For better or worse I know or do them all even now with bikes in my stable. Only demerit is my copy of Gazetta dello Sport dissolved in the rain. Still wear my woolies.
They forgot about those who nailed cleat plates to their leather soled cycling shoes and how rigid but deadly the Cinelli MonoBloc cleats could be or how modern it was to have 2-bolt Pavarin cleats and then ones with a single Allen bolt and how nice it was the later nylon ones didn't chew up the pedal cages. And how ash or beechwood soles really were more rigid but always warped or cracked if ridden in rain.
...what it was like for brake pads to melt and have the splatter raise blisters on the back of one's thighs.
...or why everyone thought 37cm c-c was a good width for those Maes-bend handlebars...or why you never wrapped them starting from the stem if you wanted the cotton tape to last and why that was one of the reasons it required a good shallacing or the proper ratio of lacq chips to alcohol to make it so.
...or why Campagnolo crank spiders had to be filed and it was the only user modification the company allowed and even encouraged under warranty.
...or who Alfredo Binda was and why "Extra" following that name was a good thing.
...and the names of component companies like Gallo and O.M.A.S.
...or how to keep your Sergal wool arm and leg warmers from creeping down.
...and how to keep your chamois from cracking using Chamois Butter.
...or how Modolo side pull brakes were also available in green.
...or knows what a cue sheet holder is and still uses some made in the mid 1950s. And knows who Ron Kitching was and what the name meant for GB products.
...and how to revive the pump leather in Silca Imperos and reset the rubber ball in the check valve of a Zéfal HP when pumping too vigorously dislodged it.
So much now useless knowledge! Time to Defrag the mental hard drive.
Ah, me.
All the best,
Dan. (...card carrying member of the Cyclistes Anciens)
