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
There’s loads of them. Just Google Emergency ID and throw in Sport or Wristband to narrow it down.
Mine is called ICE ID.
Most of them offer choice of different materials and designs. I just have the basic silicon one in black, which has an engraved metal tag on it.
You can also pay an annual fee and get one that has a QR code so that it can be scanned and get any updated details.
And if you use a Garmin or some other devices, even activity trackers, the newer versions have emergency crash detectors that sense a sudden deceleration and will alert a pre-set contact. I don’t think it works terribly well though – I remember DC Rainmaker tried it and had his girlfriend in a panic when nothing had gone wrong.
And a very simple and cheap way to do it is just to get some dog tags made up and wear them.
@Oli
There is a sort of snobby and elitist road aesthetic that is literally written into the Rules of this website. I’ve always thought of this as sort of a “Beware Of Dog” sticker on your window when you don’t have a dog. Something to ward off MTB enthusiasts yet to be enlightened by riding the road – singular mindedness is rarely a good thing.
Seems to me though that the site is about lives better lived through cycling. An appreciation of the aesthetic and of course looking good. And it’s also about taking the piss with your mates. Now, I’m not a regular on the site – I read far more than I write – so it is understandable that you would see my jocular comment re: your mug, as an actual comment re: your mug, rather than the man hug it was intended to be. I will try to post some more before I get started on your Mother wearing army boots etc etc.
@kixsand
Fair enough on all counts. Just no fucking recumbent pictures, okay?
@KogaLover
I use Onelifeid
@Randy C
Now this is what I’m talking about! Look at that workshop! I just spent 10 minutes zooming to try and identify all of those beautiful little tools.
A father passing on his love of cycling to his daughter. Time spent building a bike together. You’ve checked all the boxes Randy. I’m envious.
@kixsand
Doesn’t Brett run some magazine for MTBers or somethin… (for the small intersection of MTBers and Kiwis who can read) and even he doesn’t pollute the site with pictures of knobbly tyres and flat bars. And on top of that I literally have no idea what you and Randy were talking about.
Elitist – check
Snobby – check
Roadie – check
Aesthete – check
Dog – check
@Oli
“And from that day forward, Oli and Kixsand were the very best of friends…”
All right fellow Velominati. I’ve just gotta say… Mtn biking leads to great things for cyclists. A gateway drug so to speak? My first race on a bike was on a mtn bike. From there the rest is history. And that’s happening in a big way right now in the US of A.
It’s not only USA Cycling that’s getting #MoreKidsonBikes. Nothing against USAC as I’m a big fan. But, it’s the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, or NICA that’s making it happen in a way to USAC hasn’t even closely tapped in to. And it isn’t just the student athletes. It’s a whole lotta parents that are getting involved too.
Mtn Biking, rather than road, sure seems to me to be an easier means of safely organizing a team of kids around training and racing bikes. Get a team full of kids and their parents in to the mtn bike scene and next thing you know, a handful of them are on road bikes and riding with local clubs. Then it’s century rides and/or crits and road races. Then… it’s n+1.
And maybe, just maybe, a couple of them are looking forward to Omloop het Nieuwsblad !!
So, families spending time together living healthy and on bikes. It’s all very, very cool.
I get it that’s a road bike thing here. Still, I’ve been meaning to post a picture of my Lefty… It’s just that weird. And I love pic’s of cool mtn bikes.
Cheers all
@Randy C
You can PM a pic of your Lefty to me. I’d love to see it!
@ChrisO
Just for clarification: his Garmin alerted her about a crash when he didn’t, not she had jimmied his brakes and then didn’t get an alert…
@Ccos
Yes, that ^^^
BTW I’ve also been told and IIRC some medical people here have confirmed, there’s no point putting your blood group type on the ID. They will always test anyway – it takes very little time, is easily done and the consequences of getting it wrong are so catastrophic as to outweigh the risks of saving a few seconds by taking someone’s word for it.
Emergency contact and allergies (or No Allergies). And I used to have a second dog tag with “GET THE BIKE”.
So uhhhh, does anyone think that Sagan is NOT gonna win PR ? Sure a little good fortune and luck is required. But still… And GvA suggesting he was not strongest yesterday but was smartest ? Go ahead and believe that GvA if it makes ya feel better. As if the world champ did not know exactly what he was doing. What a stud.
And because this is the bikes thread: That’d be a hoot to see if he races and then wins PR on a Venge, smashing that bike over the cobbles. Or is he gonna race the Speshy bike with the squishy spring loaded head tube?
Sagan is a mutant. how does he get the results he gets? he has no help to speak of, really. he wins green jersey after green jersey, too, so he’s a stage racer, too. completely outrageous in this day and age.
@Cary
Too good to be true? Where have we heard that before?
@Cary
Sagan is a great rider, likely to go down as one of the greatest of all time – but to characterize him as a stage racer is a step too far. His ToC win had a decent amount of good fortune.
It’s going back a couple of generations, but Sean Kelly’s record is worth comparing – Sagan has a long way to go to match it, even leaving out a Vuelta.
And let’s not start another drugs discussion with words like “mutant’. Sagan was a child prodigy – and is merely living up to his potential.
@Randy C
I’ll take the bait. Sagan is too strong for his own good. He’ll be marked out of contention by lesser mortals. Meanwhile one of the lurking sideshow hardmen will save just enough matches for the finale…Benoot, VanMarcke, Stybar…
@Harminator
Not sure that’ll work. If Sags can stay with the lead group he’ll probably win the sprint. Unless something happens and get gets dropped, which can always happen in P-R.
@Marcus
five green jerseys is a stage racer’s palmares. i didn’t say he was a GC rider.
Good article on Sagan
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/02/24/in-the-land-of-peter-sagan-a1547723
@KogaLover
Thanks, a good read!
@Cary
Can’t wait to tell Robbie McEwen he was a stage racer. Your ‘stage racer’ terminology is nonsense.
i guess he was a waterboy then, cause he sure as hell wasn’t a clasdics rider.
@Marcus
@Cary
Ok, I’ll bite – how do you define “stage racer” – I will guess it includes GC riders, you seem to include other jersey winners in there as well. What about riders who win stages? Seems like a weird definition. To my mind the only successful rider that doesn’t include is PVP because he didn’t race GTs too much?
if you compete for one of the classification jerseys, you’re a stage racer. i don’t view points and kom jerseys as consolation prizes. i also think if you finish grand tours regularly, that qualifies. Jens Voigt, Geraint Thomas, Charly Wegelius were stage racers.
@kixsand
Few days ago I’ve experienced wet ice in the woods, riding MTB bike uphill required quite some feel and downhill was a real adventure (note: tubeless tyres with intentionally low pressure provided quite some grip and attempt to walk on the same surface was almost impossible and humorous). This kind of thing is completely new realm of experience and very worthwhile to do.
xxx
Regarding (tricky) question who is a “stage racer” I would say: the possible antonym would be puncheur – rider specialised into classics, in contrast the stage racer would be either team leader with GC ambitions in a multiple stages race or his domestiques who do their job to make their team succeed.
I would say that there is no clear dividing line because e.g. Sagan who is great at classics can ride for green jersey without ambitions in GC (so far). Such riders are more versatile and can be very valid team members in a stage race but not all stage racers are so good for monuments etc.
Need to pack up my bike to head to Siena at the weekend……..
To me a “stage racer” would be anyone that repeatedly shines in stage races over their career, whether it’s in stages, for jerseys or contending for GC.
@Teocalli
Oh YES!!! Are you doing the cyclosportif?
@Buck Rogers
Indeed, indeedy.
@Teocalli
Il Giro di Palio? How many rounds on this crit? Is more like outdoor track racing, isn’t it?
Seriously, much envy…
@KogaLover
Ha Ha! It’s not a horse race – I hope.
@Teocalli
Ohhhh MAN! Which bike? Which distance? Tubs or clinchers?
Next year I’m there! The only question will be whether I ride the new Ti Hampsten or the ’85 Hinault!
@Buck Rogers
#1 Pina Dogma K with Challenge Paris Roubaix 27mm clinchers 129 Km. Was slightly tempted to take the Gios but going with a couple of other folk from the club and I’ll struggle to keep up with them even on #1.
Ran the Challenge tyres for 120 Km at the w/e to bed them in. Definitely smoothes out the ride somewhat running at 90 psi – makes it a bit like riding a steel bike……..
That mega tight front tyre has also stretched out so that it is now possible to fix a puncture without exceeding the time limit just trying to get the tyre back on!
@Marcus
His run up Mt Baldy that year was nothing short of incredible in my mind. I recall was a shortened time trial and a bunch of time bonuses too that provided the good fortune I suppose. But still, I had a blast watching the Mt Baldy stage.
@Teocalli
Are you going to do either (both?) of the Eroica events in Tuscany in late April/early May?
@Buck Rogers
No, vintage wise currently entered Britannia and Limburg in June. Might look at the Tour of Cambridge Classic. Next year may think about L’Anjou Velo
@Teocalli
I’m hoping to have considerably more leisure time by next summer.
Must remind myself about that……………
@Teocalli
You lucky so and so. What a stunningly gorgeous race the Strade Bianche is. The roads seemingly draped over the hills, and that final climb into the citadel. So iconic! I can’t believe it’s only 11 years old. Feels like its been around forever.
@DVMR
It’s a remarkable race. All too often these days things get called “classic” when the’re anything but. Somehow, the Italians have created a race unlike any other and one that is worthy of the name “classic.” I doubt it’ll be made a monument though – if you did the Amstel Gold and Gent-Wevelgem should be too.
Not happy a Sky rider won. Their claims of being clean are rapidly unravelling. Strip Brailsford of his knighthood? He presided over a scam of being cleaner than clean. Marginal gains indeed – just make sure your boys don’t test positive then BS the rest.
Ended up just after the climb up to the citadel (hope I don’t have to walk up there tomorrow – it’s steep) so were about 500 meters from the finish. Those slabs up to the finish are bleedin’ rough, they look smooth on the TV but they are not by any means.
Epic day on the muddy Strada. Plenty of rain. Made it up that pitch to the citadel but my eyeballs were fit to explode.
Recovery Chianti needed……..
@Teocalli
this pic is fantastic!
@Teocalli
Congrats! I am only slightly less envious with you than I was before as it apparently rained… Hope you wore the black & orange with pride. Especially gli Italiani should be excited to see an Italian word on your cap, bibs, and jersey.
Not sure if anyone has seen these before?
Eddy Merckx Roubaix70. Saw it, 10 seconds later I owned it. Beautiful to ride, Gorgeous to look at. And a pedigree! Now selling at the local church (Eddy Merckx bike dealer) near you, maybe. They’re very thin on the ground.
@Teocalli
Too acidic for me; try a Perroni or Baffo Giallo instead.
Not sure if anyone has seen these before?
Eddy Merckx Roubaix70. Saw it, 10 seconds later I owned it. Beautiful to ride, Gorgeous to look at. And a pedigree! Now selling at the local church (Eddy Merckx bike dealer) near you, maybe. They’re very thin on the ground. You should see it’s brother, the Liege 75, in Molteni Orange!
@KogaLover
Yes it did rain, a lot, by 50 Km I was frozen and shivering. The combinations of climb the descend just meant you gradually got colder and colder. Then at 50 KM there was a long rolling road section that allowed you to generate some heat. The left turn onto the Medio route was seriously tempting. Then we had some dry and sun which was blissful then it rained again into the finish. Everyone was absolutely caked in Strade Bianchi. Fortunately the shower cubicle in the hotel is decent size and I could get the bike in the shower to get most of the caked on mud off but it will need stripping completely when I get home.
I expected the start to be pretty manic and it was but I only saw one crash. What surprised me was how long it took to settle down, there were still folk coming through at serious racing speed after 30-40 Km but the first 15 Km was crazy.
Some of the climbs on the Strade were pretty challenging, particularly in the wet. Certainly helped to be used to riding a mtb on slippery surfaces. A good low bottom gear is very apt for the route – unless you are a) young, b) a monster.
If you followed the ride on a bike with a rucksack you’d have collected a lifetime supply of EPMS and Bidons. If each EPMS had a spare tube and a multitool you could have set up in business.