Reinventing the wheel...

Having been fortunate in finding the excellent Forza Vardars in NOS for Tecnos 2 on last quest, this time it was different. No such luck now. After searching for months, brand new or second hand, mostly in minor condition, was now the reality. Various visits to sellers on the Dutch Marketplace revealed either too much breakwear on the rims, scratches, or were just misfits in style. One obviously neat set at first sight even turned out to have a tear at the side of the rim.  And on all occasions pricing was still considerable.. So new it would be. As basically, wheels are the bike. The soul at least.. The whizz, the rotation, the contact with the earth. The bikewheel is a thing of beauty. Primary mechanics generating motion and speed still within the human scale. The primary bike part, of which the Master in its awesome condition would deserve a high quality outfit.

Considering the very good experience with the proud Dutch FFWD brand, I choose the TYRO. A 45mm high & 29mm wide rimmed piece of modern technique and robust design. And one of the last available Campa fitting rim brake carbon wheelsets on the market in the present disc brake era. With the wider rim and conventional round spokes, straight pull, even suitable for gravel bikes. A straightforward and allround heavy duty carbon wheel. Not the lightest set around, but a perfect fit for my old steel frame. I collected them at the factory in Zwolle, and met Idsart, the owner of the place, who invited me on a tour around the production line & workshop. A nice experience.. So all in all perfect choice, and match, and a magnificent ride. A great asset for a bike lover.

Super Mario..

A true treasure..

Being the standard nowadays, black parts were still not that common in the nineties. NOS from that era is presently still available, but not in great abundance and very expensive. With Tecnos 2, I was lucky to find the Veloce groupset almost immediately, meaning I never really had to search deep for the drivetrain and shifters etc., and so I expected things would not be that easy. But thanks to one person in particular, also this time the quest was remarkably short. That person is Mr. Mario Verhoeven, a real Bike Doctor. Mario is running the webshop: https://defietsenmaker.nl/ An absolute treasure cove for NOS retro bike parts. In The Netherlands even. Lucky me again. Mario turned out to have available in his shop: A complete Campa Centaur carbon crankset (Power Torque), plus front & rear derailleurs Campa Chorus mixed steel / carbon, all from the nineties & all NOS. The  front derailleur even with a cam, instead of the ealier version with clamp. The Chorus seatpost I took back from Tecnos 1 and the also brand new Record shifters came from the Dutch Marketplace, not in the retail box as originating from a bulk assembly line packing. The Ergopower cableset, Power Torque cups, Record chain and Veloce cassette are of course still well available new. So this time Campa only for all the mechanics.