blame directly at the feet of carbon fibre. or at least, one of the predominant methods of carbon frame manufacture.
in the halcyon days of yore, wehn bicycles comprised metal tubing, whether steel, aluminium or titanium, creating custom frames for professional riders was pretty much as simple as abc, as vocally espoused by the jackson five. a few strategic body measurements, followed by a period of brazing or welding, and hey presto; eddy merckx could clamber aboard a bicycle constructed to cater to his every need. i need hardly point out that carbon fibre is a smidgeon different.
if we tactically ignore the tube and lug method of construction espoused by ernesto colnago's 'c' series and a few others, the principal means of realising a state-of-the-art carbon frame is via a monocoque mold. though the carbon layup can be varied depending on specific torsional needs, effectively the cost of producing these molds precludes any idiosyncratic demands of the professional, particularly if we're about to consider frame size.
this does, however, engender somewhat of an economic problem, for as we've already discussed above, you and i not only have little immediate demand for aero, nor are we likely to find ourselves delving into matters of torsional stiffness and vertical compliance, both factors that can be seen as inherent in the manufacturing process. though i enjoy my sunday morning bike ride as much as the next rank amateur, there's a greater than evens chance that such enjoyment would diminish in direct proportion to the discomfort promulgated by riding the equivalent of a professional standard bicycle frame. which, as we've also discussed on previous occasions, is where marketing steps in to calm the impending storm.
who, for instance, could doubt the promise that "if it's good enough for mark cavendish/mathieu van der poel/wout van aert (delete as applicable), it's more than good enough for you and i. bearing in mind the remark from quickstep boss, patrick lefevre ("i don't pay my riders to be comfortable"), i'm sure you can see the potential flaw in the copywriter's argument. there's also the sneaking suspicion that a number of high-profile developments have arisen at the behest of the manufacturer, intent on creating an extension to a market that teeters on the brink of overwhelming familiarity.
i recall attending the first edition of the now popular rouleur classic at a venue in central london town many years ago. on the shimano stand could be seen the first set of dura-ace hydraulic disc brakes, to which we, as non-professionals, had unfettered access, in direct comparison to the professional classes who were coralled behind a fence constructed by the uci forbidding use of discs in competition. quite obviously, demand for disc brakes on road bikes was engendered entirely by the manufacturers, perhaps for obvious reasons. with the effective shelving of metal frames at the bleeding edge, any carbon frame in your possession was technically barred from upgrading to discs by the fact that the caliper mounts could not be easily added.
meaning a new frame and extra pennies for shimano. can you see where i'm going with this?
it's a lot like double-glazing; once everyone has it, then what do you sell? if ever electricity becomes persona-non-grata, all those with frames bereft of gear cable stops are, in effect, stuffed. hands up all those who, in advance of 2001, woke up each day fervently hoping that someone would put electric gears on their road bicycles?
you mean that wasn't our idea?
wednesday 14 august 2024
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................error of judgment
the freesat/freeview broadcaster formerly known as uktvplay, now curiously contracted to the single letter 'u', has chanced upon a programme that seems not only to have proved more popular than originally envisaged, but has spawned an offshoot that appears to be every bit as popular. the cleverly titled, 'bangers and cash' follows the antics of the matthewsons family who operate a vintage car auction business based in the yorkshire dales. as shown with unfailing regularity, vintage car enthusiasts will often bid surprisingly large amounts of money to purchase elderly vehicles that are frequently not in running order, but likely to incur further substantial quantities of cash and endless years to finally produce a vehicle that is in no way worth the amount of money spent on it.
and, as if to underline the latter contention, the production company responsible for the series took the option a few years past, to make a partner series entitled 'bangers and cash: restoring classics'. the premise behind the latter is that the producers bid for what looks like a promising restoration project, and following the point of purchase, they transport the vehicle to highly recommended specialist restorers, effectively giving them carte blanche to bring the vehicle to a standard better than when it left the factory. the matthewsons family have already advised the producers that it's well-nigh impossible to turn a profit and in the majority of cases, their advice has proved particularly accurate.
following an £80,000 restoration of a mark one land rover, the subsequent auction returned several thousand pounds shy of £40,000. however, the technical and mechanical process of restoration makes for intriguing television.
i daresay there are numerous, well-documented reasons as to why many of those living in the 21st century are sufficienty obsessed with the past to spend large amounts of cash on acquiring bits of history. the same is true of portions of the drumming community; the fellow responsible (jay bellerose) for the percussive backing behind the recent alison krauss and robert plant tour, does so upon a slingerland rolling bomber drumset, one which originated during the second world war. it features rosewood tension rod lugs and wood drum hoops due to wartime restrictions on the use of metal for other than military use. mr bellerose owns more than one such drumset, along with many other vintage kits from ludwig, leedy, trixon and rogers, to name but a few. to the best of my knowledge, he is not in possession of a modern drumset.
there are one or two businesses in the uk specialising in the sale and/or restoration of vintage drums, while across the pond, there are drum shops that sell nothing other than vintage drums. there is a certain disconnect within this particular section of the percussive realm, as many of these kits are intended to evoke the era of max roach, jo jones, buddy rich et al. the disconnect results from the knowledge that, when they played similar sets, the drums were brand new and arguably short of the vintage tone, much prized nowadays and resulting in the large amounts of money required for acquisition.
and then there are vintage bicycles, many of which appear to be in remarkable condition and offer a perfectly pragmatic option for those who happily eschew modern-day carbon fibre. the popularity of l'eroica is surely testament to that. brief interviews with browsing or auction customers in 'bangers and cash' frequently give rise to the contention that modern cars have no soul, that they are almost entirely lacking in character, responses that doubtless equal the sentiments harboured by purchasers of vintage drumsets and road bicycles.
i reported last week that, almost from nowhere and largely unexpectedly, colnago released a rim-brake version of their cambiago built c68, undoubtedly succour to those of us who rightly feel that disc brakes are largely unnecessary on road bikes. granted, the major component manufacturers have largely switched away from rim brakes, effectively meaning limited choice for the aficionados, but i was particularly keen to praise colnago for their idiosyncratic choice to feed the less-favoured amongst us.
however, perhaps i ought to have paid more attention to my homework before offering such fulsome praise. though i doubt i could afford the almost £7,000 being asked for the frame, i do think it a favourable option to offer, even if sales numbers are likley to be fairly minimal. what i failed to note, however, is that the frame is built to accept only wireless gearsets, and the juxtaposition of electronica with mechanical rim-brakes has not found immediate favour with the cognoscenti. in other words, there are no cable stops on the frame tubes to cope with mechanical gear cables. this seems like an italian mis-step.
i base my conclusion entirely on my own sentiments in such matters. given the prevalence of hydraulic disc brakes on the vast majority of present day carbon frames, a rim-brake frame is likely to be a deliberate and considered choice, based predominantly on personal affection for simpler times. it is highly unlikely that those simpler times featured electronic wiring. perhaps colnago ought to have been a tad more considered in their market research before discovering that opposites don't always attract.
tuesday 13 august 2024
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