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 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 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 StableThis 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 rugAs 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 HourEveryone 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 ...
@Teocalli
HA! Fine with me. I’ll save a couple grams not needing a meter-long seatpost. And @frank will never be able to draft off me, should we ever find ourselves on a ride together.
I build this bike in early 1994. I purchased the frame from a now defunct LBS chain and ordered all the rest from catalogs. It originally had the Manitou 3 fork to match the rear, but I did the Mach 5 upgrade for performance rather than aesthetic reasons. I wish I would have kept that fork! Tragically, perhaps, I traded it for the Vitus frame I’ve shown you before.
It also had Magura hydraulic calipers when I built it, but if you know what those were then you know how temperamental they were. Added the XTR V-Brakes whenever it was that they were new. 97ish…?
XTR mech, Grip Shift X-Ray, Pulstar front hub. The original Nuke Proof rear hub sadly was not Chrissy proof, so I rebuilt the wheel with an XT hub ages ago.
Thanks to http://www.suspensionforkparts.net for remanufacturing the elastomers, so the suspension actually works kind of well. The blue tires are a concession to vanity, but they are pretty close to the Panaracers I originally ran on it. It should, of course, have skin-wall Smoke and Darts, but those are extinct.
The head tube, like many Manitou frames, is heartbreaking cracked, so it will never be ridden very hard again. But it will look fantastic in my bike room.
@ChrissyOne
Holy shit that thing’s awesome! What a slice of history right there.
The Manitou hardtail was always a ‘want’ bike for me, and I only ever saw one in the flesh. That stem…
I think I’ve owned just about everything on that bike too. Had a Manitou Sport fork (a rebadged OEM 1 basically), a 4, and a Mach 5 like the one on your bike. Then changed the lowers for the carbon-bridged ones… I’m pretty sure I swapped out the elastomers for a Ti spring too.
As for Grip Shift, well I loved it… owned every incarnation from the SRT500 (coz Ned and Tomac ran it) through ESP, X-Ray, 9.0, Half Pipe, and X0. Never had much trouble with any of them… rear derailleurs though, another story. They’d snap just by looking at them.
The glory days, no denying it.
@brett
It really is a wonderful bike. They never made anything else quite like it. It would have been my #1 for years longer if it had disc brakes.
@RobSandy
Yes from Rotor. What crank do you use?
52/36 and 52/38 is available alongside compact options of 50/34 and 50/36
These are Rotor noQ 5 arm 110 BCD chainrings , 10 and 11 speed compatible.
@Teocalli
Hey fellas:
I’m 5’6″ as well.
For me this equates to a 52cm top tube frame with a 12cm stem.
So, for anyone out there looking for a N+1…
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/gear-shed/The-Most-Beautiful-Handmade-Bikes-in-the-US-NAHBS.html#slide-2
And here’s the pump to go with it…
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/gear-shed/covet/SILCA-Super-Pista-Ultimate-Floor-Pump.html
Not sure why pictures not coming through on last post. Unless its just my end ?
@Barracuda
nope, they’re not showing at all this time.
@Sparty
That’s looking cool,got mine at the end of last year as a frameset and built it up with an Ultegra group-san;thought it rode nice straight off the bat but fitting some open paves + latex tubes makes the grotty roads around here almost pleasurable.
@Barracuda
laces to bike, pro level matching!
@Mikael Liddy
Exactly, not bad given that his little bike is actually two old shitty bikes ( one purple and pink and one red ) melded together and painted.
The “V” decal finishes it off.
@Barracuda
does indeed.
So the R3 is in the shop after Wednesday night’s car vs bike ordeal.
I thought the main point of impact was midway up the forks (where there was a paint scrape from the car), that was until we leant on the hood/shifter & watched the whole drop give way! 3T Carbon bars had broken clean through under the tape on the tops, tape job (not mine) was obviously solid enough to hold the bar in place until we put some downward pressure on it!
@Mikael Liddy
R5 coming up ? I know where you can get some Rotor cranks to suit !
@Barracuda
interesting you say that. Steve mentioned that as they no longer do a “Team” version of the R3, the closest comparison is the R5…to say the eyes lit up is an understatement!
@TommyTubolare
Ooo…thanks…<research mode>
@Barracuda
Awesome stuff. My 3 year old Velomini got stroppy because he noticed the wheels on his first, cheap (crap) balance bike were bigger than the wheels on his nice, cool Puky bike. Cue a wheel transplant, which involved drilling out the holes in the forks and rear stays to fit the thicker axles for the bigger wheels.
He’s now very happy with his bike again, plus it gives an extra inch of room so it should last until we can get him on a pedal bike.
A very nice compilation of handlebar information. Not a bad resource when there are so many bars and bends ou there.
http://ruedatropical.com/2009/03/road-drop-bar-geometry/
Thought I’d put a couple of pics here of my Helium in it’s current guise;
Just fitted a superleggero stem but not ridden it yet with it.Have done with the recently bought Open Paves(+latex tubes) which are pretty awesome.
Since it is show off time, first one in North America and only one with proper cantis in North America…
@ChrissyOne
I am really happy for you that things got sorted out. I don’t sell the Pinos, but it is good to know that the shop backed you. Fizik tape, best white ever.
@RedRanger
I’m not mad at you anymore. Not that I was that mad to begin with! Matches nicely.
@wilburrox
Okay, so the before (after first ride/race a day after assembly) and after (major cleaning and misc repairs including the folks at Industry Nine had repaired with a new rim my one and done rear wheel) of the new Ritchey Swisscross disc bike. Mounted (major pain doing this) some 30c open tubular Challenge Strada Biancas with intention to ride a century this coming Fri with a good bit of Alabama red dirt roads. I’ve been riding these roads on 25 and 27c Vittoria Pave’s w/road bikes. The CX bike I suspect will be more work. We shall see. Red saddle is on order. I dig this bike.
@Dan_R
Something tells me that the person racing that bike would be kicking my a** in a CX race on my bike. That’s a machine. Gorgeous. I really had desire to build mine with the Shimano hydraulic brakes and was dang glad I had them for the mudfest I recently raced. Next CX bike I build will be lightweight carbon w/canti’s and uber stiff front end w/a 1×11. Still, I’m psyched to be racing on a proper CX bike later this season after racing a mod’d mtn bike last year for first time. Great fun. In meantime, I’m gonna be searching out some forest service roads and such. Cheers.
@fenlander
I flat out love Pave’s. On the days I get the tire pressure just right for road conditions and temp… they can be about perfect. Admittedly I’ve most recently been riding the all black ones. Originally I was riding the 24c’s with the green skunk stripe down the middle. Lately I’ve been swapping the 25c and 27c depending on what I’m feeling like riding. Ridley’s and Pave’s are a dang good match. Cheers.
@ChrissyOne
That’s not the first snapshot of a cool classic mtn bike you’ve posted !
@RobSandy
While you’re in research mode, these might be worth checking out…
http://www.praxiscycles.com/product/compact-road-sets/
@Dan_R
That thing is so rad.
@Barracuda
Nothing better than kids and bikes together. That’s perfect. And when ya have kiddos in the house that like bikes as much as we do? End up with 2(n+1) or 3(n+1) or whatev… You’re just getting started! Much fun ’cause they grow outa them fast. I swear I like planning and assembling bikes for my kids more than for myself. Cheers
Hand raised, looking for help from the Velominati IT neutral service vehicle. Tried fruitlessly to post picks of my 2015 Canyon Ultimate SLX w/shamal milles, and my newly built up Merckx MXL. Somehow, my picturing and messaging abilities have been clipped. Please help.
@Mikael Liddy
Praxis are incredible. Forged, rather than machined, and with really good ramps. 52/36 is becoming a new standard, and availability is increasing. I’ve got SRAM 52/36 rings on one of my bikes – doesn’t match the group-san, but suits the black crank.
@fignons barber
How are you liking the Shamal Milles? I’ve just ordered a set for my mum’s birthday. Textured and treated aluminium should put that silly notion of disc brakes back to MTBs, where they belong.
@Mikael Liddy
Even better! A black 52/36 would match my bike perfectly. And not too expensive $170 dollars is about £115. And I’ve just found a UK distributor.
<plotting mode>
@wilburrox
Yep,really liking the pave’s;saw a pic of a helium with the same paint as mine with green pave’s on and was sold,just got to see how long they(and the tubes) will last on the roads and droves around here although I am actually seeking out the rougher roads just to see how they go.
Brake pads: What are you guys riding for alu rims?
Looking for a pad that’s grippy and won’t grind my rims down too fast. Don’t mind if the pad itself wears quickly, and it’ll mostly be dry weather. Swisstop? KoolStop? Plain Shimano?
@tessar
I run Koolstop salmon blocks. I rode them for a couple years commuting before picking out a roady, and they work great in all weathers compared to the other blocks I have ever tried. I use them a lot in the dry, get about 10,000k out of a set? But they shine in the wet compared to regular black blocks I have used. YMMV.
I also find they don’t tend to pick up shards of aluminium which other pads do and then grind the brake track. I think they almost polish the rim. Perhaps they are a bit softer than regular brake pads.
Swisstop gets a lot of props also in their special colours (can’t recall which is the best though), so they might be worth a look.
I’ve never seen to change, and been through 4 sets of the pink pads.
@Beers
+10 on Koolstop Salmons for aluminum rims. Been very happy with them on Nemesis (wet and dry), Nucleons, TB-14 hard ano. I switch out to Enve blues for my carbon rims.
I did read good things about a new Swisstop pad, but don’t recall the color. Also thinking about the Campagnolo reds as well.
@teleguy57
Someone here (Chris) recommended Swisstop Green to get along with hard ano rims.
@teleguy57
I’ve got Salmons on my TT bike, never really thought about them but it’s true that they’ve been very gentle on that rim, and despite being an aero-brake I’ve never lacked traction either. I guess “never thought about them” is the biggest compliment a brake pad can get. My climate here is mostly dry, so wet performance isn’t critical.
I think I’ll give those a shot, or take another look at Swisstop – my carbon-riding friends have been very happy with their Yellow and Black Prince compounds. Green, you say?
@tessar
Shimano DA blocks and pads. I like to keep the pads and brake tracks clean and will regularly “floss” in the little pad slots. I just can’t help but think that the grit and such that accumulates in there is best if not there re: rim wear. I guess that even if didn’t affect anything, I’d still clean ’em out. Just one of those things.
@wilburrox
Cheers. DA pads just happen to be groupsan-compliant and far cheaper than the alternatives. I suspect my previous wheels had a chicken-and-egg thing going: Pads ground up the rims, which meant the rim deposited shards more easily, contaminating new pads and continuing the cycle. Now the rim went in a crash, so I can start afresh.
@tessar
These things are all true, but you are looking at $20 on a 2 grand bike, and nothing is more important at squeaky bum times than braking. Use DA because they work better (if in fact they do work better), don’t suffer crapper braking just because you could save a few bucks
Time to bid farewell to the R3, got confirmation from the shop today that the injuries sustained in last week’s incident are too great to recover from…now to find out if the insurers want to replace things piece by piece (e.g. frame, bars, shifters, wheels, etc), or just cover the cost of a brand new bike.
@Mikael Liddy
” So disappointing ! ” said no-one ever, when the prospect of a new steed comes along. Hope all goes well and the replacement is worthy.
Weren’t you riding your Baum Corretto at the time ?? (insert winky face )
@Barracuda
haha, pretty sure a Ti beast would have written off the car instead!
Damn, real sorry to hear you had a crash, Mikael!