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 ...
This is the coolest thing on the internet today:
@Steampunk Excellent stuff! But the wait time for a new Marinoni bike just went up by two years and the price for used ones just tripled!
@Steampunk And my gubmint computer tells me my access has been denied. Lunchtime of course. Wait till Steve-o gets home!
@Weldertron You have captured the elegance, beauty, and simplicity of the bicycle.
This is an interesting slant on training vs using gym type spin machines. Also an interesting comment in the middle re the difference of spin machines vs the real dimensions of a bike and the impact that has on the muscle groups in use.
http://roadcyclinguk.com/sportive/is-athlete-lab-the-future-of-indoor-training.html?utm_campaign=newsletter_20140403&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_rcuk
@Teocalli That would help with balancing a job in London with training but at £24 a ride it’s a bit steep.
Thanks all, hopefully only the first of many.
Any opinions on polished vs black wheels? the hubs are polished pauls.
* I’m split between archetypes and TB14s aswell. I use the archetypes on my road bike and have been very happy so far, but I think the TB14 might be a bit more fitting to the steel frame.
@Weldertron
I’m running TB-14s on my Nine bike. With Ultremo ZX 28s and latex tubes it’s about the cushiest ride this side of a full-suspension downhill bike. I’m partial to the hard ano finish — I think of them as my Nemesis clinchers. May do a set of Achetypes in hard ano on a pair of silver Record hubs I have waiting for me to figure out what I really want to put on them. But I’m also thinking I should build up a set of carbon tubies to complement my Nemesis on Chorus and Nucleon tubs — and maybe sell the second set of Nucleon tubs I haven’t really been riding. Decisions, decisions….
Stem has since been flipped to the correct orientation:
How has the hard ano finish held up on the brake track? It’s a track bike that won’t see much road time, but for the occasional canal rides, i’ll toss an “oh shit” brake on the front.
@Steampunk
Agreed! Bravo Marinoni!
@teleguy57 You can sell me your Nucleons any time you want.
@DerHoggz
I realize they are pretty well respected but…I stopped at their booth at the NAHBS and asked about getting a 1-t0-1 1/8″ fork/stem shim for my Casati and they couldn’t have been less helpful. They do make them in silver, they essentially told me good fucking luck finding one. Not quite the feel of that show.
In comparison, the Casati folks told me they’d mail me a part. From Italy. For free.
@Steampunk
It if fuckin’ great when you can definitively state that. In this case, I agree!
@Nate
Hmmm. Considering. How should I connect with you offline if I’d like to continue the conversation?
@teleguy57 nice wheels, and glad you flipped the stem. Now, when are you going to do about the fenders and that saddle?
@teleguy57
I can ask @frank to send you my email address.
@Nate
Cool
@DeKerr
The Prophet rode with fenders as documented on this site; I have no qualms about that for a Nine bike. As for the saddle, there is currently an Aliante on it. But I have no qualms about SMPs on a bike — they work.
@teleguy57
No, He used mudguards. That notwithstanding, He also rode with a standard crank (a 70’s standard which was a 52×44, no less) and trained on a 13×23 and I note that is not influencing your gear choice, so you don’t get to claim Him as your justification for using mudguards.
All that aside, very nice looking bike. The white faux campa hoods have tormented me for years. Are they snug, or do they flop about? With my white bars, and the white hoods that were standard on Campa in the 80’s and early 90’s, I’m so tempted to experiment with those…
@frank
Not sure I know the difference, but wasn’t using it as a rationale, just making an observation. Lots of stuff Merckx did that are totally out of reach for me, and lots of things I do are totally out of character for him. I use fenders on this bike because it makes sense.
ah, the standard crank. In days of yore I rode 53/42 with a 13-21 seven cog freewheel. Last week I was riding one of the local helligen (sans cobbles) in my small ring and a middle cog and remembered one year I actually rode it in the 53 and a middle cog. Wonder where that guy went….
As to white hoods, these work fine. The very top had a bit of a weird point but they stay put. I think these are the Hudz brand; I had some Far & Near on some C10 levers. My Hampsten wears Campagnolo’s OEM white hoods for 11 speed. I am a sucker for white hoods both with white tape and black – but only with a white saddle.
@frank
just took a closer look at the photo, and the build was with C10 last year. This year I put on some Chorus 11 levers and an Athena 11 rear derailleur so I could switch wheels across bikes without having to change cassettes. The weird point is on the C11 aftermarket hood; the C10 version was just fine.
I know none of us mount computers/GPS on bikes but in case you ever do…….
Recently bought a Barfly Spoon mount for my Garmin Edge 800. After 2 rides (well during the second ride) the lugs on the back of the Garmin broke off. On investigation I believe this is a design fault with the Barfly mounts that allow the Garmin to rock fore and aft as the support piece on the Barfly is recessed where the Garmin equivalent is flat. The rocking breaks the lugs. Getting the Garmin fixed is £75/$100 which is 3x the cost of the Barfly. Not good. If you use a Barfly with the Garmin I suggest you consider deceasing!
@Teocalli You’ve not had much luck with Garmins.
I’ve got the K-Edge Garmin Mount. Not much to say other than it’s relatively unobtrusive and I’ve still got my Garmin (and in one piece).
@Teocalli
I use the K-Edge mount. No damage to the Garmin so far, and it’s RED, which makes me faster.
@Teocalli Thanx for the product warning — seriously. I intended to get an Edge 500.
@Teocalli
It’s not the Barfly – the design weakness is in the Garmin. This happened to my Edge 500 after about 2 years and I only ever used the Garmin mount.
Having looked at the user forums and other sources it seems to be a very common thing after about 2 years. Garmin will replace it with a reconditioned unit at cost.
Mine was a disaster where I had to send it to the UK and got charged customs duty going both ways, despite it being effectively repair of an already purchased unit. I could have bought a new one for less or upgraded.
@Teocalli
I haven’t tried this (my 800 tabs are intact, knock on wood) but if you’re handy may be worth a try. FWIW I’m using the Garmin OEM mount on my Nine bike and the Racermate (from the UK) on #1.
Deceasing — kinda like intensive porpoises? Or is that what the Garmin does? I think the user might cease and desist….
@teleguy57 Neat idea but I’ve sent mine off now. I did consider taking it apart and making an alu piece to fix in by grinding down the back. I’ve been using the OEM for 2 years and then switched to the Barfly so was shall we say miffed when it broke the tabs inside 2 rides. If it goes again I will go down the route of trying making an alu piece. Not using the Barfly but I like the Spoon mount so might try fixing a garmin mount to the spoon shaft. I have one piece Talon bars on Num 1 so options on a neat mount are limited.
What was I thinking of re “Deceasing”!
@ChrisO I’m convinced the design of the Barfly does not help. The Garmin definitely has scope to rock that does not happen on the OEM part.
Not too shabby for a parts bin commuter/rain/graveur build, hence the pedals and lights. Finding a ISO 102mm square taper for the Record cranks is like trying looking for hen’s teeth.
I’m also using the spoon and noticed the rattling. I’ll probably add a little padding under the Garmin to take up the slack, see if that helps.
@EricW Not too shabby indeed. Nice. Do you ride with a stick of chalk or was the Gaze already there?
@Teocalli
It was already there, but maybe I should ride with graffiti supplies at the ready. Also I just re-read my post and man I should not be allowed to type late at night.
@Weldertron Holy moly that thing is gorgeous.
@EricW loving the Dirt-nago incarnation. Looking forward to seeing it.
Well, I rode it. Quite surreal in fact. It was a quick ride down the street, maybe 200 meters, but it moved gracefully and quietly down the street. She might not have been wearing matching wheels, but like many firsts, it’s not always perfect. But it is unforgettable.
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Wow…this photo uploader is the cat’s ass! Love it!
Anyway, some of you may remember me posting at various times about various bikes that I was just about to pull the trigger on…BMC Team Machine, Bianchi Oltre XR and at one point a Neil Pryde Bura SL – mostly because it was going to be dramatically less money than the Swiss and Italian Stallions noted above. At the time I wrote it off as simply not making my heart sing.
Well, then along came an even better deal on a Neil Pryde – a 2013 Factory Demo with no wheels and Ultegra Di2. The price was so ridiculously low that funny enough, I found my heart singing just a little bit. I quickly went out and spent large on a Fizik Cyrano R1 Cockpit and seat post. I also added a Selle Italia SLR Flow saddle as the one that came with it was simply not acceptable.
@kixsand I had been looking at the NP Diablo prior to pulling the trigger on my Fuji SST .
All my windsurfing gear is NP, and I had great times on the NP gear.
Ride report would be good.
@kixsand One of the greatest thing’s I have ever seen. Since it was such a good deal, better name it Dear Prudence.
@Barracuda
When I first posted here about the NP there were a lot of supportive comments with the general sentiment being that NeilPryde knows how to lay up carbon.
My frame of reference for a ride report is somewhat limited. The bike I’m coming out of is a Specialized Tarmac but pretty much an entry level version of the bike with Shimano 105 component group. The differences between the NP and the Specialized are many. Primary among them is weight…the NP frame is less than 800g for the 56 that I ride. As equipped above it comes in at less than 16 pounds. I will admit a feeling of unease about hauling my 180 pound arse up onto something so…dainty…but it feels just wonderful…super stiff and yet comfortable at the same time. After just 2 rides I feel very confident on the bike.
The handling of the bike is superb…much sharper and more precise than the Specialized. The bike turns in ridiculously quickly but at the same time tracks true and straight. part of this may be fit – the specialized was a 56 as well but the length of the NP is a wee bit shorter with a slightly longer stem – 110 vs 100.
I was a bit worried about ride quality and have yet to experience a proper long ride on it yet to see if it is going to kick the shit out of me or not. thinking about maybe going tubeless with the C24’s if I do find it a bit firm and unforgiving on the long runs.
That’s about it so far. I will say that I’m super happy with the purchase and very excited to ride.
@unversio
Dear Prudence! Love it! I wonder if anyone will try and shorten it to DP – which wouldn’t be as good…
@kixsand
Double Penetration ??
@unversio
I might just shorten it to Prudence. I really like the name…awesome and thank you for it!
@kixsand @Dan_R @all looks like the Spesh lawyers are at it again
http://www.neilprydebikes.com/news/latest/allez-allez-nazare.html
The whole planets gone mad !
@Barracuda I just saw that too. DAMMIT just when I thought I’d go out an buy that damn Enduro. It’s like they don’t want my money.
@Barracuda
Next thing we know is that airports wont be able to call bits of , well, airports “tarmac” FFS
@Barracuda some people just never learn…
I wonder if Specialized are thinking of charging royalties to people along the roadside shouting encouragement to cyclists.
What a bunch of tossers. Clearly the Cafe Roubaix debacle didn’t change their methods, it was purely a piece of PR management.
@Barracuda
Yeah shouting “Go” is so similar to “Trade Wind”
@Barracuda Unbelievable, while it might not be right, you can kind of understand them going after someone using the same name for a product but to have a go on the basis that thick people might mispronounce a word and come up with one of their product names beggars belief.
@ChrisO I’m a little concerned that they’ll sue my kids if they should ever dream that they have made a solo break in a major cobbled spring classic.
Thank fuck I’ve never fancied any of their bikes.*
*I obviously reserve the right to drag any one through the courts and ruin them when they bring this up in the event that I find a cheap Langster on ebay to potter about London on.
I thought that the post from NeilPryde announcing the name change to their Alize was quite classy and took the right tone. I had been wondering where they got the names for their models – from the winds, who knew? Seems like a Bura is a Mediteranian wind.
@ChrisO
There was a lot of forgiveness shown here after the Café Roubaix debacle. This far reaching, far fetched casting of legal aspersions towards another small? company clearly shows the bully propensities of the large company. Pretty distasteful, to say the least.