This week my father sent me some cycling related literature that he’d been keeping in the basement. Among the papers and pamphlets was this gem- The Complete Handbook of Cycling circa 1973.
The handbook is really just a catalog from a shop in Denver, but the pages itself feature an incredible depth of parts. In short the geekery is pretty intense.
1970′s Campagnolo- ‘nuf said.
When drivetrains were all friction and essentially interchangeable Huret was a popular option for rear derailleurs. They’ve disappeared since then, but I recall that in high school my cycling mentor was a big fan of their stuff back in the day.
Have you seen Philippe Professional handlebars? They’re popular on bikes of the era and have a very cool, retro-swoopy, deep drop look. Of course it was possible to run such a deep bar drop with a threaded stem setup so I’ll have to leave this sort of look to the more flexible.
This thing is pretty cool and felt compelled to share.
You may see some of this art again on a future round of shirts and decals…