My latest Wired News column is up: I spend it talking about a bike I just bought on eBay, a 1983 Colnago Super with Campagnolo Nuovo Record parts.
Cyclists are a fickle lot, and we're generally willing to sell our soul for the lightest, most aerodynamic, craziest tech we can find. After all, when you're chugging up a hill, every gram you can cut off your bike is one less gram you have to haul to the top of the climb.
We're addicts -- just like golfers, or tennis players, or skiers -- we're chasing the piece of equipment that will make us better, or stronger, or faster. Catalogs filled with the latest gear stack up in our houses, dog-eared and well-thumbed, as we fantasize about our latest purchase.
But sometimes, it's important to step back and realize that what's essential and true about a sport isn't the equipment or the technology, but the activity, the act itself. Taking a spin on an old bike, with old parts, reminds you that it's not about the bike, but about the ride.