the white bike cannot be stopped

here are a few snapshots of my beloved track bike, sporting its new wheels. the setting is perhaps not perfect, but certainly conveys the general feel of the area of late. details: wolber super champion rims, campagnolo record pista hubs, dt swiss 14/15 spokes with brass washers, 36-hole 3-cross lacing. the tires are tufo, i forget the model, i think 21 mm (or so - will post correction if necessary). i had a bit of a time gluing them on, deciding that i didn't get enough glue everywhere the first time (what is referred to on the park tools website as a "starved joint"), so that i actually pulled them off and started over again.

but now - excellent! i rode the bike around town and it was deliciously smooth. the real test will be on the marine plywood out at the dick walden vélodrome, however. i get these vaguely creepy fears of tires coming unglued on the banks and sliding down and fucking people up, but it is probably just me coming unglued instead. i will bring both sets of wheels just in case.



the other thing i'm thinking of experimenting with out there is a bigger chainring. really i need a few more cogs but they cost money, which i don't normally whine about but i kind of blew the budget on the wheels, whereas i have two more superbe pro chainrings, 50 and 51 teeth, part of the garage sale cop-of-a-lifetime that got me the white bike in the first place. so anyway it might be interesting to find out what kind of pace i can keep pushing another few gear inches out there.



in the closeup of the rear hub you can see: the brass washers; my dirty izumi chain (i promise to clean it soon, although i realize that to many persons it probably looks quite clean already; i have high standards for moving metal); the type of scuffing that white powdercoat picks up all too readily (a little rubbing compound will get that right out, however); a reflection of me in a characteristic, albeit unflattering, squat.