One Piece at a Time

That is how it is for the opportunistic auto factory worker in the Johnny Cash song of the same name who can't afford to buy a whole Cadillac so he builds one by stealing parts from his employer one by one over many years. And so goes my bicycle, coming together component by component, one piece at a time. Although I am doing it in a much quicker fashion (one year versus 24), the parts are actually compatible with another, and I am paying for them rather than sneaking them away from a General Motors assembly line. Over the course of this process I have not been able to help myself from associating the song with my experience and I hear Johnny's voice in my head singing, "I got it one piece at a tiiiime." It has become the theme of this build. Who would've thought there'd be a link between The Man in Black and bicycles?

A Praise Chorus: Campagnolo Chorus D Brake Set

Campagnolo Centaur Skeleton brakes, the decision had already been made for some time. They are in the right price range and offer the level of performance suited for my riding. From what I could gather they are similar in quality to the previous generation Chorus D brakes. Between the two I leaned toward the Centaur because of the updated design, although that was not a deal breaker. As it happened on the very day I was prepared to put down my money this Chorus D brake set appeared to me in the form of a sweet discounted sale price at Cambria Bicycle Outfitter. An amount I didn't need to consider more than once. From time to time Cambria offers 20% off of the already discounted "Hot Deals". This just so happened to be one of those deals. Goodbye Centaur Skeleton., hello Chorus D. I actually like the classic design of these very much, so it turned out for the best.

Little Silver Rings: Velocity Aerohead & Aerohead OC

I've been going back and forth for months on rim selection between the Velocity Aerohead, DT Swiss RR 1.1, and Mavic Open Pro. All are quality rims for training and club racing applications. Mavic has years of proven performance with the Open Pro. Paris-Roubaix is raced with Open Pro's for example. DT Swiss has the reputation for precision manufacturing. The details of their rims (joints, eyelets, machining) are top class. Velocity is the little company that could, taking on the giants of the wheel industry. They have a reputation so far in quality and service. They also offer a unique feature on their rear rim the Aerohead OC.


I've read stories of all of three having issues with joints failing or cracks developing around the eyelets. With the number of these rims on the roads around the world, these cases are exceptions to the norm. In the end what became the pivitol decision making influence was price point. Coupled with it's OC option, the hard-to-beat price on the Velocity Aerohead pipped 'em all at the line by a wheel length. OC means "off center". The profile of the rim is asymmetrical in order to reduce the difference in spoke tension on the drive side making for a more stable wheel. The OC design has been on the market long enough to have proven itself and earned the recommendation of experienced and respected wheel builders. That's good enough for me. I have a 28-hole front and 32-hole rear on order, in shiny silver of course, and plan to lace 'em up to a pair of White Industries H2 hubs.