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and then, this...

superstrata bicycle

i have one or two friends who are what i'm prepared to refer to as gadget freaks, keen to be early adopters of whatever the latest bit of technology happens to be, and whether or not it's of any immediate use. there are obviously millions of such individuals in existence, otherwise why would apple be not only a $1.5 trillion company, but sell every new version of the iphone by the truckload? the same seems to apply to trickery of all shapes and forms that emerges from silicon valley and silicon roundabout.

superstrata bicycle

cycling is not exempt from what would, at one time, have been referred to as space age technology, and originally, probably was. depending on your point of view, we should surely count our blessings in this respect, as former military and space technologists found themselves searching for alternative markets when spending cuts hit their original outlets. otherwise, it's highly unlikely that carbon fibre would be filling the peloton, and titanium would scarcely have shown its unpainted lustre. i do, however, wonder whatever happened to the beryllium bicycle?

such technologies have 'calmed down' a bit over recent decades, with any developments being on a micro scale rather than the leaps and bounds that shaped the latter days of the 1990s and on into the early 2000s. though ernesto still glues his carbon tubes into carbon lugs under his cambiago residence, the majority of carbon is built in the far east, layering pre-preg carbon into expensive molds, criss-crossed to provide strength where it's needed, and to obviate any excess weight where it has been found unnecessary.

superstrata bicycle

the downside to this means of building a bicycle frame, and one of the notable losses from the days of handbuilt steel, is the disappearance of made to measure. monocoque molds, to the best of my knowledge, are somewhat expensive to create, making it quite uneconomic to manufacture individual examples for custom frames. if chris froome has a bit of a quibble with the length of his pinarello top tube, it's really not possible to accommodate that without going to considerable expense. the only practical way forward would be to dispense with the mold and create a carbon frame by alternative means.

which is precisely what superstrata have achieved in an idiosyncratic manner.

they have opted to use an advanced 3d printing process, allowing for a hitherto unseen level of customisation. the superstrata frame can accommodate any combination of height, weight, arm and leg lengths, riding positions and even dial in a preferred level of the great-god stiffness. according to the manufacturer, there are over half a million possible combinations available, making it possibly the most versatile carbon fibre bicycle in the history of the bicycle.

superstrata bicycle

according to bill stephens, award-winning designer and original impetus behind superstrata, "The bike was designed to leverage all the benefits of this new manufacturing technology to get the best of both worlds: strength and lightness."

the company have opted to offer two different versions of the bike: the regular terra and the electric powered ion, which can allegedly be fully-charged within two hours and offers a range of 55 miles (88km). but technology frequently offers a great deal of versatility in more than a single direction. in this case, both frame options will feature integrated data and power wiring throughout the frame, offering a relatively simple upgrade path as developments continue on their inexorable way. the available options will also cater to differing genres of cycling, including racing, street, gravel or touring, and wheels made either from carbon or aluminium. colouring, however, is only a single step from henry ford's day, either black or white.

sky christopherson, olympian cyclist and track sprint world record holder, admitting to a degree of power most of us will never see, said, "My bikes were light, but would often crack if I pushed them too hard. Having a bike that's light like other carbon fibre bikes, but is actually really tough, is a dream come true. And the design is bold, especially for a composite bike."

superstrata bicycle

as can be seen from the accompanying images, the bicycle is relatively unusual in that the seat tube is conspicuous by its absence. that means a second bottle cage might be out of the question, and it could be a bit of a struggle to fit a front gear mech. the unibody construction is printed in a single pass of continuous carbon fibre thermoplastic composite. that means no joints or glue, resulting in seamless strength from front to back. the construction material is reckoned to be highly impact resistant, while remaining impressively lightweight.

the standard, road-going terra will retail at $2,799 (£2220) and the ion e-bike is priced at $3,999 (£3170), with delivery commencing in december of this year. both options are currently available for pre-order.

superstrata bicycle

monday 13 july 2020

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honour the socks

this is cambridge

in the first decade of this century, when i still possessed a modicum of wanderlust, i would think nothing of taking a ferry and a bus to glasgow, before boarding a train for london village. on the outer edge, there is only so much that can be done to encourage, maintain or create personal relationships within sections of the cycle industry, and if i had to choose one place in which to do so, london seemed a reasonable starting point.

at the time, the annual cycle show was held at earls court, rapha were still out at the original imperial works in kentish town, cycling tv's studios were in the vicinity, there were a number of cycle stores of interest, and not just a few other indviduals with whom i had been in contact prior to the train journey. several of them still speak to me.

this is cambridge

on one of those trips, i was accompanied by my daughter, who would have been a teenager at the time. as that particular visit consisted of two days and two nights, the arrangement was that on day one, we'd visit all the cycle-related folks and locations, and on day two, she could shop 'til she (or i) dropped. that seemed to meet with her approval. day one started early and finished late, with me talking endlessly about bicycles and related subjects, along with brief bouts of rudimentary photography. as we wended our way back to the hotel via several underground train journeys, my daughter said, "dad, cycling people are really nice."

this is cambridge

though she may have been looking at the situation from the wrong perspective - it's probably more a case of nice people working in the cycle industry, than the industry being responsible for their niceness - essentially, she wasn't wrong. throughout the long day in london, even though i was perpetually occupied, my daughter was never ignored by those i visited. she was offered coffee or tea, sandwiches, the opportunity to look at bicycles she might like, and all manner of other courtesies. at no point was she ever ignored, or the subject of disapproval that i'd brought my teenage daughter along for the ride.

this is cambridge

andrew and daphne monk are this is cambridge, a company that entered the velocipedinal world as purveyors of hand-made casquettes that avoided the one-size-fits-all mentality, naturally progressing to jerseys, bibshorts, socks and waterproofs and gilets. in fact, pretty much every item of garmentage desired by the intrepid rider. the design of these garments was not only impeccable, but pleasantly eccentric (socks with rarely matching patterns and the waterproof jacket can be bright pink with large, reflective white dots). andrew and daphne are completely independent and completely autonomous, with no shareholders to please, leaving them free to decide what they do and what they don't do.

this is cambridge

you would be forgiven for querying how that's any different from any number of cycling apparel providers, other than the fact that they seem able to survive in what has become an all but saturated market, where the big boys often seem intent on leaving few crumbs for the more compact and bijou, such as this is cambridge. and as if to throw obstacles in their own path, tic do not sell through high street or online retailers. the only way you can acquire tic.cc apparel is via their own website.

and they are very nice people.

if proof of the pudding were required, earlier this week i received an unexpected package containing a pair of bright yellow socks emblazoned with the tic logo, accompanied by a brief letter. that missive enquired how i was doing in these difficult times, comparing them to the never ending last kilometre of a brutal climb, "depleted of energy and every metre feeling like a kilometre." though i have been spared many of the iniquities attached to the covid-19 lockdown restrictions, at least as far as cycling is concerned, i knew just what they meant.

so why the yellow socks with mismatched patterns?

perhaps it's best if i quote from the label wrapped around the 'vive your tour' socks. "At a time when we would normally be watching the world's finest, we encourage you to go ride more. Go fill the void with extra kilometres, happiness and positivity. Vive your tour - honour the socks." and even if you don't have a pair of these socks, perhaps you could take a more existential view, and find your own parcours, until racing commences next month.

and honour the socks.

this is cambridge

sunday 12 july 2020

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something for the weekend

foreland

i feel considerably less exposed when now mentioning the possibility or actuality of riding out of doors, now that lockdown restrictions have receded somewhat. i was asked only a few weeks back, how the covid-19 crisis had affected by own bike riding, and i felt both smug and ashamed at the same time to admit that it had made not one iota of difference. each and every saturday and sunday, i would drag the ritchey from the confines of the bike shed and undertake the daily 65km, come wind, rain or shine. yet, in other, less robust parts of the country, cyclists were tripping over the turbo trainer left in the middle of the sitting room, fending off complaints from family about the smell of sweaty baselayers and the constant thrumming from the rear wheel roller.

and that's not to mention having commandeered the wide-screen tellybox on which to view one's favourite scenes from watopia.

i recall writing that the roads, during those initial weeks at least, were the quietest i'd seen in many a long year, evoking memories of annual show day, when the bulk of islay's population was to be found perambulating the showfield in bridgend, cars safely parked in neatly ordered rows, while their passengers stared at sheep and cattle, and consumed candy floss, freshly made doughnuts, chatting to folks not seen for many weeks or months. that then left the roads clear for the serious work of, as the mighty dave t says, "getting the miles in".

the first minister's announcements of thursday past, offered more scope for the scottish population to get out and about, though why it has been deemed necessary to begin wearing compulsory face masks after almost fifteen weeks of not doing so, follows a logic i find a tad incomprehensible. as i pointed out at debbie's last week, the floors of the café are going to be in some mess this weekend, as we attempt to sup froth through several layers of cotton and polyester.

however, outdoor activities, particularly those which involve no physical contact, have been blessed with a lifting of restrictions, bearing in mind several still have hygiene requirements that prevent full-scale use. a friend of mine runs a business offering guided kayak trips around the island's coast, in which any need for social-distancing is probably countermanded by sitting in a fibreglass boat on the edge of the atlantic ocean. he has sufficient kit to offer three days of kayaking for parties of three, but then that kit has to be left for three days prior to re-use. the likes of neoprene seals are apparently less than welcoming of a thorough dousing in sanitiser.

conversely, he also sports a flock of fat-bikes for hire, again, all but immune from social-distancing restrictions, but a darned sight easier to clean and sanitise at the end of each trip or individual hire, ready to go again next day. though i have no truck with football/soccer, it can't be great fun to watch the professionals on tv, acutely aware that it is only the junior amateur game (in scotland at least), that is in the process of being given the official go-ahead to resume. that probably means, for the adult population of footballers, it's subbuteo for the foreseeable future.

that leaves only the merry band of intrepid velocipedinists, for which the only cautious advice i have come across so far, is to avoid any preponderance to draft behind others, a practice, i believe, which is more likely to spread the virus than side-by-side riding. unfortunately, confronted with a galeforce headwind as occurred last weekend, often makes echeloning more of a necessity than a choice. but we should all feel most grateful that, along with running/jogging, riding a bicycle is most likely one of the safest modes of exercise available. and now that more and more of you can take advantage of the great outdoors, grasp it with open arms.

however, i cannot deny that i have acres and acres of space at my disposal, midst a population density that means i rarely see anyone else other than when riding through the villages. that's definitely a luxury shared by few. so, if you're feeling a bit tentative at returning to cycling as it was in early march, take it one pedal stroke at a time; cycle round the block a couple of times, or simply increase the length of each ride a few kilometres at a time until you feel comfortable enough to enter the tour de france. unfettered outdoor bike riding is one of life's great joys, but only if you meet it on your own terms.

saturday 11 july 2020

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btr bar bag

btr bar bag

in the days before digital music, bands and musicians made albums. i get that this is pretty much still the case, but assuming you were into a particular band, it was pretty much all or nothing, gatefold sleeve and everything. though there were obviously many occasions when an entire album was simply joy unbounded, from when the needle landed on track one, until it slid unceremoniously towards the centre label at the end of side two.

compact discs varied the procedure slightly; it was still necessary to purchase an entire album, though singles fared less well in the new digital format. and oddly enough, the cases in which the discs were contained, appeared to have been manufactured from the most brittle form of plastic known to mankind. i had many compact discs sent through the post that arrived with the case in bits. more recently, there have been accusations that the compact disc format is less robust than originally thought, prone to degradation over time.

however, this new digital format allowed a modicum of programming, assuming you had a player that accommodated that feature. therefore, if there was a track or two that slid into disfavour (usually the single from the album, subsequently played to death on the radio) it was sneaker pimps to exclude it form the evening's listening. music downloads have turned the whole process on its head. with the majority of album tracks available for individual purchase, it's now easy enough to acquire only the tunes you like. and if that proves a less economic purchase, buy the album and delete the unwanted tracks.

sadly, any effort the band or musician has put into curating the tracks as an entire album, can now be easily and completely undone. whether we, the listeners, realise that album tracks have been arranged in a specific, listenable order, is not only moot, but quite possibly beside the point. but how many of you anticipate the beginning of track two, just as track one draws to a close?

btr bar bag

but it's essentially the notion that an album can be almost perfect in every way, apart from the one track that you really wish they'd left on the studio floor. and aside from albums, there are many items of stuff that fulfil the same prophesy. in the case under discussion, it's btr's waterproof handlebar bag.

this extremely economic item of bicycle luggage, in tardis fashion, swallows a substantial amount of cargo. it seems to be far bigger on the inside than its exterior would suggest. i took an afternoon bicycle trip with two kids to gartbreck point, both for the bike ride itself and the opportunity for the two of them to faff around on the rocks and seaweed at the small beach. in order to replenish the energy expended in getting there, we filled the bar bag with three packets of quavers, two water bottles and two cheese and ham wraps, all of which were still in pristine condition on arrival. on a prior occasion, i carried a waterproof jacket, spare gloves and a digital camera in its case with room to spare.

though it didn't rain at all during our afternoon exploits, the bag features the same excellent, exterior waterproofing as the recently reviewed btr seat pack. both offer the current trend for roll-top closures; in this case the two clips are situated one each side of the bag, making it a simple enough to open for victuals on arrival. however, it is the means of attachment that brings it inline with that unwanted album track.

on the back of the bar bag are three velcro straps, two of which attach round the handlebars, with a third, lower strap intended for encircling the steerer portion of the stem. only the latter strap, in this case, was way too short. i tried this on three different bicycles: a kid's mountain bike, a road bike with mechanical brakes and a cross-bike with hydraulic brakes. in every case, the cables exiting the front of the bar tape, or brake and gear levers, prevented the stem strap from reaching the stem. granted, the latter two bicycles sport 120mm stems, but the kid's bike stem was shorter at 100mm. but yet again, the cables prevented correct and stable fitting.

btr bar bag

i finally managed to fit the bag to a folding bicycle with a vertical steerer and effectively no stem length whatsoever. but even then, i was unable to fit it to the front of the bars, again due to the cables, so i successfully attached it facing towards the rider, where it currently remains. i have read on the btr website a customer review in which they, having suffered the same dilemma, contacted btr's customer service who sent extra velcro straps to fit the bottom of the bag to their stem. my question would be, therefore, why are such straps not supplied with the bag in the first place? if the lower strap were double the length, i doubt i'd be mentioning this at all.

currently on sale at £14.99, this bar bag is an absolute steal, particularly when it arrives with a shoulder strap, allowing it to be worn about your person when away from the bike. just remember, when ordering, to ask for extra straps to fit it to a cable festooned bicycle.

btr waterproof bar bag

friday 10 july 2020

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kinesis 'jo burt'signature bar tape

jo burt signature bar tape

just last weekend, in my conversation with 'the seat post's, amy righton, i made mention of the more important contact points between bicycle and rider. in the context of that article, saddles were front and foremost, given the nature of the subject du jour. however, it will not have escaped your attentions, that there are another two distinct points of contact, namely the pedals/feet and bars/hands. for the duration of this article, we will confne ourselves to mention of the latter.

jo burt signature bar tape

if you've ever ridden a bicycle devoid of bar tape (only as a kid; honest.), you will perhaps know just what a slidy and uncomfortable journey that entailed. though contemporary carbon and anodised handlebars invariably featured a more tactile surface than the chromed steel bars of yesteryear, they are scarcely the sole surface with which you'd wish to be clinging when the going gets tough(er) and wet(ter). no matter the lightness of traffic in your area, at sometime, you're going to meet drivers without your best interests at heart, quite probably at the same time as you encounter an array of unavoidable potholes.

retaining control of your bicycle at those points in time would be considered something of a bonus.

jo burt signature bar tape

and that, boys and girls, is why we apply bar tape. this particular component, a bit like saddles, inhabits an endless number of variations, from the wafer-thin plastic that resembles the stuff they use to keep card boxes secure, to the thick, gel-filled variety that engenders feelings of wearing two pairs of track mitts. you pays your money, you takes your choice. many of you may favour the variety that effects association with your brand of bicycle, by means of a repetition of embossed lettering reaching from bar end to the stem. you may prefer a plain, sturdy wrap that offers a simple, functional value, while others, like chris distefano, vehemently maintain that it can be any colour you like as long as it's white.

jo burt signature bar tape

jo burt is perhaps best known for being the creator and illustrator of the infamous, mountain biking sheep, mint sauce, a character that has graced the pages of mbuk magazine for over thirty years. more recently, he combined the talents of author and illustrator for rapha's 'longer rides' handbook. but despite his woolly mountain biking alter ego, jo offsets any adherence to the dark-side, with distinct roadie tendencies. as if to confirm that status, he has designed the first in presumably a series of signature bar tapes for kinesis bikes.

jo burt signature bar tape

totally devoid of any sheep whatsoever, jo's bar tape consists of a velvety touch, gel-backed matt wrap, decorated with the author's handwriting in white with occasional bright pink. though his eccentric words of wisdom are many and varied, since the tape arrived at the croft, i have adopted his 'i can stop any time i like, i'm not going to stop' as my riding mantra. i'm afraid that the atlantic-borne, hebridean weather rather precludes his persuasions to 'listen to the whisper in the wind', though there is definite mileage in observing 'show me the sky and a road leading into it'.

hardened roadies of a serious disposition will probably sneer at its idiosyncracies, but those of us in thrall to peter sagan's 'why so serious?', should be eager to festoon the bar tape's magnificence across the steering wheels of our bicycles. no matter the strength of the headwind, the horizontality of the rain, or the 'minus how many degrees?' of the temperature, comfort (in both senses of the word) and inspiration will be, quite literally, at your finger tips.

kinesis 'jo burt' bar tape retails from the kinesis website for £25 per pack. and jo burt has even written the fitting instructions on the back of the box.

jo burt signature series bar tape

thursday 9 july 2020

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ashmei breton jersey and cycle bib shorts

ashmei breton jersey

when first i moved to the hebrides, islay featured two annual festivals. fèis ìle, which still continues to this day, is held during the last week of may, and is perhaps better known as the islay whisky festival, a mantle taken on at the turn of the century, both to aid the ailing fèis ìle, and celebrate islay's ascension to the upper ranks of scotch malt whisky.

the second festival took place each august and was known as the islay celtic festival. it was far more of a music festival than its compatriot, featuring celtic song, music and dance from not only the west of scotland, but occasionally from ireland and also from the brittany region of france. though i will doubtless receive e-mails, brittany is where accordion playing seems to have matured to a greater level than its scottish counterpart.

ashmei breton jersey

the language spoken in french brittany apparently originates from britons who migrated across the channel in the early middle ages, and the existence of islay's celtic festival was not only in acknowledgment of that fact, but to celebrate a common heritage. cycling's most notable breton, would have to be bernard hinault, a rider noted every bit as much for his ability to repel boarders from a tour de france podium as for his ferocity on the bicycle.

perhaps more in the light of the latter than the former, ashmei cycle clothing have chosen to name their most recently released cycle jersey in similar manner. aside from being a remarkably lightweight jersey, it marks the beginning of a new phase at ashmei, underlining their commitment to sustainability. in uk fashion circles alone, garments are designed, produced, sold and frequently discarded at an alarming rate. it is the basis of modern-day marketing where, to capture and subsequently hold the attention of the customer, it has become necessary to offer new product at least annually, if not more frequently.

ashmei breton jersey

if we assume we are all a bunch of flighty individuals, grabbing the very latest, while consigning last year's to landfill, that's probably a cycle that will very quickly become unsustainable. so, in order to break the chain of events described above, ashmei's breathable breton jersey is fabricated from 100% recycled polyester, derived from polyethylene terephthalate (pet) bottles. each jersey rescues a dozen bottles from the council tip.

for the intrepid cyclist, what does this mean? in pragmatic terms, other than offering us the ability to be unbearably smug, it doesn't mean a great deal. by that, i mean no disrespect to ashmei; in fact it is intended as fulsome praise. unless you read the label, you'd never know the difference between the breton and any other top quality cycle jersey.

ashmei breton jersey

its carefully coutured fit is less agressive than others on the market, making it arguably a better choice if the competitive realm is non too high on your list. the sleeves offer a decent length, and in true ashmei style the cuffs are intangibly seamless, yet grasp your upper arm with soft tenacity. they moved not one iota throughout the review period. i found the dark grey hoops on a very light grey background perhaps a tad understated and uninspiring, but the breton jersey is also available with the same grey hoops on a moss green background.

ashmei bibshorts

the full-length front zip features a decent sized zip-pull, easing the unzipping process when effort turns to heat. i confess i'd have liked perhaps another half-centimetre of length on the torso, as i found myself pulling the (medium-size) hem to cover the white mesh of the bibs more often than i'd have liked to admit. so doing, tended to pull the neckline downwards too. however, this only applied to standing in the queue for a takeaway coffee; on the bike, the fit was nigh on perfect. the three expected rear pockets are marvellously capacious, swallowing a digital camera, coffee money, spare gloves (it was raining) and a very badly rolled up waterproof jacket with ease and aplomb. and aside from a fourth, zipped pocket, there's also a pump pocket.

ashmei bibshorts

but if ashmei's jersey is a garment worth owning, just wait till you try their bibshorts. it has often been said (frequently by me), that the pad inside a pir of bibshorts reminds you of what it was like when in nappies. this particular sensation is, if anything, exaggerated when donning a pair of ashmei bibshorts. the high-density foam chamois pad asserts a certain connection with passoni, but once that pad has been sat comfortably on the saddle, the joy and happiness has only just begun.

i have worn many, many pairs of top quality bibshorts, and believe me, these are amongst the very best of the best. were it not for a complete lack of chill around my nether regions, after only a kilometre or two, i would have sworn i wasn't wearing any shorts. though the pad is nappy-like when first worn, in the saddle, its existence all but evaporates. unparalleled comfort is all yours.

ashmei bibshorts

the shorts themselves break from the lycra mold by employing a microfibre elastane fabric that's both wind and water resistant. the latter feature was easy to see on my first ride, when the rain didn't let up for the first hour or so, resulting in a myriad of water beading on both legs. i would have liked the lower portion of the bibs to come higher up the torso, but based on a few recently reviewed bibshorts, it looks like this might be a design feature/trend. nonetheless, ashmei's bibshorts tick all the available boxes and a few others besides.

and though not marketed as a part of a breton range, they did complement the jersey almost to perfection.

ashmei's breton jersey is available in grey/light grey, or grey/moss green, in sizes ranging from xs to xxl. retail price is £138. the ashmei bibshorts are available in either navy or black, also in sizes xs to xxl (size small reviewed). price is £178.

ashmei.com

wednesday 8 july 2020

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nothing to see here

rapha peanut butter advert

on the inside pages of rouleur's early issues, then owners, rapha, fielded a double-page advert featuring pictures, but, other than the company logo, no words. i recall praising their ingenuity and perspicacity in not only clearly understanding their audience, but demonstrating it quite so succinctly. for those whose lives have not been enriched by having ever opened the covers of even one copy of rouleur, perhaps i can enlighten you further.

the page displayed a jar of peanut butter, adjacent to which was a campagnolo 15mm crank-bolt spanner atop a slice of peanut-buttered toast (see above).

there will be those amongst you who are none the wiser, and others who are scratching their heads at the mention of not only of a crank-bolt spanner, but having it qualified as one of 15mm. for in the halcyon days of yore, cranksets were entirely separate from the bottom bracket spindle onto which they were bolted. in true italian and campagnolo style, the bolts fastening the cranks to vicenza's square-taper spindle were held in place with 15mm headed bolts as opposed to the 14mm fitted to more common or garden componentry. as such, those bolts required a specific tool to both fit and remove.

the design of this tool vaguely resembled the blade of a butter knife, and which pro-team mechanics would use to scoop peanut butter from the jar, after those late night sessions following a day's stage, when the hotel kitchens had closed for the day. the implication here was that the cognoscenti, to whom imperial works were ideally aiming their clothing range, would immediately recognise that they were, ostensibly, in good hands. if you had to ask, you had not yet left the realm of the apprentice, and, by implication, were probably not ready to wear rapha (or perhaps understand why you wanted to).

rapha cleated brogues advert

the only other rapha advert that i recall from those nascent years of both rouleur and imperial works, featured a pair of leather brogues, the soles of which had been fitted with a pair of cleats. though i'm in danger of spoon feeding you here, the implications of cycling fanaticism combined with an innate sense of style were (to me at least) all too obvious.

sadly, since those innovative days of the 21st century's opening decade, bicycle-related advertising has mostly taken a nose-dive. though i'm willing to be corrected, i can scarcely recall a velocipedinally-related, print marketing campaign that has stuck in the memory as forcefully as those early rapha graphics. or at least, that was the case until i opened my belatedly received edition of rouleur 20.4 yesterday afternoon. and once again, the inside pages are where the punch was so cleverly delivered.

this time, however, the knockout blow, so to speak, was broadcast by rouleur magazine's new owners at passoni. their italian idiosyncracy can perhaps be best illustrated with a visit to the passoni website, the content links on which advise a section entitled 'the journal'. it transpires that the 'the journal' displays a series of apparently unconnected and unexplained abstract images, many of which are patterns that would not suggest bicycles in any way, shape or form. prepared with this information, you may better appreciate the delightful eccentricity and thrust of their marketing.

passoni rouleur advert

on the white inner cover of rouleur 20.4 are printed the words, "The ride goes on. We hope to welcome you back to our Atelier in Lombardy soon." on the opposing page, simply stated in capital letters, is the word "Passoni", below which, in smaller capitals " i live to ride | ride passoni". more minimalistic than a brian eno, or steve reich composition, but cleverly capturing the world situation as it has existed for the past three months, and offering a bit of optimism for the future. it's not a campagnolo spanner on toast, but it inhabits the same intelligent space.

passoni.it | rouleur magazine

tuesday 7 july 2020

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