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 ...
VeloVita – I’ve got Rule #12 covered, don’t worry! I think I could actually sneak another one in too but if I don’t sort out losing files, crashes, et cetera the VMH might kick me out of the house. And, I need to build a shed now that I have a house before I do anymore upgrading to the stable.
You still planning on being in Louisville in early February?
Marko – glad to hear you’ve enjoyed the switch. I’m pretty positive I’ll go Mac, not sure which one yet though. However, I will not be branding my TT with a white apple silhouette.
@mcsqueak yeah, the need to accept interac and cash puts a damper on the simplicity of walking around with the iPad
@Ron
Your wife has a Mac. You have a PC. Which hardware interface do you like better? Get the hardware you want then run whatever software you want. Mac vs PC is such a dead and meaningless argument in my opinion. Any computer owned for years and not “maintained” is going to start behaving poorly, be it Mac or PC.
The Mac/PC debate is the computer equivalent of helmet/no helmet. Queue Assos girls.
Does this bar shape have a name? I’m in the market for new bar setup and absolutely love the lines of this.
@Ron
Funny, I branded my Mac with a V-Cog and V-Lion.
@roger I would call that a classic round drop. Looks like it could be compact but maybe not. Now that I’ve stained my panties looking at that bike…
@roger
Ergo bars? they look a little less angular than ergo so I am not entirely sure…
@roger I love those too! I’m with @Marko in calling them “classic round drop” or “traditional”
Here’s some selection:
Cheers. Will scour the field of fine bar purveyors and find something that I hope doesnt break the proverbial bank. I have something of an ergo compact? on one bike, and although it does function quite well, never made me weak in the knees when I wrap the bars. This traditional bend will likely cure that
@Dan_R
I’m interested in a set of the tubulars. Where can I locate more details and contact info?
@PeakInTwoYears Yeah, I hear you brother. I went fucking snowshoeing (and will again on Saturday) to placate the VMH, but we are finally supposed to have above 0C Wx in Colorado on Sunday, so I am pumped and will be ready to go in my new Witte V-Kit.
@roger
damn, I was hoping that was your bike. Wrong color. Why am I so excited about this?
Roger – while no expert those appear to be Deda Newton Shallow bars. I have them on one bike, mated to Campa 2009 Ergo shifters, a really nice marriage of the two. I do also really like the Deda Zero100 bars.
itburns – I respectfully disagree. The VMH’s Macbook runs & works well all the time. It starts up and shuts down…as fast as you can shut it. I have a one-year old Dell netbook that is pretty fancy and it takes 5 minutes to start, hangs up, and generally doesn’t function half as well. I can understand my older PCs sucking, but that one is new and doesn’t compare!
I can’t even imagine how much time I’ve wasted over the years waiting for PCs to boot up, boot down, unfreeze, AND how much time I’ve spent debugging them. I just want a computer that works well & fast. And I don’t run any fancy programs but even my new netbook is slow & a hassle. I’ve resisted this switch for a few years because I thought all the Mac users were a lame cult. At this point I’ll happily join the cult if it means I don’t have to wait 25 minutes for my computer to get going. And, I don’t know enough about them to fix whatever is slowing them down. I’ll work on my bikes all day long but I don’t know and am not that interested in working on computers. I just want to use them. And I don’t have the time now to figure that out. I have a major project going on and need a nice, fast computer that works. I have yet to find a PC that does that.
Recommendations for a Heart Rate Monitor that does what it should and is easy to mount on the bike. VMH is looking at HRM’s on Amazon and feeling generous.
@the Engine
Maybe not what you are looking for, but I can recommend the Garmin FR60 HRM watch. Its simple to use and there is a mount available for the handlebar if you don’t want to look at your wrist. it also works well with the Garmin speed cadence sensor which is another 30 quid or so. I can’t fault it for what I use it for.
@roger
classy bike.
@motor city It is a great looking bike. I found it via a google search for c59’s while looking for bar/stem combos.
From what I can gather, the shallow traditional round is referred to as Italian bend, and a deep traditional round bar is Belgian bend. I ordered a set today, shallow, since it helps if you’ve got smaller fingers modulating the levers from the drops and bends
Interesting tidbit: When Campa made the jump from 9 to 10 speed, they designed the hub to accommodate the eventual 11 speed.
Shimano waited until now, which is why Dura Ace 11 speed requires a new rear hub.
@the Engine
Can do worse than Decathlons own HRMs, guess you can just strap it on the bike instead of the wrist. Wide range.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/cardio-onrhythm-300-coded-id_8232532.html
@Brian
Brian, my website is http://www.caferoubaix.ca The product photos are all from my prototypes. Once we have our rims and hubs from production, I will be updating the website with pro photo shoot pics or the wheel line and the studio.
@G’rilla
Yeah, the Italians did a great job in setting themselves up for the future upgrade.
hmm up grade. I can’t wait to throw up on my first hill climb of the year. giddy like a little school broad.
Christmas present from my VMH. Racing tomorrow, hence the single bidon cage.
@ten B sheeeeit, can’t imagine the good husband points I’d have to build up before she bought me something like that!
Never.Let.Her.Go!
@Dan_R How much would you expect it to cost to post a set of your Rouleur Alu’s to Australia?
@Mikael Liddy Yeah, both she and the bike are far better than I deserve.
@ten B
Very nice and very nice of your VMH! Lucky boy you!
What is that ‘Concorde’ style of seat atop that post?
@sthilzy It’s a Selle SMP Evolution. 24 hours of Fizik-induced post-ride numbness in my man giblets after a 208 km sportive had me looking for a new saddle. The SMP fits the bill perfectly, and as a bonus it allows me to rotate my hips into a better position. Never felt better in the drops!
@ten B Holy crap, what a woman! Enjoy the ride!
I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it…
While I violate no specific rule in doing so, I am aware that I implicate myself as a poser when I admit that I do not perform my own bike maintenance. As a father of three with a demanding job (I’m in the office right now, but taking a little break…) time spent wrenching is time spent not riding, working or fathering. I am fortunate to have an first-rate LBS near my house, and they keep my ride in fine fettle.
Yesterday, I dropped the steed off for a full cable replacement, and was told that they wouldn’t be able to get to it until today. Because I am a loyal customer who also provided all of the beer for the shop’s staff Christmas party, they offered to set me up with a loaner for the weekend – a six series Madone with Ultegra Di2.
I promptly hit the road for a 65km, climb-heavy joyride. I have been played like a fiddle by my boys. That Di2 is the nuts! I want it like a junkie wants his next fix. So smooth, so responsive, so right on the money. I really, really, really want to buy it, at the Dura Ace level no less, but the VMH would absolutely kill me after gifting me new wheels and bars for Christmas.
Anybody wanna buy a kidney?
@ten B Are those circular or oval Rotor rings? How do you like them?
@ten B
I’m about to mount a fi’zi:k on n+1. Took me a while to get used to a Sella Flite.
@Spun Up they definitely know what they’re doing at that shop…create an itch that you had no idea existed & ensure the cure involves them getting a proper wedge of cash!
@sthilzy
Selle Italia Flite width has been adjusted to 145mm. Available mid-January in US.
@Spun Up Why the Dura Ace version? Everything I’ve heard says that Di2 Ultegra is better in almost every way.
@ten B
wow,class,both VMH and the bike.cheers m8,good luck with race.
@G’rilla
They’re the eliptical Q-Rings. Apart from having a tendency to drop the chain when shifting to the big ring (you have to be very smooth on the shift) they are the feline’s posterior. I thought I’d be in trouble on the climbs coming from a compact, but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.
Anyone have experience with monolink saddles? I am fine with my current oem saddle, but think that maybe a little narrower nose and minimal mounting hardware would be better, since I hit my legs against it. Or I could be making a big deal out of nothing and just need to deal with it.
@unversio
Yes yes yes yes and YES! I’ve used Flites on at least one of my bikes since I started riding – apart from the 130mm wide versions that I just couldn’t get along with. My older 143 flites are great but need replacing and I’ve been saddle hopping ever since, without being able to really get settled.
@Spun Up
How much? I need a new right one.
Replaced the Carbon fork on my 29er with the suspension fork. What a difference. The carbon one is now on eBay. I guess I’m not rule V enough for a totally rigid, but after getting a hemorrhoid and spending over a week of my short Xmas break recovering, I dont care.
@G’rilla: you are correct. What I really want is the Ultegra set with the Dura Ace crankset, cassette and brakes… Someday…
@seemunkee: sorry to read about your health challenges. Don’t think your doc would let you take my right one. It throws stones every couple of years. A congenital thing. Now my left, oh such a kidney, an absolute peach.
@ten B
That might explain a lot more chain drops watching the Bay crits series around Melbourne the and Jayco Herald Sun Tour . You have to be smooth on he shift Di2 would take away that feel of the change?
@RedRanger
I figure that my cyclocross bike is my fully rigid off-road bike, so I went full squish for the MTB.
But the shock has been a bit too squishy so I added about 20psi and now it’s just perfect.
Road bikes seem simple after all the possible adjustments and maintenance of a mountain bike.
@G’rilla My shock is simple in that it just has springs. I can change them depending on what I want along with setting the “preload.”
Im super happy with the hard tail. the 29er wheels roll amazingly, and since I’m running tubeless i can really drop the pressure and run over cacti without worry. tons of fun, just gotta avoid more butty injuries and get out more.
None of the trails here are good for a CX bike.
@sthilzy I wonder how DI2 would go on the upshift. My FD is as tight to the big ring as possible, so I guess some control of the shift rate would be required to dial it in properly. But I have a sneaking suspicion that switching to a Shimano chain would improve things.
@Mikael Liddy
Damn. Nicely spec’d with the SMP and Rotors.
I will check the shipping to Aus. Canada Post wants a first born and a sacrifice to the wrong gods – not one mention of Coppi. WTF? But I do FedEx too and it tends to be less expensive. Let me do some home work for ya!
@ten B
How’d your race go? 50/50 split on the winnings with your VMH?
No doubt big smile on face from start to finish?!
@ten B
I’m not familiar with the biopaceprongs, but do the chainrings have the teeth that are cut for shifting? May have to time the FD shift with the pedal stroke in relation to the teeth cut?
@sthilzy bio pace rings – Damn iPad correction for my limited typing skills.
Bio pace are a dated shimano version of elliptical rings but they don’t have a very good reputation – I think not elliptical enough to be effective and the eliptical parts are not oriented the same way as the rotor and Ossymetric rings, so they won’t provide the same benefits. Shimano stopped making them a while ago AFAIK.
@minion
Shimano’s theory with Biopace was to “even out” the pedal stroke by making it easier to get over the dead spot in the stroke. Thus they put the mechanical advantage where your legs have the least ability to take advantage. From recollection it wasn’t aimed at racers rather as a means to make cycling easier for people just getting started.