SoBe Ride

Riding in South Beach is always fun...plenty of everything going on all at the same time. This weekend was beautiful with beaming sun and temps in the upper 80's. Forget spring, it's summer already here in Miami! While my boy Bobby and I stopped for a cold drink after riding all afternoon, I snapped this photo of our beloved steeds on Washington Ave.

The Cinelli Story

Remembered maybe more for his cycling career, Cino Cinelli has changed the face of cycling as we know it today. From his days of winning races like the Milan-San Remo in 1943, the Giro di Lombardia in 1938, and the Tour of the Apennines in 1937. His brilliant intuitions led him to start a company in his own name in 1948.

In 1978, Cino handed the company over to a young entrepreneur in the steel tube industry with the bicycle at heart. Antonio Colombo owner of Columbus tubing had a different interpretation, perhaps more visionary. From the beginning up to the present, competition is always in Cinelli’s DNA. Its handlebars are chosen by champions such as Lemon, Fignon, Hinault and Chiappucci, without forgetting Lance Armstorng and Mario Cipollini and also Di Luca, Freire and Simoni.

Being a Cinelli owner myself, I've realized the great attention to detail that is used when frame-building at Cinelli. The welds, geometry, durability and overall creative design are what makes this bicycle company stand out way above the rest. They are definitely the best frames I've ever ridden.

Below are some of Cinelli's best ad's throughout the years, starting with my favorite (top) photo, also known as Cinelli's most famous ad. Enjoy.

Steel is real

One of my first track bikes was pure steel. Steel builds are the classiest form of the bicycle in my opinion. The welds, the rigidity and geometry, but overall the pure rawness of it. It's the original way they were built and meant to be since the early days of cycling. Even though I own two aluminum bikes, I can always appreciate a solid, steel frame, especially since I used to own one. I can definitely say they ride smoother and cushier than stiff, aluminum frames, but then again steel bikes are heavier and the handling is not as precise and accurate as aluminum, but that's a never ending debate...steel or aluminum, aluminum or steel. Check out a few of my favorite steel steeds below and remember, there's a reason they say "steel is real"!

The Half Century

This Sunday a few of us did a half century (50 miles) ride through Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, South Miami and Pinecrest. It's Thursday and I'm still feeling it.

Peep the route we took here.

2011 Cinelli Vigorelli & Mash

Just last week in Vegas was the annual Interbike trade show and the Cinelli reps were out in full force with a full line of new accessories and bikes. Very impressive to say the least, and it shows Cinelli is atop of the cycling game. The new Mash & Vigorelli are perfect examples. Take the Vigorelli for instance, how many years were they planning on releasing the same color-scheme? I mean, of course I love the original colors since it's on my Vigorelli, but I was honestly hoping for a different approach to make them stand out. So here we have the 2011 Vigorelli in a beautiful stealth-black with accents of red, green and yellow. The geometry hasn't changed much, just slightly, and hopefully like the Mash, they keep changing the color-scheme each year.



The 2011 Mash is not of this world, in fact it's out of this world! Everything about it is perfect and I couldn't be more in love with this frame. For the 2011 Mash, Cinelli decided on a steeper, more aggressive top-tube geometry (look at that thing!) and a paint job that is probably the best ever done on any of their bikes. That flat black & glossy blue with accents of gray go together hand in hand. They definitely upped the already highly praised Mash line to another level! In the end, this is one serious track bike and from the looks of it, Cinelli is the future of cycling.

Photos courtesy of John Prolly

Updates

Recently upgraded a few parts on the ride. Threw on a pair of carbon Zipps for the longer, faster rides and also some Look Keo Classic clipless pedals.

Seen On The Street

Seen On The Street is a photo-set on flickr from fellow cyclist Sasha E which exhibits the daily commuter bikes of NYC messengers and riders. His photos are great and he can really capture the essence of the bicycle in it's natural setting. Below are some of my favorites from the set, click here to view the rest.

4th Build Check

A few months ago I posted a photo on here of the Cinelli 'Vigorelli' frame-set and how I was considering buying it. Well, after selling off various bike parts & frames, I managed to finally get my hands on one that fits just right. It's got a great, responsive ride with a rigid geometry. Nothing beats a Cinelli.

Here are the specs;

Frame & Fork: 2009 Cinelli 'Vigorelli' 52cm w/Columbus carbon forks
Handlebars: Deda 'Elementi Pista' 42cm
Stem: Thomson X-4 31.8-110-10 degree
Bottom Bracket: Miche 'English' (sealed)
Crankset: Sugino 'Messenger' 44t
Chain: Izumi 1/8
Rear Cog: Shimano/Dura-Ace 14t
Lock Ring: Phil Wood
Pedals: Look 'Carbon' Clipless
Seat: Selle San Marco 'Zoncolan'
Seatpost: Thomson 'Elite' 31.6
Front Wheel: Mavic 'Ellipse' clincher 700c
Front Tire: Continental 'Ultra Sport' 23"
Front Hub: Mavic LF 20H
Rear Wheel: Velocity 'Deep-V' 700c
Rear Tire: Vittoria 'Randonnuer' 28"
Rear Hub: Phil Wood HF 32H

Track Ready

Yesterday I brokedown, switched up, lubed & cleaned the ride in preparation for next weekend. A few pals and I are heading to the track at the Brian Piccolo Park Velodrome here in Broward and I'm seriously looking forward to it. Therefore, I switched the risers with the drops, added the track pedals & clips, changed up the ratio and re-torqued most bolts. Shortly after, I took it out for a spin and snapped these photos.

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes...

Made a few minor adjustments to the whip, such as finally adding a decent wheel set-up. No more Aerospokes! On the front I'm rolling with a Mavic Ellipse laced to a Mavic Lo-Flange 20h hub with bladed spokes. Then in the rear I placed a Velocity Deep-V laced to a Phil Wood Hi-Flange 32h hub. You notice the weight difference right away and it rolls exceptionally smooth with that Phil Wood. Definitely feeling the "beefier" look with those black non-machined wheels.

Definitely maybe...

Considered candidate.

As of late...

...I've been riding the 'Dale around town as my commuter of choice for the moment. I built it back up to ride around as a beater for a few weeks. It's got such classic road bike geometry compared to my other track bikes. I honestly forgot how smooth it rides with those legit as hell Tange Steel forks. Most that have seen it tell me to leave it set-up for a while, but by this weekend it shall be hung up on the rack for a few more months of hibernation as I'm way too comfortable with the Giant build right now. Call it greed, but the Cannondale plays second fiddle these days! Check out some recent shots I took below.

Minor Adjustments

Threw on some Origin-8 risers w/Oury grips, a pair of Odyssey pedals w/Hold Fast straps, rolling on a Vittoria Randonneur 28'er in the rear.

3rd Build Check (last one)

This is my latest build and final one for a good minute. It's got a few parts from my other builds such as the saddle, wheels and bars. It's a very responsive frame, probably the most comfortable frame out of the 2 others I own. You're most likely to see me pushing this sucker for months to come.

Here are the specs;

Frame & Fork: 2008 Giant 'Omnium' 52cm w/Giant Carbon 'Aero' forks
Handlebars: Deda Elementi 'Pista' 42cm
Stem: Thomson X-4 31.8-110-10 degree
Bottom Bracket: Shimano 'English' (sealed)
Crankset: Sugino 'Messenger' 44t
Chain: KMC 1/8
Rear Cog: Shimano/Dura-Ace 15t
Lock Ring: Shimano/Dura-Ace
Pedals: MKS 'Sylvan Classic'
Toe Clips: MKS
Seat: Selle San Marco 'Zoncolan'
Seatpost: Thomson 'Masterpiece' 27.2
Front Wheel: Alex 'A-Class Solo' clincher 700c
Front Tire: Continental 'Ultra Sport'
Front Hub: Bianchi
Rear Wheel: Aerospoke clincher 700c
Rear Tire: Vittoria 'Zaffiro'
Rear Hub: Aerospoke