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The Road to L’Eroica: An Italian Honeymoon – Ultra Romance

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The Road to L’Eroica: An Italian Honeymoon – Ultra Romance

The Road to L’Eroica: An Italian Honeymoon
Words and photos by Ultra Romance

We had been running from winter… riding from winter… actually hike-a-biking away from winter in the Swiss Alps for nearly 2 weeks now.  Snow, wind, rain, and low UV indexes had driven us out of the most verdant and bucolic panoramas I’ve ever eyeballed. Away from the abrupt mountaintops that rise from the undulating valleys like the jagged teeth of a gnashing puma eagle.  My hair was damp and lifeless, and our bodies were craving the sunlight and ACTUAL early September weather (fair and pleasant for those of you who live in the Swiss tundra).  In a split second decision, while climbing out of a cold and empty valley after hiking down a roots rock reggae slip n’ slide, we hopped a train south to Europe’s fashion capital, Milano. It just felt natural.

Ciao Italy!

Merckx Mondays

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Merckx Mondays

Photo by Bill Woodul

It’s not often you come across never before seen photos of Eddy Merckx, well, photos I’ve never seen anyway and that what we’re sharing with you today. Bill Woodul shot the 1976 Milano SanRemo and got some excellent photos of Merckx. Just check out those gloves! See more at this album.

A Ponderosa Cyclery + Tour Eisentraut Road with Mavic Zap

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A Ponderosa Cyclery + Tour Eisentraut Road with Mavic Zap

A Ponderosa Cyclery Eisentraut Road with Mavic Zap
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

If you think Shimano and SRAM were the first to the e-shifting market, you’re mistaken, my friend. Mavic blazed that trail over a decade before Shimano put its tires down on it. Back before they shifted focus to wheels and apparel, Mavic developed and manufactured component groups. Their “Starfish” cranks are as iconic as their unique headsets, but one group stood out from the rest of Mavic’s catalog. Zap was the name for Mavic’s electronic shifting system and while it was way before its time, it wasn’t underused, making several Tour appearances. Even Chris Boardman secured several victories in the Tour back in 1994 and 1997.

A Berry Blast from the Past: 1981 Jim Merz MTB

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A Berry Blast from the Past: 1981 Jim Merz MTB

Yesterday morning I had a date with a framebuilding legend from the American West. Like DiNucci, Strawberry, Bruce Gordon and others, Jim Merz was a key figure in promoting the production of custom frames in the ’70s and early ’80s. He was a machinist first, turned cyclist, turned builder. He was also an endurance cyclist, pedaling from Portland to Panama in 1970, logging over 8,000 miles. He also toured extensively in South Africa.

Jim brought his knowledge of loaded touring and trekking to his own operations, designing, fabricating and in a lot of ways shaping the world of touring bikes forever. So why haven’t you heard of Jim Merz? (Or perhaps you have, no assumptions here.) Well, Jim’s a unique guy and one that didn’t necessarily seek out the limelight like others in his day. That didn’t mean Jim wasn’t busy. In fact, in his ten years of solo framebuilding from 1972 through 1982, he built around 400 frames from Columbus and Reynolds tubing; he was the first US-builder certified to use Reynolds 753.

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1980 Crested Butte Klunker Classic

Speaking of bicycle evolution and mountain bikes, check this video out. There’s nothing much to say other than if you chose to not watch this, you’re missing the point of riding bikes. These are the early days of mountain biking. When Fisher and others were riding hacked-up beach cruisers down fire trails in California.

Here’s some information from the internets:

Crested Butte to Aspen Klunker Classic, 1980. Part 1 of 2. See Charley Kelly, Gary Fisher, “Murdoch”, the guy who did the belch for Jaba the Hutt, and other mountain biking notables, along with bikes by Ritchey, Breezer, and Arnold Schwinn & Co. A fine look at the state of the art in mountain bikes 30 years ago. Drpaddle is the guy in the Skid-Lid on the desert camouflage Lowell-Knight Procruiser . This was one fine time of high-altitude partying and pedaling with a bunch of creative, fun, and free people. Dana Atchley of Crested Butte created this two-part video series. Be sure to view Part 2!

Part 2 is below, it’s well worth the watch!

Eddy Merckx Motorola Corsa Extra with Dura Ace 25th Anniversary

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Eddy Merckx Motorola Corsa Extra with Dura Ace 25th Anniversary

This is a special Merckx Mondays treat. Sean from Team Dream recently acquired an Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra in the Motorola livery, laced with a beautiful NOS Dura Ace 25th Anniversary group. I’ve personally never seen this group on a bike, in person before, so it was a real pleasure photographing it. Sure, there are a few blemishes on the kit, like the insertion marks on the seat post, which were like that before Sean acquired it, but overall, this bike is a real gem.

Sean also has the case for the 25th group, which came with the fabled wrist watch. Once he replaces this group with a modern Campagnolo Athena kit, he’ll be displaying the 25th in its case at the Cub House, along with the bike itself. If you’re in the South Pasadena area, make sure you roll through the Cub House and check it out in person because no photos do this bike justice in real life!

Timeless Fun

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Timeless Fun


Photos by Tim Thulin

Jeff from Bike Jerks shared photos from a photographer who took part of a the Grey Rabbit / Pearl Pass MTB Tour in 1981. Tim captured the energy that is still present on rides like this, even today and a lot of these photos are timeless. See the full story at Bike Jerks.

A Look Inside Second Spin Cycles’ Vintage MTB Collection

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A Look Inside Second Spin Cycles’ Vintage MTB Collection

To call Martin from Second Spin Cycles a “collector” doesn’t do his operation justice. When I think of bicycle collectors, I picture hoarders stacking NOS parts for the sake of their own enjoyment, often shutting off their acquisitions from the real world, while only allowing members of various online forums the sneak peek inside, via photos. Maybe that’s an exaggeration but personally, I feel a great amount of indifference to people who hoard bicycles and components. Unless they’re riding them…

Four Unique Second Spin Mountain Bikes

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Four Unique Second Spin Mountain Bikes

Yesterday we took a look inside Second Spin Cycles and Martin’s stock of vintage mountain frames and accessories. Today, we’re going to look at four of his bikes in detail, all of which I felt were very unique. I’ve done my best to include Martin’s synopsis for each bike, along with some details which surprised even me. As with everything in this gallery, you can head to Second Spin Cycles’ blog for more information.

The Cub House Swap Meet and Bicycle Show

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The Cub House Swap Meet and Bicycle Show

A few months back, the guys at Team Dream Team came up with the idea of doing a bicycle show during their next swap meet. The call went out to all of Los Angeles for cyclists to bring in their best bicycle for display. Coinciding with a swap meet, people would be able to haggle for new parts, BBQ, and ogle the many noble steeds that would parade their way to South Pasadena for the show.

On Saturday, the event went down, bringing in some serious beauts. Including, but not limited to Tinker Juarez’s old Klein, a resurrected De Rosa Joe Bell restoration, a 1993 Chris Carmichael Motorola Merckx TT bike from the Tour, road bikes, all-road bikes, vintage road and kooky, one-of-a-kind show stoppers.

Many thanks to the folks at the Cub House for throwing this shindig and to everyone who made it happen!

Merckx Mondays

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Merckx Mondays

I hope you’re enjoying your holidays. We’ll be back in full swing tomorrow with some year in review posts. Santa Merckx hopes you didn’t buy any upgrades for Christmas, so go ride up grades! Original photo via Old Campy.