We’ve just had a fresh delivery of Walz moisture wicking caps in.
This is our preferred under helmet wear both summer and winter as even when it’s frosty we hate to get too hot headed.
Check out the range here.
As well as team and non team jerseys, we also sell a few jerseys that are souvenirs from races and challenge events.
One such is the Krone Kitzhorn Challenge Jersey we’ve got for sale at the moment.
Kitzbuhel is probably most famous for its ludicrously scary downhill ski race. There is also a ludicrous hill climb there too.
The climb gains 920 metres in just 7.5 km – an average of 12.5% with the steepest section at 22.3%.
From 1971 to 1995 the event attracted riders such as Lucien Van Impe. In 2005, after a 10 year break the event was re-introduced.
Since 2000 the finish has been used in the Tour of Austria. Stage winners have included Cadel Evans. The record for the climb on the Tour of Austria (a slightly shorter 7.1km and 865m) is 28:24 by Thomas Rohregger.
The jersey is available for sale here.
We’ve just received, hot from Italy, a consignment of cotton retro cycling caps.
There are four designs to choose from – Molteni, Clement, 7 Eleven, and Brooklyn. All classic teams from the 1970’s and 80’s.
We’ve also have had a shipment of another 150+ jerseys that we are currently working our way through and will be putting up for sale in the next few days.
Direct from California USA, we are now (very) proud stockists of Walz Cycling Caps.
Made from wool or moisture wicking fabric these caps are great for wearing under your helmet and look good both on and off the bike.
Check out our range here.
Whilst we love racing bikes, shopping bikes have a great place in our hearts as they are great for getting into town or of to the cafe when you fancy a non lycra day.
Mixte frames are a classic design of shopping or town bike with a split low crossbar and are developing a cult following.
In this video, top French rider Mikeal Dupont however demonstrates that these iconic bikes do have their operational limits.
[tube]http://youtu.be/W-rAv43UFnA[/tube]
The Times has launched a campaign to improve the safety of cycling in the UK.
The main aims of its campaign are:
Being a cycling based business, we can do nothing but support this cause which is why we have added a logo and link to our pages.
To sign up and put your weight behind the campaign check out this page.
We took delivery today of some NOS Simplex parts.
Simplex was started by Dijon shop owner Lionel Juy in the 1920’s and finally ceased trading in 1985. One of the innovations that M. Juy came up with was using plastic to reduce the weight of the components. Whilst the shifting action of his derailleurs was said to be sweeter than those by Campagnolo, they also had a bad habit of the plastic bits breaking.
We’ve the following Simplex Prestige levers in stock at the moment:
We had a delivery of NOS MAFAC toolkits in today. Which we’ve added to our store.
MAFAC is one of those names (like Simplex, Huret and Maillard to name a few) that dispeared during the early eighties. The company developed one of (if not the) first cantilever brakes in 1946, the basic design which was used on mountain and cyclo cross bikes.
Probably their most famous product was the MAFAC Racer centre pull brakes.
Introduced in 1952 and originally stamped Dural Forge, Racers were popular with many riders including Jaques Anquetil. In 1974 Racers were updated to the short drop ‘Competition’ and long drop ‘2000’ models. Around this time MAFAC’s brake levers became shorter and were drilled.
For more information on MAFAC check out Classic Lightweight and Sheldon Brown.
Well we’re finally open.
We’ve started putting up our stock online – more should follow in the following days and weeks. We’ve decided to go with Paypal for the moment for our payment provider. I know Paypal is not perfect and has it’s critics. But so do most banks.
To keep things simple we’ve set our carriage charges for delivery to UK addresses free for orders over £10. Below that it’s £2 to cover our costs. International orders do cost a little more – but it is a longer bus ride.
We’re putting up on site a mix of new, used and NOS (new old stock).
Opening a store is hard work ! We have been selling stuff via eBay for a while now, but thought we would expand into our own website. With eBay it’s fairly simple – buy stuff (new or second hand), sell it (hopefully at a profit).
Opening an online store is a whole different ball game. You have to source reliable suppliers (we have a few of them in France). Our main problem with buying and selling older ‘obsolete’ parts is finding a consistant supply as there are normally only a finite number of items. When the parts do arrive, we have to check the quality of the items – several items we have bought as new old stock, are not.
We have also had to design the site to try and get the right feel to it. I hope you like it !
On a more fun note I dropped off a Peugeot PV10 frame to be restored today. The PV10 is the slightly less glamourous brother of the legendary PX10 frame that was ridden by Tom Simpson, Eddie Mercx and Bernard Thevenet. The main difference is instead of being completely 531 tubing the rear stays are not. It was introduced in the 1979 model year and is branded ‘Super Competition’. The frame is in not bad condition to start with, but I’m intending on using it as my uber best bike.
Congratulations to Mark Cavendish on winning sports personality of the year.
Love him or hate him Cav winning this award can do nothing but good for cycling and encourage more folks out onto the roads.
There was a debate running on Talk Talk on whether cycling is actually a sport. I would challenge the Talk Talk radio presenter to ride his bike on the Tour and say it wasn’t. Cycling can also be a mode of transport – thats the great thing about the bike, you can use it at whatever level you like.
Whatever your view, it’s great that Mark Cavendish has been recognised for his achievements.
Whilst it’s fun to ride alone, at times it’s also good to have some company. There are several sportive type events (mainly in Europe) aimed at vintage / retro bikes. Here’s the ones that I’ve found:
Pendle Witches, Lancashire April 12th: http://www.pendlewitchesvintagevelo.co.uk/
Beret Baguette Ride, Paris, May: http://www.beret-baguette.com/
Anjou Velo Vintage, Saumur June 23 /24: http://www.anjou-velo-vintage.com/
Retroronde, Flanders, Belgium, July 1st: http://www.crvv.be/en/museum/activities/retroronde
La Patramonie, Favieres en Brie, France, September: http://www.lapatrimoine.fr/
Eroica, Italy, Early October: http://www.eroica-ciclismo.it/english/home.asp
Tweed Run, London, November: http://tweedrun.com/
You must be logged in to post a comment.