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Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

The Cycling Aesthete

by frank / Jul 20 2010 / 32 posts

There are those who are challenged to find the value of aesthetics in a sport which requires eating 11T cogs buttered with chain oil for breakfast and drinking kegs of Rule #5 at dinner. Ye of the Congoscenti, I present you with the following photos of some of the quintessential hardmen of our sport who rode during an era when merely climbing aboa...

Le Mecanicien

by frank / Jun 8 2010 / 129 posts

Each of us remembers how they became a Velominatus. For me, it was at Grimpeur Wielersport, in Zevenaar, The Netherlands. Its the perfect place: a small shop, on a small street, in a small town, in a small country, run by a Giant of the Sport, Herman van Meegen. I haven’t been back in years, not since my mentor and original owner was forced t...

Italian Thoroughbred, Hand Built with Care in China

by frank / May 11 2010 / 31 posts

While walking about town, one of my favorite things to do is to puruse the commuter bikes locked up outside stores and study some of the gems being ridden around.  Sometimes, I come across a really special bike, and marvel at the notion that the bike’s owner might not have any idea what piece of history they’re riding.  For example, I...

Dear Thule: GFY.

by jim / May 9 2010 / 10 posts

Spoiler alert– this post has nothing to do with professional cycling or racing. This post is about trying in vain to get existing bike trays to fit on a new car. Given that we put a man on the moon and all, this seems only modestly ambitious. WRONG, says Thule. It can’t be done! At least not without buying $200 more crap from those...

Race Radio

by frank / Apr 13 2010 / 11 posts

Anyone who watched Flanders and Paris-Roubaix can agree that the strongest and most deserving rider won both events; Fabian Cancellara dominated both races and did nothing to lessen his reputation as Spartacus.   One thing that that struck me, however, is how significantly race radios factored into how the races played out.In Flanders, Fabian and...

Mektronic and the Electronic Revolution

by frank / Feb 24 2010 / 36 posts

The migration to electronic transmissions in cycling is inevitable. Cables have lots of inherent problems; they stretch, rust, break, and get clogged in their housings. Worse, they are part of an imprecise mechanical system that requires constant maintenance and adjustment, and one that can by design only work perfectly in one gear and gets progres...

Framebuilding: Subcontractors and Big Names

by frank / Sep 17 2009 / 18 posts

I’ve made mention before of Rouleur magazine and their amazing, in-depth articles.  In one of the past issues, they had a wonderful piece on frame building  in the eighties and nineties describing how many of the big names sourced the building of frames – especially custom frames – to subcontractors.   The article focused on...

Fixie Challenge: Matching Aptitude to Confidence

by frank / Sep 7 2009 / 33 posts

I think it goes without saying that riding a fixie properly takes quite a bit of skill and finesse; the pedals being directly connected to the rear axle demands a fluid pedaling technique when riding at speed, not to mention the skill required to stop (quickly) without brakes.  The issue I have with the fixie community is not so much the bike as i...

The Dahon

by Gianni / Aug 30 2009 / 26 posts

My friend Robbie is no slouch on a bike. He is a former Mass-Rhode Island district road race champion, he has been beaten by the likes of Steve Bauer and Davis Phinney. The man can always get on a bike and haul ass, he always will. He drove by two days ago and was hot to go for a ride. I looked in his car to see only cycling shoes, a helmet and a s...

The Golden Era: Downtube Shifters and Delta Brakes

by frank / Aug 25 2009 / 35 posts

I miss downtube shifters.  I miss them in the same way I miss the days before the widespread use of race radios, when races were less choreographed and more unpredictable.  Racing on downtube shifters, a rider had to be seated and take one hand off the bars to shift.  Shifting had to be planned into race tactics.  These days, we can enter a hai...
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