Further to yesterday’s post and the latest bike I’m fussing over, Faggin is still very much a going concern:
Furthermore, unlike the many storied bike brands that get bought and sold and now exist mostly in name only, Faggin is still a family operation where they’ll even welcome you in for coffee:
Jerzyluca of Jersey Cycles will confirm this to be true, having had the Faggin family coffee experience himself.
As for the bikes, you can see on their website that they’re doing modern stuff:
But they’re also still making classic stuff:
I happen to be partial to the classic stuff, but I like that they do it all.
It’s very comforting to know Faggin are still doing what they do, because as long as they are it means it’s also possible that one day I could order one, go there to pick it up, and then ride it around Italy for three weeks. I wouldn’t even pack any cycling clothes, either, because they also sell gear, so I’d just get the matching kit and go full Faggin fanboy:
Alas, I don’t see any new bike fantasy vacations in the immediate future, but in the meantime at least I can dream–and some bar tape for my current bike is certainly attainable:
Of course, I should also remember that as a once-relevant semi-professional bike blogger I’ve already gotten to experience the sorts of overseas cycling dream escapes most people don’t get to enjoy until they’re too old to enjoy them. For example, in 2014 I got to take part in L’Eroica (the original one, in Tuscany), thanks to the good people at Brooks:
Those were the heady days where you could take a humble factory worker, turn him into a meme, and ride the wave all the way to the Strade Bianche:
I’m pretty sure Brooks would like to pretend all this never happened because today they’d probably get torn apart on social media for the revelation that Eric “The Chamferer” leveraged his fleeting Internet popularity in order to take advantage of young women, but it’s only by acknowledging the past that we can move forward. Or something.
Anyway, sadly any “content” I generated from the ride appears to be lost in the mists of time, because as far as I can remember I did a full-write up on it for the Brooks blog, which no longer exists. My own post also seems to indicate I took video of the ride with a seatpost-mounted camera, though I have no idea where that went either. (The camera or the video.) Alas, all I have are my own happy memories of riding an overgeared bike on dirt roads and stopping in medieval villages where I somehow managed to gorge myself on bread without breaking out in hives.
And of course I also got to go to Switzerland for five days of climbing mountains, eating lavish dinners, and sleeping in posh hotels:
Flying to Switzerland, climbing mountains, eating lavish dinners, and sleeping in posh hotels taught me three very important lessons I’ll never forget:
- I have been and continue to be extremely fortunate
- I would very much like to return to Switzerland one day for more climbing mountains, eating lavish dinners, and sleeping in posh hotels
- Fuck bikepacking
But whether I return to Switzerland next year, next decade, or never, every time a bike arrives from Classic Cycle it turns my regular routes into a little mini-fantasy vacation, and even if I can’t ride a brand new Faggin around Italy, in terms of pure cycling enjoyment, riding a beat-up one around New York is close enough.
Then again, it can be pretty tough going around here. For example, the Smugerati are still upset that when it rains there are puddles:
In 2021, New York City took the bold step of closing an entire lane of the Brooklyn Bridge to cars and turning it into a two-way bike lane. This was a huge deal and a major improvement over having to share a wooden walkway with throngs of tourists. So naturally ever since then the city’s cyclists have been complaining bitterly that it it’s sometimes a little wet after torrential rains:
I’d say “Cry me a river,” but for one thing it’s a trite expression, and for another if someone takes me literally it could form a puddle and we wouldn’t want that.
Meanwhile, you may remember “Phil Walkable,” the guy who has it in for Valley Stream:
Well, I’d prefer not to remember him, but Twitter won’t let me forget, and now he’s pining for a 91% tax rate:
Careful, Phil. Pointing at stuff randomly and attributing favorable outcomes to it is a stupid and dangerous business. You know what else we had in 1950? Legalized racial segregation. What a wonderful time!
I do see even Phil has had it with the motor scooters in the bike lane, though:
I continue to be amazed that after all the angry politicians and parked cars and acts of sabotage the thing that’s finally going to undo New York City’s bike lane network once and for all is these stupid motor scooters.
Finally, speaking of feeling safe, Rivendell is taking on Big Helmet:
So could we see a Rivendell helmet one day?
My main concern is that this could lead to Retrogrouch Risk Compensation, such as leaving canvas luggage unbuckled and raising quill stems above the minimum insertion mark.
As for whether risk compensation is actually a thing, I don’t know, but it sure seems like the people who do the dumbest stuff are wearing helmets:
I really don’t get the whole descent porn thing, I really don’t.