In December I bought this bike on the local Craigslist for a song:
Pretty sweet, right? It's a 1993 Eddie Merckx Corsa. Columbus SL tubing, full 8-speed Chorus build... pretty sweet, right? It even has tubular rims.
Right there, that is the sand in the ointment. Tubular rims, for those unaware, don't take a normal "inner-tube + tire" setup. Tubular rims use tubular tires. That is, the tire is actually a solid tube. With an inner-tube sewn inside of it. This allows the use of much more supple rubber or something, so everybody says that tubulars have a great "feel". Most pro racers (and even a lot of amateur ones) use tubulars for racing.
So what's so bad about that? High end, pro-level wheels. That should be pretty rad, right? Well, if the tires are tubular, there is no bead to catch under a rim like normal "clincher" rims. "So how are they attached to the rim?" someone might ask. They are glued.
That's right. The tires are literally glued to the rim. This is fine for racing, where if you get a flat you are basically out of the running anyways and a car will come pick you up and drive you to the finish. But if you are not racing (like me), getting a flat means a 10+ mile walk in cycling shoes, which is about as graceful as a horse walking on its hind legs.
So, what to people do? Most folks get another set of wheels that use "clincher" tires, which are usually inexpensive (for bike parts), and just train on these wheels, and pull out the tubulars for racing. So, I need a set of training wheels (ha ha ha). Therein lies another great conflict.
My bike has (as previously mentioned) a Campagnolo drivetrain. Most wheels nowadays are Shimano compatible. If you have paid any attention to road bicycles in the past 20 years, you are probably aware of the rivalry/lack of compatibility between these two companies. If you ask some people, mixing the two is akin to beastiality. It's just not done, and it is a crime against whichever manufacturer they prefer.
So, I was stuck looking for a Campy wheelset, since a Campy cassette (the gears on the rear wheel) will only fit on a Campy wheel. After a lot of searching, I found that even the cheapest Campy wheelset was about $300, which is almost what I paid for my bike. Then, I learned that an 8-speed cassette won't even fit on a modern campy wheel, which will only take a campy 9 or 10 speed cassette. Campy 8-speed compatible wheels are super-rare now, and thus command quite a premium. Things were looking grim.
Luckily, I discovered that the only difference between a Campy 8-speed cassette and a Shimano 8-speed cassette is that on the shimano cassette the gears are slightly further apart. So, I found a cheap wheelset, and can take apart the cassette and make it work with my Campy drivetrain. Whee! Everybody is happy (especially Kate).
How am I paying for this, when we are trying to save money, you might ask? There is a book that somebody keeps telling people is "essential" for runners to read. It is a pretty good book, but "essential" might be a stretch. It is called Once a Runner.
It is currently out of print. After 25-some years, the author has written a sequel. Demand for the book is (apparently) ridiculous. My brother Dave turned me onto this, because I got him a copy for Christmas a few years ago, and it is in mint condition, so he is selling it. I also got Kate a copy. Hers had one slight mark on the spine, so we looked on Amazon. The lowest price they were being sold for was $150. For a paperback book. We put ours up for sale for $140, and it sold. Best investment ever.
So, that is the story of my bike wheels. Yay!
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