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 ...
@freddy
P2A on a fixed gear seems like it would be really fucking hard. Would love to hear your take on the race. It’s on the schedule for next year…with lots of gearing options for me.
@freddy post the mud-sullied post race pic!
@rfreese888
Excellent first road bike. That should be a great ride for a long time. Campy with white hoods, very stylin’.
@wiscot
I am here to say that if you get this guy, or one of his like-minded compatriots, to hold your bike for the picture you do not have to worry about crank angle, valve stem location, or much of anything else; you still have a Most Epic picture of your bike.
Oh, and the bike does look very nice as well…
Thanks gianni. Im smitten with the new bike. The deda deep bars feel much better than the shallows i have on the c59. Classic bend with hoods low is my preferred setup and the frame lends itself to that fairly easy.
Some pics of the bare frame and built up covered in vermont cow poo.
Last pic is inside fork leg. The brown specks in seven on downtube are espresso grinds.
headtube might be shortest ive seen spec’d.
Polarizing aesthetics aside, di2, hydro brakes, and shimano’s 52/36t witg 11/28t is an awesome combo.
[dmalbum: path=”/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/roger/2014.05.05.06.34.46/1//”/]
Basic Pedalwan question here. I have inherited a 1973 Schwinn Continental that is in the later stages of a complete overhaul (but keeping the original paint). I’ve got the shift levers installed on the bars and the cables run, so now I’m ready to re-wrap the bars. Since this bike doesn’t have rubber/leather hoods over the shift levers I’m not 100% sure what the approved style is for wrapping the tape around them. Anybody have pictures/suggestions on the right way to do it?
I’ll post pictures of the finished bike in a bit. It’s my first effort at a restoration, and about the best I can say is that I’ve learned what not to do the next time around. It’s going to be my #2 road bike, so the fact that it 1) has a solid steel kickstand and 2) weighs about 37 pounds just means that it’s going to be good for hill training.
@ralph The way I used to do it was a figure of 8 over and back around the lever hood.
@roger Superb bike roger!
@kixsand
Here’s a synopsis on this year’s race compared to last year:
@Bespoke
Didn’t get a pic of the bike after the race this year, but here’s last year. Note that I’ve implemented some stem and a few other changes on the bike.
@ freddy
@Bespoke
We should get together for a ride – either on the road or in the muck! I’m in Toronto but often travel out of the city for Weekend rides so I can start from pretty much anywhere.
Attempt #4 – not from phone.
My new commuter/gravel/dirt/snow bike.
These photos are from her inaugural gravel ride in beast mode. Full fenders and slicks for commuting purposes.
[dmalbum: path=”/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/urbanwhitetrash/2014.05.05.14.49.18/1//”/]
@urbanwhitetrash very nice bike and great looking trail you have there.
@roger
Nice steed there!
Need to get a Sharpie onto that currency;
@kixsand
I ride the roads around Guelph, Elora, Kilbride, Waterdown, Domestique in Dundas, etc.
@kixsand
I raced P2A with a 42×18.
@urbanwhitetrash
nice rig! I got one for commuting and rain training. Its been interesting- it is stiffer than steel, climbs well (not like hi-mod carbon, but well nonetheless), and handles well albeit not quite like a cx rig. I am really enjoying my time on it, havent taken it off road yet.
There are too many fucking bonkers bikes going on in here right now for me to think straight. WOW!
Now a proud owner of a Giant Defy 1 (with some upgraded components) after 16 months and +8000km on a Roam XR2. I couldn’t justify the cost of a CF frame, and didn’t want an aggressive frame. That may be next years’ project (it would take at least that long to convince the better half, and at the moment I think that n+1 would equal s).
This was after 20 years away from bikes – the last one was a Peugeot ?Triathlon? (different name in OZ). The one with the white frame and colour splashes.
I just picked it up yesterday, so I am just getting used to it, but what a beautiful thing to ride (at least compared to the hybrid), and eats hills. My only complaint (as with the Roam) are that Giant bikes are two wheeled billboards for Giant.
I will be breaking some rules (please excuse me not referring to them by number):
Anyway, I will post a picture when I get a good one!
@vespertine Nicely put. I know someone with a Parlee, so I will have to point this out to him.
@mjgordon Congrats on getting back on the road for a start. I have to say I don’t know why people keep saying that Giant bikes are billboards – I’ve heard similar comments elsewhere. Look at the Merckx or Ridley bikes in the posts above this, they’re no less branded than the average Giant.
To my mind, you want to immediately identify a bike when you look at it, as a way to also identify or memorise the rider, so I don’t have a problem with that anyway.
@ChrisO It’s a weird thing when riding along and a bunch of riders are coming the other way and you can pick out a bike first to ID the rider/s in the bunch then give them a shout out or a wave to knowledge them.
@freddy
Okay, let’s set something up. @Steampunk and a few others are around the Dundas/Cafe Domestique area as well. Riding fixed gear in P2A and finishing where you did – good work! – I’ll likely meet you for the pre ride espresso and post ride recovery beverage as I struggle to keep up, in between.
Since there’s no personal messaging, I’m not sure how to set this up without boring everyone with the back and forth.
@ChrisO
I’d missed the original post (or my brain has refused to see it) so thanks for pointing it out. A little bit of me has just died and my post Rule #9 ride poached eggs almost gave an encore.
Could you both not just have pretended that it doesn’t exist and protected the rest of us from it?
@Bespoke We need username@velominati.com email addresses. Or to be completely confusing as Spartacus like – velominatus@username.com i.e., velominatus@chris.com, velominatus@bespoke.com
@freddy
So, I see that having a spare set of quads available is a good plan for this race. I could have used a set as mine were shot about 15k from the finish – I could feel the cramps insinuating themselves on the Ancaster rail to trail section. Before I even got to the final, killer climb, my quads were under someone or something else’s voodoo control.
Here’s a pic from the race although, I have a feeling this conversation should probably be in the Rides section.
@mjgordon
First, welcome back to the bike. It’s never too late. A couple of things though:
Baggy shorts: Just, no. They will serve no other purpose than to slow you down and flap wildly in the wind.
Saddle bag: Again, just, no. See Rule #29. Get yourself a jersey and put that stuff in your pockets. If it doesn’t fit in your pockets, then you’re carrying too much stuff. If you’re concerned about looking like a sausage, then buy a bigger jersey. See also Rule #18
Garmin: Refer to Rule #74
I would also refer you to the Masturbation Principle.
That being said, welcome, and enjoy the journey!
Thanks for your comments.
@ChrisO – the bike looks great anyway (the mid-blue frame is just so different to other bikes)- put on Durano Plus tyres, so will try to hit up Schwalbe as well as Giant for advertising fees!
@KW – I see a true Keeper of The Rules. I reread the rules after the post, and the Masturbation Principle did grab my attention, and I realised my faux pas in the post. I will take your advice as to a larger jersey. I picked up the bike after dark, so took the saddle bag up to the shop (mainly so as I could clip the light to it). Saw the bike with the bag this morning, and thought that is not right (a downright disgrace in fact!) First stop was the bike shop for the “bidon” tool case.
On bidons, a large (800ml) one is in the front cage. It too doesn’t look good (actually downright ugly)- I will comply with Rule #52, (at least in winter), and buy a small aesthetic one.
Now being serious. Until seeing the bike with and without the “accoutrements” I didn’t appreciate how elegant an unencumbered road bike looks. If I could ride without tools or water I would remove both cages! The “SUV” (hybrid) is a different beast – horses for courses, but what a great workhorse over the last 16 months.
@mjgordon
You’ve learned so much, so quickly. However, I am far from the level of the Keepers. I am but a simple Pedalwan, but I do my best to adhere to Rule #3.
@Bespoke
Depending on when you guys do this I might be able to join in. I live in Montreal but my dad lives in Toronto (Liberty Village)
@Weldertron
I sense a Southern Ontario Cogal developing. Paging Steampunk…
@mjgordon nice work, got to borrow a demo version Defy earlier in the year & it definitely had some compelling good points.
While I get the arguments you have in play around kit & tool storage, here’s a possible suggestion: Ride the piss out of the new bike over the winter months while you can get away with a single bidon (600ml), thereby getting yourself in appropriate shape to don some lycra once the summer months arrive (if you’re looking for a source, see the “Gear” link above) & stash your tools, tubes & breathing apparatus in the middle pocket.
@Bespoke
Yeah, getting that Cogal feeling. Did a mini with Steampunk last year (I think it was) so a repeat is definitely welcome. Steampunk pls report to the service desk…
Not likely to make it to Domestique tomorrow but the Brown Dog in Waterdown around 1:00 is possible.
@freddy
Okay. Let’s make it happen. Unfortunately, I’m out of town during the last Sunday of the Giro, which has been our annual Cogal the past couple of years (and why I’ve been slow on the uptake). Mid/Late-June? Domestique as a start/finish? Fire me some dates and directions/destinations. Both Cogals to date have gone up Rattlesnake. We could go there, and do three or four ascents up from a variety of angles. Lunch in Campbellville or visit to Épique?
@Steampunk
If the cogal happens after the June 7-8 weekend and before the beginning of July, I might well be able to make it. Need to do something about the fact that I’m currently batting .000 on Canadian cogal attendance!
June 14/15 would be ideal for myself, as I’ll be in Toronto anyway.
@Weldertron
I think we’re looking at Sunday, June 22. I’m an unapologetic violator of Rule #11, and the 15th is Father’s Day.
@Steampunk
What about (Saturday) the 14th? Repeats up Rattlesnake eh? That’s pretty hardcore.
@Bespoke
Maybe I should have consulted more. I posted June 22 to the site already. Three times up Rattlesnake Point, but from different sides. Up Appleby, down into Campbellville. Up from Campbellville, down 14th Sideroad. Up Bell School Line, down Livingstone. And home for local brews at Domestique””with the finale down Sydenham and into Dundas. ~100k. Might as well go up Sydenham and Snake Road on the way out…
Route to look something like this:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/412943116
@Steampunk
Not getting a map on that link but I’m imagining Sydenham, Snake, and not one, not two, but three approaches up Rattlesnake!! I was planning on doing the Tour de Waterloo on the 22nd, but a day of pain with fellow Velominati sounds more rewarding. I’ll see if I can get my brother–@Duncan–in on this as well. (Should we move this discussion to the Cogals thread?)
@Steampunk
@freddy
Okay, I didn’t see the posting in the Cogals section, must have missed it. I have to think that moving the thread makes sense.
I have made an attempt to resume the discussion over in the Cogals section. You’ll find the post there – hope this is appropriate.
Any tips for maintain Speed play cleat positioning when removing the million screws and parts?
@DerHoggz I assume this should be achievable no matter which cleat you use, but it’s something I do with my Times. Trace around the outline of the cleat with lead pencil (or something else that will show on your sole), now you know exactly where to put your new cleats.
My new handmade wheels are on their way from NZ. Pacenti SL23s laced to White Industries hubs with DT aerolite spokes. The maker recommends low tyre pressures with wide rims – 18mm internal. So with 25mm tyres his chart says only 65psi front and 70 rear (rider weight 55-65kg). Can’t wait to try them out.
@geoffrey Looks great. Please report back, I am considering a very similar setup.
@DerHoggz
I always put my speedplays as far back as they will go, on any shoe, and set them in the center of their side to side position. And I’m done.
@VeloJello really like that bike, very reminiscent of the Euskatel Orbeas.
Enough with the shiny new bikes…
anyone want a true classic?
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/bik/4456008027.html