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 ...
@Deakus I don’t mean to be rude, but what the fuck do you use for winter trainer, Boardman’s Lotus pursuit bike?
I suppose at least you won’t ever fall foul of the mudguard (fender to those that are a little challenged on the vocabulary front) rule.
Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CXs on my Record/OP wheels, with latex tubes, are so darn nice that I find myself checking to see if I’ve flatted. Nope, just the smooth ride offered by the set-up.
And, I’ve had mine on for quite awhile. While soft, they don’t wear terribly fast & I’ve been impressed with their lifespan.
@Deakus
I’m in a place that whatever the question is GP4000’s are the answer – the “Birmingham Screwdriver” response if you will.
My #2 bike has Gatorskins and they seem fine – put it this way my cycling doesn’t stretch their performance envelope.
Tried Open Corsa’s last year – great tyre but they wear out really quickly – must be the awesome mileages I do on them.
@Chris
I’ve got the same problem because my Giordana is a recycled #1 bike – the presbityrian in me refuses to actually buy a #2 bike specifically for the rain. Bit like putting drivers out in last year’s F1 car.
@Chris
It is the Ribble Winter trainer…been around for donkeys years and bearing in mind the frame is about £100 new it does what it is meant to do….get ruined in the rain and shit….I think at some stage I might go Ti for the winter trainer but I went out 2 sundays ago in the pouring rain and those mudguards were an absolute blessing! It is amazing how many people will raise an eyebrow at you then apologise profusely for their ignorance half way through a ride when their feet and arses are soaked and freezing!
Wisdom is not always beautiful…..but it is comfortable!!
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-ribble-7005-wintertraineraudax-11764
I have Campag Centaur on mine though….
@Ron
Don’t have an answer but everything in my bones is crying out “the buzz is not coming from where you think it is” so many times I have gone to where I am sure a noise is generated only to find it was somewhere completely different because the frame was conducting the noise…my advice…check the front, if you can’t find it….check the back and the middle too.
@Deakus I’ve had my eye on ebay a Ribble winter frame for a while but hadn’t really considered the clearance thing. I’ve just put 27mm Paves on my #1 (and only) road bike and suspect it’s feel wrong to be putting skinnier rubber on for the winter.
Maybe the ideal solution would to have a summer wheelset instead of a winter bike.
@Chris
The stable currently consists of:
1. Summer bike (Argon 18 Gallium) with American Classic 420 wheels with Conti 4000 tyres – Centaur Black and Red Gruppo
2. Ribble Winter Trainer with Campag Khamsin Wheels with Vittoria Open Corsa Evo Tech tyres – Centaur gruppo.
3. A spare set of Campag Khamsins (at 1900g and bombproof these are a great smash it up throw away wheelset £100 new for a set). These have conti gatorskins on them.
The spare wheels are a bit of an accidental purchase that I kept but I have to say running the vittorias vs the gatorskins there is no comparison when considering comfort and ride quality. Personally my mantra for Winter is “Be as comfortable as you can be” these are the hard miles in low light, cold, rain and clag on shitty roads. I don’t really give a shit if mudguards (fenders are actually what we call bumpers here in the UK and are designed for collisions) are not de riguer, I guarantee you if you had offered any of the pro in MSR this year a half decent bike with full mudguards only their frostbitten fingers would have stopped them from grabbing your face and giving you a huge kiss!
Regarding the Ribble….the frame is cheap, it is stiff and in a classical configuration. It does the job well considering the price. If I were in the same position again I would really have liked something with clearance for 25mm tyres but beggars can’t be choosers and as a hardened winter bike it works perfectly well and costs bugger all. Ragardless of wear I have to say life is whole lot better with those vittoria tyres on and I find myself quite loving my “winter blue” these days…Ill chuck a pic up in a bit, I have just retaped the bars in white, put a white arione on it and white bidon cages so it is looking, just a little, pimped up these days….
@Spun Up
Ya, I’m here to fix deine cable.
@Ron Same here – Evo CXs and latex tubes on the race wheelset, and I often found myself checking for a puncture when, in fact, it was simply the smooth ride.
@Deakus
I’m with you regarding Winter comfort! I sneered at mudguards, but inexplicably invested in some SKS Chromoplastics last Autumn and they were a revelation. Having a dry arse on wet days is great. My kids reckon they make my bike look like an old mans…they’re probably right. Also tried some Continental 4 seasons, which I’d wholeheartedly recommend for at least 3 seasons.
Ich bin kein expert. Anybody got a comparison between the GP 4000s (love ’em) and the Evo CX?
Finally – It has been a while – The stable is complete (actually compete is the wrong word as we know as followers of Rule #12 but you know what I mean).
After months and seasons of scrimping and saving I have 2 complete bikes!
N1
Argon 18 Gallium – 3T Arx Team Stem and FSA wing bars – Campag Centaur red and black gruppo – AC 420 wheels and conti gp4000 tyres – Fizik Arione saddle – speedplays
N2
Ribble Winter Trainer (alu) – ITM stem and bars – Campag Centaur gruppo – Campag Khamsin wheels with Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX tyres – Fizik Arion Saddle – Speedplays
It seems as if I have had one bike or other in the LBS for eternity and now with them both snuggled up together in the garage I can see they are very happy…although itching to get out and ride.
My only remaining niggle….is that I think I might be tempted to put the Vittorias on the AC wheels, they are so smooth to ride, I could always put the conti 4000s on a spare set of Khamsins I have and put some previous gatorskins on the current Ribble wheels for winter drudgery….
Either way it will be fun testing it all out…first freezing ride due tomorrow with a hilly loop to test the N1 and my fat ass against the power of gravity!
@Deakus the Argon is a thing of beauty!!
@Deakus
Very nice, but what is going on at the top of the head tube? Is that black bit sticking up above the level of the top tube a really fat spacer or part of the frame?
@Deakus
The Argon looks great with those AC wheels!
@Chris
I know what you mean…the Argon 18 Gallium has (what they describe as) a 3D headset. I believe this means that you can screw spacers underneath the Headset rather than above which gives height without flex. The limiting of spacers above the headset I believe is because of flex, once you have too many (as well as the obvious aesthetics of the V).
Personally, and being something of a Clydesdale, I like it, the bike is very comfortable to ride and whilst I admire “Franques” precipice like drop from the seat to the top of the headset, I fear my knees would pretty much knock my lunch up, out of my gullet and all over the beautiful Lizardskin DSP tape if I were to attempt this….and that is before any lower back issues that are bound to crop up on such a battered body as mine…
It is not orthodox, but it feels damn fine!
Only time will tell, but for now it is far more comfortable to ride than my winter trainer (surely that is the wrong way round)….
@Deakus
Surely black tape on the #1 and white on the winter trainer is also somewhat ‘rse about tit.
@Chris
So you might think……but……I had this discussion with the LBS, who, it has to be said were firmly in your camp. However my thinking was I wanted to make the N1 look a little “Agressive”. I originally had the AC wheels in white and was looking at white bar tape, but it whole thing started to look a little like “Boss Hoggs” limo…
I therefore decided on black “accents” to toughen the whole thing up a bit….I think it works.
As for the white tape on the winter bike…well same again, the decals are white so I went with white saddle tape and bidon cages….brave for a winter bike….counterintuitive, I grant you. The tape is Fiz’ik Mircrotex so at least I know I can keep it clean….
@Chris
Normally I’m all about white bar tape, but with a mostly-white bike it may have just been too much. I think the black is a good contrast and goes well with the seatpost and saddle.
@mcsqueak It was more of a comment about the concept rather than the execution and more about white tape on a winter bike than anything else.
I certainly wouldn’t be advocating white tape on a white bike unless you were prepared to go the whole hogg and don white bibs, jersey, shoes and stetson. This may not be the right site for that sort of thing though.
@Chris “This may not be the right site for that sort of thing though.”
You are shitting right? This is exactly where that kind of bad ass look should portrayed….we can set up some virtual stocks and everything!
@Deakus White bibs, jersey, shoes and stetsons? That certainly is a bad ass look but there’s a rule against that and I’m not sure that Frank would thank you for posting such content here. He’s been a bit quiet since someone posted a picture of a tritard who’d shat himself.
@Chris
@heinous great wheel change!!
@brett
I think that would appeal to the weekend bike rider. Not really a “roadie” system as it breaks tradition. And as we see above Ms. Chong can do traditional wheels changes. Pretty good at it too. I can at least say that I understand where they are coming from, but if bicycle shops would teach people how to change a rear wheel and use a QR correctly, it would never be an issue. Maybe a how-to article in the works considering the amount of talk on QRs recently.
@Deakus Nice rides. The Argon 18 – a great Canadian alternative to Cervelo. And the Ribble – inexpensive webstore utility. And Campagnolo all around. Well done sir.
The Centaur red and black is a sharp looking gruppo. And performance. As we all know. “It’s all about performance.”
@Chris
Ya. I can’t unsee that. Bummed, actually, that I had to see it.
@Dan_R
what exactly does one type into “google” to find that? Wow.
@Davidxvx
What is this insurance you speak of? You must be in Aus? In the US – as far as I know – you can shoot yourself and your boat with a illegal handgun from inside your house, and make an insurance claim on all three while also getting a disability compensation package, but you can’t insure your bike.
@frank
Ahhh, good old insurance.
Yep @frank, its true, a relative of mine turfed a bike off back of car whilst doing substantial kms/h and claimed a replacement under House and contents insurance.
We are a gifted bunch here in Oz.
@Russ
I did see that and was unable to have my usual post ride wholemeal toast and nutella!
(not sure if you get that stuff internationally)
@Barracuda
Costs me more to insure my bike than it does my car here in Scotland…
@Deakus
OH YA THATS IT! My little one love that stuff, i do not dare show them the picture of the poor bastard above as it might scar them for life.
@Deakus
Very nice by the way and are you limited to 23’s with the fender clearance?
@Russ
I learned this week that microwaved Nutella was one of Der Kaiser’s favourite winter beverages.Explains a lot.
@frank
Yeah we’ve got it pretty good…between our health care & insurance systems I ended up having to shell out less than a grand for $15k worth of new collarbone & the replacement of the 3 week old $4k bike.
@minion
Do you mean microwaved to be a drinkable liquid ?
Sweet baby Merckx, I’m fascinated and appalled at the same time.
@ChrisO
Oh shit. If my kids find out that you can microwave and drink nutella it will be the end of them! I had never heard or even remotely thought about that possibility.
@frank
I just renewed my renters insurance. I asked about whether I needed to specifically list bikes and they said no, bikes are covered. Of course that might only be for theft and not crashing or the like.
I’ve got two Dutch live tickers up and I really have no idea what is going on besides the fact theat there are 8 k’s to go in today’s 3 Days of De Panne and the peloton just caught the break. Will Sagan win again or will Chavenl or Boonen make it today???
@ChrisO
Exactly. Maybe add some vodka to that?
Sounds like Tomeke is pulling the bunch to the finish for Cav or maybe Chavenel (at least I think that it what it says).
@frank
Jeshzus Frahnk, you’re still around? I thought that you were on a plane to the Promised Land? Your Dutch skills are needed on the only active tickers via cyclingfans. I am soooo clueless trying to translate the Dutch comments!
@Nate
Yes, I have been down this road. It is for anything that happens to them inside the house. Theft, accidental hack sawing, things of that nature.
If you’re out riding and crash, you’re fucked.
I remember it well; my brand-new Bianchi XLEV2…flexy and very prone to creaking. I used to ride to the local races, and on this day I found myself thinking, wow – I got rid of the last creak! I crashed in the race and the frame got tacoed. Bugger. Had to fork out for a new one.
@Buck Rogers
I’ll see what I can do later, but I don’t even know what site you’re talking about. As far as I know, the internet ends with The V.
I am packing, departing in a few hours. Can’t wait!
My bike case took both wheel sets as well, so that’s $100 saved in excess baggage charges.
Tomeke and Omega deliver Cav to the line and he wins! Sounds like Tomeke’s knee is doing well! Cannot wait for Sunday!
@frank
Ahh, no problem! Safe travels in the air and many wet cobbles and Belgian pints on the ground to you in the next two weeks!!! Say “Fooock!” to William and Alex for me, okay?
@Buck Rogers
Yup, sounds like Tommeke is going hard to get up to form. Working hard for others so what goes around, comes around. Sagan skips Flanders doesn’t he? Or is it P-R and L-B-L? Who knows, maybe he’ll be off he biol by Sunday – he’s had a pretty busy and successful few weeks.
@wiscot
Sagan is definitely riding the RVV. I do not think that he is doing P-R though. I know that that is the case with Phil-Gil.