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 some ways like a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, the way we honor our machines. We love them to a point that lies well beyond obsession. Upon these machines upon we endure endless suffering, but also find an unending pleasure. The rhythm, the harmony between rider and machine, the outdoors, the wind in our faces and air in our lungs.

The Bikes is devoted entirely to our machines. Ours, The Keepers, and yours, the Community. It features articles devoted to our bikes, and proves a forum for uploading photos of your own machines for discussion. We will be harsh, but fair; this is a place to enforce and enhance our observation of The Rules.

If you’d like to submit an article about your own beloved bike, please feel free to send it to us and we’ll do our best to work with you to include it.

  • Rule #12 and the Cascade EffectRule #12 and the Cascade Effect
    That is a very reasonable opening salvo for the Rule about bike ownership. Three is good and certainly a minimum, and we are talking road bikes here, if there was any doubt. They naturally become ordered: the #1 is ichi-ban, top dog, go-to bike for every and all rides. #2 was the old #1, ...
  • Guest Article: Black Is Not The New BlackGuest Article: Black Is Not The New Black
     @kogalover is singing my song here. Bikes are beautiful. ’nuff said. VLVV, Gianni With all those posts on riding in winter and being visible, either by putting Eyes of Sauron or other car melting devices on one’s steed, or by even considering a YJA instead of donning plain black kit, it was about time to finally get ...
  • Dialing in the StableDialing in the Stable
    This was going to be an article about Rule #45. It is amazing how much time is wasted and matches burned when professionals stop for that second bike change to get back on their #1. With all the jigs available to team mechanics it would seem they could set up five bikes exactly the same. And ...
  • Matching the drapes to the rugMatching the drapes to the rug
    As a longtime titanium bike owner, I’ve always been jealous of a beautiful painted frame but Ti and carbon frames don’t need paint like a steel frame needs paint. But I want some painted beauty. It’s like buying a white car; I can’t do white, need some color. So between a Ti frame and a ...
  • Festum Prophetae: Waiting for the HourFestum Prophetae: Waiting for the Hour
    Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. – Mike Tyson The one thing everyone should always plan for is that however well-conceived a program might be, things will never go to plan. The high level plan for my Festum Prophetae Hour Ride was as follows: Have a custom Hour Bike built by Don Walker. Because reasons. Reasons like custom ...

15,871 Replies to “The Bikes”

  2. @VeloVita

    @EricW

    What type of beans did you use?

    I was thinking the same thing!

    Eric, nice bike, congratulations on the promotion and marriage, a promotion Up the Ladder and Up the Foodchain, no longer a dirtbag bachelor just datin’ and ridin’ bikes.

    Pretty sure VV was wondering about the canned goods you used to prop the bike up in the photo…

  4. My 3 year old Velomini (lexicon addition?) is on the point of growing out of his first balance bike, so I was looking at alternatives for his next bike. He’s well into riding (and has embodied Rule #5 and Rule #10 in his process of learning to ride) so I don’t mind spending a bit to get him something decent. So I was very interested when I saw these:

    https://www.littlebigbikes.com/

    They are balance bikes that adjust to get a bit bigger, and can also fit a crank, chain and pedals. So they are really 3 bikes in one. Seems a really good idea, but I’d thought I’d put it to the class to see if anyone had any thoughts. Here’s a picture for those who can’t be bothered to click links;

  5. @EricW

    Cheers thanks. Merckx’s Molteni-era frames were in my mind when I chose the colour. Not sure the bar tape will last though… Have some old Record hubs waiting for silver rims and a rainy day to free the Protons for a newer bike… Then I’ll start thinking about some Record Pista or Pista Superleggera pedals. It goes on…

  6. @RobSandy

    Very cool. Those balance bikes are certainly the way forward and I like the way you can fit a drive train. Even better if you can get them involved in the process; what better way to learn to maintain your bike properly.

    Velomini is should be in the Lexicon. I’ve always referred to mine as Velominippers (but I suppose that’s possibly more of a brit/aussie/kiwi thing). Eitherway, a pre-pedalwan designation should be in.

  7. @RobSandy

    Interesting concept.

    I’m a big fan of the balance bikes but I wonder how a bike with a seat low enough to be used as a push-along would work when you attached cranks.

    I’d have thought that the next step was to go to a proper little bike with cranks, once they’ve got the balance right.

  8. It’s very clever how the chainstays and seat mast upturn – that looks like it would be very versatile!

  10. @RobSandy

    I put my kids on little “mtn” bikes with gears asap. I wanted them to understand gearing and how to use it. Plus, the local park has trails. I’m not sure I’d do it again. The short chain stays just don’t mesh well with changing gears and bikes are heavy w/cheap spring forks. What I’d do today is go straight to the BMX bike. Simple, light and go anywhere. My daughter has some pretty sweet full on race bikes and her go to to run around the neighborhood? Her little BMX bike. Kids like BMX bikes for good reason: Simple, light and go anywhere. The bike your looking at looks like it fits that description though the BMX bike might be even more simple. Having 2(n+1) in the house is much fun isn’t it! Cheers

  11. @wilburrox

    Thanks for the advice, all. I’m in no hurry to get my lad pedaling. He can do anything he wants to do without at the moment (which includes some tricks he’s made up).

    The Little Big Bike should do him until he’s 6/7, and then I’d go for a mtn bike/bmx. I always had bmx’s as a kid, probably good to get the hang of riding and bike control without the faff of having gears.

    I just really like the idea of a balance bike that you can add pedals to as and when needed. I’ve found out our local outdoor velodrome runs balance bike sessions for the under 5s. Awesome!

  12. Eagerly awaiting the new #1.

    Aluminium frame 6069, lighter than (some) carbonframes. 8kg, and could be less if I wanted to throw more money at the Group-san (now Ultegra) or rims, which I am not.

  13. @RobSandy

    My children used a balance bike and that got them into pedaling before they turned three. None of them ever used side-wheels. However, once they rode a normal bike, they still very often went back to the balance bike probably because they were simply more adept on it. Once they got a little older we got them a bigger bike, since doing a few kilometers on those single speed, 12-inch, tiny bikes is horrible. Did you ever notice the cadence you have to have? A bike for a 3 year old is different from a bike for a 6-year old, even if it fits their size.

    I have no experience with those Little Big bikes, although we looked into something alike when the middle one started riding a bike, but then decided against it since he could simply use his older brother’s bikes.

    The youngest (4,5y) is now outgrowing his first (3th handed) bike, but he still uses the balance bike if he just wants to have fun. And it’s impressive to see him on it (although I often hold my heart).
    The middle one (6y) loves his BMX but I probably should mention that it has three gears since he uses it also to go to school and on ‘family-rides’ (to the playground, into town) (but give him some muddy puddles or tiny ‘jumps’ and you hear him ecstatic from a km away).

  15. @RobSandy

    My Velominipper started on a wooden balance bike and rode it into the ground (I’ve got some decent video of her riding over logs with it somewhere). She’s now on a Giant Animator 16 but as she’s coming up on 6 years the cockpit is getting a bit tight.

    I like the suggestion by @wilburrox of a BMX being the next step and I agree with staying away from gears. Take the usual “dense core of a dead star” metal and dart board geometry they build kid’s bikes with and now picture building a multi-gear drivetrain with it… not good.

    Personally I wouldn’t worry about pedals too much. I saw a 5 year old doing park tricks and drops on his balance bike in Whistler a few years back. No pedals didn’t seem to slow him down.

  16. @Ron

    @VeloVita

    @EricW

    What type of beans did you use?

    I was thinking the same thing!

    Eric, nice bike, congratulations on the promotion and marriage, a promotion Up the Ladder and Up the Foodchain, no longer a dirtbag bachelor just datin’ and ridin’ bikes.

    Pretty sure VV was wondering about the canned goods you used to prop the bike up in the photo…

    OOOOHHHHHH…Trader Joe’s refried…or as one of my riding buddies calls it: afterburner fuel.

  19. Quick question – are latex tubes any less happy with periodic riding than butyl tubes?

    I store my Tommasini in a bike buddies shed (until I can build my own, house is at max n+5 capacity) and only ride it every few weeks. It hangs in his four car garage, along with his ten bikes. I’d like to switch over from butyl to latex, ride latex tubes on most of my bikes. Wondering if it will be less happy with intermittent riding and being stored in a garage, as in will it be more prone to dry rotting, the conditions, etc. He often leaves the garage doors open. I’m in a pretty moderate climate in central NC.

  21. @Teocalli

    @GogglesPizano

    Wow!!!  Just F$%king wow!

    http://pelotonmagazine.com/goods/eddy-merckx-custom-bike-eddy-70/

    I take it the first Wow is the bike and the second the price?

    No kidding… that’d be the F$%king wow indeed. I’d think one could get a pretty hot smokin’ gorgeous bike hand made WITH custom geo for a little less and still have some coin left over for Sidi wires and a Silca pump. And then maybe even some change for Silca’s “Ultra Premium CO2 Cartridges”. Uhh, yea. CO2 cartridges. Ultra-premium. CO2. Cartridges… WTF.

  22. One would have to celebrate each ride on the Eddy70 with a dram of Macallan 1926 while sitting in a robe on a leather chair watching your personal mechanical hand clean the bike with a badger hair brush and a carpathian chamois.

    Please Merckx let a good portion of these 69 bikes be ridden.

  23. 2015 project is to build up an 8-speed starting with this gem. Tube shifters!

  24. @Matt

    @Roger

    is that a Nashbar Carbon?

    Yes it is. I got the frame for a song and a dance. It is actually much better than I expected it to be. Still needs some work but it is coming along.

  25. Had a pal using the “No Name” Nashbar carbon cross bike and he had many problems with it, I think headset and BB issues. Had to get ride of it.

    Just a heads up, maybe the road bike will be better since it takes less punishment.

  26. @Ron

    The annoying answer is probably “It depends”. I use latex on my racing wheels but skimp out on the training ones, which means they get very intermittent riding at times. Last time I raced mine was October. In between I try to pump them every once in a while but I don’t always get around to it so they sit flat quite often.

    So far, I noticed two problems:

    1. If you leave them with sealant in (which works better on latex than on butyl tubes, it’s no a bad idea), it can eventually glue the tube to itself if left flat. I had two tubes burst on the initial pumping after a few months off.
    2. Latex is very supple, so if you leave it flat and then pump again, the tyre can move and wiggle a bit, causing a pinch. I’ve heard of riders who had the tube wiggle into gaps in the rim tape, again causing flats.

    A good article on latex problems and solutions: http://austintriathlonstore.blogspot.co.il/2015/01/latex-tubes.html

  27. Now that the site is back up, I can share my enthusiasm–really, it’s just been a series of sustained, multiple squeegasms–for my new Veloforma frame. Having been back on the bike for only three years after over two decades off, having gotten back into Cycling on a perfectly decent (CAAD10) aluminum bike, I was more than ready for my first ever sustained Viagra-like overdose of Carbone.

    Sadly, my current state of penury and want means that it’s going to be later this year before I can put appropriate components on it. I’ll be going Bro-set, and I have good reasons to do that, and you won’t be able to talk me out of it. For now, though, I’ve had to move my 105 with Force cranks over from the C’dale. That’ll all go back onto the C’dale for a nine-bike once I get the funds sorted.

    Suffice it to say that the Veloforma (M’Lady Blackheart) does everything (everything) so much better than any bike I’ve ever ridden. My last bike in the 80s was a wonderful steel frame hand built by Glenn Erickson. So I sort of remembered what a nice ride felt like.

    But this is an entirely new experience.

  28. @tessar

    @Ron

    The annoying answer is probably “It depends”. I use latex on my racing wheels but skimp out on the training ones, which means they get very intermittent riding at times. Last time I raced mine was October. In between I try to pump them every once in a while but I don’t always get around to it so they sit flat quite often.

    So far, I noticed two problems:

    1. If you leave them with sealant in (which works better on latex than on butyl tubes, it’s no a bad idea), it can eventually glue the tube to itself if left flat. I had two tubes burst on the initial pumping after a few months off.
    2. Latex is very supple, so if you leave it flat and then pump again, the tyre can move and wiggle a bit, causing a pinch. I’ve heard of riders who had the tube wiggle into gaps in the rim tape, again causing flats.

    A good article on latex problems and solutions: http://austintriathlonstore.blogspot.co.il/2015/01/latex-tubes.html

    Thanks for the reply and information. Hmm, a conundrum I’ll have to ponder. On the one hand, I don’t ride this bike frequently and it lives in a pal’s bike shed/garage (he stores three Vanillas and a Moots there, so I’m trusting the climate is okay for my Tommasini). On the other hand, how can I ride my classic Italian steel bike on anything but nice tires and latex tubes?

    I guess this means I need to ride it more often this year! The ride quality was incredible, I’d been on butyl tubes until now on this bike. No sealant in these, Vredestein latex tubes with Veloflex Master tires.

    I guess I’d just better be sure to ride and/or stop it to inflate the tires on a more regular basis. Would be a shame to blow nice Vredestein tubes on a regular basis. I’ll check out the link, thanks!

  29. @PeakInTwoYears

    Now that the site is back up, I can share my enthusiasm–really, it’s just been a series of sustained, multiple squeegasms–for my new Veloforma frame. Having been back on the bike for only three years after over two decades off, having gotten back into Cycling on a perfectly decent (CAAD10) aluminum bike, I was more than ready for my first ever sustained Viagra-like overdose of Carbone.

    Sadly, my current state of penury and want means that it’s going to be later this year before I can put appropriate components on it. I’ll be going Bro-set, and I have good reasons to do that, and you won’t be able to talk me out of it. For now, though, I’ve had to move my 105 with Force cranks over from the C’dale. That’ll all go back onto the C’dale for a nine-bike once I get the funds sorted.

    Suffice it to say that the Veloforma (M’Lady Blackheart) does everything (everything) so much better than any bike I’ve ever ridden. My last bike in the 80s was a wonderful steel frame hand built by Glenn Erickson. So I sort of remembered what a nice ride felt like.

    But this is an entirely new experience.

    Beauty!!

  31. Rescued an old and rusty kids bike and resto’d it for my 3 yar old son.  Touch of the “V” influence going on.  Now just to await the ordered V decals and its done.

  37. I can’t help but share this gem.

    A guy has some Delta brakes listed on ebay. For some reason he has a action shot of a shark ready to chomp as the background. (superior chomping qualities of Deltas?).

    The brakes are listed as Companolo Delta brakes. I emailed him to let him know his spelling was a bit off. His reply made my day:

    YES. MY FRIEND BUT WE ARE I AMERICA WE ARE NOT IN (ITALY) THANKS FOR YOUR CONCERN HOW I SPELL CAMPY.

    I couldn’t resist inquiring how he spells Ferrari and Ducati.

  38. @Ron

    I have ridden this frame pretty hard for the last year, including some “off road excursions”.  I have had zero issues with performance. I got the frame with no expectations and it has surprised me to say the least. I also have a chinese carbon 29er mtb, not nashbar, that I have been beating with out mercy for well over a year and that has performed flawlessly as well. I have had some really nice bikes over the years and these current chinese frames are performing equally as well as any highend bike I have owned in the past, except for my custom Independent Fab 29er, which was retired last year after 11 years of dedicated hard service, but is looking to make comeback sometime in the future. My cycling budget has been cut significantly over the years so I have to do what I have to do, you know what I mean.

  39. Cool, I was just offering a word of caution. Glad you are getting great use out of the bike. Sometimes the gruppos on the big store bikes are worth buying the whole thing and then just using the frame for whatever.

    I gotcha, wife, house, vacations…I too am no longer a single grad student who thinks it’s okay to buy three road bikes a year. Well I actually do, I just can’t direct the money towards such endeavors any more.

  40. @Ron

    All good I appreciate it, I just got the frame and threw parts at it.

    Then added the Dura Ace tubeless wheelset and it has transformed the bike.

    Not a bad ride for only having $800 into it

  41. @PeakInTwoYears

    Now that the site is back up, I can share my enthusiasm–really, it’s just been a series of sustained, multiple squeegasms–for my new Veloforma frame. Having been back on the bike for only three years after over two decades off, having gotten back into Cycling on a perfectly decent (CAAD10) aluminum bike, I was more than ready for my first ever sustained Viagra-like overdose of Carbone.

    Sadly, my current state of penury and want means that it’s going to be later this year before I can put appropriate components on it. I’ll be going Bro-set, and I have good reasons to do that, and you won’t be able to talk me out of it. For now, though, I’ve had to move my 105 with Force cranks over from the C’dale. That’ll all go back onto the C’dale for a nine-bike once I get the funds sorted.

    Suffice it to say that the Veloforma (M’Lady Blackheart) does everything (everything) so much better than any bike I’ve ever ridden. My last bike in the 80s was a wonderful steel frame hand built by Glenn Erickson. So I sort of remembered what a nice ride felt like.

    But this is an entirely new experience.

    Awesome. I’m digging the orange tape. Perhaps I’ll go that way on mine.

    What size frame is this?

  42. @il muro di manayunk

    Speaking of which, working on your custom paint now.

    @peakingintwoyears – what tape is it? Fizik? I have some stuff sent to me from ZA that is also a good match. Been tempted for ages to try it but can’t bring myself not to have white or black bars on my bike.

  44. @Ron

    Cool, I was just offering a word of caution. Glad you are getting great use out of the bike. Sometimes the gruppos on the big store bikes are worth buying the whole thing and then just using the frame for whatever.

    I gotcha, wife, house, vacations…I too am no longer a single grad student who thinks it’s okay to buy three road bikes a year. Well I actually do, I just can’t direct the money towards such endeavors any more.

    s – 1 was ever thus.

  45. @Roger

    @Ron

    All good I appreciate it, I just got the frame and threw parts at it.

    Then added the Dura Ace tubeless wheelset and it has transformed the bike.

    Not a bad ride for only having $800 into it

    Nothing will transform a bike like a good set of wheels. I’ll take carbon wheels on shimano 105 groupsan any day over DA with stock wheels.

  46. @Barracuda

    Rescued an old and rusty kids bike and resto’d it for my 3 yar old son.  Touch of the “V” influence going on.  Now just to await the ordered V decals and its done.

    Good job ditching the purely cosmetic suspension fork. Advise that you take off the cranks along with the training wheels, and set it up as a balance bike.

  47. @frank

    Right on! Sounds like I’ll be able to have it all built up in time for the beginning of the season.

  48. @Nate

    Agree about the stabilisers, all they do is teach kids how *not* to balance on a bike, dump them and the cranks and let him learn to scoot around first and the illogical steering into a lean rather than against it that is the essence of keeping upright on a bike.

  49. @frank

    @Roger

    @Ron

    All good I appreciate it, I just got the frame and threw parts at it.

    Then added the Dura Ace tubeless wheelset and it has transformed the bike.

    Not a bad ride for only having $800 into it

    Nothing will transform a bike like a good set of wheels. I’ll take carbon wheels on shimano 105 groupsan any day over DA with stock wheels.

    I bought my bike in November and I’m already aspiring to upgrade it (obviously) but the only component I really think worth spending anything on is wheels.

    Mine’s a basic alu 105 type bike (Felt F75), what sort of wheel upgrade would be worthwhile? And how much £?

    Probably a ‘how long is a bit of string’ type question.

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