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 ...
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Cafe Roubaix has a very thorough quality control process. They sent them with someone to Hawaii to do about 3,000m of climbing just to make sure they work properly.
If he can’t get them up the mountain faster than 4 hours, they’ll rebuild them from scratch.
@G’rilla I worry about the lead QC test engineer. A bit bonkers, he.
@PeakInTwoYears
Careful on the ice there, loon.
@PeakInTwoYears
Ahhh, the taste of peat smoke. As poor post-grads, this was our guilty pleasure.
The nectar of the gods has always been a vain attempt to recreate the taste of Laphroaig or Lagavulin.
Rang in the New Year by being a good partner by accompanying the VMH on a Fucking Hike, because that’s what she wanted to do and we’d just put in a good ride on Sunday.
Running is for criminals, and hiking is for refugees.
Slightly off topic but maybe not as my original road bike was a 2nd hand Cannondale that was too big. Used it for around six years before I purchased a new bike that fit me & my riding needs better.
Computers. I’ve been using 2nd hand Dells for a long time. Now I have two desktops, one netbook, and one really old laptop. All of them are slow, cantankerous, and more of less a constant pain in the ass. They freeze, they take a half hour to get going, the get corrupted, the go Blue Screen too often. I know some of this is having old computers. I know some of this is having too many conflicting programs going on at once. I’m much more of a user than a knower with computers. And, I know some of this is because I once stumbled upon bitorrents videos for cycling and downloaded/stole/whatever a few. No joke, but how it should be for a Velominatus, right? Not porn, but “Road to Roubaix.”
I’m in the market for a new computer. The VMH has a Macbook Pro, as she’s a landscape architect and needs fancy design programs for work. I’ll use mine mainly for word processing and…being on cycling sites. But, also might move into other stuff since I’ll have a new job soon, but it’ll be teaching, so nothing too fancy. Excel, Powerpoint, etc. I’ve used hers, a 15″ monitor laptop a bunch and have gotten used to it, for the most part. A few things still bother/confuse me, but nothing terrible.
She thinks I’d be insane to get another Dell or PC. I kind of want to wash my hands of them as well and move on. The problem of course is that Macs are considerably more expensive and I’ve also never had a new PC. I know this is kinda like Shimano vs. Campagnolo, but I thought, because of that, this is the place for such a question. Also, still undecided on desktop vs. laptop. Like to work at a desk, like a desktop, but laptops are of course more versatile. But, I do bike everywhere and am not positive I’d want to carry around a Macbook daily. I’d get at least a 15″ monitor. I’m going to borrow hers for a few days this week and see if I mind the weight in my pannier and/or backup.
Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks. (this might be more difficult for me than buying a new steed!)
@Ron
Get a Mac, change your life. OK, that’s a bit ridiculous, but honestly, after using PCs for years and years, I went Mac maybe 10 years ago and would never want to go back. They are more expensive, yes, but my Macs have outlasted any PC I’ve had before them and have given me far less trouble. My parents are still happily using an iMac G4 from 2002 and my VMH is still on an iBook G4. My iBook G4 also still works fine, I just never use it anymore.
Bringing this discussion back to bikes though, what’s the current Velominati line of thought on a carbon bike with an aluminum seatpost? I’m typically around 90kg and as my bikes have always started as framesets have always opted for an aluminum post over carbon since the weight advantage of a carbon post seemed pointless under my fat ass and alu simply seemed more durable. However, now with a carbon frame on Bike #1 I’m wondering as to whether or not there is something inherently wrong aesthetically with putting an alu post in a carbon frame. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
@Ron
Indeed this is a minefield of blind alleys, darkness, white noise and confusion….so I will try and confuse you a little further:
1. As you know Apples are very very expensive (bad), but they are beautiful and they work (good)
2. PCs quite often conflict, have bugs but they are ubitquitous easily upgradeable.
3. Desktop vs. PC – I currently have a laptop (alienware m14). I bought it because I thought I might wish to take my music, videos, pictures and webbrowsing with me when I travel……short answer – It has basically not moved off my desk since the day I got it!
Summary
1. Go desktop not laptop – get a tablet as well if want that portability thing going on…nexus 7 or ipad etc..
2. Go apple if you can afford it. The premium you pay for apple these days is outrageous but would you buy a trek if you could afford a colnago….they both work but which would you rather ride?
3. If you want to link things up seamlessly then go apple not pc – apple control the hardwear and software so it is designed to work together.
BTW if anyone has a beautiful apple they want to swap for a high end gaming pc laptop just shout because I’m all ears!
@Ron This might help in your decision making
@VeloVita I use aluminum bars, stem, and rims on my carbon bike, so why not an aluminum seatpost? Sounds fine to me.
Also, I have a 3T Doric carbon post that I hate and am planning to put on Craigslist for $20 if anyone wants it.
@VeloVita
Not necessarily wrong as far as I know, but carbon seatposts came in with carbon forks and I always thought it was about the properties of carbon when it comes to smoothing out road buzz…carbon although stiff soaks up vibrations better that alu I thought?
@Deakus I do have quite a bit of post showing (though certainly not Frank-esque by any means) so perhaps it would be a minor improvement in the ride. I know that’s the theory, but I’ve also heard that it really doesn’t make much difference. I was thinking more along the lines of having a carbon frame and putting an alu post in it perhaps being a faux pas in the way that buying a Porsche and putting on a cheap aftermarket shift knob and pedal covers might be.
@Ron We just got one of the new iMac all-in-one desktops (all the guts are in the monitor) after much resistance on my part, replacing a home built PC. I’ve always resented being forced into Apple’s minimally modifiable environment and liked to be able to change out my own parts. But that PC freedom meant being able to replace shit that was breaking all the time and the gradual build-up of a confusion of programs and files, with the issues you mention (I’m not all that computer savvy).
it’s a beautiful machine and pretty much sets itself up with minimal fuss. You can run Windows in parallel if you want (Microsoft Office is essential for work and haven’t tried using the Mac OS products). Time will tell but am pleased so far. The higher up front cost may be recuperable over the long run with less ” maintenance” outlay.
@Ron: Another happy Mac user here (MacBook Pro). Seven years on Mac now, after twenty on PCs. Don’t see myself going back. That said, I do sometimes use clients’ Windows-based equipment, and I feel like it’s better than it was a while back.
@G’rilla: Why do you hate that post? If it’s 27.2, I might want to give it a try at that low, low price.
@mouse
Happy New Year V tribe! I have been busy with family and the off line part of CR over the last few days, so other than Frank’s initial post after Mt H, I have been “not here.”
the 24mm wheels are tubbies only, for now. If I get happy with the clincher design, than I may do that in the future, but basically I have these as my stupid light wheels.
right now I am offering wheel sets on a pre-order for delivery in March & April. Of course @Jeff
Sorry… @JiPM has dibbs on the first set off the line. I am just waiting for a shipment or two.
@PeakInTwoYears I find the 3T seatpost to be difficult to adjust. Once you get it in place it’s fine, but it takes me a few rides to get it lined up and secured.
Email boss@topfunky.com (I’m in Seattle).
Velovita, Deakus, & xyxax – Thank you very much for the replies! I appreciate all the advice & seeing things from a few different perspectives.
I do think I’d love one of the all-in-one desktops but I work in a few different places right now (home, libraries, office at a friend’s house) so a laptop would be more functional. In looking around a bit I think I might have figured things out – I could get a nice laptop as my main computer, then get a nice, big monitor to put on my desk at home, connecting my laptop to the monitor if I want to work at home. Found a few discussions on this and seems pretty easy & rather common.
Having just one computer would greatly reduce confusion & wasted time. File recovery, debugging, and trying to simply manage files between three computers, an external HD, and flash drives has seriously hampered my dissertation work. Argh, should have just done this awhile ago but I too was reluctant.
A laptop would allow me to work at home, at a library, or at my temporary office, where I already have a big monitor with my desktop. (I know I might need different cables for the two monitors.) I’ve also used a friend’s computers where he has two monitors set up for one desktop. Confusing at first but nice once I got used to it.
Feel free to chime in if you think a laptop plus a nice monitor, say 24 or 27″, for a home “desktop” setup is crazy. Ideally a 15″ laptop and a 24″ desktop would be nice, but I’m not going to sell off two bikes to get that…I do have my priorities!! (which is one reason I have such shitty computers right now!)
@Ron
What is your budget? This will drive what you get. If you get a desktop you can upgrade very easily yourself, if you get a laptop it get a little more tricky, so it depends how long you want it all to last.
You have however prompted me to sell my laptop, I realise it was a wasted luxury at the time and tbh we now have laptops coming out of our ears (the kids have tablets and the VMH has a netbook too) and seem to have collected them over the last year or two and it is time to rationalise.
Having now rediscovered the joys of le velo you have now inspired me to stick my gaming laptop (fuck knows why I bought a gaming machine!) on the dreaded ebay and let someone else waste their time killing goblins while I get out there and do some riding!
You have inspired me…..strange but true!
@G’rilla I use aluminum bars and stem as well and have no intent to change that – its not like carbon 3T Rotundos would make anyone climb a Volcano faster for example – I just wondered about the seatpost, mainly because most med-high end carbon bikes seem to come with them stock (while still coming equipped with an alu bars and stem). I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being ridiculous by forgoing the carbon post for a heavier less ‘vertically compliant’ aluminum one.
@G’rilla
Zipp Service Course SL Seatpost (20mm setback) is another difficult one to handle. In order to secure it properly, had to get a long shaft socket to use with a long insert (50mm) to reach up into the head. The long insert was cut from a hex key.
Someone lose a bike?
@scaler911
This must be an early Calfee model, before he moved on to bamboo.
It seems to me that most modern seat pillars are a pain in the neck to adjust, especially those with two bolts. I have two Ritcheys and an FSA that are more or less a nightmare. You need at least four hands to hold the two bolts, the clamp tops/bottoms, the saddle, etc. I have a Thomson Elite that is easier, but not all that easy. I have two older aero Campa posts that are much easier. No matter what, I pretty much have bad dreams about swapping saddles or trying out a new one.
The dreaded saddle/post area creak is also a fear I carry around with me…
@Ron
Two words: Retina Display. Get the best Mac laptop with a Retina display that you can. Change your life. (Velominati is quickly moving towards full Retina compatibility.)
Macs are absolutely the Velominatus’ choice in computers. As you know, I’m a computer geek and once I switched I never looked back.
Its to the point that we chose a font for Velominati that looks complete crap on Windows, but if you’re on Windows, I figure you’re already having such an awful experience with type faces that there’s no reason to compromise on their account.
My favorite all time seat post was one of those single bolt through the middle axle style Bontrager ones. Bomber, no brainer to adjust and mount saddle, really cool other than the fact it said Bontrager on it. My Ritchey WCS isn’t too bad, the fizik is slick but the tolerance is off for my bikes for some weird reason and I can’t use it. The tits though is the ISP on the Graveur. By far the best for obvious reasons.
And yes, @Ron, get a Mac. I went back to one after ten years of being a tight ass and just using what they gave me at work. It’s like going from Aluminum to Carbon.
I live 3T but I gotta agree its a pain in the ass to adjust the sattle. oddly the scandium seatpost on my Niner is the easiest to mess with, I dont know what the brand is though.
@RedRanger
its KCNC-scandium
@Ron. If I had a choice I would go Mac. I use a windows laptop at home and abroad (hehehe I said broad). And I had to get a PC for the studio cash desk/accounting, but I have an iPhone so I can look hipster and take credit cards without the PC.
Adjusting seat posts? I haven’t had much issues, so I can’t say.
I’ve got a fizik cyrano post and think it’s great. Takes Carbon railed saddles and steel railed saddles, looks the nuts and is a pain in the backside to adjust. I replaced the stock carbon post that came with the bike and can’t tell any difference.
For conversation’s sake, on my aluminium bike I have a $10 kalloy shitter for a post, and that bike is more comfortable than my carbon race bike to ride. I reckon, (and I fully hope to start arguments with this) that the 32 spoke wheels and GP4000s tyres make the bike I’ve spent a couple of hundy on nicer to ride than the several thousand dollar bike. The 9 speed group san is quieter as well.
@minion Sounds much like the bike I’m building up. Group-san 9-speed, 32 spoke 3-cross.
Like @Marko the easiest seatpost to ever adjust was a Bontrager post, but as said above, it was sadly a Bontrager seatpost.
Currently the worst ever is the stock seatpost on my Caad10. Terrible, terrible, terrible. It is just crappy C-dale house brand. Must change soon.
@minion yeah, this past season was my first on a 10 speed group. I find it ironic sometimes that as a wrench, my own gear gets left behind occasionally. I never had any issues with 9 speed, but with that extra cog I always have to keep fiddling with it to observe the code of silence. Maybe I should stop using a ball-peen hammer to adjust the dérailleur?
@minion
No arguments here. If I had to toss all my bikes but one and could never buy another (apocalyptic scenario I know) I’d keep the Aluminum Serotta with the 9 speed group-san and 32x Open Pros I rode P-R and Flanders on. Bomb proof. Will outlast everything else.
@minion I’m not shocked, either. I’m running an aluminum bike (caad10) as my #1. I had carbon, but simply liked the aluminum better.
@Marko
Marko, it seemed like we were gettin on so well. The facebooking, the pictures, the quiet strolls… Oh wait neve mind. Heretic! How could you say such not nice things about carbon adorned with 10speed! Take it back! I dont care if (i cant even hardly bring myself to type it – aluminum 9 spd, ok did it) it will last forever. It’s not new so its just wrong! Stop it.
@gaswepass I’m giving an apocalyptic scenario that will never happen, so chill.
@frank
What say you about linux?
Maybe the weight-weenie equivalent, obsessing over things that don’t matter?
@Marko
Promise?
@DerHoggz
vi / linux :%s/sucks/rules/cg i completely :wq
Actually, I love linux enough to be thrilled OSX uses BSD as a base (which isn’t linux, but close). I can run XWindows and Vi and anything else I want to, when I want to.
But having started developing software using a soldering iron to connect the circuits and then having sold my first piece of software to a classmate in 7th grade when I hacked the TI81 to get at the assembler in order to write a program that did symbolic algebra, I have learned that new technology rarely comes out because its harder to use than the older stuff. By and large, the more modern the software system, the easier it is to use. Lets put it this way, they didn’t invent C++ because it was harder than assembler, and they didn’t come out with Java or C# because it was harder than C++.
Just like La Vie Velominatus, one should understand the history and fundamentals but be open to progress. It’s a wavey, blurred line to walk, but that’s what makes it fun.
@Dan_R
Yeah you should get a real hammer. The big one.
Well here’s a thing – I use Android when I’m not at work – this is all done using a Samsung Galaxy connected to an ASUS tablet. Have to use Windows at work because the server only runs some critical software in that format. However I’m also of the heretical opinion that giving money to Apple is giving money to The Man these days and therefore not to be encouraged.
In a similar vein I ride a Ridley – big enough but not so big that everyone has one. My Damocles has a seat mast that’s cut to shape and no post – I’ve moved on from there. Hence the mantra that whilst there are many like it this one is mine.
I say, I say, my bike has no seat post.
How does it go
Fast.
Having said that – Android has now decided that I’m someone else
@the Engine
Right there with you bud.
@Ron
My favourite seatpost from an adjustment standpoint is the RaceFace Evolve XC post I have on my cyclocross bike. It has one bolt to clamp the rails and a second that secures a sliding collar which controls the angle. Its genius and a breeze to use. It also looks like shit.
Thanks for all the advice & feedback. I’ve begun changing my life incrementally, as the VMH lets me use her 15″ MacBook Pro sometimes. It’s nice. I’ll have to look into the Retina Display.
Marko – not really being tight, just using a second-hand Dell because I try to put all my money into bikes. But, I’ve finally reached my limit & I kind of have all the bike stuff I need right now. Focusing on riding & enjoying it these days instead of wishing for new stuff. But yeah, I’ve put up with awful computers so I can have great bikes & gear. Time to create a bit of balance and hey, I probably won’t need to ride as much because I’ll be more sane from not debugging my computer for a week or two. Won’t need the “Serenity Now” rides as often…
My buddy thinks I could get $4 for my Dell desktop if I tried to sell it.
@Ron
May I kindly refer you to Rule #12
@Ron Sounds like you’re where I was about two or three months ago when I bought my MacBook Pro. Fed up with shitty PC’s and set on bike stuff for the time being. It’s time. And more than just the display quality, there’s so much else that makes life better. App store, iPhoto, iMatch, the cloud, air drop, I even like Pages better than word. Mine has the regular screen, not retina, and it’s still off the hook compared to the pc I had.
@the Engine
Re: seat mast. THIS. le Graveur is a Ridley X-Night with ISP. Not only simpler, the ride quality is better. Of course I only have my ass as empirical data which the ladies would say is hardly a baseline but I say it’s better.
@Dan_R
There are a bunch of shops of all sorts around here doing that now… some of them have iPads connected to nice mounts, and they use Square to process cards. Seems so much more simple than getting an old-school POS system w/ cash till, though I guess you’ll still want to accept cash in your shop.