It's been a long time...

It's been a long time since our last post here. Not because of being slack, mind you. Still in the wings is The Sheriff's Merckx Ti, and still to be photographed is Rewind's Team Tekelom Merckx MX Leader.

I know this is a little confusing, as there are pictures of a Team Telekom Merckx MX Leader below... Well actually this belongs to a nice fellow named Anthony, and these are a few quick pics that were taken before the bike was bundled up and shipped off to London. Until it left Rewind's place we were amassing quite a fleet of Telekom Merckxs.

The only part I would change on this is perhaps the seatpost - to a campagnolo aero - and maybe the pedals. It's going to be a "commuter (!)" hence the double sided pedals. Bit nice to be a commuter eh?

An original Telekom Merckx MX Leader in fantastic shape, built by Rewind with new Campagnolo Athena 11s, Campagnolo Record hubs to Mavic Open Pros by DT Comp spokes (a staple favourite wheelset of the Rewind crew), and new reissued Cinelli 1A and Giro D'Italia bars.

The only regret is that we weren't able to get all the Merckxs together for a bunch ride before it left. Rides beautifully; hope you love it Anthony!

Give. Me. One.

Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2011

You can tell it is spring time in Melbourne, a light wind is whipping up the pollen, the sun is shining and everyone with a passion for life and fitness has lubed up their chain and is out on their bikes. Early Sunday morning thousands of Melbourne cyclists headed out into stiff winds to take part in the annual Around the Bay in a Day. This year there was just over $783K raised in support of The Smith Family, an amazing effort! I however had pulled out the friction machine and was hammering down Cressy Climb at the just recently reopened You Yangs mountain bike park with a massive grin and some severe sleep deprivation to boot. The rangers and You Yangs mountain bike club have done an fantastic job repairing the trails after the damage caused by some serious rain earlier in the year. The afternoon was similarly packed with cycling goodness as Rathdowne St and Lygon St had been closed for the Jayco Herald Sun Tour criterium. Anyone without a cycling hat felt like a fool and every fixie, vintage, titanium, steel and carbon bike in the city was there to see a most impressive race down through one of the most iconic streetscapes in Melbourne.

The criterium comprised of 15 blistering laps of the course with Melbournians whipping themselves into a bike-excitement-induced frenzy. The Rewind Cycle crew had all made the journey down to Carlton for the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed watching Marcel Kittle from Skil-Shimano sprint to take the win. Our sharp eyes picked up on which unfortunate teams were kitted out with SRAM as chains skipped and sponsored riders swore under their breath (and contracts).  There were a few valiant efforts in breakaways but nothing strong enough to stay away from the peleton for any significant length of time.

Love cycling, love Melbourne.

The Sheriff.

Check out the awesome shots from Rewind below.

Fire - Wind - Water - Earth

"Dwell in the Valley of Kings, Melbourne, exposed to the elements, development brings." - Pegz

Two years and eight months ago Kinglake was devastated by possibly the worst firestorm every experienced in Victoria, Black Saturday. Although the return to normality for the local peeps has been slow and arduous, the wilderness has sprung forth like a phoenix.

We experienced everything from wind to drizzle to hail to sun as we climbed from Whittlesea into Kinglake and back around in a 70km loop. The ride around Yan Yean reservoir and up to Kinglake goes through some of the most delightful scenery that Victoria has to offer and although the elements were against us it was one of the most rewarding days in the saddle I have had. Italian steel was out in force and the Moser climbed beautifully up the 7.5km ascent with the gradient being very kind to a slightly heavier frame. A massive "Thank you!" to the local CFA too as they stood out in the rain making sure that we could fill our bidons to stay hydrated (you still sweat when it is raining) with big smiles on their faces and cheerful words of encouragement.

Snaps below.

 "It's raining sideways; is this a good idea?" - Rewind

 Titanium is the new steel... get ready...

 Hammer time! Rewind style.

 Sub-arctic climb through the regrowth.

Sancineto. Columbus Max.

The new one. Sancineto - Cuneo, Torino, Italy.

Columbus MAX.

Campagnolo Record 10 Titanium.

Campagnolo Shamal Titanium.

Busyman Saddle (wrong bike though!!).

Cinelli XA and Cinelli Giro D'Italia stem/bar combo.

Campagnolo Record pantographed post.

Heaven.

Allez Allez Cadel Evans!

Cadel Evans we salute you.

You have provided us with the most memorable and exciting Tour de France ever and showed true grit on the slopes of the Galibier and Alpe d'Huez. I feel privileged to have been able to see you and the BMC team, while in the Vendee, roll out of the starting blocks for the team time trial and even more privileged to be able sacrifice fours hours of sleep per night when I returned home to be able to watch you approach Le Tour like you never have before. You dug deep, worked hard and came up with the goods. Aldo Sassi would be proud, I'm sure the BMC team are proud and I know as an Australian and a cyclist I have never been more proud of an Australia sportsperson. Enjoy the Champs-Élysées tomorrow with the boys and you can be sure that we will be here in Australia giving you a standing ovation as you to take the top of the podium and don the maillot jaune.

Allez Allez Cadel Evans!

And it begins again...

So excited right now. Fresh back from the Les Dix Alpes tour of Italy, Switzerland and France (Moi Aussi) and feeling like I have been reborn. The BH carried me well over the alps although there is something about carbon that just doesn't feel right. I was trying to explain this to a friend last night but it is a little hard to put into words. The '84 steel Moser is decked out with Campagnolo Athena but weighs in around 10.1kg, the '97 carbon BH on the other hand is decked out with Campagnolo Record and weights in at a super light 6.7kg. Strangely though the BH just isn't as nice to ride. The gear changing is noisier and not as smooth, descending is sketchy, like skydiving with a bed sheet for a parachute. The BH however climbs and accelerates better given the weight of the bike and the stiffness of the carbon.

This leads to a dillema about choice of frame materials and I just might have just found the answer..... the answer is 42, no just kidding. The answer is TITANIUM! Thanks to eBay and the strong Aussie dollar I have finally found the 58cm Eddy Merckx titanium frame I have been looking for at a bargain basement price and it is currently being shipped to Washington DC and then will be checked and rerouted to Melbourne.

The fork is Time carbon and I'll use carbon wherever else possible to keep the weight down. Not sure on componentry yet but am strongly considering an SRAM Red Black edition groupset based on weight, price and reputation. Wheels will be an issue as I think I have almost deystroyed the Campagnolo Neutrons on the BH putting down extreme power over the Galibier so if you have any advice on your favourite manufacturers and materials for a light weight (sub 1.6kg) but extremely strong wheelset let me know.

Enjoy the pics!