05 March, 2008

Old Stuff and New Stuff

In the late 1920s a frozen-fingered Italian bike racer named Tullio Campagnolo invented the quick-release skewer and launched an empire. Of course there are some of you out there that think it was all downhill after that needless bit of complexity. It is for you that we found a supply of old fashioned axle wing nuts. I'm not sure how many will abandon quick releases, but you must admit that they look very cool. And even I look forward to using them on one of my bikes. We now have the Gripfast models #1 and #3 in stock.

For you folks still running French threaded cranks we now found some lovely "Olimpic" track pedals and NOS Atom 700 road pedals.

We also have some Nitto "Crystal Fellow" Dynamic 626 (phew; what a name!) seatposts.

And we got a few things we've been out of for a while including:

Yellow Tressostar handlebar tape
Hershberger Baker's Baskets
Sugino RD track cranks
Sugino XD500 double cranks
Stein 23.35mm Stronglight crank removers

So, will wing nuts make a comeback?
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27 comments:

  1. C3/5/08, 2:40 PM

    I don't know about wing nuts but I do think quick releases provide no real benefit outside of racing. I prefer bolt on skewers such as the Interloc Platinum models. Lighter than a QR, eliminate the need to remove your wheel if you want to lock up the bike, and give the bike a cleaner look than a QR (or wing nut)

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  2. Anonymous3/5/08, 2:58 PM

    There are enough wing nuts in Washington already :-)

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  3. Anonymous3/5/08, 3:06 PM

    Nice stuff. Any idea when you will receive the Spanninga fender-mounted tail light?

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  4. Felkerino3/5/08, 4:31 PM

    Chris, are the wing nuts compatible with fixed gear or single-speed hubs? Could I replace the nuts on my Surly fixed/free hub with these, and eliminate the need to carry a wrench?

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  5. Anonymous3/5/08, 5:40 PM

    c said:

    I don't know about wing nuts but I do think quick releases provide no real benefit outside of racing. I prefer bolt on skewers such as the Interloc Platinum models. Lighter than a QR, eliminate the need to remove your wheel if you want to lock up the bike, and give the bike a cleaner look than a QR (or wing nut)


    Spoken like a man who doesn't use a roof rack or put his bike in the trunk of a car! If, on the other hand, you do transport your bicycle, you know quick releases -- real quick releases, not lock levers compromised by Lawyer Lips so they don't work properly any more, are an enormous convenience.

    --sfp

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  6. Anonymous3/5/08, 5:42 PM

    Appreciate you carrying a compact double crankset. Currently, my favorite set-up is a 48/34 mated to a mid-range freewheel (Phil Wood 6-spd hub allows for a dishless build). Any plans to stock various sizes of 110bcd chainrings (in silver, of course)?

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  7. C3/5/08, 5:56 PM

    "Spoken like a man who doesn't use a roof rack or put his bike in the trunk of a car!"

    No, I rarely carry my bike on a rack because I prefer to ride my bike! Only time I do is for an occasional ride that's a long way from home. I think driving to go riding is absurd.

    Also having to undo a bolt on skewer takes a whopping 10 seconds - hardly a big deal!

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  8. Anonymous3/5/08, 6:49 PM

    Love the wingnuts. I suspect the sets are 9mm in front and 10mm rear, 1mm thread all around. Yes? Thx.

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  9. James3/5/08, 7:08 PM

    Have you considered having wingnuts made? An asymmetrical design, longer wing on one side and very well written instructions on proper tightening?

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  10. Velo Orange3/5/08, 7:22 PM

    Felkerino, You can use 4 rear nuts on a fixie. The front wing nuts are slightly smaller since front axles are, or were, slightly smaller on road bikes (9mm I think as Anon. said).

    James, Have wing nuts made? Even VO is not that retro!

    Anon, carrying 110bcd chain rings is a good idea. I'll look into it.

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  11. C3/5/08, 8:12 PM

    Any chance of stocking the 110 silver rings from TA? They're as nice as Campy or Shimano and reasonably priced. The Sugino 110 rings I've seen are kind of a matte finish which inevitably ends up looking dingy after a while.

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  12. Yann G.S.3/5/08, 9:25 PM

    Hello,
    -I have a set of french threaded maxi-car hubs, would these wing nuts work or are there proprietary french spindle sizes?

    -Would there be any problem with getting these wing nuts tight enough for horizontal dropouts?

    -when do you expect to get the B&M lights with standlights in stock?

    ,thank you

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  13. Clarence Jr.3/6/08, 12:46 AM

    Chris,

    I know you have posted some of our Streetfilms in the past...this one won't even hit some of our big sites until Thursday.

    We have put up our final bit on Bogota which features lots of Cycle paths, pedestrian plazas, and livable streets improvements. It shows how you can have top notch bike facilities even in a country with very little $$$$ - what they have achieved in this video will leave you speechless.

    http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/lessons-from-bogota/

    Please feel free to post! This is gonna be a big hit for us.


    Thank you.

    Clarence
    www.streetfilms.org

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  14. Ian Dickson3/6/08, 2:23 AM

    I would definitely buy 110 bcd chainrings from velo-orange. They're readily available elsewhere, but v-o seems to get stuff in the mail faster and generally is easier to order from. At least I think so.

    The TA rings are great, but they look weird on the Sugino cranks. The Sugino rings are not so great, but they're a nice, low-stakes purchase if you happen to be experimenting with different gearings. I use cranks from both companies, and would probably buy some of each if they were available here.

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  15. Anonymous3/6/08, 9:22 AM

    the wing nuts in the new jersey legislature are trying to ban quick releases on all bikes. http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/1034.html
    Is there a conspiracy afoot here where VO provides wing nuts for that entire state?

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  16. Velo Orange3/6/08, 10:01 AM

    conspiracy sniffer, You've found us out. We're secretly funding the pro-wing nut cabal and hoping to skewer the quick release faction.

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  17. Anonymous3/6/08, 12:01 PM

    :~)

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  18. Anonymous3/6/08, 3:42 PM

    I'm still hoping for an 86mm BCD, polished silver, square taper, double crankset with nice, slender arms and costs under $100.
    And while I'm at it, let's throw in a new run of chainrings in matching BCD, say 28 through 48 teeth (even numbers will do if we have to skimp) an less than $20 per chainring.
    nv

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  19. nordic_683/6/08, 3:51 PM

    I put TA rings on my wife's XD600 double crank arm last year. Although there's a slight mismatch in spider size versus ring 'root' width, they look very nice. Cyclists (just the guys) regularly ask about the cranks since they're so good looking and uncommon. And those TA rings are mirror polished so you see a mesmerizing rotating chain tooth reflection on the pavement when riding next to her...

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  20. Anonymous3/6/08, 5:04 PM

    nordic_68 said: "Although there's a slight mismatch in spider size versus ring 'root' width, they look very nice."

    Am not sure I follow what you are saying here...pls explain.

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  21. Anonymous3/6/08, 5:18 PM

    Wonder if the stainless steel chainrings by Surly could be polished like the TA's...

    http://www.surlybikes.com/parts/chainrings_pop.html

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  22. Anonymous3/7/08, 8:13 AM

    gotta say: as an owner of sugino rings, ta 110 rings, ta cyclotouriste rings, kooka rings, campy rings, old shimano rings, ect, ring 'finish' is primarily a show room concern. Unless you never ride on dusty or gravelly surfaces, it never snows where you live, you never ride in the rain, and um, you only ride at indoor tracks, your rings are going to get pretty dirty pretty fast. I religiously use prolink to clean my chain and lube it, but still, the rings get smudgy and tinged with flying oil, dirt ect pretty fast. Considering all of that, I dont know how much a mirror finish buys you. (that said, the ultra minimal machined profile of the TAs IS nicer) For the price though, Sugino rings are well enough made, and a whole set costs less than 1 TA ring.

    Wing nuts are rad. I have them on my Maxi Car tandem hubs. Alas alas, all of my other bikes have either white industries hubs or phil hubs, so no switching over. Instead, I make my life difficult in other ways: sigg bottles with the screw on top, for instance. (there, now I am a nut and you dont have to listen to me)

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  23. Anonymous3/8/08, 6:21 PM

    I just tried out the Gripfast #1 wingnuts on some 1990s vintage maxicars and they worked fine. The circular end did interfere with the top mounting bolt of a Nuovo Record derailleur however. The interference wasn't as bad as most wingnuts, but it still means taking the derailleur off to remove the wheel. A first generation Rally might work. There wouldn't be any problem with a Huret or plunger Simplex. The interference issue depends on the dropout too.

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  24. Anonymous3/9/08, 7:15 PM

    no problems with a paul components rear mech w/ standard hanger... er. not a combo situation most people will have i reckon.

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  25. Anonymous3/11/08, 2:36 PM

    To me, the benefit of a quick-release is the no-tool-required-ness of it, not the quickness of it.

    And those wing nuts are WAY cool!

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  26. Anonymous3/19/08, 4:47 AM

    but I thought wingnuts were only in Berkeley CA....i

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  27. Anon of Florida1/24/10, 11:16 PM

    According to Prolly, there has been a company that has recently started making wingnuts again.

    http://liverydesigngruppe.com/liveryblog/?p=905

    For any parties that are interested, here they are.

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