non-fixie 

Since we all like vintage Bianchis and have a soft spot for Ollie:

Wildwood 

Wildwood 

Actually,
after watching to the end
and listening to (the whining about)
how hard these old bikes are to ride =

....the mods should re-name this Forum (C&V) as The Hardmen* Forum.

Respect for all you people, the C&V enthusiast cyclists.

You might be faster on a modern Dogma dogma.
but you are hardmen on your Classics.
Roll on, campioni!

*hardmen, hardwomen, hardpersons


edit: I liked it overall - GCN usually does pretty well in producing content for the ever-growing cycling market.

Gorgeous Bianchi, without a doubt......but, but, but the extra weight & spongy pull of floppy long brake cables/housing = not a racer. Probably collector chain - unlubed. . and ...... it's all about engine, mostly.
However, don't take my clipless pedals, the original design from Look, circa '85/86? Vintage?!?

SurferRosa

Beautiful bicycle. I love that chromed integrated headset. @Wildwood, Rick has one of those. <jealous>

htfu forum?

SwimmerMike 

It's nice to see the respect Ollie had for the bike and the riders of the time. I was surprised that the bike had a 42-26.

iab

Ollie's knowledge of the history of bikes and racing tactics is really quite abysmal. What's unfortunate is lots of people will take it as gospel.

Also, no way Bini or Coppi would have a 26. 42-22 would be it.

jdawginsc 

Cripes, that's brutal. Very cool segment to watch. The owner of that bike was very trusting!

Reminds me of a climb I made in Vermont after I stupidly converted my Bianchi to a double so that the low was a 42-28...that was dumb. I was 14 and stupid.

Wildwood 

With a slow climbing technique that tolerates walking speeds on steep ramps (hopefully short!), I have amazed myself with what is possible @ 42/26 on a 23lb bike with minimal repair kit. ..........But not recommended generally for long rides with climbs or old knees.

John E

That Bianchi is gorgeous. I was amused by the complaint about a 42/26 (43.5 gear-inch) low, because that is precisely what I have on my Bianchi. (50-42/14-16-18-20-23-26)

John E

It looks more like 45/26 to me, based on the half-step chainrings and the fact that the standard 6-bolt circle would support no fewer than 45T.
I am thinking he is running 49-45 / 14-16-19-23-26, but I can't get a good enough look at the driveline to be sure.

SwimmerMike 

I thought it looked like a half-step also. It surprised me when he said it was a 42. I was expecting a 46 myself. My Bob Jackson had a 46 when I got it, so that's where my mind went.

John E

Yes, 49-46 / 14-16-18-20-22 was a very popular racing half-step on English bikes of that era.

My cheapo 1962 Bianchi Corsa was geared 52-47 / 13-16-19-23-26, and I recall Specialissimas of that vintage being geared that way, as well, so that may be what he has. Definitely half-step, though, and more than 42T on the chainrings.

squirtdad

time to get ollie and that bike to Cino

bikingshearer 

"Old pedals are rubbish." Word.

genejockey 

Apart from the beautiful Bianchi, my favorite part was the description of the vintage wool shorts as "flappy hot pants."

non-fixie 

What Ollie did, by the looks of it, is wear shoes with modern, hard soles, intended for use with clipless pedals. I've tried that once, and with similar results: no grip at all, and a lousy fit in the toe clips. A pity, because with classic shoes with leather soles the experience would have been very different.

bulgie 

Does anyone really believe that he could feel the difference in wind drag? I suspect it was all placebo and confirmation bias. Add in a little (or a lot of) pandering to sponsors or ad buyers, who only sell modern bikes?

Most of the wind drag by far is on the rider. The old bike does have more wind drag, and that would be shown by the stopwatch in a time trial of any decent distance, but to think he could feel the difference strains credulity. Human perception just ain't that great.

Drag in the bearings, RR of the tires etc would be barely different between the two bikes, assuming bearings properly greased/adjusted and not all ripped up. Vintage tires wouldn't be rideable since they rot over that many years, but back in their day handmade tubulars were just about as fast as the best modern ones.

Between the hype and the ignorance there was a little worth watching, but I didn't make it all the way through before giving up in disgust.

Mark B

SJX426 

Those who are bit ignorant tend to be a bit over dramatic on what they don't understand.

Beautiful bike! Not so much the rider.

blamester

Agree. Nonsense video.

bikingshearer 

I have two mid-60s Cinellis. One is 64x61.5 ctc and is decked out with Campy 10sp triple and SPDs. The other is 65x61.5 ctc and is 5sp triple Eroica/Cino compliant, except the pedals are sometimes SPDs, sometimes old-school clips and straps on vintage Campy pedals. The high and low gears on both pretty close to the same. Both are shod with Conti 5000 32mm tires. Saddles are the same, handlebars are the same, position is the same, or at least as much the same as I can make it. In short, it's a pretty good apples-to-apples comparison.

The result: The Campy 10sp triple bike gives me faster average speeds on my rides. Not very much faster and I can't really feel it on the road, but Mr. Garmin confirms it ride after ride. The 10sp triple is also easier to ride, a little bit easier when I'm using SPDs on the 5sp and significantly easier when using clips and straps. Friction shifting with Suntour barcons is pretty damn good, but shifting with 10sp Ergo is easier. Braking is better with modern Tektro dual pivots that with Universal 61s, but very much and not enough to interfere with my enjoyment. But the clips and straps definitely affect my enjoyment, and not for the better.

Understand this is my opinion, and it's worth exactly what you are paying for it.

So I have some sympathy for the rider. Not a lot, and it is reduced by the whining, but some. I did notice that his feet looked to be too big for those clips. That probably was pretty uncomfortable. He was also pushing a much larger gear up that big hill than was his compatriot, and that can definitely take the starch out of your shorts. I noticed he was doing the old-fashioned shoulder-bob to help grind that gear up the hill while Signore Carbon Fiber was twiddling away in a gear that looked to be smaller by a factor of two and he was upright as can be. Lack of familiarity with the bike and its set-up is probably the single most important factor in the rider's discomfiture. But old bikes (and especially old components) are somewhat harder to ride that modern stuff. Whether you are okay with that and which you prefer, is very much a "YMMV" thing.

Unless you disagree with me. Then you're just wrong and stupid and . . . .

repechage

Actually the old Bianchi fit him reasonably well, I did notice the foot position but appeared he had cleats, they fit in the clips, so blame the guy who set his shoes up that way.

I would have set the Bianchi up with the stem a bit higher, in the 50's the displacement between the saddle to the stem was less even for the pro's, they rode bigger frames. His arms did not look locked elbow straight, but I think could have used a bit more bend. Hard to find a decent period helmet, but almost all pros did without. Should have just used a modern one.
a few races required helmets way back, Grand Prix de Nations?

the bike had pretty typical gears of the period- too tall for many today. Maybe even a bit wider freewheel than typical ? Not sure.
would have been good to present the gearing ratios and development of both bikes.
if they had limited Mr Carbonara to the same low gear... there would have been a search for a smaller inner ring on the Bianchi.

In the 70's if one was racing a 42x21 was "wide" maybe a 23 as a bailout.
looking at footage of Merckx at the 1974 Montreal Worlds... by appearance it was 44/54 and 13-18 or 13-19 six speed at the back and this was the Mt. Royale circuit. Power, with a capital P got him up that hill.

iab

I entirely disagree.



I would entirely disagree about bikes from the 30s.

blamester

​​​​​​Yep. I do laugh at these modern perceptions of older bikes and how riders are in a more aero position these days. Like nobody could figure out a good position before 1995. The position didn't change it was the shifter position that changed and so the hands moved up and the bars down.
That bottom bike looks a real beaut. My style of bike. Long chainstays. I think the short chainstays of modern bikes are a marketing thing not an improvement. Supposedly snappy handling but every bump transmitted straight up in a shorter arc so it feels stiffer.

genejockey 

I note that you're comparing drops with hoods, so the question I would ask is what percentage of the time did pro riders spend in the drops BITD? Is it really comparable to the amount of time spent on the hoods by pros today?

Oldairhead 

Thanks! You saved me from watching.