GCN: Modern Cyclist, Retro Bike, Classic Climb

[fiamme red]

"So what was life like before the invention of the derailleur? How hard was it to ride a bike with only two gears over mountain passes? Thanks to Tullio Campagnolo we'll never know.... but Ollie found out."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUbA5iHqC6U

[parco]

I'm all for something like this at least occasionally. I was hoping that during the 100th Tour they might do something with retro bikes. Maybe do the time trials on single speeds?

[m_sasso]

Recognize these guys? Ran into them in Ravenna, Italy at the 10th stage of the Giro, May 21st, 2019

[martl]

"So what was life like before the invention of the derailleur? How hard was it to ride a bike with only two gears over mountain passes? Thanks to Tullio Campagnolo we'll never know.... but Ollie found out."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUbA5iHqC6U

That bike :confused:
I love the GCN channel, i really do, but every time they do something with "vintage" they manage to find a completely idiotic bike, one that doesn't fit, and/or a rider who obviously never saw a toeclip in his life and seems to find the idea of using anything older than 2 years absurd.
A nice idea butchered to do a very bad "comedy" clip.

[mcteague]

That bike :confused:
I love the GCN channel, i really do, but every time they do something with "vintage" they manage to find a completely idiotic bike, one that doesn't fit, and/or a rider who obviously never saw a toeclip in his life and seems to find the idea of using anything older than 2 years absurd.
A nice idea butchered to do a very bad "comedy" clip.

And, did you see the brake blocks on the bike while he was riding it? They were not even close to being aligned! Plus, no bar tape on a rainy ride? Sure they are ancient stuff but why leave the bike in such a crappy state? Also, interesting how they tried to dismantle Tullio Campagnolo's legend. Did the QR revelation during a cold race never happen at all? Guess not, well, its a nice story anyway. Lots of Edison's inventions came from his employees and not the man himself. Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/a-reappraisal-of-tullio-campagnolo/

Tim

[fiamme red]

That bike :confused:
I love the GCN channel, i really do, but every time they do something with "vintage" they manage to find a completely idiotic bike, one that doesn't fit, and/or a rider who obviously never saw a toeclip in his life and seems to find the idea of using anything older than 2 years absurd.
A nice idea butchered to do a very bad "comedy" clip.The video is more silly than entertaining. He calls his bike a "rubbish, heavy, flexible steel frame..." :rolleyes:

They could at least have adjusted the brakes. Also, the water bottle cage on the right side of his handlebars would be lopsided if he actually had a bottle there.

[FlashUNC]

Riding a 46x18 up a mountain sucks. Wingnuts suck.

Whether or not he had bar tape or aligned brake blocks isn't going to change the fact that nigh on a century of progress has made bikes more livable.

And rather than totally truther Tullio's legacy, the video makes pretty clear the dude is still a giant in bike innovation.

[martl]

A video on that subject could be entertaining without being silly, if they didn't go the easy and uncorrect route "lets ride this unrideable bike and crack fratboy level jokes".
I guess they got the Campagnolo stuff about correct, even when 'busting' "Campa invented gear shifting" isn't exactly breaking news, is it.

I did a club TT once for funsies in a wool jersey and on my Oscar Egg-geared 3-speed Automoto TdF from 1936. Didn't even come in last (33km/h average) although i lost a minute because the wing-nut rear wheel misaligned, jamming the chain...

Climbing in a low gear is absolutely possible with a bit of adaption -there is a gradient threshold, of course, but the CdA isn'T that bad-; we used to do that sometimes in spring training camp to set a focus on power development, when i was still ambitious.
Powermeter, surprisingly enough :rolleyes:, said an 800m/hr climb rate at 39/24 is the same Wattage as an 800m/hr rate at 53/13. Same heart bpm, too.

[93KgBike]

I'm all for something like this at least occasionally. I was hoping that during the 100th Tour they might do something with retro bikes. Maybe do the time trials on single speeds?

It would be really interesting to see the peloton tackle some great stages of the tour on bikes of the era, but only to bike nerds, and you'd never hear the end of the hand-wringing about EPO.

Maybe the TdF Gran Fondo could team up with L'Eroica, or something like that?

[93KgBike]

Riding a 46x18 up a mountain sucks. Wingnuts suck.

I rode 46x18 all over the Bay Area. It was fantastic. Descending under 5mph, for example, is tremendously good training for the legs, and a fun challenge. Big gear climbing is good for the sprint. No shame in traversing; Coppi did it.

I shopped for a coupla years until I found the perfect fancy-era wing nuts for the front wheel, which was little harder in the pre-internet era.

[vincenz]

That bike :confused:
I love the GCN channel, i really do, but every time they do something with "vintage" they manage to find a completely idiotic bike, one that doesn't fit, and/or a rider who obviously never saw a toeclip in his life and seems to find the idea of using anything older than 2 years absurd.
A nice idea butchered to do a very bad "comedy" clip.


Lighten up..they’re in the entertainment industry.

Probably the funniest GCN video I’ve seen. I was laughing at his reactions the entire clip.

No matter if you find offense or not, it has to be said a 7kg bike with modern gearing and accoutrements is an easier ride than a 12kg one with classic parts. It just says more about the grit that riders back then needed.

[smead]

Bah! Using two gears is for softies.

[charliedid]

That was great

[MattTuck]

Makes you wonder whether an average pro today with a 24 tooth cog could have won a bunch of tours back then.

[AngryScientist]

haha, i found that entertaining, especially the comparison stats between the 1920's tour and 2018.

the best part of the video though, is the whole premise that tulio invented the QR due to that climb, and then he hops on his ultra modern road bike and realizes that he no longer has quick releases, ha!

[Safepants]

That bike :confused:
I love the GCN channel, i really do, but every time they do something with "vintage" they manage to find a completely idiotic bike, one that doesn't fit, and/or a rider who obviously never saw a toeclip in his life and seems to find the idea of using anything older than 2 years absurd.
A nice idea butchered to do a very bad "comedy" clip.
I find they try to emulate Clarkson era Top Gear a little too much.

[Ronsonic]

That bike :confused:
I love the GCN channel, i really do, but every time they do something with "vintage" they manage to find a completely idiotic bike, one that doesn't fit, and/or a rider who obviously never saw a toeclip in his life and seems to find the idea of using anything older than 2 years absurd.
A nice idea butchered to do a very bad "comedy" clip.

I'm sure that they also want to ensure that no advertiser or sponsor or brand placement ever has to suffer in a comparison.

[uno-speedo]

That was a good video.

If you miss Matt from GCN, a bike shop in London, England, Sigma Sports now feature him in their videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC87xDZXJ4YbTkz4vs0UiT-w.