Categories: Anatomy of a Photo

Anatomy of a Photo: Awkward Adolescence

Evolution is a slow, gradual process, punctuated by sudden change. For the first 80 years of our sport, riders rode contra la montre on their regular road bikes. For certain, the bikes were carefully cleaned and tuned to remove all possible resistance, but these were their standard, daily machines. Then, in a span of barely ten years came the skin suit, aero helmet, and the coolest time trial innovation ever, the cow horn handlebars. Then it was on to aero bars, and since that innovation, we've been back to gradual change, thanks in large part to the UCI declaring creative thought to be against regulation and banning all but the most conventional bicycle designs.

For a time, however, it was as though Pandora's Box had been cracked open, and from it sprung countless innovations that would change our sport for ever. Some were good, some where bad, some were altogether too much, but all of it was exciting and all of it was cool in its own right. It was a thrilling time for cycling.

We did, however, enter a very awkward adolescence as the Pro Road Racing scene struggled to adopt the aerobars which had permeated the Triathlon world. The challenge was, of course, to integrate a handlebar made popular by men and women wearing Speedos and doodle on themselves in an appropriately sophisticated European manner. But things were to get worse before they got better; in the span of a single season, Sean Yates went from doing the one-eye V-Squint to wrestling with the Scott Noodles of Death. Even the ever-classy Johan Museeuw couldn't manage to make a graceful transition.

We figured it out eventually, but it wasn't exactly a painless process. For your review, I've collected a handful of examples from the progression.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Aero Bars/”/]

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

Next Velominati Super Prestige: Giro di Lombardia »

Previous « A New Decade

View Comments

frank says:

Oct 13 2011 at 12:32 pm

@jimmy

You guys' posts are fun to read late at night. I had to climb into the attic to get a pick of this old horse.

WOAH, dude. That is my favorite crankset ever - the Mavic SSC. Nice! And is that I black chrome Bianchi I spy with my little eye? You've got some history up in your attic....

@michael

@Dr C
@frank
I think the idea was to be able to dismember people in high-speed crashes.
Also, while riding, one was able to vary the tension on the cable through a complicated method of pelvic tilting vs. arm pressure and could entertain one's riding compatriots by playing simple tunes by plucking the cable. The downfall of this technique was the attachment method of the picks to the shoes which required wild ankle twisting in Speedplay pedals to hit just the cable and not the frame or crank arms.

Gold!
mouse says:

Oct 13 2011 at 1:34 pm

@jimmy

@wiscot
All mavic on the battaglin/lemond except the crappy dia compe aero brakes.

Hey!

WTF are those doing in the attic?
jimmy says:

Oct 13 2011 at 2:14 pm

@mouse
my kid is too small to ride them. He's in the transitional phase between pull-ups and skinny jeans.
michael says:

Oct 14 2011 at 12:32 am

@mouse

Yeah, I don't understand why they aren't on the living room wall like they should be. Ridden at least once a month too.
minion says:

Oct 14 2011 at 2:23 am

@Pedale.Forchetta

Thomas LÃ¶vkvist at the Giro 2011.

@Pedale.Forchetta

Thomas LÃ¶vkvist at the Giro 2011.

Shows how refined the technology is now compared to what it was, doesn't it.

Great photo Pedale, chapeau!
Ron says:

Oct 14 2011 at 4:25 am

Damn, we should all have a LeMan funny bike in our attic...

That second photo of Yates in the Motorola kit (riding P-R?) is all the convincing I need that my next Belgian booties need to be white, despite the absurdity of wearing white on your feet during bad weather.

And on that note, can I get a Ruling: should they be called Belgian booties or oversocks? Or overshoes? (I'm talking fabric ones, not neoprene or waterproofs.)
michael says:

Oct 14 2011 at 10:15 am

@Ron

I call mine DeFeet Slipstreams. I know, boring.
itburns says:

Oct 14 2011 at 10:41 am

@jimmy
I'm calling CPS about this bike neglect. Cycle Protective Services. Expect a visit.

Bikes always look so wrong without a chain. Like they are hamstrung.
jimmy says:

Oct 14 2011 at 11:52 am

@itburns
Hah! It only looks like abuse. The battaglin could use a chain and brake cables no doubt. And bar tape. I have no interest in sourcing or procuring a 650c tubular or a new one for the disc just to look at. Until I have a reason to display them, these jewels (and other partially cannibalized classics I'm afraid to show you!) are safest in the attic. The Bianchi has cracked, egg shaped head tube lugs from being raced over too many bad French and Belgian roads. I rode it to the park a few times with my kid on his scuut bike this summer.
wiscot says:

Oct 14 2011 at 1:55 pm

@Ron
Ron,

I think if it has a sole of a different material/fabric than the upper, it's an overshoe. If the whole thing is the same fabric, it's an oversock. Personally, I call the latter shoecovers, the former overshoes.