Milani Seigiorni Track Bike

Milani Seigiorni Track Bike

You know when a bike sometimes catches your eye.  Browsing on Wiggle earlier I came across this beautiful track bike - the Milani Seigiorni.  Even more importanly it's got £650 off of it and is on sale at £999 in most sizes. I didn't even look at the spec, as I thought the bike looked so lovely.  I guess that's the Italians for you.

I hadn't heard of Milani before, so dug about and came up with a little on their history. 

"With the origins of the brand dating back as far as the 1920s, former racer Natale Milani fuelled his passion for cycling by making high quality, hand-built racing frames in Gallarate, 35km north of Milan. They soon gained legendary status among Italian frame builders. 

After his death in the 1990s, the company became dormant and various Far Eastern companies offered to buy the name. Natale's son, Celeste, was determined to keep the heart and soul of his father's business alive and relaunched the brand. 

Today, the exclusive bikes bearing his father's name retain many of the same features. They are still built in Gallarate with the meticulous attention to detail and high standards of craftsmanship with which his father founded the business."

If you want to be spinning round the velodrome or the streets of London with some panache, think this would do the trick.  Sorely tempted.

Francesco Moser Fixed Wheel

Spotted this immaculate Moser Fixed Wheel strapped to a lamp post in the West End today. Absolutely mint condition. Really lovely bike.

Single Speeding

Cracking out 36 miles on my single speed this morning, I was thinking how different it is compared to riding a geared bike. My single speed doesn't have any gizmos on it, no speedometer, cadence or otherwise and cycling along the Cheshire roads today, I just concentrated on pedalling and enjoying the view.

Finding a good rhythm is what it's all about. Cranking the gear up takes a bit of effort, but when it's turning, you get to understand what riders mean when they say "find a good rhtyhm." When I met Graeme Obree for a coffee pre-Xmas, he talked to me about that, settling in when you found your rhythm and sustaining it. He's the master, so enough said. You certainly do curse a bit more at lights or if you're forced to stop or slow down.

I'm really enjoying the single speed. The new experience, that little bit of extra leg burn when you've got no choice but to push, rather than drop it down a gear. The purity of just you, one gear and the road ahead. One of the advantages of being single :-)

Latest pic of the Sat-Zoomer

Regular readers of the blog will know I recently picked up this Deco Onza Uno single speed bike at a bit of a bargain price.

Appealed by the stand out orange colour, I named it the "Sat-Zoomer." (I name all my bikes just for a bit of fun).

I've just changed the bars on it and fitted a set of wide flange, retro look, shallow drops and - as you can see - it's currently set up on my Turbo trainer at home, for churning out base miles until the weather improves.

I'm looking forward to getting out on it for one of the Saturday club runs in due course, not brave enough to go out totally fixed just yet, however will be building up to it!

Terry Dolan Classic Fixed Gear

I just love the simplicity of this retro Terry Dolan classic fixed gear steel frame. This one was a refurb for Tokyo Fixed Gear by Dolan Bikes (spot all the frames in the background).

If you're ever in London, make sure you stop by Tokyo Fixed Gear in Peter Street, Soho. Great place, knowledgeable staff and some to die for frames and components.

I'm going to use this for inspiration when I get round to re-furbing my vintage Raleigh Record Sprint which I've got in the garage. Had it since 1984 and plan to do a job on it, not to re-furb back to original but to do something with it to make it a new bike again. Will keep you posted.