Life is Like A Box of Bike Parts

On Monday before I dropped off my frame at the powder coater in hopes it would return to me safely, I sent out an e-mail to my fellow cycling geeks who work with me to see if anyone wanted to admire my (shoddy) handiwork before it was covered up.  The best part about this is taking a few minutes to geek out about bikes with my coworkers - we talked about parts, frame materials, brazing, and a little bit of everything else, which is always a nice mental break when things get a bit crazy at work.

One of my coworkers, however, delved into his glory days of riding and working on bikes, and told me all about how he used to ride and work on his bikes.  Then, surprisingly, he asked if I wanted any of his old stuff.  I was completely taken aback, and said I would buy whatever he was willing to part with, but he insisted on giving me just about all of it (though I did give him money for those lovely Campy tools and promised future bike repairs - it's the least I can do!!).  

The next day, a large box of goodies showed up at my desk.

It's like Christmas, but for people like me.

Going through everything was like travelling back in time.  Everything was vintage, though all in excellent condition - the tubular tires are still good, and the rims and wheel that was also included in the bunch are very well cared for.  

They're quite nice...dare I say they're Superb.

I was most excited about the various tools, since I'm working on bikes most days of the week and am always finding the need for extra tools.

Headset and bottom bracket tools!  Whee!

Yep, Campagnolo alright. 

Along with the tools, there were a few tubular tires and a well broken in saddle.  I don't know much about the saddle's origin, but it seems to have a decent amount of life left in it.

Ideale, Superbe - maybe they were on to something...

A chainring and freewheel, still in the box.  

There were a lot of Campy boxes and manuals in my goody box, but this was the most colorful and complete.

Next was a really nice looking Suntour Cyclone derailleur, along with the matching Superbe rear hub, the bearings on which are still impeccable.  A Campy C Record front hub was also among the bunch, as were the Campy levers.  The hoods are a bit distentigrate-y, but the levers themselves are great!  My coworker took great care of these parts.

Apologies for the ridiculous depth of field.  It's dark and I'm impatient.

There were lots more tools, little parts, bearings, spokes, and more.  I found a chain breaker, crank puller, a few chain whips, skewers...it was magical.

The bag contains Campy downtube shifters.

I still need to finish going through the box.

Lots of these parts I will use, but anything that I can't will be donated to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.  

Most importantly, I always try to pay awesome acts of kindness like this forward.  Many thanks to my coworker - if you're reading this, you've no idea how happy you've made me!

It's Friday night.  Time to get greasy and work on bikes.