It was love at first sight when we saw our first titanium Passoni road bike. So we just had to interview Passoni MD Matteo Cassina to find out how his passion for Passoni started with shopping for his dream frame and ending up with him buying the company: there’s something about Passoni that fuels those emotions. And finally this August, we made it to Monza, to the church of the god of cycling, to the bike factory or atelier, as they like to call it, that has no equal.
Read MorePure Passoni
Think of all the great Italian bike brands and their heritage goes back many generations: Bianchi started at the end of the 19th century, Wilier in 1906, Cinelli in 1948 and Colnago in 1952. Passoni only began manufacturing frames in 1989, but its name, amongst those in the know, is spoken in hushed reverent tones, along with tales and rumours of how the likes of Pantani, Chiappucci, Bugno and many others of the late 80’s and early 90’s were in fact winning Alpine stages of Grand Tours on disguised titanium Passonis some 2kg lighter than the steel bikes of their counterparts.
Read MoreVélochef - Food for Training and Competition
Ever wondered what Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and their fellow star riders at Team Sky eat on the Tour de France? Vélochef, by Henrik Orre, provides some of those answers, as well as giving a fascinating insight into the workings of a top racing team, while offering no less than 80 nutritious recipes for you to recreate at home.
Read MoreFantasy Bike Shed
While we all know from our Velominati rules that the minimum number of bikes one should own is 3, the ideal is number is, in fact, n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. Yes, we’re always on the lookout for a newer, older, better, sexier, lighter, different bike to add to the collection. But, as Velominati warns, there is a maximum number of bikes one can have, as defined by the equation s-1, “where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.” Yup, we know you love your bikes, but don’t forget, you love your partner as well.
Read MoreSmoother than Chamois Cream - the Rouleur Classic
Thursday night saw Vinopolis open its doors for the Rouleur Classic event and the suited and booted cognoscenti of the affluent London cycling community, most of whom appeared to have come straight from their desks across the river in the Square Mile, or wherever it is that hedge fund managers, bankers and corporate lawyers park their tailored but trim derrieres on weekdays. Eager to get their cycling fix before donning the Rapha and deserting their loved ones for their Sunday morning rides with their top-of-the-range carbon machines, this well-to-do crowd queued round the block before the 6pm start.
Read MoreGood Vibrations from Pavé, Culture Cycliste
Firstly, a little bit of advice before you go, and you must go to this shop if you're ever in Barcelona: fork out the 20 odd Euros to get there by taxi. If you have a hire car, even better. We took a metro, a train and then a bus to get to El Prat de Llobregat which, it turns out, is not on any tourist guide to Barcelona, the reason being that this is part of the industrial heartland of the city surrounding the airport, its main features being large warehouses, factories and lorry depots. Plaça Reial, this ain't.
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