These are my 2022 Strava bike stats on my Eddy Merckx Professional. It seems I’m going downhill compared to my 2020 Strava stats.
My 2021 Strava Stats
My 2020 Strava Stats
These are my 2020 Strava bike stats on my Eddy Merckx Professional.
Riding a Bike on the Golden Gate Bridge
In this video, I’m riding my bike south towards San Francisco around the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. I used a GoPro HERO3+: Silver Edition
In the video poster frame, you can see the water just outside San Francisco Bay in the gap between the orange barriers. That doesn’t help my acrophobia, especially knowing that there is a 227 foot drop to the water. And it’s only blocked by a temporary Cyclone fence.
There’s almost always a constant wind off the Pacific Ocean, blowing across the bridge to the east . This year, the bridge authority retrofitted the railings to withstand 100 mph gusts. Now, when the wind is >25 mph, the new sidewalk railings emit a deafening hum that can be heard miles away. Add the sound of cars and trucks three feet away going south at 50 mph, it’s not a wonderful experience.
I just try not to look to the right.
Campagnolo Super Record Headset
I removed the Campagnolo Super Record Headset from my blue De Rosa, in anticipation of getting the frame resprayed and installing the 2012 Campagnolo Chorus groupset that was on my Eddy Merckx, which I had replaced with a 2015 Campagnolo Chorus groupset. I may have changed the bearings a couple of times since it was installed in the early 1980’s.
Then I started thinking I should come into the 21st century and get a modern bike. After all, it’s been 20 years since the first Tour de France victory on a carbon bike, when Lance won in 1999 on a carbon fiber Trek 5500.
Sorting through all the choices is overwhelming and I start to think that I’d be really be happy with a titanium De Rosa Solo, but maybe not $7500 (for the frameset) happy.
Worn Chain
Old SRAM PC-870 chain (top); new SRAM PC-870 chain (bottom).
The chain on my De Rosa started skipping on the lower gears on the Campagnolo 8 speed cassette. Unfortunately, by the time the chain was skipping, the lower cogs on the cassette were worn out.
Measuring from the center of one rivet to the rivet 23 away on a new chain is 12 inches (~30.48 cm). My chain was over 1/4 inch longer. Park Tool recommends replacing the chain when it is 1/16 inch too long.
Replacing the 8 speed cassette is a problem because of the dearth of parts, considering I need a ≥28 tooth lowest cog. I’ve found Miche 13-28 Campagnolo compatible cassettes on eBay in the UK and Italy, but then I start to wonder whether I should keep trying to support shifting components that were last produced in 1997.
I’ve also found on Branford Bike that a Campagnolo 9 speed hub could be used by dropping one sprocket and using a Wheels Manufacturing 8 speed spacer kit, but that spacer kit is also no longer available.