Matthew,
as an English teacher, I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this. I like the descriptions and the buildup of suspense.
oh yeah - and I can totally relate. Con denti pedals are your white whale.
Kyle Brooks Akron, OH
________________________________ From: Matthew 'Devotion' Bowne <devotion_finesse@hotmail.com> To: CR discussion list <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 12:21:43 AM Subject: [CR] Con Denti? Con Ridiculousness!
For as long as I can remember having an awareness of the existence of 1950's-60's Campagnolo "Con Denti" (with teeth) track pedals, I can recall a couple of constants. (1) I desperately want a pair and (2) While not incredibly rare, they fetch about $200. For what seems like years, that's about what they sold for on eBay...And they came up every couple of months or so. People had 'em. They'd show up at a T-Town swap. They'd hang on a number of bikes at the local shows. Your friend probably had a pair. They were around. And they were cool. I always knew I'd just HAVE to put a pair on the 60's Frejus pista I vowed to eventually own...so I started to look more often. And they were going for $250 all of a sudden. Gulp. And again, $250. Maybe $270. But another set might pop up for $225 from time to time as well. Or your bud would score a set for $60. It'd hurt, but if I didn't eventually find a pair, I'd have to bite the bullet and drop the cash. Especially since I had managed to piece together the rest of the other "dream bits" for my imaginary 60's track machine. A steel adjustable Cinelli track stem, a Campy inch pitch drivetrain and the like. So then the dream Frejus finally came along and I started *really* looking for a pair. But they were getting $300 now. Sheesh! Could I really drop that kinda coin on pedals??? Well I just might have to...Because I was building my dream bike and everything else was falling into place. No sense in getting a build 95% "right", is there? "Almost perfect"? Not a chance! Okay, okay. I won't ride the bike until I have Con Dentis, I told myself. The months ticked away. All of a sudden, Cirque was just 60 days away...I wanna wrap up the build and I'm quickly running out of runway! I'm asking everybody I know, watching eBay more carefully now, throwing out the occasional "WTB" post to The List. And nuthin' turned up for a while until a pricey, well worn pair from far away became available, at the precise moment when I had just splurged on something fun like a motor vehicle repair and had exactly two pennies to rub together...Maybe next time. There was a moment there when I thought I caught everyone sleeping on an eBay auction with no mention of that jagged little edge. "These are mine...I'm going for 'em and I'm going hard!" The auction even ended at some ungodly hour. A perfect storm! I set my alarm clock and woke in the dark to fulfill my destiny. I was even the high bidder for a minute there, until they skyrocketed in the final seconds to a whopping $400! You kidding me??? Is this what I woke up for? A freaking stomach ache! A lump in my throat! How was I ever going to finish this build? In a bind, I managed to convince a friend to loan me a pair to get the Frejus on the road this last weekend. Just the way she oughtta be. She was received like a princess, I rode the bike and it felt NICE to have everything in place. Even the orange toe strap buttons I had on loan from a brother of the wheel out in my native California. Perfection. But in the words of George Harrison, all things must pass. I returned the pedals Tuesday night and picked up in their stead that old familiar ache in my heart. Surely, I won't be able to ride the bike again until it's "right", can I? So in a moment of weakness, I again turned to eBay in the hope that I can somehow fill this void in my life. And there's a pair at $80 with a day to go. Could it be? Is a moment of serendipity upon me? Nope. A moment of "Holy f'n sh*t!" is upon me as I watch the price of a pair of Con Denti pedals surpasses the $500 mark for the first time to my knowledge. I accidentally spit beer all over my keyboard and everything.
So I ask the community... What's more ridiculous? The fact that a pair of pedals which are not *that* uncommon (saw 4 sets at Cirque this weekend!) are suddenly fetching $500? Or that I have spent so many hours obsessing over the darn things that it's starting to not seem so far fetched..almost worth the $500...when I consider the hours I have spent (wasted?) thinking about them?
Am I alone in this level obsessiveness over a single component are can any of you commiserate? Are you haunted by "the one that got away"? One part shy of completing a build? Do you lose sleep over anything on your wish list? Or am I finally losing it entirely?
Matthew Bowne
Senza Denti in
Brooklyn, NYC