If you ride a bike and you drink wine, there is only one tool you should own to open bottles: the Campagnolo Il Cavatappi "Big" Corkscrew. These aren't cheap nor are they easy to find, but in return for your effort and hard earned cash you will end the messin' around with cheapy openers forever.
The corkscrew comes in a wood box with the title woodburned into the surface. A color brochure with instructions in multiple languages is included. Badly translated English could be a source of frustration if it weren't for the fact that the tool is simple enough to operate without the instructions. Read it and weep:
"...Avoiding to screw the handle down to the body (3), as shown in the photo, the cork does not come out entirely."
The tool itself is made of cast aluminum with a shot-peened anodized finish in silver or gold. The pivot bolts on the arms are chromed steel with the signature "BREV CAMPAGNOLO" trademark. The "Globe" appears on the bell beneath. This thing weighs in at a stout 517 grams and it's perhaps one of the rare exceptions in cycling where more weight is better. The mechanical action is simple; it's the basic two-arm corkscrew we all know but on serious performance enhancing banned substances. There are no gimicks, gizmos, or extra parts but just pure mechanical leverage at work.
Campy Record parts have an estimated service life of about 40,000 km (25,000 miles). I don't know how corks compare to klicks for wear but if we suppose one cork = one kilometer, then there should be enough life in this thing to enjoy a bottle a day for 110 years!
Salute!
No comments:
Post a Comment