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 ...
@kixsand
This pleases me muchly, I see some masters in my future once this set of 4000’s have run their distance.
@G’rilla that triple3 fab is still one of the smoothest looking cx rigs ive seen
@kixsand those NP’s, they are weight weenie light yea? never see many of them around here, but when I do they always catch my attention.
@Deakus throw it in the trash bin. use it as a stretching rim for your tubulars
@frank looking clean with the wheels tidied up. will this be the hotn horse of choice?
did d2r2 the other week and went with black fizik tacky. the white was pretty horrendous after a few minutes. as much as i love the campagnolo bike, the shimano 9070 is balls.
@ChrissyOne Looks great Chrissy! Hope we get to ride together again soon….
@Barracuda how much luggage did you need for a weekend road trip that you ran out of space in the car & started loading up your bike?
@Gianni
That is precisely why I already adore them. What a massive difference! I rode around the schoolyard in figure 8s just because it was so damn fun.
And on smooth tarmac they just vanish. Almost silent.
@Mikael Liddy
Ahhh, see, I was waiting for it !
I wasnt going to mention the war, but now you’ve gone and done it!
I have no excuses to offer other than its a broken rule. Masturbation Principle and all.
Bert @Oxygen Cycles made me get an Arundel Uno.
Im innocent “your honor “
@frank
Looking sleek, my friend. I think she looks better with white tape too.
Sad news – Cycling has lost a grandfather.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/09/news/giovanni-nani-pinarello-dies-92_344049
@sthilzy
Indeed. RIP. Just as I’ve bought a 1995 Steel Pinarello addition to my Pinarello stock – being a grand total of 2. Waiting on delivery.
I’ll try this again…from my computer this time instead of the iPad. My boy – Jack – cleaning his steed and making his old man proud.
@roger
@kixsand those NP’s, they are weight weenie light yea? never see many of them around here, but when I do they always catch my attention.
The Bura SL that I have is reasonably light weight – I think they market the frame as 710 grams in wee man size. My 56 is 760g. With Ultegra Di2 and fairly normal bits and pieces otherwise my bike tips the scales at 15.75 lbs.
There are very few around Toronto as they’re not really distributed in Canada. Mine came up from the US. I’ve enjoyed the bike a lot this year – really nice. The geometry and styling is fairly distinctive and so it has been a bit of a conversation starter on group rides – “Neil Pryde – I thought they made surf boards”!, is usually how it starts…
@G’rilla
Those little stud finder products don’t work for shit. I assume that it’s because it gets confused when I’m holding it and it’s like, “found the stud, he’s right here.”
@roger
Nope, HOTN needs at least a 32mm tire; I’ll be riding the CCX with Clement LAS tubeless tubulars.
That new fizik tacky stuff is amazing; the white gets dirty too quickly which is why I flirted with black on the #1. It was so good it was almost worth riding with black bars.
I put the tacky performance tape on the CCX which is padded more than the ultra light and that is just pure unadulterated heaven offroad.
@kixsand
Pedalwan! Love it!
@frank
[ The Emperor voice ] “Good, I can feel your awesomeness.
Your bars are defenseless.
Change your hoods to white.
White them down with all of your power and your journey towards the Light side will be complete!”
My beloved Nature boy in it’s natural habitat, taken in Pietro canyon San Gabriel Mts, getting giddy for cross to start mabye it will rain in LA tho winter
@kixsand well done
@frank what are “tubeless tubulars”?
@Nate
Thank you for asking. I thought it might be some species of Frankish witticism, but I was afraid it was just me.
@PeakInTwoYears
I reckon it is some sort of Velomi-zen koan. The kind of nonsense meditation that runs thru a nearly empty mind when one is deep into a long ride. If @frank doesn’t comment on it, we can be fairly sure that is its purpose.
@Nate
Tubulars that don’t have an inner tube.
Outer tubes are better, then.
@frank well I’ll be damned. How do they ride?
Just cos we’re doing the photos of bikes thing at the moment, here’s Sir Bike (geddit) waiting to carry me around the Adelaide hills for 130k’s today.
@Mikael Liddy
Looked good out there!
Okay, I suppose I have been drooling over photos of others’ rides here long enough, that I might as well show off my own.
This is the #1:
Came as a complete bike with full 105 and crappy OEM components and wheels. Little by little I replaced parts until all that was left from the day I bought it was the frame, headset, and saddle (which is not stock, but specially requested).
The #2:
@il muro di manayunk You’ve certainly got your position dialed in the same on both, judging by the saddle and bar heights.
Given the similarity between the bikes what makes the Bianchi #1 and the Felt #2 and do you use them for different things?
I found when my TCR replaced the Noah as Bike #1 that I hardly used the Ridley any more, until I comverted it to a TT bike. Now that it has a different set-up and function I alternate more regularly between them.
@The Grande Fondue
Looking good, was it you who had the Pinarello that looked much too large?
The CerBike looks good, to paraphrase crazy cat people, if it fits it sits.
@minion
No, I have a Wilier. Don’t have a good photo around – this will do:
@The Grande Fondue
It’s better than the alternative though……………
@ChrisO
The Felt generally gets used in wet/rainy/winter conditions, and also on my wind trainer (so that probably ends up being about half of my total distance ridden–give or take). The 105 groupsan is really perfect for those kinds of conditions; solid performance, but not too expensive, so I’m not afraid to take it out on the salt-encrusted roads in the middle of January.
The Chorus group on the Bianchi, on the other hand, I am compulsive about keeping dry and spotless.
@VeloJello
Yup, and check out the mini toe clips, matching gear and deliberately casual pose. That kid has won and a pedal hasn’t been turned.Half-wheeling the opposition on the start line is poor form though . . .
@VeloJello is that kid rolling 24″ Lightweights??
@il muro di manayunk
Beautiful!
Needs red tires tho. ;)
@Nate Photoshopped. And the fat lady is about to disqualify him for crossing the line and daring to appear in public in that kit.
It’s not been posted for a long time and it’s changed a bit – new bars (Rotundos in for Ergonovas), brakes (Ultegra for Tektros) and wheels (Ultegra just coz I felt like it).
Slightly odd location but I was bored waiting for a train on the way to Manchester.
@Chris what cranks are those?
@Nate Cannondale Hollowgram SI. Stiff as fuck and the spider is removable so you can switch between a compact for grovelling in the mountains or standard for crushing the pave.
The black versions look better but they were an ebay bargain I couldn’t turn down. The original black chainring got bent a few days before I went on holiday last year and the silver one was the only one I could get hold of easily. It’s a French one, TA Specialities, and shift beautifully.
@Chris cool
n+1 project just arrived. 1995 Steel Pinarello Sestriere. Totally unused.
@Chris
Black cranks are sexy and de riguer, but looking back at some of my old 90’s bikes the silver crank could easily make a revival. Plus you don’t get that annoying scuff/wear mark on them…
@Teocalli Sweet! A chap was riding one of these at the Haydon Hundred back in June. Beautiful bike.
As always, a lot of nice bicycles here. Strong work!
Frank, jeez, I hardly realized you had a VeloForma road bike and graveleur. Damn, that’s awesome. For now, I dig putting some wide slicks on my cx bike some days and hitting dirt roads. As well as being a change up from pure tarmac riding, it’s fun as well to change up your road riding geometry.
One day ridin’ racy, one day ridin’ a little bit less racy. Keeps things in the anti-static zone for me.
@Teocalli Now that is really a bit nice.
Because fall, ‘cross, and the gravel season are all coming.
(Forgive the broken rules; still sorting out this bike. And yes, it’s a Specialized. Bought before the bullshit with Cafe Roubiax, so it’s properly grandfathered…)
@minion it was a Fondriest, but yeah, that was it. Sloped & curved TT meant that to not cross the minimum insertion point of the seat post, the frame was too long & needed an 80mm stem to get close to fitting.
This one just fits so much better.
@Teocalli hot.damn! Daddy want…
@Teocalli Man, you are building a whole collection of beauties. I’m insanely jealous!
@Mike_P
Maybe I should gradually go for a classic from each decade since the 60s!