(This issue is available direct from the publisher at the above link for $8.50. Subscriptions are $30 a year.)
This magazine is tough, diverse and hardcore! And this issue is just jam-packed full of amazing contents. Check out the details below, but the main features line-up only covers 2/3’s of the amazingly fresh content here. Even the minor items are worth pondering! Like, Jan digs Tony Faole’s motorcycle handling physics “bible.” It’s a book that I’ve long heard has great cross-over insights for understanding bicycle handling. Jan both reviews it and uses ideas in the book to lend insight to ideas about trail and crosswinds. Note, too, that “BQ” never lets a sleeping dog lie: wheel size goes hand in hand with tire width, OF COURSE, so it’s included here. Pressures, too. The works. Then there’s the sidebar on cable disk brakes — ouch! …Jan issues the call for drop-bar *hydraulic* disk-brakes. And there’s more. But let’s get to the Main Courses, as per the following…
From the desk of the “BQ” editor, here’s what this issue has in store:
It celebrates the life of Ernest Csuka, the builder of Alex Singer bicycles, who passed away in December 2009.
We did another test with three identical bikes, to determine how wheel size affects the handling of a bicycle. The results surprised most of our testers.
We explored the physics of wheel size in relation to bicycle handling. A must-read before you decide on 700C, 650B or 26″ wheels for your next bike!
This issue has three bike tests:
Terraferma 650B Super Randonneur: It’s equipped with a carbon handlebar box and Campagnolo’s new Super Record 11-speed drivetrain. But that isn’t why it’s one of the best-performing bicycles we have ridden…
Civia Hyland: A thoroughly modern performance commuter with an efficient derailleur drivetrain, drop handlebars and disc brakes.
Electra Ticino 20D: Electra’s new top-of-the-line model is inspired by the bikes of the classic French constructeurs. How does it perform on the road?
Electra Ticino components: We tested Electra’s new components, including their cranks (right) and pedals modeled after the classic TA models (left), their hubs patterned after the Campagnolo C-Record high-flange hubs, fenders, racks, rims, stem, bottle cage and more.
“The History of Randonneuring”: In this new series, we explore the roots of the sport. Did you know that the “Father of the Tour de France,” Henri Desgrange, organized the first brevets in France?
We also have a report from a ride from Lyon to Nice in 1908: 500 km in 24 hours.
Our classic bike feature shows a 1954 Alex Singer randonneur, which was updated by Cycles Alex Singer in the 1970s with centerpull brakes and superlight Huret Jubilee derailleurs. It now offers the best of both worlds: old-style geometry with modern components.
As always, there are product news, book reviews, Randonneuring Basics, “My favorite bike” and much, much more in the new issue of Bicycle Quarterly.
https://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/contents.html
