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 ...
@Teocalli
been getting the old Koga ready for the Eroica, putting on old toeclippedals (but do not have the old leather detto pietros anymore) and also put on Conti 4000 clinchers, 28mm. However, do they fit on a 13mm aluminum rim (measured inside)?
@KogaLover
Nice.
Sorry can’t help re the clinchers as I’ve never fitted anything that size. I’ve decided to run with my existing 25 mm Vittoria Roubaix tubs as they have done 2 Eroica Brit with a fair amount of offload (some of it very rough) and they are not cut at all. At least for the Eroica Brit next weekend then will look at their condition again.
We’re staying in the Hotel Walram right in the town from Friday through to Monday.
@ErikdR
@Oli
Got it. Thanks. I’ll give it a try.
@litvi
Uh yeah. That’s what it sounds like. I’ll tell that to the VMH. Everytime we ride, and I ride the Manufrance when we ride together, she grimaces and makes a comment about the brakes. I can safely say, she won’t buy the Gods of Mount Veloanything excuse!
@litvi
No, no, no, not scuffing the rims. It was suggested I lightly scuff the brake pads. But I know that won’t work, or is a temp fix at best. I like my 20lb chrome knurled/stamped/milled/whatever rims just the way they are!
@litvi
Perfect. Makes sense to me. I have no problem modifying old parts, I’m sure they were being modified in the early 70’s when new.
@litvi
If it doesn’t work, I may just as well send you the whole bike. Would you pay for shipping?
With all this talk of braking…do you lads “condition” new pads before putting them into calipers? Modern dual pivot Campa brakes, wondering if a bit of roughing up with a file is a useful for the pads prior to installation.
I don’t.
I do make sure the pads are aligned as well as possible to the rims, especially when changing wheelsets.
@Ron
I don’t but I do make sure I test brake after fitting new before I need them.
@sthilzy
Rumor has it Ofmega went out of business around the time they produced this abomination. Apparently, the workers wouldn’t go into the factory due to the ghost of Tullio Campagnolo walking around jangling a bag of sprockets.
Hi Oli & Teocalli – Got it, sounds good. Thanks for the input!
@Ron
If they squeak, and you need to toe them in, once you install the pad, it’s easy:
-loosen the torx bolt holding the brake shoe
-line up the pad with the rim
-fold a business card in half, and squeeze the brake with the business card between the back third of the brake pad and rim.
-tighten torx
@wiscot
In 1985 i thought my Modolo Speedys were awesome. Now they don’t seem to stop anything. Funny how out perspective changes with time.
@EBruner
Modolo’s nice! As a kid hanging out at LBS there was this box of Weinmann Delta brakes staring at me through the glass cabinet, playing with my mind to get them. Too many paper rounds to get those!
not finding much time to post lately, but wanted to share with the community a bike born from this shit-encrusted site.
she’s about 75% there
cheers, hope you all have been well!
@roger
That’s a beauty! Wow. Strong work.
“Shit-encrusted”? I’ll grant you the whiff of excrement lingers occasionally , but its hardly encrusted. That would apply to the comments sections of certain popular cycling websites.
Other than that, I’m fine, thank you. (Banned punctuation here)
@roger
What a super cool color way… like a burnt orange and spotted robin egg. Truly unique and I dig it very much. Is that a Seven cycles Axiom in alloy by chance? Cheers
@Randy C
or more likely is Ti yes? Like those seat tubes.
@roger
Is the bike called Kilroy by any chance?
I really like the uniqueness of that Seven. Well done.
massive mid life issues – solved. New rig as at 5pm today… Not best shot but you get the jist….
@smithers
Nice rig! You just might want to reflect on Rule #41, and position your front skewer just a bit more vertical (too much aero position now). Rearskewer looks spôh-on.
Rule #26: gundecks never on 90 or 180 degrees. And if you really want to make her shine, use a white door. (you saw a red door and you wanted to paint it black???)
Updated Graham Weigh after little shake-down run this morning.
Cinelli bars and stem added plus Fabric saddle(adjusted since) and spd pedals( this will get used as a commuter and that sometimes means walking about and using the train).
Think that’s it at the mo although a more in keeping cage(Arundel?)and some tan-walled Veloflex masters would be nice.
Hopefully a proper run on it tomorrow.
Knock me down with a feather but the VMBugitatus has approved another project. Was sorely tempted to put it into immediate action at the weekend but this needs thought. The Benotto was too small the Gazelle too large (that was a NOS rig), was sorely tempted by one of the Bianchi’s in that stock but by the time it really sunk in that I had approval it had gone!
@Teocalli
Where was that? I would have bought the lot of the Banesto hairnets.
@fignons barber
L’eroica Britannia bike jumble @ Bakewell in the Peak District
@Teocalli
Argh! Must get over to EB one of these years. That champion mondial! What a beaut!
@Teocalli
Damn, That Benotto is the fucking business!!
@EBruner
Agreed. The 70s and early 80s Benottos were sweet looking bikes
thank fuck for the bikes…
@KogaLover
@smithers
That’s a great snapshot of a very cool bike right there. Cheers
@smithers
beautiful, such an awesome frame, I reckon you need to rotate your bars down just a couple mm…
@bovary1031
Mmmmmm. Benotto.
@frank
At the risk of being labelled a heretic, I like that Benotto even more than Merckx’s Hour Bike
@KogaLover
Agreed – a lovely bike.
On the subject of the crank angle – I often find that the most pleasing angle is that which reflects the angle of the down tube.
Thus;
Yes – I know the bars are in complete disarray – they are fixed now. And look (and feel) all the better for it.
@Teocalli
Holy Shit! Where is/was this??? It is near impossible to find a Belgian Hairnet in the US for under $100, and even then there is never a large or XL size available. And those bikes!!! Momma Mia!
@Buck Rogers
Bakewell UK last weekend at L’eroica UK. Yeah I should have rummaged through that lot as the only ones on other stands were all small. The £5 though was the box below – over here they do seem to be in the $100 area too.
Off to L’eroica NL in a week’s time so will take a look there too.
@fenlander
Well Veloflexes ordered and I’ve bagged a metal cage for all of £2.
@fenlander
Nice!
@fenlander
Congrats on pulling the trigger on the veloflexes (master 25s?). You won’t regret it. Been riding them for a couple of years now and they are superb.
As it happens, I’ve been pondering on buying an old GW frameset made of Reynolds 731 OS, with 531 forks. Not a builder or a tubeset I’m overly familiar with, but an interesting frame nonetheless. Unfortunately, the original paint is in slightly poor condition.
@DVMR
At the risk of starting yet another discussion of ti(y)res, I put on Master 25’s at the start of this season and had two pinch flats in three rides! On the Conti’s I’ve had one or two flats – ever.
The Veloflexes looks fantastic but the sidewalls are far too supple. FYI, inflated to just below 100 psi and, I’m a lightweight. Roads around here are shit.
@Bespoke
I ride Vittoria on 5 of my bikes , but I have Veloflex on my Jaegher. I have to agree about the sidewalls. I have torn the sidewall on broken asphalt pavement more than once.
I have Veloflex Roubaix (Tubs) on The Butler and ridden on tracks and some really dodgy trails and bad roads and touch wood barely a mark in 3 years.
@Bespoke
Sorry to hear that. My masters have served me well. No flats so far (touch wood). I’m a lightweight too, and my roads aren’t great either, but I run them around 105-110psi
@EBruner
I think it’s their suppleness that I really like about them. I’ve also hit some potholes pretty damned hard with them too. Hard enough that I was surprised they didn’t flat. Anyway, I’m no sales rep for veloflex or anything so…
I’ve always had good luck with Veloflex and I’m a big chap.
@DVMR
@Oli
Maybe I’ve been running them with too low pressure, maybe I was unlucky or maybe the roads here are even shittier. Anyway, shame to remove them as they looked really nice on the Litespeed. Argh – more discussion about ti(y)res.
@Bespoke
I’ve been using vittoria and veloflex exclusively for the last 15 years. They both have a different feel. With veloflex, you have more of a feel for the road. With vittoria, they have a more “pillowy” feel. Since I got a garmin in 2009, I’ve tracked mileage. For some reason, I get over 2x the mileage on veloflex and far fewer punctures. The only down side to veloflex is that the sidewall is thinner, and they are undersized. I measured the width (bead to bead laying the tire flat):
veloflex master 25mm – 6.5cm wide
vittoria graphene+ 25mm – 7.1cm wide
vittoria corsa sc 23mm – 6.5cm wide
As you can see, a veloflex 25mm is equal to a vittoria 23mm.
@roger
Sweet baby jesus! At least you have been up to no good while you’ve been away. That is some damn paint job, my brother. Damn, I say gawd damn. Very nice and unusual.
@sthilzy
And green too. I was trying to tell someone about this green plastic rear derailleur I saw way back in the 80s. It blew my damn mind when I saw it. I never saw another, it must have been an Ofmega. It’s funny Oli had one and they sucked. Still, the pink one, some Italian must have put one on a pink Giro bike back in the day.