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Velominatus: mxlmax

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@mxlmax's activity:

Guest Article: What The Bike Means to Me

It is less than a week from the longest night of the year for us lucky cyclists in the Northern hemisphere. Articles about lighting systems and losing form are what we cough up. @Strathlubnaig has even shorter days than most of us, works at sea, gets out on the bike and writes about it. Rule #9 or not, when is it ever a bad idea to ride a bike? V...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. Start anew. Better self, service, and cycling. Yeah! »

Not Really A ReView: ENVE SES 3.4 Wheelset

It was said by someone in the posts following Gianni’s excellent review of his tubeless system that an honest, long term analysis by a ‘real’ rider was most welcome. Well, you’re not going to get that here. You will get honesty, for sure, but ‘long term’ doesn’t come into the equation when a week is the am...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @Giles Matthew 6:33 »

The Gear

Our products represent the spirit of Velominati; every product we offer is made with the utmost attention to detail – no compromises were made in their selection or design. Whenever possible, our products are made my small, locally-owned businesses who share our passion for quality and we make every effort to ensure they are made in an enviro...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @scaler911 If these are waterproof, then hands may get sealed off and too sweaty. Though I will look into these Glacier gloves. Bracing for colder weather with Craft for now. »

  2. Nice looking Buffalo brand. Good one. »

The Keepers

Cycling is a mighty sport with a rich and complex history. Every company, racer, piece of kit, and component has a legend, a story behind it; in many cases it also has a personal and nostalgic connection to our lives.  While this particular sport is steeped in tradition, it is also fiercely modern, a fact that serves only to deepen its complexity...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @frank Super Corsa »

  2. Anquetil look alike. »

  3. @Oli Another frameset view with Anquetil. Imagine a Keepers Tour photo riding up along this very same route. »

  4. Vintage Castelli. Bernard Hinault. 1980 Giro d’Italia. Can you name the frameset? »

In Memoriam: The Proper Head Badge

The days of the proper head badge, I’m afraid, are numbered. It seems it used to be that any road bike with a pedigree that was really worth riding was festooned with an artful adornment on the head tube. By that I mean something made with a bit of heft, stamped or cast of alloy and riveted front and center. More and more though we’re s...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @Marko I think that this is sadly no one’s particular bike. Image is off the BASSO website. »

  2. Basso alloy frame production still includes a headbadge. »

Breaking The Rules: 29

As we gingerly assembled outside the gite, the Belgian sun shining for the first time in the three days we’d been in the spiritual home of cycling, the conversation was muted; what do you say to a legend of the sport, an apostle in his parish about to hold a sermon on two wheels? I can’t recall who it was who said it, but I remember the...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @EricW Thomson is not offset leaving those rails in a dubious position on the front. »

The Bikes

The Bike. It is the central tool in pursuit of our craft. A Velominatus meticulously maintains their bicycles and adorns them with the essential, yet minimal, accoutrement. The Rules specify the principles of good taste in configuration and setup of our machines, but within those principles lies almost infinite room for personal taste.It seems in s...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @unversio Amen brother! »

The Rides

The Ride. It is the cathedral of our sport, where we worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. It is the end to our means. Indeed, The Bike may be the central tool to our sport, but to turn the pedals is to experience the sensation of freedom, of flight. It is all for The Ride.The world is overflowing with small, twisty roads that capture ou...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @DerHoggz I didn’t do it. Too much trouble to have an iPod under the jersey that can’t be controlled or shut off. »

  2. Am I hexing myself up for a good ol’ iPod crash by ear budding up In My Time of Dying ? »

  3. @itburns I’ll Testify to that! Haarrgh! Ha! »

The Rules

We are the Keepers of the Cog.  In so being, we also maintain the sacred text wherein lie the simple truths of cycling etiquette known as The Rules. It is in our trust to maintain and endorse this list.See also The Prophet’s Prayer. Continue reading...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. I hate spelling. Especially words. »

  2. @frank @Oli Oli could you wear a jersey: WHEN THIS JERSEY IS  ROCK’N DON’T COME KNOCK’N (Red Polka Dot (front), Championship Stripes (back), Green (R slieeve) Yellow (L sleeve) ? »

The Rides

The Ride. It is the cathedral of our sport, where we worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. It is the end to our means. Indeed, The Bike may be the central tool to our sport, but to turn the pedals is to experience the sensation of freedom, of flight. It is all for The Ride.The world is overflowing with small, twisty roads that capture ou...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. Never before attempted on any ride — ever! Rolling tomorrow with an iPod under jersey — Led Zeppelin, Rush, Primus, Van Halen, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine — and many more! »

The Rise and Fall of the Clipless Pedal

The modern cyclist, as they enter the sport, will find themselves purchasing a set of shoes which contain a cleat that clips into the pedals on their bike. It should come as no surprise, then, that the term we use for the action of engaging shoe to pedal is “clip in”. Obviously, this style of pedals is thusly called the “clipless...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. Memorable research: (Death Cleats) The M71 was a clipless pedal designed by Cino Cinelli and produced by his company in 1971. It used a plastic shoe cleat which slid into grooves in the pedal and locked in place with a small lever located on the back sid… »

La Vie Velominatus: Flemish Tan Lines

Clouds hang heavy in the sky, plump with a rain which contemplates the opportunity to hurl itself towards the Earth below. I get the sense that we wait for each other, the Rain and I; the rain relishes the opportunity to soak my clothes and skin, seeking to corrode my resolve while I cherish the opportunity to prove to myself that it will not be s...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @gaswepass There is a time and a place for everything — and a purpose! This post makes perfect sense. »

  2. A commuter machine that is designed as a whole mudguard. Imagine a wind gust hitting this! »

The Rules

We are the Keepers of the Cog.  In so being, we also maintain the sacred text wherein lie the simple truths of cycling etiquette known as The Rules. It is in our trust to maintain and endorse this list.See also The Prophet’s Prayer. Continue reading...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @G’phant Now I remember what we are doing as riders. Just ride. Respect up for those guys in Yemen. »

In Memoriam: Leather and Brass

Composites, microfibers, synthetics. They amaze in their qualities; light, strong, durable - unyieldingly stiff or unimaginably suple, depending on our whim. When modern components arrive on my doorstep, upon lifting the unremarkable cardboard box I often wonder whether there is anything at all inside or if perhaps the person on the other end of...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. @ralph Are you sure you want to do this? Trust yourself and not the reverence for one saddle or another. Your post sounds like regret has already set in. »

  2. @Steampunk Why be such a hater? They are spiffy guys that probably love cycling more than others. Their video truly looks way better than others and is interesting. The Maeko Roubaix video posted on here somewhere is practically a non-video. »

The Rides

The Ride. It is the cathedral of our sport, where we worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. It is the end to our means. Indeed, The Bike may be the central tool to our sport, but to turn the pedals is to experience the sensation of freedom, of flight. It is all for The Ride.The world is overflowing with small, twisty roads that capture ou...

@mxlmax's posts:

  1. Ya know fellas. We could organize a Cogal in the same area with the same route. We could also invite/convince Hincapie to ride with us as well. No reason that he would refuse? »

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