"An Inquiry for the collective resource knowledge of CR:
Looking for sources for Vintage style Wool sweaters, shorts , leather shoes, clips etc.. seems a bit out of character to be cycling around in lycra with Sidi ergos. any direction away from race and the big R would be most appreciated..
cheers
William OShaughnessy Manorville, LI, USA"
Well I am glad someone else thinks so! I feel I am just about the only one who enjoys wears vintage kit riding vintage lightweights. And around here, I am.
But not to state the obvious: eBay! And not just eBay US which is so boring. I have about 45 jerseys, training jackets and shorts in my collection, the majority of which I got on eBay France, eBay UK and eBay Italy. There are about 12 regular sellers of jerseys. Of course if you're closer to the size of a 1970s European cyclist, it's a lot easier to fit into jerseys 18 inches from pit to pit as larger sizes are rarer. Leather cycling shoes are easy to score, too, if you know your size in European measurement. Again, size matters and smaller sizes are more common. One dealer in France has about 30 shoes on offer now. Bidons are actually harder to score as they are extremely collectible in France and there really is a dealer called Monsieur Bidon who sells amazing ones from the 1960s onwards but for serious money. Essential though as a finishing touch to a restoration. Cycling watches are out of my league, the special Tour de France ones from the 1950s and 1960s can fetch thousands. Cycling googles are very hard to find and I don't really have a cycle old enough to justify wearing one but that white cap and goggle combination of the 1920s-40 French cyclist is the epitome of cycling style to me.
So troll European eBay con gusto. France: search maillot cycliste or cyclisme, Italy: maglia ciclismo, UK/US cycling wool (jerseys), cycling leather (shoes) vintage jersey etc etc.
I recently scored on eBay UK a Woolistic wool replica of the Peugeot-BP jersey worn by Tom Simpson in the 1967 Tour which was used in a documentary on him and paid about the same as any Woolistic jersey would cost.
If you like the 1930s-1960s era, check out Trad-Tex in Germany which have a unique range of replica wool jerseys. Cost a bomb but they are superb. And yes Vintage Velos here in the USA with Woolistic but I have really gone off them now that they are made in China not Italy and at no cost savings for it. At least to the customer!
So if you want to be authentic, it's easy. And remember if 1971 Campagnolo Nouvo Record derailleurs and Fiamme sew up rims still perform ably, so do wool jerseys, wool shorts and cotton caps. To me they are inseparable.
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA