Christophe double toe clips

For cyclocross, double toe clips were used. Simply because these were stronger and more durable. Example: you approach an obstacle like barriers, stairs, a steep hill or sand. You have to get yourself ready to jump off the bike. With your feet into the clips, it's impossible to jump off quickly, so you will stand with one foot (usually the left foot, in case you shoulder the bike on your right) on a pedal. The other (right) leg between (left) leg and bike. But because you stand on the bottom side of the pedal, the toe clip hangs down and can easily scrape over the path of road surface and even hook up with a rock, root or branch. This may bend, break or at least wear the clip.
Double clips are some kind of added security. Your toe clips will not bend or snap during a ride or race.

Christophe supplied double toe clips as a standard item, see photos. In case you couldn't get any (fitting) double toe clips, you could (can) also make a pair by yourself. All you need is 2 pairs of regular toe clips and some rivets (from a hardware store of Mr. Minit shoe repair). Drill out the rivets of the toe clips to remove the eyelet for the toe strap. Then, put 2 toe clips together and put the eyelet on top of it. Finally, connect the both clips and the eyelet with rivets, using a hammer or bench vice (original riveting tool is also possible, but I never used that).

Lyotard 460D pedals

Before 1990, when Shimano introduced Shimano Pedalling Dynamics (SPD), there were no such things as we call clipless pedals (or click pedals) for offroad use. People had to use rat trap pedals, either with toe clips and straps or without. Mud and dirt proof foot retention systems were not available.

Lyotard 460A pedals were the standard in cyclocross, but also used in other cycling disciplines. Lightweight, grippy teeth, good mud clearance. Not very well sealed, but good enough for one season and the bearings could easily be cleaned, greased up and adjusted. And these pedals were cheap as chips, DFL 10.- a pair or so, if I remember correctly. Maybe a bit more. For that amount, every cyclocross rider could afford to wear out or damage 1 or 2 pairs each winter season. In 'cross, you easily hit a tree root, rock or other obstacle with your pedal and the front plate of the pedals bends easily. As mentioned, no big deal. Bend it back when the ride is over and get a new pair of pedals if the damage is too bad or the season is over.

Of course, on a real cyclocross bike, these pedals were equipped with toe clips and straps. Preferably Christophe toe clips and Alfredo Binda straps, although that didn't make a lot of sense, because the straps were nearly never pulled tight. For example, Christophe straps would also do.
A real freak would tune all parts to the limit. More about that in another blog in a couple of weeks.

Sun Tour Power Ratchet bar end shifters

Before Shimano introduced STI and Dual Control shifters (a bit later followed by Campagnolo and Sachs with Ergopower), nearly all cyclocross rider were using bar end shifters to operate their gear mechanism. And not only cross riders, but some roadies as well. With bar end shifters, you can keep your hands on the handlebars while shifting. This enables you to shift gears quickly and safely.
Bar end shifters work in the same way as down tube shifters, but only the location is different. However, during the approx. 5 years WITH indexed shifting but WITHOUT STI-like brifters, the use of indexed bar end shifters (or: bar-cons) was minimal. There were some reasons. The 1st is technical: for indexed shifting you need more than a shifting lever that says "click". The whole system has to be perfect. It took conservative cyclists and bicycle dealers a long time to understand that this was not only a commercial trick from Shimano. Shifting levers, sprockets, chains, cables, yes, even frame design has to be optimized. Then we come to the next point: 'cross riders tend to mix and match everything they can lay their hands on, which is not good for indexed shifting. And third, cross bikes are more complex than road bikes. Different gear ratios, longer cables, different cable routing, mud, rain, frost, etc.
A short explanation why indexed shifting in general and in the beginning STI was not perfect for CX.

Sun Tour had the perfect bar end shifters in the olden days of friction shifting. Operation was the same as Shimano, Campagnolo and others, but Sun Tour was extra popular because of the perfect Power Ratchet mechanism. A friction type shifting lever has to be set up with a certain amount of friction in order to withstand the spring load of the derailleur. The combination of lever friction, cable friction and derailleur spring force make shifting heavy and hard to control. Sun Tour Power Ratchet's ratchet and spring/pawl mechanism decouples the friction from the lever. When shifting against the derailleur's spring tension, the lever can be moved upwards without friction, making it light to operate. When a certain gear has been selected, the lever (and thus the derailleur) stays in place because of the lever friction and the ratchet mechanism. When shifting in the other direction (lever downwards), the rider has to overcome the lever friction, but gets help from the derailleur's spring force.
All in all the same idea as e.g. Simplex' and later Campagnolo successful down tube shifters with spring load, but a different construction.

Sun Tour bar end shifters were the overall standard for cyclocross in the 1980s and nearly every single 'cross bike was equipped with 1 or 2 of these levers, depending of the number of gears (single or double chain ring in the front). Nowadays these levers are pretty rare and of course getting more and more expensive. This week I found a set in Belgium, the cradle of cyclocross, and still for very good price. As you can see on the picture, on both levers the flat head nut is missing. This always happened with these levers. Most levers are without the nut. It's no big deal, the function remains okay and the levers don't fall apart. For security reasons I will put a standard M4 hexagon nut in place.

For (dis)assembly to (from) the handlebars, the lever has to be removed from the bracket. Just a matter of taking the long bolt and the nuts out and sliding the lever out of the bracket. When tightening the lever to the bar end, you have to turn the Allen key counter clockwise! Not because there's left hand threading, but because the tool is put into the bottom of the central fixing bolt instead of the bolt head. Turn clockwise in case you want to remove the lever from the bar end.

A challenge: cyclocross saddle

For a cyclocross fan with a saddle fetish, a real, vintage cyclocross saddle is a must. Although I've been active in CX racing, in the bike trade and bike industry for decades, I've never owned one or seen any benefit of these saddles. But I've to admit, that it's just awesome. Top of the bill is Assos, of course, although Arius is a good No. 2.
Since these 2 models are rare "as hen's teeth" (a year ago, I let an Assos go when I was able to get it, I'm such a dumbass), I'll try to make one myself.
To be continued.

Retro track bike day in Büttgen, Germany, 20/Jan/2013

A yearly event for fans of vintage track bikes on the Sport Forum track in Kaarst - Büttgen, Germany.
This year on Sunday 20. January.
Don't forget to contact the organizers beforehand in case you want to join.
All details on this blog: www.klassikerausfahrt.de

Superia Gemini Cross

I'm still busy with the Alan and suddenly a second CX bike project is coming up. To be honest, the Alan isn't off road ready (yet) and I want to keep it nice, so I'm not going to take it into the mud, salt and rain.
For that purpose, I've been looking for a cheap alternative and a few days ago it suddenly showed up: a Superia Gemini Cross, real old school cyclocross brand, nice steel frame, some usable components and... exactly my size. I hope that things work out well and in that case I can post more details within a couple of days.
Steel frame 58 cm (EDIT: it's a 57cm, but that will do), wheels with tubular tyres, single chain ring with guide plates, Sun Tour bar end shifter, Dia Compe cantilever brakes, toe clips and straps, etc. And very affordable, too!

Status update Alan Super Cross

As mentioned before, the Alan is ridable but not off-road ready. Besides that, some problems have appeared and need to be solved before taking the bike outside again. The bike isn't ready and not as I intended to build the bike, but it was just a quick action to have a ridable bike at that time. The most serious issue is that the front fork is not reliable. One of the cantilever brake bosses is loose; a matter that was hidden/covered up by the previous owner. Yes, Marktplaats.nl can be risky. Anyway, that same Marktplaats.nl brought me another fork, but unfortunately, that one is too long and the threading is too short. So, the to-do list is:

Forks: Cut approx 20mm extra thread or find another fork, 200mm steerer tube.

Bar end shifter: Currently a Shimano indexed shifter, but this is not period correct, brand-wise, emotionally and technically (in index mode) not matching with the Campagnolo rear derailleur. Will be replaced with a Suntour micro-ratchet, spring loaded bar end shifter. Pretty rare now, but very common in the 1980s.

Brake levers: Aero type Shimano Dura Ace brake levers have to be replaced by some non-aero types like older type Shimano, Modolo, Campagnolo, Mafac, CLB, Suntour, Galli, etc.

Wheels: Now nice wheels with Mavic tubular rims, but Shimano 8/9-speed cassette hubs. Will be replaced by period correct wheels with Campagnolo or Mavic hubs for boss-type freewheel (no cassette). Preferably tubular rims, because I have new Wolber CX tubulars. An additional pair of clincher wheels will be nice for "daily" use, because clinchers are more practical (repair a flat) and I can keep the tubular wheels in perfect showroom condition. Cyclocross parts tend to wear, you know? It's no track racing.

Freewheel: I will need a multiple freewheel, ideally a Maillard 6 speed, 13 - 26 T.

Seat post: Another Campagnolo 25.0 mm seat post will be handy, because I only have 1 piece in full length or both my track and CX bike. If possible an Alan-pantographed one!

Pedals: Got only 1 (new) Lyotard rat trap pedal! I need a second one or a complete set.

Toe clips: Same as the pedals: only 1 piece available, but it's a nice, new Christophe double toe clip. Need an extra double or 2 single toe clips, size L (?).

Straps: No straps available, so I need a new pair.

Selle Royal Superleggero

Selle Royal saddle, special edition for Gazelle. Showed up in Gazelle's 1981 catalogue on a beautiful Reynolds 753 bicycle. Like Cinelli Unicanitor, it's a plastic shell with a padded leather cover. The rails, however, are aluminium, thus super lightweight or superleggero. I never had the opportunity to ride this kind of saddle, even not during my days at Gazelle. Or, maybe I had, but there was plenty other stuff to use. And first I have to get myself a Gazelle frame set to do this saddle any justice. Until then, it will stay NOS.

Wolber Cross 28 Extra Cyclocross Tubulars

No, this has nothing to do with track bikes. On the contrary, on the track everything is comfy, clean and smooth, while cyclocross is cold, dirty, muddy and rough. The thing that they have in common is fun! I started a classic cyclocross project more than a year ago by purchasing an old Alan Super cyclocross frame. I've made it ready to ride for a classic road ride last September, but now it's time for the next steps: make it offroad ready. The indexed Shimano bar end shifter has to go and to be replaced by a Suntour. The large 48T ring has been replaced by a 44T. And most important: knobbly tyres. Until the late 1990s, when Michelin introduced the Wildgripper Sprints, there were no good clinchers for 'cross, so you had to ride with tubulars. Many years before André Dugast came up with his superior line of CX tubs, people had to ride Clément Grifo, which was the best and the standard. Of course, there were alternatives, like Wolber, Barum, and several (other) eastern European products. Wolber was available, affordable and more or less good quality. It couldn't compete with Clément, but for touring, training and racing, it was good enough for less wealthy people. Cross 28 has a Grifo-like "tractor" tread, which is good for 80 to 90% of all terrains. Cross section is a bit skinny, but because the canvas is not that supple and the inner tube is Butyl, a wider tyre would be almost impossible to ride. In the 1980s, 28 mm was quite normal. Besides the Cross 28 extra, Wolber also had a more heavy duty Cross Super with round studs tread and was called Cross Super. Even skinnier at 25.5 mm and suitable for muck and snow.

Campagnolo SGR pedals

Campagnolo's own attempt to make clipless pedals. As Campagnolo did a few times in those days, it was completely over-enigeered. Lots of featers and functions, but not suitable for a product like a road racing bicycle. Typically Campagnolo: beautiul design, horrendous function. More or less the same as other stuf from that era: Delta brakes, Syncro-I shifters, MTB gruppo, ...
I got one of the first testable samples and I took them out as soon as I could. But soon it became clear, that the shoes had to stay on the bike, whenever you tried to get off from the bike. So, instead of clicking out, you had to unlace the shoes and walk away on socks.
A summary of the pedal features:
The Campagnolo SGR is more than just a simple component and in keeping with the latest technology from Campagnolo.
The SGR is a true machine in itself. Concealed within the pedal body are three separate mechanisms: the adjustable release tension, the adjustment of lateral freeplay and Campagnolo’s patented “Easy Fitting System”.
Thanks to the technically innovative “Easy Fitting System” the pedal will maintain a horizontal position after the shoe has been disengaged. This feature eliminates the need to “kick” the pedal up when engaging the shoe guaranteeing fast, easy entry whether in a tightly bunched peloton or on a crowded city street. As soon as the shoe is engaged the pedal is free to rotate.
The second mechanism allows one to adjust the amount of lateral freeplay the shoe has on the pedal. This lateral movement can be adjusted from 0 degrees (shoe completely locked) up to a maximum of 5 degrees of float.
A third mechanism uses a 4mm allen screw to easily adjust the tension of the release spring.
The Campagnolo SGR pedals feature Campagnolo’s new “Triple Bearing System” supporting a hardened chromemoly axle. The body is made of Avional aluminium and all internal parts are sealed from the elements. The pedal can be easily lubricated via two lube ports on the underside of the pedal.