Sunita Williams Gives a Tour of International Space Station

Shimano pedals on the ISS exercise bike
closeup of Shimano pedals on the ISS exercise bike
Nikon cameras and lenses on the ISS

Sunita Williams gave a video tour of the International Space Station a few hours before her return to earth on November 18, 2012. I found it fascinating because her tour gives a great sense of the layout of the interior of the ISS and what it actually looks like. Also, in a weightless environment, the meaning of up and down have different definitions.

There were a couple of things that were especially interesting to me. When the crew uses the exercise bike, they don’t need a seat because they don’t sit down. They use clip-on pedals to hold them to the “bike.” The pedals look very similar to the Shimano road pedals that I use on my De Rosa. The exercise machines need to be isolated from the walls of the space station so they don’t put any forces into the structure of spacecraft and solar arrays.

When Commander Williams entered the Russian segment where Service Module Central Post of the space station is located, there was a nice assortment of Nikon photography equipment on both walls.

Campagnolo Chorus Brakes

Campagnolo Chorus Brake Caliper

I upgraded my De Rosa’s brake calipers from a 43-year-old design (Campagnolo Super Record) to a 17-year-old design (Campagnolo Chorus). The “new” calipers (the eBay seller called them “vintage”) are dual-pivots with Campagnolo and Chorus imprinted on the brake arms. I used lined housings and stainless steel cables so in all, the stopping power feels like a significant upgrade over the Super Record calipers I was using. The new calipers seem to work OK with the mid-80’s C-Record levers although the quick releases on the levers to open up the calipers for wheel changes are a little inadequate because I’m using a 25mm wide rear tire.