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”

  1. @tessar

    @RobSandy

    Since you’re obviously very serious about your cycling and the principles of Training Properly, it might be worth seeing a fitter. Not necessarily to take the fit as gospel, but to bounce ideas and get an objective outside expert’s view on things. I learned a lot from my fits even if every coordinate ended up with slight differences afterwards. However, for example, despite doing tiny adjustments by feel and swapping saddles since my last fit, I discovered my self-selected saddle height was still within 1mm of recommended.

    Wisdom. Yes, it’s on my list of ‘things I should spend money on’. It’s quite a long list.

  3. Does anyone happen to have a Campag 26mm thread (pre 1999) lockring they don’t need?

    The joys of making up a retro bike with current 11sp Groupset and currently stymied by 1 lockring.

  4. Another guru gone… Jobst Brandt.

    I was aware of who he was rather than what he said in detail, but he was clearly held in very high esteem by many people.

  5. @Beers

    @tessar

    @wilburrox

    @tessar

    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?

    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.

    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.

    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

    Quick follow up: Installed the new wheels (fucking 11-to-10 spacer!) and a fresh pair of Dura-Ace pads. They stink like hell when fresh, but fuck do they stop me well.

  6. Pretty pleased with the latest build.  Frustrating waiting for the correct locking ring to arrive before I can actually ride.  Maybe my colour memory needs improving when picking bar tape so that might get replaced not to far down the road.  I think it’s a nice blend of old and new where the old is NOS (frame, bars, stem, wheels).  The best bit being of course that it’s mine!

  11. @Chris

    @Teocalli

    That is gorgeous beyond all words. Chapeau.

    @Bespoke

    Lovely! Right down to the cages.

    Those cages are very lovely. Almost as nice as these.

    Those are pretty sexy but, I think the one’s on Teocalli’s seem more appropriate to the bike and to the period.

  12. @Bespoke

    @Chris

    @Teocalli

    That is gorgeous beyond all words. Chapeau.

    @Bespoke

    Lovely! Right down to the cages.

    Those cages are very lovely. Almost as nice as these.

    Those are pretty sexy but, I think the one’s on Teocalli’s seem more appropriate to the bike and to the period.

    Indeed, they’re perfect on Teocalli’s bike. Any idea what they are? They’re the sort of thing you’d just buy on the off hand chance you’d end up building a vintage bike at some point in the future.

  13. @Chris @Bespoke

    They are King Stainless Steel cages.  The build up of the bike is:

    Frame Pinarello Sestriere (Steel) 1995 NOS

    Headset Campag Record

    Bars 3TTT NOS date unknown but I think may even be 1980s or earlier.  Interestingly in the centre they are stamped Eddy Merckx.  I tried to get a stem that would let that be seen but would have had to fit a modern one like a DiaCompe to have done that.

    Stem 3TTT NOS 1980s

    Wheels Mavic Open Pro (blue anodising) on Campag Veloce Hubs pre 1999 NOS.  (The freehub is 26mm which dates it to pre 1999 which is my current frustrating getting the correct lockring – finally found somewhere in Germany that sells them)

    Groupset 2015 Campag Athena 11sp.

    So all components are actually new but the bike spans potentially 30 years!

  14. Yeah – the lockring just arrived.  Just need the roads to dry now!

  15. @Teocalli

    Yeah – the lockring just arrived.  Just need the roads to dry now!

    Enjoy your time machine!

    @Chris


    Indeed, they’re perfect on Teocalli’s bike. Any idea what they are? They’re the sort of thing you’d just buy on the off hand chance you’d end up building a vintage bike at some point in the future.

    That’s pretty funny: justify the acquisition of cages with the purchase of a new (old) bike!

  16. Oh      my     word.

    80 Km run on the Sestriere, stunning ride.   If modern tubes are a step up on that then the Jaegher et al must be wonderous beasts indeed.  I could become very poor and dangerously close to overstepping S-1.

  17. @Teocalli

    Beautiful bike and very well built. I am still progressing extremely slowly on my colnago master olympic build (had a bolt stick, but got it out by hammering in a Torx).

  20. Hello all, I just joined after haunting here long enough and thought  to myself “self, this would be a great place to put up a first post and show off the bike”

    So here is my sled, made by Irish Cycles being put to some good use, hopefully in none too many violations of The Rules.

    Enjoy and thank you- its good to be here.

  21. @Teocalli

    Oh      my     word.

    80 Km run on the Sestriere, stunning ride.   If modern tubes are a step up on that then the Jaegher et al must be wonderous beasts indeed.  I could become very poor and dangerously close to overstepping S-1.

    Care    to    provide    a    few    (words)?!

  22. @RedRanger

    @Teocalli

    You can not go wrong with SS King cages. I have a pair on my MTB and they look and work great.

    Just ordered a pair. Damn dollar exchange and shipping pretty much double the cost of the cages, which are quite reasonably prices, on their own.

  23. @Bespoke

    @RedRanger

    @Teocalli

    You can not go wrong with SS King cages. I have a pair on my MTB and they look and work great.

    Just ordered a pair. Damn dollar exchange and shipping pretty much double the cost of the cages, which are quite reasonably prices, on their own.

    If it makes you feel better, the cages are hand made. You are basically buying artisan cages.

  25. @Haldy

    After renting the tracks bikes last few times out I finally picked up mine, a TK2, now just waiting for the East Coast to rid themselves of this pesky Tropical Storm to get to the velodrome….Plus I have a few road excursions to go on on this side of NC first. Life is good…er fuck that, its great when one of your challenges is figuring where and how to ride.

    Haldy, awesome looking sled you have there yourself.

  26. @Bespoke

    @RedRanger

    Thanks. I certainly don’t disparage paying the maker, it’s the peripheral costs that bite.

    Here’s something quite nice. Without any request from me, the guy at King Cage (Ron?) refunded some of the shipping costs as they were cheaper to him which he passed on to me. Thumbs up for that!

  27. @Bespoke

    @Bespoke

    @RedRanger

    Thanks. I certainly don’t disparage paying the maker, it’s the peripheral costs that bite.

    Here’s something quite nice. Without any request from me, the guy at King Cage (Ron?) refunded some of the shipping costs as they were cheaper to him which he passed on to me. Thumbs up for that!

    Very cool. For your enjoyment.

  29. Hi to all from Australia!  I’ve just finished my first ground up bike build and am rather proud of how it all worked out and it’s performance! I wanted it to have a classic look, and it was built to a budget so ‘top end’ components were out. Still a marked improvement on my previous ride. It has a Campag Veloce groupset, however I found a NOS crankset from back when they used the Ultra Torque BB for Veloce which I preferred. Zipp Service Course stem/bars and seat post. Miche Syntium wheelset. 

  30. @Jon

    Well done sir. That is a fine looking ride. The consistent precision with which you have lined up the valve stems with the tyre label has not gone unnoticed.

  35. @Dean C

    Hello all, I just joined after haunting here long enough and thought  to myself “self, this would be a great place to put up a first post and show off the bike”

    So here is my sled, made by Irish Cycles being put to some good use, hopefully in none too many violations of The Rules.

    Enjoy and thank you- its good to be here.

    Welcome Dean. We need better bike porn photos from you. And Irish Cycles is not in Ireland I bet.

  37. Great looking Pinarello, Teocalli! My Tommasini is getting a few updates, still deciding on tape.

    Is that the new soft touch Fizik 2mm or 3mm?

  38. As if I didn’t want a custom steel bike bad enough already, this wonderful machine haunts me everywhere.

  40. But that’s the new soft touch fizik microtex, right? I’ve been trying to decide on what tape to go with for a classic, steel bike. The plain microtex is an option, so is the soft touch. Want something that looks right, don’t want to go with just plain Cinelli cork tape, which is what was on there. I have Deda Traforato perforated tape on my Casati and it’s awesome, but don’t want it on two of my steel bikes.

  41. @Ron

    I took the step of ordering 90s era 3T tape — black, perforated, glossy and thin. Ebay.

  43. @RedRanger

    Lets just say that when I put them on the SST last night it looked and felt 5km/h straight away and it hadn’t left the shed !

    They look, feel and smell REAL GOOD.

  44. @Ron

    But that’s the new soft touch fi’zi:k microtex, right? I’ve been trying to decide on what tape to go with for a classic, steel bike. The plain microtex is an option, so is the soft touch. Want something that looks right, don’t want to go with just plain Cinelli cork tape, which is what was on there. I have Deda Traforato perforated tape on my Casati and it’s awesome, but don’t want it on two of my steel bikes.

    Ideally I want to put on Brooks leather tape but it’s a bit expensive.

  45. On the subject of n+1 …… http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/austria-collector-auctions-huge-array-of-classic-bikes-170921

  46. @Teocalli

    On the subject of n+1 …… http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/austria-collector-auctions-huge-array-of-classic-bikes-170921

    Boy that’s a good way to get me in trouble, because I fear I have reached the s-1 threshold. I would bid on the Bianchi, Gios and of course the Colnago Oval.

  47. It’s been a while since I had anything worth posting, but I now find myself in the fortunate position of looking forward to not one but two new arrivals.

    Arrival one is probably of less interest to the assemble Velomiscenti, but bears mention anyway, as it is an unashamedly head down-bum up TT rig purchased with the express intention of going as fast as I damn well can, pointy hat an’ all. Target: 20 minutes for a ’10’; we’ll see how that goes…

    Arrival two will hopefully fit in better with the steel love that’s been circulating on here recently in the shape of a Legend Fedaia, courtesy of frame supremo Marco Bertoletti. Fit completed, geometry chosen, big pile of NOS Campag SR built up; I’ve just got to chose the paint scheme, and that’s currently proving the hardest thing of all.

    Pictures will naturally be forthcoming; predictably I am bouncing-off-the-walls excited inside and doing my best to hide it so my VMH doesn’t throttle me.

  48. Ahh….that new bike feeling. Though not quite a new bike..I present my Number 1, El Presidente, fresh from being resprayed in my new team livery and with my new components from this year’s team sponsors. I shall strive to take better pics in the morning.

  50. @wiscot

    @Dean C

    Welcome aboard. Don’t be shy about chiming in with more pics/blather.

    wiscot, Gianni; some more pics and blather will be forthcoming, but the model, she is a shy little Irish lass, I am hoping to have her in front of the camera soon, maybe by next week some time, or if the weather and time permits I can grab a few tomorrow.

    ride safe-

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