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 ...
@KogaLover
Wow… the paint on that frame looks like it’s in absolutely mint condition. (After roughly 33 years – how amazing is that?)
I’m quite fond of my “golden” Roadspeed – but nothing beats that Indian red, I must admit. Nice how the blue cabling/bar tape matches the blue of the Koga Miyata ‘bands’ on the frame. Not sure about those fenders, though: I appreciate how practical they are, but there’s something about that droopy rubber that takes something away from the bike, in my humble opinion. Wouldn’t it have been more fitting with rigid black fenders and straight-line (chrome) stays? Just a thought. But a very nice bike – and the bar tape looks nice and cushiony (not sure if that’s even a word…)
As you probably noticed, the bar tape on my Roadspeed is the original cotton. NOT overly comfortable, if truth be told.
“When to leave well enough alone ?? Never.”
Gearing up for the Pinnacle Mtn route, I created a Campa 14-29 cassette. Combining a 13-26 and 13-29 together by swapping 13A and 14A sprockets off the front for lockring 14A sprocket (technically off a 14-23 cassette) and robbing a solitary 29A sprocket to mount on the back (both cassettes align to 26A).
Why bother ??
Now I can keep an 18 sprocket in the mix, lose the 13, and add a 29 to the original 13-26.
@KogaLover
Re Indian red Roadspeed: Took me a while to spot the Velominati decal on the top tube there. Nice touch!
It arrived!
Marinoni Fango Supreme. Columbus HSS Spirit tubing. The fork is carbon and painted white to match.
It’s absolutely beautiful. The tubing is gorgeous – the shapes of the HSS are really something to behold. The down tube is almost a squoval and the top tube is nicely flattened for resting on your shoulder. Love the colour I chose – more turquoise than blue. I requested that they do their old school logos and they look great.
I was expecting it to have a bit of heft to it, but it is delightfully lightweight! I’m sure it has a few hundred grams on a comparable carbon frame but I don’t care.
I’m completely smitten with it. My expectations in every way have been exceeded.
Now we build it up….
Ultegra mechanical with canti brakes, fizik post, stem and bars.
I have a set of DA C24’s that I’m going to use on it with Challenge Griffo black/tan tires.
It’s been a long wait but so worth it. Wow!
@kixsand
That looks really gorgeous. Love the paintwork and the chrome rear stays.
Does the front mech attach with a band? I hope it doesn’t screw up the paintwork.
@ChrisO
Not sure about the front mech mount – I don’t see a braze on there…I suppose it would have to be with a band. I will check – good point.
I will try and get back to the shop with a proper camera and take some nicer pics. I have to drop off my wheels and saddle to them in the next day or two.
@kixsand
Wow… just wow. That looks absolutely beautiful. Congratulations!!
Nice to see that you’ve reserved a good chair for this special and very welcome guest.
Good luck on the build – keep us posted.
@paolo
all good, just standing up for The Redback’s honour. I got better than 50% off thanks to insurance, although I did have to go through getting hit by a car in the process…
@Mikael Liddy
definitely worth it!
@ErikdR
Thanks Erik, there are some scratches alright… and some are quite recent am afraid…
I agree that the sight of the fenders is not great, but I was too lazy to take them off just for the picture, and then having to put them on again. I already spent some time cleaning it to gussy her up, and since it’s a Nine Bike, it’d better look like that. The fenders are Crud Marks 2 and very light but the long floppy rear does avoid water splattering up to the one behind me. I also got a white soft shell jacket which I try to keep from getting grey stains ;-) When I feel like it, I might take them off and do another picture, but I prefer riding it instead of fixing it.
I have wrapped 2 bar tapes around the bar, which is why it looks and feels cushiony as you say. When I started cycling again, my wrists hurted; meanwhile that’s gone so at the next refreshening, it’ll be just one.
@kixsand
Stunning. I love this. I saw a red Marinoni on my ride this morning and really liked it.
@piwakawaka
seeing as this bruising was the extent of the damage to me, I definitely think so!
@kixsand
Beauty! Marinoni seem to do such great work, and they’re undervalued in the US.
@cognition
They are definitely good value for the money and depending on the exchange rate US to Canada it can be an even better deal for you Americans.
A standard off the rack CX frame is $1100 with custom paint And a carbon fork. Going to HSS Spirit steel added $325. Custom geometry was another $175 – all dollar values in Canadian funds.
It was about an 8 week wait…the toughest part.
Uh oh.
@frank
From Russ Downing‘s instagram
@Bespoke
Re stepladder: heheh, yes. What can I say…? I’m Dutch. It goes with the territory, apparently. (For reference, see Exhibit ‘F’: Monsieur Franque Straque, the Dutch Monkey himself, and his bike set-up.)
Rumor has it that the Dutch are so tall because half the country is below sea level (so they have a slightly better chance of survival once the dams burst). Sobering thought: Amsterdam airport, at its lowest point, is almost 3,5 meters below sea level. Crazy country…
@Chris
That lower pic just became my desktop background.
@wiscot
Wow, Wisconsin really is a bit remote. No one has desk tops that shape any more.
@Chris
There is something about this… It makes me feel funny in a way I can’t quite explain. It’s like when the first girl you ever had a crush on walks into the room.
@frank
Ooh, sweet! I always wanted a pair of these…
Went to visit her again tonight…
So been meaning to do this for awhile…..here’s some pics of my EMX-5
@kixsand
Beautiful… But just to make sure re “Niobium Doped Tubes”: Is Niobium on UCI’s banned substance list? (Will make the bike go a whole lot fasterder all by itself, I assume.)
@jeff there’s a hell of a lot that’s right about that. Love the wheel/tyre combo.
@ErikdR
I had that thought myself…
@Oli
Well I did not know of Witcomb Lightweight Cycles. And I don’t know Mr. Sachs. I mean, I know of him, I just don’t know him personally. But, a search of the inter webs brings up Mr. Sach’s website and blog post about Witcomb and now, I know a cool story. And that is a good looking bike in a classic green. Thanks and Cheers.
@frank
New bike based on the shifters?
@seemunkee
Seems like a perfectly good excuse for a new bike “hey honey, I just got some gorgeous new Suntour shifters, I think I need to build up a bike to put them on.”
@Chris
They don’t? Damn! Might have to git me one of them fancy tablet thingys!
kixsand – I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but I thought I’d inquire about your choice of brakes. I had some nice FSA SL-K cantilevers and switched to the TRP 8.4 V brakes. Not wildly muddy where I’m at, but no clearance issues with the level brake cable and the braking is vastly better. And, the pull when matched to Red levers is incredible, zero friction or drag, almost like the lever has no cables attached.
Either way AVVesome looking new frame you’ve got there. I was just thinking the other day, “My cross bike is a few years old, it doesn’t have disc brakes…but, I’m okay with that. Not every bike has to be brand new and extra fancy.” And now you post that and it has me thinking about a new cross bike!
@frank
Little Annapurna? Really, Washington?
Considering the size and variety of kit in the bike bazaar it’s remarkably restrained of me only to buy a shiny seat binder bolt. This is just a small sample of the stalls………………..
@Teocalli
Brilliant, thanks for posting. So, those are the photos before Steel Vintage Bikes’s van crashed? Is it an annual vintage bike seller bazaar?
@Bespoke
That was after they had the crash. If you look you can see some bent wheels on the ground and the frames under the wheels were all damaged. There was a stunning Olmo frame with a stoved in seat stay. I’d guess they will fix the Olmo.
This is in the showground at L’Eroica Britannia where they have a whole section of stalls selling steel bikes / frames / components / clothing of all types and ages.
@Nate
Its worse than that. There’s also something called Aasgard Pass.
@Teocalli
I think it would be best to go to such an event and leave the wallet and credit card at home. One could do a lot of damage at such a place! So many beatiful shiny things.
@wiscot
No kidding. The VMW had a rope round my neck and confiscated my plastic. She did say she’d go on the ride with me on Sunday though if I took the front seat……….
@Ron
Good question! And good timing as the topic is under discussion. The original plan at the suggestion of my friends at the LBS was to keep it all uniform and go with Shimano Cantis, but we weren’t certain if they came in something other than silver. The Ultegra group set is dark grey so silver ain’t going to cut it. AVID shorty’s were the fall back. I know nothing about canti brakes so would actually appreciate some feedback on what to do.
This bike is going to be a bit of an all rounder for me…9 bike, trails, gravel and maybe some mud from time to time.
Im going to go and look at the TRP brakes you’ve suggested now Ron. Thanks!
@Teocalli
Thanks very much – one year I would love to join you! Maybe the one in Italy as well. Looking forward to more of your photos of the event.
@frank
Not to mention Humptulips.
@Nate
Yes, really. “Little Annapurna”. That’s it there on the left.
@frank
And Aasgard Pass is pretty freaking awesome, too.
@frank
@cognition
You all in the Pacific NW are blessed with the Cascades and what has to be some of the coolest hiking in the US of A. Over here in the east we can find some cool views and all in the Smokies or up north in the Adirondacks but the beauty is a lot more subtle. I’ve not had much opportunity to cover ground in OR and WA though a day hike up to Carbon Glacier one year was a treat. And I was amazed at how Mt St Helens had come back to life when I got to do some hiking there. Cheers.
My #1
#2
#3
kixsand – No problem. I’m definitely not an expert on brakes. I just got tired of the poor stopping power on my cantilevers and read good things about the TRP CX8.4s. I’m very happy with them. I think some others ’round here (Frank?) are also using them. As with all V-brakes and road shifters, the pull takes some fine tuning, but I couldn’t be happier with mine. Smooth, great braking, nice looking, no issues in well over a year on them.
Shucks, looks like they only come in black, red, and blue. Silver fronts, might be able to get the arms powdercoated.
But check around and see what others have to say. I just wanted to share. I have the cheap-o Tektro equivalent on my commuter, a mudguarded cross bike. Still much better stopping power than any cantis I’ve used. But, as they say, why are you braking on a cross bike?
I also use my Van Dessel G&T for many things – cross racing, cross training, gravel roads, 9 road rides with road wheels, light mtn (formerly…I now have a mtn. bike!). Cross bikes are awesome if funds don’t allow numerous different bikes for various applications. But, you know this!
@GalleySlave
Been lurking around for a few years now.Love the site.
Here’s my Wilier trio.