In the event you watch Path Much less Pedaled you will have seen a motorcycle referred to as the Sklar Tremendous One thing:
[Photo from the Sklar website]
In actual fact Path Much less Pedaled man favored it a lot he apparently offered three bikes to get one:
To be clear, I’ve nothing in any respect towards the Sklar, and in the event you’re on the lookout for a flexible metal bike that makes use of trendy elements it looks like an amazing alternative. Nevertheless, one thing about it has all the time appeared very acquainted to me, however I wasn’t in a position to place it till this morning after I handed an outdated Specialised Crossroads and all of it got here again to me:
I knew I’d seen the Sklar someplace earlier than! And it even has the suspension seatpost, identical to the Path Much less Pedaled man’s bike!
It occurred to me that these outdated Specialised Crossroads can be prime candidates for gravel conversions, however as common Craigslist is a number of steps forward of me:
With all due respect to Sklar, I believe I’d like that Crossroads higher.
Ah, the stuff you see while using by means of Yonkers…
And in addition to the classic hybrids and discarded Citi Bikes, you additionally get dramatic views of the Hudson and the Palisades beneath the torrid skies because the remnants of Tropical Storm Put up Tropical Cyclone Debby go over us:
Be aware that I’ve de-Spinergized the Faggin, no less than for the second, lest the unsettled climate circumstances blow me into subsequent week:
A trip on the ol’ Fagginator all the time places issues into perspective, as a result of it’s a reminder you could pull a decades-old body out of storage, put it along with spare elements, and it’ll trip as superbly as the rest you’ve got–although no less than in response to this outdated brochure it’s all within the framebuilder’s artwork:
[From here.]
Is there one thing magical in regards to the Italian highway bikes of yesteryear? Perhaps so. On the identical time, individuals do get somewhat nutty over them. I used to be just lately contacted by a really good one that needed a photograph of the Cervino’s backside bracket shell; apparently there’s some debate among the many classic bike cognoscenti about who really made them. The decals on my bike say it’s Viner, and that’s ok for me, however apparently the underside bracket shell seems extra like those Olmo used or one thing. You’ll additionally typically see Web threads during which individuals attempt to determine what sort of tubing the classic Italian body they only picked up is made out of: is it SL? Aelle? Tre-tubi? Linguini con vongole? Normally individuals will draw their conclusions from the seatpost diameter or the presence or lack of a entrance derailleur braze-on or else extra circumstantial proof like, “Properly, the body has a Shimano 600 headset, and if it’s unique it’s unlikely somebody would have put that on an SL bike.” These are enjoyable issues to determine, however on the identical time if discerning the distinction between tubesets and even fully totally different producers requires deep forensics and nonetheless yields inconclusive outcomes you need to marvel how a lot any of these things issues in any respect, and it’s most likely sufficient to say, “For a lot of the twentieth century the Italians constructed actually good highway bikes.” Better of all, in 2024 in the event you’re not hung up on names or which Columbus sticker the body has you possibly can put collectively a pleasant Italian highway bike for about what a SRAM RED ASSPLR gravel cassette prices and discover out for your self.
As for placing collectively a motorcycle on a finances, it all the time helps to go together with stuff that’s out of fashion and sells low cost, like Octalink cranks:
I’ve all the time favored the looks of the 9-speed Ultegra crank, though it seems type of puffy prefer it wants a Benadryl:
Talking of which, shortly after taking this picture and pondering simply that I used to be stung on the scalp by what I can solely assume was a bee.
When Gordon Ramsey crashed he informed everybody to put on a helmet, and when Richard Branson crashed he informed everybody to put on physique armor. So in that very same spirit I’m telling to put on your beekeeping veil always:
There actually should be a legislation.
When the Sun Sets, Your Bike Light Takes the Lead 
