GEAR FOR THE AGES

Some bicycle components, tools and accessories - by design, luck or a bit of both - become icons of performance, reliability and permanence in cycling.

- Matt Phillips

And with the constant churn of newer, better, lighter and more aero in bicycle tech, these iconic products rarely get an opportunity to bask in the limelight.

Cycling is small things coming together to make bigger things. A few riders become a group, and a few groups become a peloton. The bicycle is a collection of individual parts turned into the fabulous machine we ride. We often take for granted that it's not one story, but thousands of small stories.

Every part of the bicycle has its own story. Every ball in a bearing, each fastener or seal, the rail of a saddle, the forged curves of a brake lever: everything on a bike has a purpose.

Try to picture all the individual parts that make up a bicycle, and all the individual parts that make up those parts. Try to imagine all the people all over the globe working on every one of those parts. Contemplate the journey of a bicycle, as its components go from idea to finished product: the complete bicycle you ride.