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 do post the video.
That should have read that the new drop from saddle to bars was 11cm…not 11 mm.
Here’s the final setup on the Cannondale…
@kixsand you see a lot of pros riding their saddle pushed forward on a set back post.
@RedRanger
Which is like wearing bell-bottoms, isn’t it? (Not a *bad* thing.)
@kixsand
“Final”? /cough/ steerer tube /cough/
Handsome bike!
Sorry. “final” was a poor choice for a descriptor. I meant final for the set up of the bike…riding position, if you will. there is still some work to be done…tape on the handlebars for a start…
@kixsand Hotness..
@Beers
When I showed the bike to my 11 year old son he went all agog and said…”Wow, it’s bbbeeeaaauuutttiiifffuuulll. Does mom know”?
My Spesh Camber Comp 29er. Pretty stock. Pedals are Crank Brothers 50/50 Mallet 3 flats.
@wilburrox No. No no no no, #fullkitwankers.
Just a bit of a bike, and I can’t believe how much I spent on it.
Had to take a video before it gets hidden away in the BB.
http://vimeo.com/110710222
(Link only – embed from Vimeo tells me the video doesn’t exist for some reason. It does though).
Ceramic Speed. They are pretty amazing I have to admit.
Ah, OK now it says there was a processing error.
First time I’ve used Vimeo rather than You Tube – probably the last as well. Will have to re-upload from home this evening.
@kixsand Wonderful bike and a great deal. Glad it worked out so perfectly in terms of fit. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to preach – a good fit is the single best bike-related purchase one can make. Once you have “a fit” you can always transfer the coordinates, or at least the lessons learned.
@kixsand
And that is the story of life right there in those words!
@kixsand
My 10 year old son said almost the exact same thing when I met him at his bus stop after school on the new Focus cross bike.
@piwakawaka
Many moons ago and before I’d stumbled on to this site and the rules I noted some cat showed up at a local race in full Sky team kit and didn’t exactly rep well. I thought that the team kit thing probably wasn’t a really good idea. I have to say however that if I had the very cool black and white Giant bike of chrismurphy92, I’d wear a black and white Giant-Shimano team kit. Just on the occasional club ride where its perfectly fine to give your buddies an easy reason to poke fun at ya. That’s a good looking bike and the Giant-Shimano kit is a good looking kit. And looking good counts for something. Cheers
OK here we go… spinning loveliness
Bearings from Christopher OHearn on Vimeo.
@kixsand 3.5cm up on the Saddle Height!!!
Good god man!?! Did you not take the time to casually observe yourself in shop windows whilst riding and think “Hmm… I seem to be chewing on my knees a bit, maybe I should raise the saddle?“
Nice bike!
@wilburrox
Yeah, I’m torn on it. The Giant-Shimano kit does look good. However, it is not MY team so it would be tough to wear. I’ll have to post of photo in my team/club kit.
@chrismurphy92
oh, FFS! Have none of you read Rule #17? If you really want some Giant kit, this would also work pretty well with that scheme.
Before fitting…
http://youtu.be/MI8IQmYlRWM
After fitting…
http://youtu.be/JrYJFskRc6k
@kixsand Thank Merckx (and your fitter). In that 1st video you look like you’re ready to “drop the kids off at the pool”.
Okay, (3.5 cm… @PeakInTwoYears could have fit on your bike) I’ll stop now.
@Mikael Liddy
I agree, it would look good on that bike. But not as good as the Giant-Shimano kit. That’s what I’d wear every now and then if I were riding that very good looking black and white Giant bike. The whole don’t wear a pro team kit? Even if it would work so well? My opinion, that bike, and that kit… would work. Very well. I’d be a Giant-Shimano fan just because my bike and their kit looked so good together.
@kixsand
I’m interested in the specific changes made to improve your position so dramatically. Eyeballing the two vids it looks like your seat was raised and the stem is longer. Can you tell us how much was changed where?
@wilburrox in that case you may just want to abide by the Masturbation Principle.
@Mikael Liddy all right, all right… Good point. I’d have never suggested to kixsand a Cannondale kit is just the ticket to go with his new ride. Cannondale kits are fugly. And I wouldn’t suggest to chrismurphy92 that a black and white Rapha Classic jersey would be sharp w/that bike… not that it wouldn’t, it’d just be an uninteresting point to make. I do really like that black and white Giant bike. And it reminds me that of all the UCI pro team kits, the black and white Giant Shimano is one of the better. Cheers
@teleguy57
Saddle went up 3.5 cm
Stem went from 110 to 135
Handlebars went from 15cm drop – 10 cm reach – 44 width to 12.5cm drop – 8cm reach – 42 width
Handlebars went up 1 cm – as high as they would go, which still left a pretty significant drop 12.5 cm from saddle to bars. On the Cannondale we could slam the stem and decrease the drop to a slightly more comfortable 11.5 cm.
My leg extension went from 128 degrees to 145 with the changes.
@kixsand
Thanks. So from a reach perspective, you were 2.5cm on stem and -2cm on bar reach for a net of 5mm reach to the hoods on the front end. Did your saddle setback change with the change in height, and how did your reach to the hoods change overall?
Also, your bars went up 1cm, and your saddle went up 3.5 cm for a net change of -2.5 cm saddle to bar top, but the reach to the drops remained consistent? (-2.5 on bar height but -2.5 less bar drop)? Interesting to see how things changes across the board.
@wilburrox yeah it’s definitely a nice looking kit…got a closer look at it myself earlier in the year when the boys were out here for the TDU.
and no, I didn’t call Kittel out on the Rule #7 violation, those guns coming out the sleeveless jersey looked bigger than the ones I had powering my bike!
I should have just posted this in the first place.
So, imagine you’ve just taken delivery of a brand new $5k bike (purchased from your not-regular lbs) after 3 months of waiting.
First ride out, you pull one of your famous Saganesque wheelies & as the front wheel lands the bars spin 90 degrees downwards. Add this to less than perfect fit, way too long cables flapping about the head tube & poorly adjusted shifting, and you’d be starting to get pissed off with said bike shop.
Take it to your local lbs to sort out the build & fit, second ride goes just as planned, life is starting to look up.
Meet up for the regular Wednesday night smashfest, you start talking up how nice the bike is starting to feel on the way to climb #1, 500m in to the climb you get out of the saddle & PING, there goes the chain…
Got a feeling my mate has a massive case of buyer’s regret for choosing a different, “large” brand to replace his ‘dale that lost an argument with his carport roof!
This has probably been asked V-million times…but how do you upload photos here?
I’ve got no idea how to add a picture to my profile, and I’d also like to upload a photo of my new #1.
@RobSandy At the bottom of the screen, you will see a text box where you typed your earlier message. Just above the text box there are formatting keys for changing text to Bold, Italics etc.
Above those formatting keys, you will see two icons, one for a camera and another one for a film reel. Click on the camera icon to upload images. Once you upload something it loads in the text box as an image and you can type more stuff below it prior to posting.
Like the ‘dale, Kix.
And, like that Ridley cx. I’ve got a black and white Van Dessel Gin & Trombones cx bike. Love keeping it simple for cross. Just a ride/race tool. Simple, no guilt in getting it dirty or scuffing the paint. And, it reminds me of my BMX bike I had as a kid. Ol’ BMX for adults, for sure.
@Ron
My beater cross bike for the season, and what a hoot it’s been:
Not as cool as a made in the US of A Van Dessel for sure. Still, I’m getting full utility value and big grins from the ol’ hard tail. Cheers!
May, or may not have been posted before.
http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/blog/rule-47-beer
@PanzerPuss
Only true of you’re a registered user AND logged in. If not, those icons aren’t there.
David
Here we go!
@RobSandy
Nice set up! You very hydrated before each ride or a Rule #32 violator? Oh, valves to 6 o’clock.
@sthilzy
I never wear a hump!
No, it’s brand new, not got around to sticking a bidon cage on yet. I didn’t spend the time to align the vale stems or take the caps off. I also need to remove the geek disk.
I have recently changed my thinking regarding the EPMS and no such thing will be disgracing this bike.
@sthilzy
@sthilzy
And since that photo was taken I’ve been out for my first ride, a fully Rule #9 compliant blast during my work lunch break. Can I have my badass hat now please?
I was however, breaking Rules #27, #33, #34, #39, #45, #50, #58, #60 and #90. And because of the inclement weather I wore my OJA (variant of the YJA), but there isn’t actually a rule against that.
@kixsand
Hi, not sure if you’ve seen this – interesting (long) video about bike fitting:
http://www.velodaily.com/this-is-a-real-eye-opener-bike-fit-explained/2/
@kixsand So good to see it all work out mate
@markb
This is a very similar approach to what I experienced with the gentleman that I worked with on my fit. We spent 5 hours together. We talked a lot about my goals and where I was currently with my cycling. We talked about previous injuries and subsequently discovered that an old injury where I broke my elbow playing hockey was preventing my left arm from straightening as much as my right arm. We ended up compensating for this by changing the placement of the left hood slightly to bring it closer to me. We spent more than an hour on my feet – I ended up purchasing a great set of insoles with adjustable arch support to keep my foot from collapsing under load. We discovered that I suffer from a fair bit of foot varus in both feet that he addressed with shims under each cleat to prop up the inside of my foot to a more neutral position.
@kixsand Sounds familiar, I had a fitting at Bespoke Cycling in London, last year. After what was in the end some very minor adjustments and a new set of narrower bars the aches and pains I used to get after a couple of hours in the saddle disappeared! It’s the one thing I insist fellow cyclists get now telling them that the couple of £100 they were about to spend on some worthless gimmick would be far better invested.
@RobSandy
@RobSandy
Good to hear about your decision regarding the EPMS… now about that “thing” on your stem (I used one too in my first year, until i realized it was telling me what I already knew and a bunch of stuff I didn’t need)
My new ‘old’ bike – a 2001 Colnago Titanio with Campy Chorus and Record shifters, Campy Zonda wheels and 3T cockpit. The original paintwork was wrecked beyond repair, so the paint was removed and the raw titanium exposed. Smooth as butter and light as a feather (unlike me.)