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 ...
Okay, I’m stumped on this one and hoping one of ya can save me some time & energy.
Putting together a cruisin’ bike for the VMH for her birthday on July 4th. Picked up some nice slightly rising Giant mtn. bars at the LBS yesterday. 31.8 clamp diameter, 26.0 diameter along the bars. I was hoping to put on some inline/BMX style 2-3 finger pull brake levers. I have some in-line cross brakes, but as they mount near the clamp, they’re too big for the bars. I’d rather not shim them and besides that, the pull is funny (I won’t go into it, you’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever seen/worked on them).
I’d like to find some simple brakes for 26.0 mm bars. All I can seem to find is 22.2 for BMX or 31.8 for clamping near the stem.
Anyone know of simple two-finger style “BMX” like brakes with a 26.0 clamp diameter? These are modern, new Giant bars, seems like there has to be a mtn. brake lever that would fit them. I’ll be darned if I can find any. (LBS – one is closed today, one didn’t have shims or any brakes that would work).
In search of more info, and the British Championships has me thinking about a question I’ve had for awhile.
Are racers paid/supported by their trade teams at the national races? How and why? (I guess a trade team is pumped to have someone ride all year in a Champs jersey.) And who provides mechanical support? Does Sky and OGE send their mechanics? And how does it work with the bikes…Sky is supported/contracted with Pinarello. How does it work during National Champ races?
@unversio @wilburrox thanks fellas
@Ron
Yes, the pro teams seem to ride it like any other race. The Sky riders turned out in full team kit, riding Pinarello F8s, followed around by the Jags, and climbed into the Death Star (which was taking up half the car park) with their winnings when they’d finished. Same for OGE, Madison Genesis, Rapha Condor JLT etc etc (apart from the winning bit). Sky had five blokes in the race, which I suppose put them at an advantage, which they used to work over the Yates twins (OGE) towards the end. Other teams (Garmin Sharp / David Millar, Movistar / Alex Dowsett) only had one rider each, although they did show a degree of inter-team working when they both abandoned and rode back together.
@Ron
Some of the Dia Compe one/two finger BMX levers (Goldfinger?) come with a shim for road bars. If you really don’t want a shim, how about cross levers made to mount on the 26mm sleeve/bulge of road bars? Paul’s are nice. Just reverse the routing so it’s pulling the cable instead of pushing the housing. Looks weird but works fine, as long as you don’t need an adjuster at the lever.
Geraint – thanks for the info!
pistard – thank you! As I thought, I was being a fucking jerk. 22.2 diameter is the modern mtn. size, so I put on some Avid finger pull levers with some mtn. rising bars, and mated with some road calipers. It all works well.
Happy Canada Day! The VMH is getting a new steed three days ahead of her July 4th birthday and the headtube has a Maple Leaf painted on it. Fuckin’ sweet.
Enjoy your Tuesdays, my friends.
@Ron Ted King wrote a pretty expansive post on his blog a couple of years ago about what was involved for he & Timmy Duggan to compete in the US nationals when Liquigas provided very limited support.
Similarly out here in Oz, everyone kinda gets the shits up with OGE having 12 or so riders entered & working everyone else over while guys like Porte, Evans & Hansen basically have to fend for themselves.
Went to the LBS to get a new pair of gloves, accidentally walked out with a new saddle. First ride felt pretty good, still have some tweaking to do before I know if it’s a keeper.
Specialized Toupe Comp Gel on a ’12 CAAD10:
Preparing the rain bike for sale now that I have 2 ‘cross bikes that do the job. Shined up pretty well.
@G’rilla for fuck’s sake man, have you no pride? Surely you know better than to put your bike up here before checking for Rule #26 & Rule #41 compliance!
I’m not angry, just disappointed.
@Mikael Liddy, @G’rilla
I’m actually just jealous, so in addition, I’m going to point and laugh at the length of the inner tube valves.
@Mikael Liddy @andrew
Meh, instead of calling him out for rule violations, why not give him the benefit of the doubt and instead ask him why he hasn’t fixed the clearly non-functioning front mech and/or shifter?
@Geraint Nice. And I thought we’d left the door open for a Rule #45 debate pretty well wide open, too, but yours has subtlety.
G’rilla – Yup, when it rains I either ride cross or toss spare road wheels on my cross bike and ride on the road. My rain road bike sees very little use these days, considering selling it off too. But…I fear I might regret it. Nothing special, but a solid steel De Bernardi that I kinda dig. One of my riding pals says he won’t let me sell it.
My Italian piece…
Mmmmmmmmm . . . . tan sidewalls. Just one bottle cage?
@wiscot
Rule =78?
52 dollar bargain at the right length will convince me to revert back to 31.8 bars — with Rotundo.
@G’rilla
error, on the belgium and france part, but still a Rule #12 violation.
@G’rilla
Whilst we’re at it, the taping job looks a bit loose in the bend on the tops and around the bar plugs.
@RedRanger
+1 on the basis that -1 does not compute.
Post-Ontario Cogal 3.0, I discovered I had a cracked rim (that could be a euphemism, but nevertheless…). Repair vs. replace. Shiny new bike bits built up at the local LBS. Collected them today. In keeping with my affinity for Swedish automotive engineering.
DT Swiss 240s + HED Belgium rims. Tomorrow, while the family toils away at a streetwide yard sale, I’ll be mounting cassette (Shimano 6600), latex tubes, & Vittoria Open Corsa tires. I may also make sure they roll smoothly.
@Steampunk Glad to know you took care of that issue properly. Let us know how smoothly they roll.
@Bespoke
Will do.
Next summer: tubeless? Yea or nay?
@Steampunk
Tubular. Do it properly.
@Steampunk
Now that’s a tasty wheelset! Treat it to a DA7900 cassette, they go for cheap these days with 9000 out…
@tessar
The rest of the Group-san is 6600, so there’s a symmetry there. Ultegra’s good stuff. I tend to abide by the law of diminishing returns in most things cycling related.
But the ride? Butter!!
@Steampunk
Seriously? You can tell a difference from the previous wheelset (before the crack)?
@Steampunk HED’s + wheelsets in my mind are concept proven. I’ve run 23 mm and 25 mm tires on both Jet + and Ardenne + and at 70 psi up to 90+ psi. And set up properly the wheels can glide over roughest of chip seal and moonscape tarmac. I’ve been contemplating mounting some 30 mm tires on the Ardennes for some local gravel riding after having a recent run on 25’s that weren’t ideal for the dry, loose, sandy, conditions. Tubeless? Why bother? I’ve run tubeless on an Ultegra wheelset that I’ve since sold along with the tires. I wouldn’t mess – literally – with the tubeless again on my road bikes. No benefit beyond what can be accomplished with the wide rim bed on the HED + wheelsets. My opinion. You’ll love the new Belgium +’s I’m speculating. Cheers.
@Bespoke
Wide wheels make a huge difference. In this case, that’s a 25mm rim, the widest aluminium rim that’s not of touring/MTB weight. Compared to puny regular 19/20mm rims, the difference is like running tyres that are 4mm wider than before.
@Steampunk Ultegra’s amazing, but Shimano’s 7900/6700 cassettes are a significant – and by now, inexpensive – improvement over the 6600/7800 generation. I’m running a hybrid 6700 and 7800 drivetrain, and I definitely prefer the 6700 cassette over the 7800. Previous-gen parts are running dirt-cheap now that 11-speed has hit the scene.
But don’t mind me, I’m just grumpy because I retired my beautiful DA7800 crank in favour of these newfangled powermetering thingies. Never selling that one – one day I’ll find a classic steel steed worthy of it’s shine, gleam and sublime shifting. Custom steel, 7800 Dura Ace and H+Sons TB14 wheels – now that’s a dream.
VERY sad news to report: My #1, Canyon Ultimate CF SLX, has been destroyed. After a training race, I was riding home with a group of guys. I was on the front as we pulled through a town, just doing tempo. There was a 6 foot “ornamental” section of brick road crossing the street. Unfortunately there were 3 bricks missing in the section, obscured by shadow. Next thing I hear is an explosion of my front tire, skidding sideways, bouncing off the curb, and then flipping over the bars. My knee must have hit the TT, which broke. Sore today, but nothing to keep me off the bike. I was being philosophical afterwards, saying the last time I crashed was in 2000. 14 years, 100’s of races, can’t complain.
Now I need to find a new frame quick, as Canyon is apparently sold out for the year! I have discovered two things: frames are expensive, and it is difficult to find “frameset only” sales (but please sir, I don’t WANT 105, I ride campag).
My short list so far is Ridley Helium, or maybe Cervelo’s 2014 R3.
Yikes, that is bad news about your Canyon. Glad you are trying to be positive about it, and not too roughed up.
Heck yeah, I haven’t made any major purchases in a long time. Just chains, tires, etc. Coughing up $2000 seems insane when you haven’t done it in awhile. Wait, what? I’m about to spend what…for a frameset!?!
I picked up my LOOK as just a frameset from Excel in CO. It is nearing new model time though, I’m pretty sure, so maybe you can get a good deal on a closeout from last year?
Good luck. And just a reminder to all of us – even really seasoned rouleurs can be taken out in an instant, due to either bad luck or just a moment of inattentiveness. Stay focussed, lads!
@fignons barber Gutted for you, best wishes.
@fignons barber Glad to hear you are ok mate. After my own off I found it poignant to realise bike shit can be replaced, health and lives cannot, so as far as that goes, sacrificing the Canyon to the road gods was a win.. Hope you get back soon.
Thanks for the thoughts guys. Got up the mornings after, and just about every part of my body hurt. But did my scheduled training ride and felt fine. I did notice that my heart rate was about 8 or 10 beats higher than normal, probably the body working OT to handle the inflamation.
A friend of mine was able to arrange a good deal on a Scott Foil HMX at his local shop, $1700 for frame/fork/hs/seatpost. I am going back and forth between that and the Belgian simplicity of the Ridley Helium.
Violating more than just Rule #26, I know, but I’d like your thoughts on this please.
This is my #1. A mid 80s Bianchi. Campy Syncro (or Syncro II?) shifters and drivetrain, except the original 5 speed freewheel has been replaced with a 7 speed ti cassette on a Shimano wheelset. I still have the original Modolo brakes and levers, but the hoods had no room for my hands, so they’ve been replaced by (forgive me) Tektro.
Ok, clearly I’m incompetant. It wasn’t supposed to look like that.
@Triathlete
If all your races are TT’s, and all your training is for them, why the road bars? Why not make it a proper TT bike (and not a road bike with TT bars) with TT cockpit and profit from the better aero.
@Poppyseed not entirely your fault, the comments seem not to be shrinking the photos to fit the threads anymore.
@Mikael Liddy Thanks for that. I’ll repost once I’ve resized the photo manually.
Quick shot of the commuter…
@DCR Nice shot of the commuter!
@sthilzy
or even just “Nice commuter”
Pretty lengthy commute too by the looks of things……………
@Teocalli
The two bidon cages?
@Bespoke
Very lengthy commute?
Assuming this is Ti? Can’t see the badge, which frame maker? Work/Ride colleague rides a Sabbath Silk Road which is a beautiful bit frame work, as is yours.
@Bespoke
Indeed.
@VeloJello
It is a litespeed Vortex. The light 6/4 Ti makes for a wonderfully lite bike.
@Teocalli
Yes I do realize the bidon cages detract from the aesthetics. The bike was recently used for a bit of gravel/tarmac riding to the tune of 100+km and hadn’t changed up the configuration. No excuse for my lack of vigilance. Commute is usually 25km.
A snap of the newest ride. I hope since I ride Sewups, I can get a pass on
my dual bottle cages.