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 ...
@gerty
Good to see him back in the game after he got shafted by COTHO and Trek….
@Teocalli
That’s just fantastic! When you say recovered, do you mean dug out from the back of the shed, or have you somehow tracked her down? Loving that the frame pump is still mounted. CLASS !
I gave it to my brother some years ago when he thought he was going to lose his driving licence (but didn’t)! Then he’s been working abroad for years but is back at the moment so I recovered it from the back of his shed. So I knew where it was just lacked the opportunity to get it back. Needs quite a bit of tlc as said shed was a bit damp.
The pump is the wrong way round as I always used to mount it the other way round for better aero performance!
It was finding this when refitting my home office that made me decide to get her back and refurbish…
@Teocalli Oh God, this has just become even more special, with that original documentation, what a provenance. I hope you’ll be penning an article once she’s back to her pomp.
@Teocalli
You can also just about see the handle bar bidon cage. We used to have the bottle with a long plastic tube a la bar mount camelback.
@Teocalli Jesus! This is getting cooler and cooler by the minute. Feel like I am watching Antiques Roadshow or something!
@Mike_P
That’s an idea, yes I’ll track it through – might be a while though. Nice target for next spring.
@Buck Rogers
Why does Antiques Roadshow featuring in Buck’s world make me chuckle?? I have an image in my mind of you glued to BBC World in the vain hope of some rare cycling or samurai related artefact coming forward.
@Mike_P You mean a bit like the below as a private showing for Buck. This is the original 5 Sp Campy Gran Sport rear mech and shifter before I put 10 Sp on the bike in the 70’s.
@Teocalli That fantastic – it’s got everything, even the pump. Love the colour.
It deserves not only to be restored and written about, but the finish should be to ride it in something like L’Eroica, not just make it a #2.
@ChrisO
Yes I did have something like L’Eroica in the back of my mind. Also planning on the Raid Pyrenean next year.
@Mike_P Re ….. Loving that the frame pump is still mounted. CLASS !
Of course this bike would be great for over in the Dogs I Have Known thread with a quick draw pump. I do seem to remember waving the pump and a few beasts years back.
@Mike_P
Ha! YES! And original flintlocks! I LOVE those things, too!!! But you can keep your pottery–stuff bores me to death!
Jesus! Frahnk is going to have an MI when he sees that old Campagnolo gear!!!
OK opinions please – is this the finishing touch or should I have left it as was. I’m in two minds.
Regardless of looks I am keen to see if the switch to 25mm Vittoria Open Corsa with latex tubes makes an appreciable difference.
@ChrisO Beaut! 25mm is the correct answer.
@ChrisO Interesting, it does make it match the bed head plinth better, does that mean the black matches tarmac better? It does “lift” the wheels a bit as there are no logos on the rims. I guess it depends if you want to break up the dark stealth look or be pure stealth.
@ChrisO Natural sidewalls. Both look good, but the nats are the way to go, its the Aesthete’s Choice.
@ChrisO gumwalls. it was my favorite thing on the Rabobank giants and looks great on yours. plus works well with the white saddle/bar tape.
@ChrisO
Gummy bears without question…looking stunning!
The rebuild turned up today. The new frameset has a few subtle changes and the BB shell is much beefier so hopefully the problem won’t be repeated. They also had to fit a new Chorus front mech as the 2013 model is braze-on not band.
Ideally, I’d rather not have to replace anything under warranty but It took less than 3 weeks to get this resolved so I’m super happy with the turnaround and service. Credit where credit is due etc.
@norm Nice result though!
@ChrisO re 25mm been running them for a month or so, interesting change they do take some getting used to, first you are pushing a bigger gear, 10.9mm bigger, don’t forget to reset your computer if you use one, I tried running 100psi instead of 110 and found the ride “squishy” so went back to 110 and have lowered the pressure more progressively, got the front down to 100 and like the way it handles, just feels more planted in a tight turn with lots of lean on, no problems with punctures but never really had any issues before and assume I will get the same distance on a set as the 23mm’s. GP4000’s BTW.
Given the “bigger gear” I’d recommend 25’s to all the compact riders out there, if only SRAM used their 10 cog from MTB on their 11 speed road group you could run 10-23 out back and 50-34 up front, add 25’s and you’d be golden.
@frank
I have to agree with this assessment. Black is nice, but natural gives it that special look that says, “I pay attention to this stuff!”
@Teocalli
That is just plain AWESOME
@ChrisO Those sidewalls are UNREAL, but you have to keep the white tape and saddle, otherwise it is a no go. If you change tape and saddle it just won’t work … Nice ride! and I do like the display case, I am in the lobbying phase to get one (ok 3) built up at my place
@ChrisO I kinda want to do the same thing on my bike when I eventually get new wheels. gummys are cool on black bikes
@ChrisO
Nice build there! Nice pose as well!
My VMH removed a small table from our bedroom and my first reaction was, “Great! My bike can go there now!”. Not gonna happen.
If feeling a little nervous with n1 up so high, can revert to…
Congrats on your podium today! And have a great birthday!
Anyone have experience with Veloflex Masters, which are similarly “au naturel” and now come with a 25mm version?
@Xyverz
I seem to be in the minority here and, given that this is a place for cyclists, I can appreciate that there is a “cycling aesthetic” however, I think the black sidewalls maintain the level of abstraction set by the overall scheme whereas the gumwalls shift the aesthetic from the general to the specific.
So, from my perspective, if you want wheels that look like cartoons of themselves, go gumwalls however, if you want a bike that looks like a sculpture that could be the spawn of a stealth fighter, go blackwalls.
@xyxax
I considered them alongside vittoria open corsa sc’s but opted in the end for the vittorias purely because the side wall is a brighter almost yellow colour…the veloflex are more buff in colour.
i think they are probably both as good as each other. I also run open corsa techs as winter tyres and am pretty sure i will never go back from cotton clinchers…the ride is sublime!
@Bespoke Hmm, I think you’ve nicely articulated what I was in two minds about, thanks, although I’m still not sure which way I feel.
In any case I’ve just discovered the Noah doesn’t fit 25mm tires, which is crap, because I wanted to run 25mm on the Enves, regardless of colour.
I may have to switch back to black just because they are 23mm and keep the Vittorias for special occasions, as a performance thing rather than aesthetic.
Or get another Powertap built into my Eurus wheelset, but that might have to wait a few months.
@ChrisO No matter what you decide to do, you’ve got a great bike, now with two aesthetic options. Hope the sandstorms subside, although they do make for hauntingly beautiful pics.
@xyxax
I’ve run Master 25s all summer. Great tires. I run them ~100/110psi front/rear at 72-75kg. I’ve only had one puncture, from a broken car wheel balancing weight that stabbed it. Might want to seal the sidewalls, they get dirty quick.
@ChrisO
That build came out fantastic. All of it. Personally, I’d go with the black sidewalls for no other reason than to go against the grain of opinion of everyone else.
Nice!
@Deakus
@DerHoggz
Thanks for that good feedback. The Vittoria vs Veloflex threads have been atypically polite, so high respect all around.
Der Herzog, is that PSI on normal or wide rims? Did you use talc to get them on? I have a pair of latex tubes to go with them. With months of poring over a new frame choice now over, I am turning to the minutiae of kitting it out. This is the type of low-watt activity I’m well-suited for.
@xyxax
Normal width rims, butyl, and talc. I’ll probably switch to latex next summer when I go back to them. Vittoria tire pressure app recommends 120psi IIRC, when I go ~90/100 it feels odd, but it is great where I have it.
Talc is on the tubes. The first tire fitting is a bitch, make sure it seats by the valve stem. After that everything is gravy for getting them on and off.
@ChrisO both look great so obviously go both – two wheelsets, chop and change as you feel – job done. Perfect reason if needed to buy another set.Too easy.
@xyxax Veloflex are awesome tires. Just fit my Arenberg 25 on a new HED Belgium (wide) tubular wheelset. I’d definitely use talc with latex tubes.
@DerHoggz
@Nate
Much appreciated. I mention the talc as it was noted that mounting should be hand-only, no levers, and talc eased the process. I can see myself going down the road in a powder cloud like PigPen.
HED has updated the Belgium C2 for 2014 (a millimeter wider!) that I’m considering pairing with the new Alchemy Orc-UL hub.
@xyxax What rims are you putting them on?
The Alchemy hubs are really nice.
These ‘uns: http://road.cc/content/news/79593-new-wheels-reynolds-hed-and-token
Or H Plus Son Archetypes or….?
@xyxax Tires mount pretty easy on the HED clinchers. Shouldn’t be too bad.
Now I know why you should let tubular glue dry a bit before mounting the tire. It saves your hands and jeans from being covered in glue.
Other than that, bring on the mud!
So, yay or nay?
Also, for the price, the Schwalbe CX Pros seem to do quite well in the thick mud. They are 700×30, so they cut into the mud rather than “float” like large tires can.
@Weldertron nice bike!
My two babies. Got a deal I couldn’t resist on the Bullets.
@Hapsmo way to rep C’Dale. sexy bikes for sure