The migration to electronic transmissions in cycling is inevitable. Cables have lots of inherent problems; they stretch, rust, break, and get clogged in their housings. Worse, they are part of an imprecise mechanical system that requires constant maintenance and adjustment, and one that can by design only work perfectly in one gear and gets progressively worse the further you get from that “perfect” gear. In short, cable shifting sucks, and it will eventually go the way of friction-shifting.

The obvious solution is the electronic drive-train; once adjusted, an electronic system should need little further adjustment or maintenance since there are no cables to stretch,  and it should work equally well in all gears because an electronic system should be able to set the chain perfectly regardless of the derailleur’s position with respect to the cog in the cassette.  The only problem with electronic shifting is that it takes human control out of the system, which makes it suck even more than cable shifting.

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Getting each new copy of Rouleur is almost a religious experience. It is printed on heavy paper, and has a particular smell about it; the pages are printed with a mat finish, so the heavy, rough pages feel a certain way in your hands as you turn them. There is no other periodical that I’m aware of that has the same feel to it; reading each issue is an experience unto itself.

Issue 16 came yesterday, and it has some incredible features, including a retrospective on Team Z – one of the coolest teams ever – and a history of Shimano – one of the most iconic component manufacturers in cycling.

As I thumbed the pages through my first pass of the content, I took some photos in an effort to share the experience.

Of course, you’ll have to order one for yourself for the full effect.

I suppose cycling has always been flush with enthusiasts such as us, The Keepers, and readers such as yourselves.  One of the greatest things about the web is that it lets us, the irrationally-impassioned, freely speak our voice should we want to, and freely share our ideas and work with others.   This blog, for example, is proof of the very notion that you can pour loads of energy into a labor of love that no one has ever given any indication of wanting to have anything to do with, then post it on the internet, and have people share in the novelty of it.   It’s one of the unpredictable side-effects that Al Gore probably didn’t have in mind when he invented the Internet.

Take, for example, the Periodic Table of Professional Cycling, published by Cyclocosm.  This is the product of what I have to assume is a chemistry major with idle hands who lacks the initiative to become a Meth dealer.  It’s beautiful, actually – a work of art; I could print this and hang it on the shop wall.   And, aside from it’s aesthetic qualities, it’s also surprisingly informative: besides showing the common (and sometimes made-up) abbreviation for each race, each element provides information in terms of it’s length, how long it’s been run, it’s name, and it’s difficulty and significance on the professional calendar.

This is the internet at it’s best, if you ask me.  Which I realize you didn’t.

photo: bettiniphoto

Sad news today that two-time Paris-Roubaix winner Franco Ballerini was killed in a car rally accident.  A man who lived for the cobbles, a true legend of that particular race, and the sport.  R.I.P. Franco.

More here.