Rebirth of the Blog

I have long been looking for a new name for the blog and eventually found it. Now i'm finally onto actually making it happen.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Beer Gazelle has taken over for the Guerciotti blog.

Crusades (part 3) - Oh the Crusading...

In what has become long over due (life is busy), welcome to my first cyclocross race. In reference to previous posts (1 2 3), the primary reason and what initiated our epic trip to Oregon was the Cross Crusade race series, possibly the largest and certainly the best (yeah, I said it) cyclocross circuit in the US. Race #5 was our target, which fell on Halloween day. Normally the Halloween day race features costumes, but for some reason the organizers put the official costume day on the following day. For my sake, thank God. Racing with a costume would've almost certainly ended in catastrophe with some fraction of the costume and/or my body mangled. Racing without a costume would've made me cannon fodder for the hecklers (more so than usual).

I had no race experience and @the_danno only had a single race under his belt, or rather bib shorts. Our intention to race the beginner race meant we needed to be on the road no later than 6am to get to Astoria in time for the race. We register with a little spare time to pre-ride the track. First observation: it's muddy. Time is limited so I only get to ride 2/3 of the course before heading to the starting line. Then it's call-ups. Racers with points from previous races get preferential stops in the start pack. Then randomly based on the last digit of your race number. Apparently 3's get to go first (the first random number is referred to as the "beer number" apparently), which means that I get to head out in the first batch.

Before we know it, the race starts. I'm ok off the line, but pretty timid through the first patch of mud beyond the start line. Immediately we are zooming down a hill surrounded by the pack of racers. I am getting passed like there is no tomorrow and @the_danno is past me in a flash. The first section is a simple loop leading up to the first big hill of the course. It's a deceptive one. A long gradual stretch leads up to a steep lip at the end, which just got muddier and less ridable as the day went on.

Huffing and puffing from the hill, it's immediately into dimly lit, surprising bumpy stable that were jarringly stiff compared to the water-logged grass fields. Down in a stable, back between the stables, down in a stable and out and around. As I turned around the end of the last stable, some combination of mud, wood chips, and probably cow pie provided an amazing bog that didn't sink down too much, but was like pedaling through molasses. For a moment I am dreaming about slowly pedaling through soggy water-logged grass. Around another corner and up ahead was the other tough hill, mostly because the bottom was a mud pit. First time around I am far enough behind and my legs still have some juice, so I climb it successfully. Then a long run along the hillside and quickly back down the hill.

Onward through a few zig-zags, up and down a few short steep bits. Then a long straightaway with a hair-pin turn around a chainlink fence. A paved section of uphill is a welcome alternative to the muddy alternatives. Down through some tree cover and back into the open, eventually these curves lead us to the eventual finish line. I am far enough behind that the announcers have plenty of time to get my number so they can mention my name and that it's my first Cross Crusade race. That is what you call star power. When you've got it, you've got it.

The race then takes it's first detour into the larger indoor section. A couple tricky lips and a short steep section as you head out allow me to spin the tires a bit as I grind things out. Around the corner are the series of barriers, which I'm actually decent at somehow. I remount and there is some sort of gravity vortex that makes the next section of gradual uphill devastating and slow (our best guess is something to do with the side slope and muddiness). A few more hairpins and a detour back inside and we are triumphantly back to where we started. Now just keep going.

Just prior to the big hill I see the first rider walking his bike. His chain is absent, which decidedly makes cross racing more difficult. Another guy heftier than me is sucking wind at the hilltop and I don't feel quite as bad. The next lap is pretty uneventful if you ignore the fact this is the hardest bit of bike riding I've ever done. I fail the second hill and slide into the bark dust pile that lined the edge. May as well pick yourself up and get back at it. All I remember is hearing "2 laps left" and thinking "dear lord I like the sound of that, I may finish after all."

Next time around on the first big hill I pass the other big guy I was keeping pace with. Did I mention he was in a pink tutu? He is done. This is too fucking hard. This time around I am just smart enough to know my limitations and dismount and run up the second hill. It is just steep enough that I don't bother to remount until the top, where a spectator shouts the quote of the entire weekend: "You're a gazelle, you're a gazelle in a beer-drinker's body." This is like a shot of adrenaline. As I remount I get some encouragement "alright, that's looking better," followed by "wait, nevermind" as I have difficulty getting clipped in. There is a fine line between heckling and encouragement in cross.

At this point the Oregon skies are conspiring to make things interesting and gradually start giving us some rain. Within a minute the heavens let loose and it is pouring. A proper Oregon rain. So good. My first cross experience has gone from demoralizing to painful to hopeful to downright amazing, and the best is yet to come.

The whole race I am in pursuit of the rider ahead of me, never really gaining ground. It isn't until we're out of the big barn for the last time that he seems to start slowing down. His lighter frame makes it up the first hill a bit easier, but after making it up the second hill I seem to gain a bit of ground. Just after the hairpin at the chainlink fence he turns it on a bit but I keep pressing as well as I can. Up the paved section I'm out of the saddle pushing as hard as I can.

With three curves left, someone on the side of the course shouts to him "someone's behind you, don't let him catch you". He hears this and I can see him put the hammer down. Fuck. I heard it too, so I know I've got to nail it. There a bit of a downhill followed by an uphill before returning to pavement and the short section before the finish. He seems to let up a bit on the downhill. I can tell I have a chance. I'm just going to give it everything I've got. On the uphill curve into the finish, the inside line opens up just enough for me to pass on the inside at which point I'm pretty sure I heard him mutter "oh, shit" out of what seemed like complete surprise. On the pavement I popped out of the saddle and drove as fast as I could through the finish. @the_danno who had already finished provided the description of my opponent's face: "defeated."

Through the whole race, I was convinced I was holding onto DFL, so that last pass felt amazing. First, no DNF. Second, no DFL. With half-way through the race thinking there's no way I can make it, I was proud of my finish and first completed cross race. Later I find out there are another 4 racers that I beat beside my friend at the finish. Not too shabby. All told the roughly 40 minute race corresponded to about 6 miles of riding.

Alternatively, the full recap of the weekend's races is covered in full by the fine folks at Wend Magazine.

At this point, all that was left was to enjoy some beer, cross food, and cowbelling, but that will have to wait for our next installment. For now, you can check out an approximate race map (whoosh!):

Cyclo-what?

"What exactly is cyclocross?" is usually the response I receive when I mention this new hobby of mine. Short answer: cyclocross is amazing. Longer answer: cyclocross is somewhere in between road and mountain riding. I suppose you could just read about it on Wikipedia, but really, it's so much more to it...

Depending on the course you will see some combination of pavement, grass, gravel, dirt, bark dust, wood chips, sand, and even puddles that are closer to being proper lakes. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that cross thrives, like Belgium or the Northwest, the course is often an excuse to get covered in mud. Obstacles are key. It's what separates cross from riding around on your lawn. These come in many forms. The standard is a ~40 inch high wood plank positioned in the middle of the course that you are forced to dismount your bike and jump over. Some obstacles can be bunny hopped (personally, I think this is for the weak). In certain races, the rules state you must dismount your bike, but that's not always the case.

The length of the races are a bit unique. The races are roughly time based, where duration of the race typically correlates with skill level (better racers means longer races). After a lap or two, the race official decides how many laps are left based on the pace of the riders and the total duration allotted. The last lap is the bell lap, where you'll heard some cowbell prodding you on for one more lap.

@the_danno making the best of a dropped chain (Photo Credit to @BrianLeeT)

Half of the cyclocross experience is audience participation. This includes beer hand-ups (nothing like a swig of beer to power you to victory), dollar grabs (put sticking out of a bottle or in the mud and wait for a rider to grab it), taunting/encouraging the riders, and simply more cowbell. A well stocked race will also have the belgian waffle stand and some deep fryers for some fritz. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to have some beer for breakfast.

A dollar grab in the wild (Photo Credit to @BrianLeeT)

Cyclocross season is in full swing - let's make some bad decisions.

Crusades (part 2) - Oh the beer...

During the course of our crusade in Oregon, alongside all the driving, there was quite a bit of beer to be had...

Initially we were hoping for lunch at Deschutes Brewery in Bend, but no food at the brewery, only at their Pub on Bond Street. Luckily we had a tip about Cascade Lakes Brewpub not too far away. Normally I'm not a big brown fan, but they had a nice one. A fresh hoped brew and a kolsch were also good. Brewery #1 down.

Onto Deschutes Brewery - let the pilgrimage begin. Jubelale and Hop Trip were my personal highlights out of the tasters I picked (I didn't even bother tasting Black Butte since I drink too much of it anyway). For something considered a "craft" brewery, it was amazing to see the scale they are producing at these days. Their hop room was incredible. Bundles of whole hops everywhere. Definitely interesting to hear they dry-hop most of their beers. I left with a case of Black Butte XXI to age in the closet (best after 10/2010) and case of Hop Trip to split. So. Good.

After making the drive up to Portland, we made our way to the Raccoon Lodge (Cascade Brewing) for dinner. A mere week before the trip we went to a beer & cheese night that featured their Kriek, so we were excited to check out what they had. They had our 3rd fresh hop beer of the trip and our first series of lambic-style sours. The collection of aging casks was awesome. Very unique for an America brewery. It's apparently the new microbrew revolution. We tried their taster and I can't say I was impressed with the IPAs and sours on tap, but it could've just been that I was drunk by then...

Next stop - Cross Crusade. While not technically an official brewery stop, our effort was sponsored by Van der Dans Brewery since we enjoyed plenty of Crosstoberfest as we yelled and cow-belled on the racers after we had raced. More to come on that later.

Post race was followed by a short rest at the hotel, and then onto the Astoria Rogue Public House. It's no secret, I love Dead Guy Ale. Add on the fact that Rogue makes a huge selection of delicious beers and we're golden. Dinner and drink involved their Sesquicentennial (commissioned by Oregon for their anniversary), Imperial Porter (I love porters), and Double Dead Guy were all great. We sat at the bar, which was luck since a Cross Crusade guy came in with cowbells worn as rings. Everyone sitting at the bar was gifted a free Cross Crusade Cowbell. Good luck part 1. Rogue was also has a "Garage Sale." That meant the two of us each got a case of Double Dead Guy for super cheap. Good luck part 2.

After dinner we dropped off our beer at the hotel and headed to Fort George Brewery. If only we hadn't woken up at 5am, then we would've been able to handle more than a beer here, but we were dead (and no that had nothing to do with a halloween costume). We just grabbed one mason jar and we were done. Complete exhaustion.

Enjoying the extra hour of daylight, our next beer adventure was to Mainstreet Homebrew Supply in Hillsboro, a personal favorite for homebrew supply, whether local or mail-order. Here we picked up whole hops (yes!) and wax for coating the caps on our longer aged brews. Our Scotch ale with be the first test subject.

Next, we needed lunch before the bike show, so we stopped at Laurelwood in NW Portland. Vinter Varmer was definitely the highlight. Then after the bike show, we stopped at MacTarnahan's Taproom (a Pyramid partner) a block away. Their Hum Bug'r was my favorite. Then onto Yamhill County to grab dinner with Mom at Golden Valley Brewing. Yet another fresh hoped beer here. It's quite a trend the in the NW apparently. At this point it is not even 8pm and we are ready to curl up in a ditch due to exhaustion.

Monday morning, all we had left was a long drive back to San Francisco. On our way south we attempted a stop in Eugene for an early lunch and beer, but the recommended Ninkasi Brewery had no food and our attempt at two other brewpubs fail because they weren't open yet. Onward. For dinner we took a similar tack and decided to divert to Chico and stop by Sierra Nevada. No proper tours on Mondays, but we thought we'd manage the self-guided tour. The girl in the shop said we could walk around upstairs even though there was a function happening. We tried and were promptly sent back downstairs like the heathens we obviously are. In defeat, we grabbed some of Sierra's Estate brew. I tried it the other night and it is fantastic. If you're ever in Chico grab some, since that's the only place you'll probably find it.

Altogether 9 breweries later we were back to the bay, with all sorts of fantastic beer in tow and all sorts of crazy ideas about our future brewing plans.

Crusades (part 1) - Oh the driving

I'm back from our trip to the Cross Crusade races in Astoria last weekend and what an epic trip it was. The update will come in parts, but first off, we did a lot of driving. Roughly 1500 miles included stops in Weed, Bend, Tigard, Astoria, Hillsboro, Portland, Carlton, Eugene, and Chico, for reasons I will elaborate on later. For now, behold:

View Larger Map

All told, 9 breweries/brewpubs, 1 homebrew store, 1 cyclocross race, 1 amazing book store, 1 coffee shop, 1 bike show, and the first 46 episodes of The Bugle.

If you need me, I'll be at the Crusades

No, I'm not talking King Richard and fighting for religious dominance. While this crusade will have marginally fewer bloodied bodies, the motivations are much purer - bikes and beer.

What started as an off-hand twitter comment that I should catch some Oregon cross racing when I'm home for Christmas was interpreted by my co-brewer/cyclist as a call to arms (along with dates for all the cross races, his availability, and which would be optimal). Initially it seemed like too much to just head north for a cyclocross race, but after spotting the Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland the same weekend, we had critical mass and we started getting serious...

After some discussions, we decided on the level of epicness for the weekend: ultimate. With stops at various breweries/brewpubs (see Deschutes Brewery, maybe Cascade Lakes Brewpub, Fanno Creek Brew Pub, Rogue Public House, Laurelwood Brewpub, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Raccoon Lodge), Cross Crusade in Astoria, Handmade Bike Show in Portland, and at least a case of homebrew between the two of us, it's looking like we'll accomplish our goal.

With my trusty steed completed last Saturday:

A mere 50 miles of road riding since the build up and it seems to be functioning. Currently with slicks for commuting, but throw some nobbies on and let's go coat it in mud.

Mount up, we're off to the Crusades!

Amazing things are happening

I'm guessing that I'm not the only one out there that has decided bikes and beer go well together. Given our largely bike-based brewing operation, we are no exception at Van der Dans. Which is why when we had the chance to provide some homebrew for the greater good of cycling, we were all in. While I haven't been able to get out on too many longer rides lately, my brewing partner had been making it out pretty frequently with the good folks from Mission Cycling. At a post ride event, he brought some of our Wit and Bock to share. During the conversation, Rapha's Gentlemen's Race and the case of beer entry fee came up. Wouldn't it be cool to show up with some SF-made homebrew?

That night I get an email with subject "Van der Dans Wit Question" that described Rapha (just your friendly transcontinental ridiculously high-end cycling brand), the insanity that is the gentlemen's ride, how Mission Cycling was invited, and could we donate a case of our recently brewed Wit to their cause. My response: "Do it."

So all that was left was to make it presentable... Good thing, I'm not the marketing guru, because the beer would not have looked near as good: introducing the Mission Gentlemen's Kristalwit

Our contribution can be found within the pre-race photos where the race start was staged in Otis, OR. The start of a 137 mile journey to Portland. Of course there's lots more to marvel at with the write up from the Mission riders and the great photos from the event collected by Rapha. So anyway, amazing things have been happening on bike and beer front.

Nice work Mission riders.

Parts, parts, parts...

As things start coming together, it's about time for a components run-down for the cyclocross bike. A bunch of this came from a discount hook-up, which mean I bought several of the parts before there was a frame in sight. So, here's what I have so far:

Frame/Fork: Gary Fisher Presidio/Bontrager Sattelite Carbon

This is the 2009 frame and fork from a Gary Fisher Presidio. It has definitely seen a few miles based on the wear on the paint, but the frame looks good (it's steel, so why worry?) and the fork doesn't have any obvious points of concern.

Stem: Bontranger

This came along with the frame. Not sure if I'll keep it based on the reach and how things feel. It'll be easier to tell once all the components are on the bike.

Headset: Aheadset

Another component that came along with the frame. Don't see any reason to switch this out. I will replace the bearings before I reseat everything though.

Brake/shifter: Shimano Ultegra

This is acually the first component I got for this bike. Knowing that STI shifters can be pretty spendy, especially if you want ultegra or dura-ace quality stuff, I had my eye out on ebay early for these. They're slightly beat up, but the shifting feels good so these should do the job.

Brakes: Crane Creek Canti's

Nothing to fancy, but they'll do the trick. It's cross, so it's got to be cantilevers. Mud, here I come.

Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra

I already had the ultegra shifters, so I figured my best bet for compatibility would be an ultegra rear derailleur. Here it is.

A few components have been placed on order, but are not quite in my possession yet. They are:

Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra

This is a component that I really needed a frame to decide on. I figured it'd be Ultegra, but whether it was braze-on or clamp-on and all those sorts of details kept me from deciding on this until just recently.

Front/Rear Hub: Shimano Ultegra

I waffled back and forth on what to do here. I considered Phil Wood for a front hub, but defnitely can't afford it for the rear: I may not have a mortgage, car payments or any kids (that I know of), I'm still a relatively poor postdoc. I should find cheaper hobbies. I considered using a Surly front hub I had, but I'd prefer quick-release hubs. So this combo seemed like the best option.

Rims: Mavic Open Pros

Didn't put a ton of thought into this one. I've had one on the rear wheel of my single speed commuter and it has taken a beating without any problems. These are the rims on the G-star. Solid rims, well made, easy choice.

There are a few things that I'm assuming I'll have, but still need to actually get them in my possession.

Spokes: Double Butted 14g/15g

These should be some combination of Wheelsmith, DT Swiss and Phil Wood double-butted spokes, depending on what I manage to grab locally.

Crankset: White Industries 175 mm

A friend has a slightly older 175 White Industries crank off an Hunter cross bike that is simply too long for him. It should make sense for me, so I think we're making a deal on this, it simply has yet to happen (if I weren't sick this weekend, it would've happened today probably). Not sure what bottom bracket is going to make sense with this.

Still need to figure out what gearing makes the most sense for me on a cross bike. So cassette is yet to be determined.

"Cross" Promotion

I cannot pass up a good pun... apologies all around.

Amazing things are happening:

Months ago, I was reunited with a friend from undergrad at a wedding. At that point, I realized he had been brewing, something that was a bit tricky for me since all my equipment was about 600 miles to the north. Anyway, we start brewing, getting our supplies from SF Brewcraft and biking them to our luxurious brewing facilities. At some point in there, we decided it would be a good idea to race cyclocross, drink homebrew, and watch the good riders after we raced. Hence the birth of the California Cross Carboys (feel free to join the team, just ask). Some cycling, lots of brewing and drinking, but really mostly good times.

Shortly after that we started labeling our bottled homebrew. With some collaboration, our brewery was eventually christened Van der Dans Brewery -- poorly translated from Dutch to mean "From the Dans" (we are in fact both named Dan - convenient). For instance, some Belgian Style Dubbel:

We were supposed to brew a tasty porter this weekend, but instead i've been sitting on the couch all weekend sick, writing blog entries.

So now you understand my need for a cross bike, and if you live in the bay area, join our cyclocross team. But seriously, relax, have a homebrew.

So many bikes, so little time...

So it's all a big lie. When I said that the Gary Fisher necessitated the blog's renaming, that's not exactly true. For bikes that I've built, it will be my second, but it is actually the 4th bike in my current ownership... So the obvious question: why so many bikes? The truth is, they're all quite necessary. Trust me...

Bike #1

It all came to be this past sunday of Labor Day weekend. Sunday was of course the semi-monthly SF Sunday Streets, an extravaganza/cluster of people wandering, biking erratically, and generally enjoying a complete lack of cars. This time around was Golden Gate Park and the Great Highway down to the SF Zoo. Normally half the park is shutdown on sunday's anyway, so this just extended it to the ocean. So of course, this means it's time to show off the G-star with a leisurely ride, at one point barely avoiding one kid and hearing the beautiful sound of delta brakes functioning to their fullest (i.e. banshee scream). Bike #1, complete.

Bike #2

I hadn't eaten much of anything for breakfast and the barbecue that afternoon was too far off for my grumbling stomach. That meant it was time to hit Andronico's to buy some fancy beers (brewed at Ommegang, Allagash, and Rogue) and then onto Arizmendi for a snack. For zipping around town, my single speed is the bike of choice. Introducing the Masi:

This bike came to fruition after riding the Green Monster (first mentioned here and to be featured in a future post, surely) for several months. Basically, the idea is a) ride a bike that constantly has issues, b) buy something fantastic and never ride the first bike again. Currently this bike is not quite stock anymore, but not too far from it. I'll say more in a later post, but it is an awesome bike, Masi builds great ones, and I can highly recommend their stuff (also, I love their philosophy on steel, see the top of this page - fantastic). Anyway, in a quick mile jont around my neighborhood -- Success:

Bike #2, complete.

Bike #3

This bike is my workhorse and has probably seen more miles in its lifetime than I have in mine. Purchased for pretty cheap (beer was part of the payment plan) from a friend who had just ridden it from Alaska to SF, this bike was originally a nice backup in case anything happened to the Masi (the origin story is a bit more complicated, but that'll come later). Nothing too fancy, just your standard Bianchi road bike that's seen a few years:

Truth be told, this bike was built for touring, and touring is just what it'll do:

With a pair of awesome Ortlieb saddle bags on there, carrying ~30 pounds of beer, fish, bike locks and misc tools is no problem and it means I don't have end up with a sore shoulder and covered in sweat. With all that to carry, this bike is it, even if the ride is only a short hop north of the park.

Bike #3, complete.

What a fantastic (bike-filled) day.

Lacing Wheels, part II

So it's time to build up a bike, which means it's time for some wheel design. For the rear, strength is still top priority, but I've heard some good things about a 3-cross drive side, 2-cross on the opposite. Supposedly it might minimize the tension difference between the two sides of the wheel. May as well give it a try...

Rear Wheel:

For the front wheel, I'm not as concerned with strength, so a 32 spoke wheel is in order. Unfortunately the symmetry options aren't quite as nice (no 3 fold symmetries and so on), but if I'm going to build it, it better be something unique. So I did a variation of the front wheel from the Gstar. Giddy up.

Front Wheel:

Still haven't quite figured out the rim-hub combinations yet, but I'm thinking the front hub might be a 32h Surly that I bought with the intention of build it up for another bike (more on my other bikes to follow soon).

Cross Season is A-comin'

After weeks and weeks of watching, pondering, consulting about the upcoming cyclocross season and our strange desire to compete, I finally pulled the trigger on a frame (a Gary Fisher Presidio):

Which brings up a sticky question: isn't this the Guerciotti blog? Well, yes technically, but it is really more about a man (me) and his bike. Which with the addition of the Gary Fisher is now technically "bikes". So all of my biking exploits worthy of a mention will start to appear here. I'm still debating whether to change the blog name... maintain the blog's humble origins or fast track it to the future.

Oh my God, we're all going to die

This morning's ride was a bit interesting. It all starts with the fact I left the bar at last call yesterday and woke up with around 7 because I left the shades drawn. Sleep deprived and dehydrated always a good start to the day.

Originally I had planned doing paradise loop, but I did not realize my own strength and snapped the cable to the front derailleur when it wasn't shifting and I tried to "help" it along. So I decide to divert to headlands. Everything is fine, i get to the top of the climb no issues... It's beautiful (also crap phone camera):


I start down the descent and get outside my comfort zone very quickly. Basically I'm not a fast descender anyway and the majesty of whether the delta brakes will fully function is still in the back of my mind. So I turn back and notice that the front brake is rubbing against the tire. Apparently in the 20 seconds down the steep way the brake had shifted its way down (something I had noticed during last ride and adjusted for before this one). I guess the shear of braking just pulls on it enough to get it to shift down. So I've got a cable to replace and an urgent need to make that front delta brake stay put.

Then the last bit of fun is my attempt to go through Lands End past the Legion of Honor to the cliff house, but the small road shown on google maps is part a road and part a gravel/dirt path. Road bikes (and me riding one) aren't too fond of such things. I ended up cutting up on a path that led to the VA hospital and just giving up and heading home. Still managed 20-ish miles. Alright.

Partial Headlands and Lands End

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

The Maiden Voyage

As per the standard, the blog is prepetually behind. The G-star has been complete and ridable since mid-July. And what a beauty:

A close up of the chromed out drive train.

The first outing was to the July 19th Sunday streets in the mission, which was basically a cluster of people and riding a bike was almost impossible (although the caravan of Xtracycles transporting the portable dance party was pretty phenomenal). The second outing was a short loop around town to work, to show off the bike, and across the bridge.

The first proper ride was yesterday. I had originally planned to do a ride of the headlands loop and paradise loop, but when I ran into Danno and all the Mission Cycling folks waiting to depart at the bridge, and I was convinced to do their ride:

SF to Cheese Factory (8.22.09)

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

I definitely wasn't the fastest rider, but there weren't too many climbs where I was the last to make it to the top. With that, a picture courtesy of Danno at the Cheese Factory:

Some nice vintage steel -- an Eddie Merckx, a Colnago, and a Guerciotti. Steel is real. Beautiful.

Also, spandex:

Here's the line of mission cyclers on our way back. I'm the jerk in the back without the cycling jersey and the backpack full of random tools in case something on the G-star decides to explode.

Enter Phil Wood

Installing a bottom bracket is an interesting process of trial and error. It all comes down to aligning the chainline. The basic idea being you want to center the freewheel in the back with the crank in the front. It's easy to measure the alignment of the freewheel in the back, so it's just a matter of getting the crank to line up.

The Procedure:

1. Screw on the bottom bracket cups and roughly center the bottom bracket
2. Put the crank on
3. Measure the chainline, if it's all lined up, go to step 7
4. If it's not where it's supposed to be, take the crank off
5. Adjust the bottom bracket cups to improve the alignment
6. Go back to step 2 and repeat
7. Things are properly aligned, so measure how far the threads are exposed on each side
8. Take it all apart
9. Generously apply Loctite to threads of the BB cups.
10. Thread it back in using the measurement from step 7 to get the alignment right.
11. Pray to God that the Phil Wood logo lines up in the star cut out of the frame because that would look awesome
12. Jump up and down in victory
13. Attach the cranks

Rejoice:

Didn't get a good picture until a bit later and a few more components were installed. Oops.

The italian frame adds an extra kink - both sides of the bottom bracket are threaded right-handed. As a result, the left side has a tendency to unscrew itself. Less than ideal if you find yourself on a long ride. Best you can do is crank it down during the install and put Loctite on the threads.

Making it yours...

Why build bicycle wheels... Mostly pride, some necessity, but really mostly pride. When it comes down to it, why pay a professional to do it properly when you could screw it up yourself? Basically the motto of my life.

With lots of experience fixing a pair of finicky wheels on a bike kitchen salvaged bike (The Green Monster), eventually I decided it was time to just start from scratch. Which resulted in the first pair of wheels I (re)built. The result wasn't great, but here's my analogy: if even the greatest carpenter (Jesus) builds a house out of balsa wood, it's probably still going to be pretty flimsy.

Learning to build wheels is pretty fun, if not challenging and infuriating at times. Sheldon Brown describes it all, although I've recently gotten my hands on Jobst Brandt's "The Bicycle Wheel", which is also a great reference. Between the two, lacing and building a "3-cross" wheel is a piece of cake. By piece of cake, I mean you will probably insert and remove the first and/or second rounds of spokes about 5 times until you actually do it the way it's properly described.

Rear Wheel
Since the rear wheel will take the brunt of my brunt-filled bike riding, 3-cross makes the most sense, so I won't go into details, other than to say - pretty:


Front Wheel
And with that, onto the fun, where all the real action is - up front. Here's what we want the final product to look like:

Standard protocol is to start with trailing spokes on the right side of the bike. The only thing you really care about at this point is getting the oil port on the hub (opposite the logo) on the side opposite the valve hole. From what I understand, traditionally this is for pro cyclists that lube their hubs with a lighter oil when they have an important race or are trying to set best times. This alignment helps keep oil from dripping all over the valve hole.

That means you want to align the first round of spokes like so:


Where the two dots correspond to the valve stem and oil port. Or in real life


Now onto the trailing spokes on the opposite side


It took a few attempts to figure out the which spokes should be crossed, but with moments later


And the finished front wheel

(apologies for the contrast difference, but the flash really brings out the lacing pattern)

Tensioning and Truing
One of the many following aspects I didn't do a particularly good job documenting... mostly because nothing too interesting happens. I can only stress, nothing will teach you how to true wheels better than having a useless pair that continuously needs truing. Beyond the advice in Sheldon's article, I can't say I have too many secrets on this. Possibly more on this if the wheels are really good or bad at staying in true.

The blog is back!

The much delayed return of the blog. So much has happened undocumented...

• Wheels have been trued
• Stem and handlebars attached
• Bottom bracket installed
• Cranks tightened on
• Shifters and derailleurs made functional
• Crazy delta brakes bolted down and much later actually working

Oh the details to come...

Frustration thy name is Shimano

So the nearly NOS Guerciotti frame of mine had a Shimano Sante headset installed on it, meaning the fork was cut too short to install a Campy headset. Damn. Add another component to the list of non-Campy on the Guerch.

So here it is instead:


Supposedly this group was positioned somewhere between Ultegra and Dura Ace intended for the semi-pro rider. So still far above my riding level... Also great if you're planning to build a bike to get married on as all the components are white.

Chrome would've been prettier.

Locales

So where exactly does one find a bike's worth of 1980-90s vintage parts....

Here and there.




4 countries, 6 states, and several bikes stores later...

Bottom Bracket - Nice Woody

Ever think to yourself: "you know what would be fun? firing some bullets at my bike." Well, that's what Phil Wood components are all about. Bulletproof. Great choice for a bottom bracket.

This will be one of the few modern components on the bike aside from the Mavics. Based on what I've heard about the old school cup-and-cone bottom brackets, it is a nightmare. In addition, what were the Italians doing? Besides bizarre choices for threading and so on, extra bonus with an Italian bottom bracket -- right handed threading when you'd like left means the cup likes to loosen itself (physics!). With a California bike heritage, the first component maker to utilize cartridge bearings, and the maker of the best lube around, Phil Wood is a natural fit. If I know what I'm doing, you'll even be able to see the beautiful Phil logo through the G-star. If that's not bike porn, I don't know what qualifies anymore.

Rims and Fun with Lacing

The rims are here! The good old Mavic Open Pro. No ridiculous aero wheels, just the simple standard.

Which brings us to the fun part - lacing!

If you thought your shoes were fun, then you are in for a treat. After much contemplation, two wheels have emerged.




The Rear Wheel: standard issue 3-cross.

A well established, rock solid lacing pattern that should keep the rear wheel nice and true. I've built a couple of these, so I have some practice under my belt.


The Front Wheel: Ridiculousness.

For the front wheel, there's no need to worry about torque like you do for the rear, so we may as well make some bad decisions. "Crow's foot" and "3-leading; 3-trailing" lacing were both considered, but I came to the conclusion that this one right here would be the most unique option on the table. It's a combo of 2-cross and 3-cross spokes and with 36 spokes, it ought to be strong enough. We'll find out soon enough.

More to come once it's wheel build time...

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

Like an amazing metaphor for life, these Cinelli bars/stem will guide the old Guerch. Why amazing? Cinelli was responsible for getting the Guerciotti brothers into frame building and trained them in the art. So the partnership continues.

One side note, the bars are actually relatively modern, but still have the old school Cinelli bar diameter. They also feature the "ergo" bend (see how it's not a smooth curve like most retro bars), which will be nice once it's actually time to go on some long rides. Hands -- you are welcome.

Rear deraileur

Not as beautiful as the earlier versions with the engraved Campy logo, but this one is in great condition nonetheless. Nothing too exciting about this, but it'll be a nice workhorse.

Synchro Shifters

Probably the second most ridiculous component on the bike. Known for their finickiness and lack of desired functionality, these beauties were Campy's attempt to do index shifting in the late-80's to early 90's. These are second generation synchro shifters (but after they did away with the designation between 1st and 2nd gen. why do I know this?). Interestingly enough, these are for 8-speed, which is far less than ideal with freewheel type hubs since it puts more stress on the axle than desired. I have no clue what kind of magic i'm going to have work to get them functioning as desired, but I will probably have the most success just replacing the cog for 8 speed indexing with a 6 or 7 speed version.


If nothing else, they'll work in friction mode and I can just make a clicking noise whenever I shift. ::click::click::click:: Oh, there's the gear I wanted....

::trumpet fanfare:: Delta Brakes ::trumpet fanfare::

Building an Italian bike that's from 1986-1993? If it doesn't have Delta Brakes, it's crap. Less so for the actual performance and more so for the beauty/ridiculousness. A true case of form over function. Likely the most expensive single component on the bike. Ride them for the compliments, swear at them for their operation. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The best part - these brakes were won on eBay using a friend's iPhone (thanks Danno) at Toronado from a seller in France. Most money i've ever dropped at a bar in one sitting... so far.

Headset (now with speed holes!)

Upon inspection, you may notice the Guerciotti already has a headset installed. It was described as a "boutiquey" period relevant headset from Shimano. But really, what business do Japanese parts have on an Italian frame? Think about the last time Italy and Japan were allied... that ended badly. Almost as catastrophic as that joke.

So on that note, more Campy! The most important part: this headset has speed holes. Literally. Why? because who doesn't like going fast? Whoosh!

Cranks

While you're buying components for a vintage bike build, it is easy to come to the conclusion that money will in fact power your bicycle. In truth, that is only half of the story. So while your wallet will provide the tears, your legs are responsible for the sweat. Enter the mighty crank.

These get a lot of abuse, so finding beautiful ones is not easy. Most of the scuffs and wear don't really show in this picture. That's ok, yet more motivation to actually get out and ride the bike once it's done, unlike this.

Front Derailleur

Slowly but surely the parts trickle in... Not 100% sure this is technically C-record, but it's visually identical as far as my standards go. And the march of progress continues.

It's at least 3rd gen C-record because the cable bolt can be tighten with either 8 mm wrench or 5 mm allen. Why do I know this distinction? I thought i mentioned this is an addiction...