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 ...
@frank
Funny thing but I do – amongst my many riding faults I tend to hold on to the big ring and mash rather than spin so I’m at a loss to explain how the inner-ring is so shafted. Maybe because that’s the one that handles the really serious grades?
…and that’s shafted at maybe 10,000km total since April last year…
@the Engine
Well, ain’t this place a mechanical oddity? Bolts torqued to spec and unused chainings blowing out everywhere!
@the Engine Sorry if this was already discussed, but did the chain already have km’s on it when it was mated to the ring?
@PeakInTwoYears
Nope – new this season on last year’s new #1
@frank
My ego may deny it but I’ve obviously used the inner ring more than I thought (although its always possible that our house elf has been riding it to and from the fairy dust shop whilst I’ve not been looking) – some combination of Scottish road grit and my pre-peaking in two months mass have conspired to wear the thing faster than a jet engine in an ash cloud. Last year’s bolt torquing episode was plain weird. Lesson – check everything even if you have used Loctite and the part “should” last 100,000kms.
@frank
…and I’m putting a Veloce chainset on rather than the Centaur it has now. If they’re going to wear out every 18 months there’s not enough going for the Centaur to persuade me that I need another one.
@the Engine
Off topic, but how do you correctly pronounce ‘Veloce’? Is it vel-OH-chay, velo-say, vel-oss, or something else. I’ve never needed to really know before now, but seeing as I have Veloce ergos on my gavel/cross rig, I figured I should.
@VeloVita
I’m going with vel-OH-chay
@PeakInTwoYears
And now I think about it – why did it go from “ok” to “completely fucked” in a metre or so of road – why wasn’t there a period of schleckanicals leading up to final demise?
@the Engine
That’s what I thought, but wanted to make sure. Grazie!
@the Engine
Listen to the lovely lady http://www.pronounceitright.com/pronounce/10448/veloce
@ped
Thanks! Though I’d sound like a pretentious fuck if I said it like that.
@the Engine
…and you know you can just replace the chain rings, right?
More buggered chain rings; my slightly skew-wiff 53T. Not a good thing to be dealing with a few days before a fortnight in France.
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@Chris
What’s the UK translation of “to Subaru a bike to death”?
@frank
The rings for the Centaur are more expensive than an entire Veloce chainset…
@frank
Ah ha ha. That’s damn funny.
We now have a new eco-bike/car thingey company in town. I’ve seen a few on the road, taking the lane at rush hour. I’m curious to see how this goes. Pedal-powered but it conserves the energy and also has a motor to power you up hills.
Last week I had one seized crank arm (cross bike, should have pulled and relubed last season I suppose) and decided to skuut my bike to the shop with one arm, no pedals. Good lord, how frustrating to go that slowly and push-pedal. I also thought the police might stop me to see what the hell I was doing.
@thebaron
If da fixies manage to save Detroit, all the hacked off RD hangers will have been worth it. But, I’m not going to hold my breath.
Fair wheel bikes is doing an inter bike build. I cant wait to see the entire thing
It has a compact. It has already failed us.
@PeakInTwoYears
Not knowing what that means in American, I’m not entirely sure what the translation is or quite how to take that comment.
@Weldertron
An exceedingly ugly compact at that.
@RedRanger
Any competent Belgian would quickly destroy those fucking weighweenie feathery chainrings.
@Chris
Sorry, that was a reference to the “Bike Pricks” thread. I.e., your chainring looked like it had suffered a vehicular impact.
@Ron
Well i highly doubt it will save Detroit. At this point its so far gone. But the story is very nice.
@PeakInTwoYears
Ah, I get you now. But no, just an equation featuring a road, my bulk and gravity with the chain ring as the meeting point.
@RedRanger
I think that is a Holland Exogrid frame.
Just read a brief summary on that frame. Interesting concept, but $5000 for a frame that looks like someone rode a Felt into some chicken wire…
@VeloVita
your photo does a pretty good job of that
@Nate
That derailleur is ugly as sin.
@DerHoggz
Bit wornish, but not as ugly as this……….
I still have the 80’s Ofmega DT levers – in black though.
@sthilzy
I can just see the moustachioed Safari Suited early ’90’s Ofmega marketing department boffins going;
“I’ve got it!! Let’s make a derailleur look like a sex toy!”
@RedRanger
I rather like it!
Clearly I don’t have the swingers to demand that it have a non-compact.
And, sorry but nobody is going to bend those rings despite how light they look.
@mouse
Reckon it could suit a certain cross bike…
@mouse yeah, I think it looks pretty nice. It’s a show bike btw. I can guarantee that you can ride the piss out of that bike. Fair wheel is a too notch shop. they don’t mess around. Once when I was shoping for new MTB tires the sales guy spent 30 minutes going over the merits of different tires for the local trails. Local pros stop in frequently.
Austin “Fuji” Powers “Mini me”
@wiscot
Seat post is a carbon oval piece, shaped like a foil. Does look thick but not in person. quite narrow front on
@xyxax
yup. http://www.hollandcycles.com/?page_id=522
after having completed hacked up my last set of campagnolo hubs (the ones with wings), i waited and waited for something to pop up on the fleabay…and for under 2 bills, i scored some like new c-record hubs laced to mavic 330 rims. just finished truing the wheels, and will start glueing soon as i finish this red velvet cake. these are so shiny it is scary, had to de-bling them a bit.
@Barracuda
Is that a different stem than the other recent pics? This one seems to be black…
here’s my new #1
@xced
That is one stunning looking bike. Very understated.
@Mikael Liddy
Well spotted sir. Sure is, “borrowed” a 3T 90mm. Seems ok after first ride. Time will tell, sadly not the bike thats the issue. If I were to choose a steed that was suited to how smashed up my body is I fear I would be posting pics of some sort of Frankenstein recumbent.
Love my Fuji, its staying, new disc in C7 only option.
Hows your new position?
@Chris
Very very nice, looks fast sitting still.
What wheels are they ?
@xced
Dare i say C50??
@Barracuda
Gorgeous. The classic geometry with thick tubage I lust over. Well done.
@xced Hot!
@PeakInTwoYears
Hi, There are not many in the UK either but my LBS has them and this was on special in my size XL 60cm for £900 from £1100 so i had it as my first road orientated bike and have ended up doing 100+ road miles per week on it. Alloy frame, Easton carbon folks with 105 / Cx groupset and ritchey finishing kit. Ive put a 50 tooth chainring and 28cm tyres on and think it is great, never having had a full on road bike before so I know no difference. I think it weighs in around 10kg so is making me wonder how much faster a carbon road bike would go – I’m averaging 18 mph on a 40+ mile run. Has anyone got a Lapierre carbon road bike? if so I would really like to know what the reports are??