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 ...
@mouse thanks dude – question:
what is protocol re specialised branded saddle ( or any other component fkr ghat matter ) on another branded frameset ?
I was reticent to be honest and have ahead a few raised brows ….. BUT fact is the romin pro evo is GOLD – extremely happy with it. Which negates any feeling of brand mixing prostitution I may have experienced or felt ……
but is it acceptable ?
@Smithers
and they look pro.
@Smithers
Difficult one this because the Spesh Romin is such a good saddle. I don’t see a problem with it, after all you can mix a pro logo saddle with speedplay pedals and a Spesh bike so why not. Personally I only get a twitch on the back of my neck when I see a glorious Italian steed sporting Group-San etc. Stem and Bars are another thing that gets some agitated… personally I have mixed a 3T stem on mine with FSA bars….
If in doubt The Masturbation Principle applies…
Shit! I think I just broke it!
@Smithers
It’s all bound up in Rule #8 but that is talking about colours….brand is probably less important on the basis only pros are tied to contracted saddle providers and even then the rules are different team by team.
I think some teams have freedom over saddle provider but it gets re-branded to the saddle sponsor.
Other teams have a set provider but they can use any saddle within the range…Fi’zik is a prime example of this I think they sponsor Garmin?
@Smithers
Romin on my track and road bikes.
Phenom on my CX and XC.
‘Nuff said…
@Smithers reckon contact points are whatever works for the body parts involved…just look above for Pedale’s bike, which runs Group-San pedals on a fully kitted Gruppo bike.
Just shod the Fondriest in a pair of GP 4 Season 25’s & am waiting for a crack at a proper test ride, tomorrow’s looking good.
@Deakus all in all she looks great.
@Nate ciao, it’a a 2004 Marcelo, aesthetic details of my specific request (colors etc.)
@Deakus
No flats for either of you gents yet? Are you running butyl or latex tubes with these?
@Deakus
I have Romins on both my Ridleys. I also have Specialized bottle cages on one of them because they were the only ones I could find at the time that matched the frame. As far as the saddle goes, prior to purchasing the Romin I tried an Arione, Aliante and Selle Italia Max Flite among several others. In the end I bought what worked for me, brand be damned – luckily they look fantastic with the colour scheme of my bikes. Like you, however, I would absolutely draw the line on anything but a Gruppo on an Italian bike.
@VeloVita
I am running Butyl tubes (ill get round to latex later maybe) and no flats yet. The weather here has been sunny since they have been on and the roads have been pretty good. We do get flints here but I find if you keep your eyes open and brain engaged flats are a relative rarerity….I probably get 2 per 1500kms on average. Having said that binning your tryes as soon as you get the first flat if they are well worn also helps…
@smithers
i don’t know but this frame looks odd to me. like its too small or something.
@thebaron Phil Gil is 6ft and rides a 51cm!
@smithers Nice set up!
@sthilzy
That’s fine. doesn’t change the fact that i find the seat post extremely high. fit is fit. ride what every size you like. i’m just saying it looks too small to me.
@thebaron
Yeah you’re not the first to say that – I’m 6.2 – the frame is a medium large ( 57cm top tube ) and is perfect for me.
had a retul bike fit and it is like a glove – most important its a velvet ride and goes like the fucking clappers ( That DA 9000 crank is turbo charged, and the frame is a proven winner )
and I like that its not a shouty, look at me bike.
and
and…!
@Smithers that thing is HOT! I do love black and white bikes(owning one myself)
@thebaron the extra seat post is a by-product of the sloping top tube that’s pretty standard on all Giants, if you look at where a straight TT would intersect the seat post it doesn’t really look that long.
@Mikael Liddy
Any feedback re your frame size and the new “abbreviated” stem ?
@thebaron
It’s a Giant TCR – Compact. Apprently its some thing that Giant “invented” where by the top tube is lower and slopes to the back hence the long seat tube. I have no idea what it’s supposed to proove. My mate has one and we are both the same size. Put our two bikes together and the seats/bars line up but his frame looks heaps smaller, top tube is lower even though his frame is actually larger than mine.
@Barracuda took it for a 50k spin this morning…position feels much better (shoulders aren’t hunching up over time) & not sure if it’s the 25’s or having my hands closer to me, but the handling felt much more secure when descending.
Still looks pretty good if you ask me (despite being left in the baby ring).
@Barracuda other thing re frame size is that for me to get my seat & bars in the same possie on the next frame size down, I’d be probably be approaching a Frankian seat post length along with a couple of fistfuls of spacers…
@unversio :) nr 1!
Finally found a side on pic of the old set up…as you can see my hands are way out in front.
@Mikael Liddy
Lotsa setback?
I’m curious… Does the centreline of the tops of your bars line up with te centre of your front hub from your eyeline when in the saddle? Are you forward or back of it? It might be an old wives tale, but I find that I don’t feel right on any of my bikes until I can get the setup working like this,,,
@Mikael Liddy
How far back is/was your saddle set back ?
Does look “awkward”
@mouse they line up now, previously the bars sat about half way between the hub & the front of the wheel.
@Barracuda the saddle has gone up about 5-10mm & forward about 10mm as well in the change. That photo is from last year’s Adelaide Dirty Dozen, this year’s is Sept 7, keen?
@Mikael Liddy So that kinda implies to me that you were too far back… Totally unscientific I know, but in that picture it looks like the front of your knee is in line with your pedal spindle at 7 o’clock where prevailing wisdom indicates it should be there at 3 o’clock
@Puffy
I think it either has something to do with two smaller triangles resulting in a lighter and stiffer frame
Or
those damed Taiwanese trying to prove the following :
1. The Goldbach conjecture.
2. The Riemann hypothesis.
3. The conjecture that there exists a Hadamard matrix for every positive multiple of 4.
4. The twin prime conjecture (i.e., the conjecture that there are an infinite number of twin primes).
5. Determination of whether NP-problems are actually P-problems.
6. The Collatz problem.
7. Proof that the 196-algorithm does not terminate when applied to the number 196.
8. Proof that 10 is a solitary number.
@smithers
Damn, I clicked through to see the “happy ending problem” but was sorely disappointed.
@mouse
Invariably the euphoria of the happy ending is quickly replaced by disappointment, deflation, depression – even shame….
@mouse pretty sure it was a combo of the two factors that led to me over-reaching, although the physio/fitter was reasonably happy with where I was in relation to the pedals. Given we raised the saddle a little there’ll always be a little shift forward to keep a similar position over the pedals.
Early days yet but I’m much more convinced by the changes after today’s ride.
@smithers
Indeed. As much as I prefer a level top tube aesthetically, I don’t know that I’ll ever own one, as being 191cm it can often result in a bike that is either very susceptible to front end shimmy, or if its not is overly heavy since larger stiffer tubing needs to be used to combat it. Also, it can tend to look pretty goofy as you could drive a truck through the front triangle. Compact geometry makes a lot of sense for larger size bikes.
@Ron
That is correct Ron. Mavic wheel freehub body is longer and when installing Shimano 10 speed cassette you need 1mm Shimano spacer supplied with cassette and Mavic spacer body supplied with Mavic wheelset. Without Mavic spacer the sprockets will be loose no matter how hard you tighten the lock-ring.
@itburns
Cheers for your kind comment.
It is always tighter at the valve but when installing ‘easy’ fit tires like Vittorias you don’t even notice that. Inner tube has only one important place and it is the valve so to make sure it is installed correctly you start at the valve.
Also when changing the inner tube you start taking off the tire opposite the valve hole because it is easier to start there so following this thinking why would you want end up at the valve, the tightest place, when trying to mount the second half of the tire bead.
Generally race bike tires are very easy to mount except a few examples of course.In a workshop I only use tire levers to take off the tires and never to install.Once you know the right technique and train your hands they are not required.You have to remember that we deal with all sort of bikes and anti-puncture tires for city bikes are much harder to install due to their stiffness, thickness and weight so starting at the valve is a must.
@Marcus
+1
@snoov
Sorry but Vittorias are very easy to install without tire levers so practice more or change your technique.
@Mikael Liddy
Generally speaking the handlebars should obscure the front hub when you sit with your hands on the hoods.You want 90 degrees angle of your arms to your upper body with hands on the hoods.But here again we are all different.
For example if my torso is the same length as yours but my neck is longer I’d see the front hub in a different position than you.
@VeloVita
Don’t bother with latex inner tubes when using GP 4000 S. I’d recommend you Vittorias, Veloflex or Vredestein TriComp.
@TommyTubolare
Uh, yeah. That’s what I meant a few posts ago. TT is simply far more eloquent than I…
@TommyTubolare Thank you for your many lessons. I’ll change my technique and practice it till I’ve got it right.
Also, I didn’t blow any latex tubes in the Alps, thanks for putting my mind at rest.
@Pedale.Forchetta
You even do selfies annoyingly well. Beautiful machine.
How do you like the Bonts?
@smithers
That’s a nicely Belkin’d out Giant, well done on the natural sidewalls, as many have side.
For those of you espousing the merits of Vittoria over GP40000…get yourselves to your wheelbuilder and get some tubs.
And don’t stop until you’ve worked your way up to a pair of FMB Challenge CX’s or Paris-Roubaixs.
@TommyTubolare
yup, that’s what has been achieved with the adjustments that came out of the bike fit.
@Mikael Liddy
Which would suggest frame is too big perhaps due to need for such a short head stem. Maybe, maybe not.
@Barracuda yeah but see my point above about the seat tube & spacer height a smaller frame would require.
@Mikael Liddy
Exactly my point, time for a smaller frame, only way your going to achieve that is a custom build, insert BAUM here, you can use the excuse to the other half that its for health reasons, thats what I did with my new steed, my C7 neck injury required a smaller frame for less reach. Problem solved … I see in your future a Baum Corretto in Gulf Porsche colours.
Job done.
@Mikael Liddy
There is actually a really big range of headtube lengths for a given reach, look around and you can find something I’m sure. If you are happy though, that’s good.
@Mikael Liddy
I’d wager that’s the 25s talking””I find their more comfortable and much steadier (thicker contact patches with the road). My instinct is that the reduced stem should have the opposite effect, so it’s as well that you were able to enhance your security/stability on the descent.
The other thing I’ve had hammered into me is the need for more and regular core work so that back and abs are doing the work and not the arms and shoulders. The pic of you riding looks like you’re a little hunched (I appreciate that’s the old position), but make sure you’re puffing your chest out, rather than bringing it in. Ironically, Voeckler is one of the better models for this among pro riders…
@TommyTubolare
I run standard butyl in the GP4000s I have mounted now. I have a pair of latex tubes stowed away that I was planning to use for CX with my Challenge Grifos this coming season, but if I move to the Vittoria Corsa SCs on my #1, I was considering using the latex for those.
That is a darn nice Giant. I don’t think I’d change a single thing, nice work.
VeloVita & Tommy – thanks, lads! 172.5mm Force crankset procured. A trip to my 4th LBS offered up a Mavic 1.75mm spacer. I still don’t know where the one went that was/should have been on there. I can’t imagine I’ve been riding it with a loose cassette for many months. I hope I’m not that fucking blind.
Gruppo swap complete (9-speed to the commuter, 10-s to the De Bernardi) broken bike replaced, wheelset sorted. After too much wrenching and not enough riding, I’m ready to ride, ride, ride the rest of the summer away.
@TommyTubolare
Lemme look. It’s a Ksyrium ES wheelset. I pulled off a SRAM 10-s cassette, replacing with Shimano 10-s. I thought I was careful to watch what spacers I pulled off. I put on one 1mm spacer, the cassette wiggled when pushed on by hand. I added a second 1mm spacer, doesn’t seem right. This says I need a 1.75mm Mavic + a 1mm. Let me look at the cassette I pulled off. Maybe I overlooked the spacer I need. Thank you for the info though.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Cassette_How-To_-_Part_2_3257.html
That is correct Ron. Mavic wheel freehub body is longer and when installing Shimano 10 speed cassette you need 1mm Shimano spacer supplied with cassette and Mavic spacer body supplied with Mavic wheelset. Without Mavic spacer the sprockets will be loose no matter how hard you tighten the lock-ring.
Okay, now I’m totally confused. I put on the 1 mm spacer first, then the 1.75 mm Mavic spacer, with the little indents facing out (one side of the Mavic spacer is flat, other side has a few little notches). Now the lockring is pushed out so far that I can’t get it to even start threading.
Very confused here. How do I tell what type of freehub I have? I don’t know if this is Shimano 10, Shimano 9/10, or a Mavic “Shimano” style.
Maybe I just have the Mavic spacer flipped the wrong way…but it doesn’t seem to want to thread on with the notches to the inside. I’m clearly being stupid about this, I’ll chalk that up to a long week and it being Friday afternoon.
Mavic spacer first, notches out, then 1mm spacer, lockring went on. I think I figured it out, sorry for the dumbness.