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 ...
@wiscot
@Ron
Thanks very much for your comments chaps. Only had a really quick shakedown spin on it, just couple of k on a mixture of road & flat singletrack with a few roots, really impressed so far, it could be the best of both MTB and road. It’ll take 650b MTB wheels and tyres as well, it’s quite a versatile bike.
@Geraint
Love the look, nice choice of color. It looks like you’ve selected gearing for pulling stumps out of the field or doing 30% climbs!
@Steve Trice
So after a 50k shakedown through the hills (including a wet descent & a gravel climb), I’m a fan. Had them inflated to 7bar/110psi, which is the bottom of their advised range, personally I reckon I could drop it another 5-10 psi, but there was just a little more ‘give’ & softness to them.
Another factor that didn’t work in the Veloflexes favour is that they advise to not run them on anything wider than a 23mm rim (something not advertised except in the finest of print on the instruction booklet), my HED Ardennes are a 25mm rim, so they were probably being asked to do too much.
@Ron
Pics or it didn’t happen! Yeah, it’s the little details that make it shine, like the brandname in the dropouts, BB, stuff like that. And make it shine even more with a shiny gruppo, love the classic look of the Athena group.
@Mikael Liddy
25c Pave’s on Ardennes at 110 psi is very high. I’ve been running and racing Pave’s on the Ardennes and Jet + wheel sets for years. The 24’s (green skunk strip down middle), 25’s and 28’s (newer green side walls). I’ve run century rides on rough roads w/as low as 75 on front. 80’s work fine. Depending on my mood I might inflate rear to 90+ but not often. I’m around 77 kg myself fwiw.
I still have sets of Pave’s to make it thru another winter season but after that ?? Not sure what I’ll move to. Especially if I get back to the Rouge Roubaix race next spring. Hard to believe they no longer want to make these.
Don’t be afraid to push the lower limits and really find the sweetspot for yourself w/the wide rim bed concept and these super tires.
Cheers
Has anyone used Vittoria’s Magic Mastik on tubulars for cyclocross? As per the instructions?
New project/addition to the fleet: Genius tubed Campione del Mondo in
Celestemidnight blue. Looking forward to adorning it in shiny record bits from the vault. As @piwakawaka said a while back in a moment of sheer brilliance and which has ever since smouldered on my consciousness: Thank fuck for the bikes!@DVMR
Nice. Love the chrome fork.
My newest addition is hear from Belgium!!
Ascender Pure in Columbus XCR Stainless Steel.
-Eddie
@DVMR
Midnight blue? Looks purple! And purple is my favorite color. Lovely bike.
My Casati Laser has Genius tubing and it’s my favorite bike to ride. Enjoy!
Jaysus, Eddie! I guess when you can print money you can afford stainless steel bikes…
@Ron
It is purple! And a really nice, deep metallic purple too. Think it was called midnight blue though, very hard to find any info on it, from the interweb at least. Seems like a pretty rare beast then. Only catalogue scans I could find were of illegibly low resolution.
Yeah, looking forward to testing the genius, it’s scarily light. Always wanted a casati too. Someday perhaps.
@EBruner
Beautiful! You have an Interceptor, too, correct? I’m anxious to hear how they compare.
My newest addition to the stable, in all it’s 80’s glory… The may actually be bike # “S”, as I believe my CX bike I got in January was s-1.
@Bart
Cheers. Yeah, the chrome is in great shape for a 20 year old bike.
@DVMR
Gorgeous. Love that fork – love it! So elegant and graceful.
Yeah, this is going to be nice! Not the stem that’s staying on it, it’s just there for now,
-Eddie
@MangoDave
Sweet – I was looking at a new Somec just a few days ago, absolutely gorgeous, with custom pantographed components all over it. Way out of my price range unfortunately (would have definitely been bike # S if I’d bought it).
@EBruner
I just involuntarily made a noise I generally tend to reserve for the bedroom…fucking he’ll that’s beautiful.
@Randy C
I suspected as much, figured I’d start with the advised amount & adjust from there…
@MangoDave
Is this ex-FYXO? It’s a beautiful machine…
Love the Bianchi, and the Jaegher too.
@MangoDave
Very nice Somec. Perfect 90’s paint. I like.
@EBruner
Jaegher looks great. Look forward to seeing it built and a ride comparison with the Spirit tubed one.
@Oli
Thanks for the comment, Oli. Your question didn’t make sense to me, though. Even my good friend Google didn’t help much. I’m in the US, as far as I know the bike never was in Australia, if that’s what you mean.
@fignons barber
Thanks. The paint is on thhis one flawless, not a mark or a scratch anywhere. The Wolber rims don’t even have marks from the brake pads. That won’t keep me from riding it, though.
This is my second Somec, the other one is slightly older with Super Record. It’s well-ridden, shows plenty of signs of use, like a badge of honor. Rides beautifully.
@wiscot
Me too. Used to prefer the more angular/traditional fork crowns, but these have definitely grown on me recently.
@MangoDave
Yep, that’s what I meant – I was referring to FYXO in Australia. Andy had a similar one for sale for some time so I wondered if you had bought it. Thanks for the clarification.
Parts collection for the Gios build is coming along nicely. Wheels arrived today vintage Campag Record on Mavic rims. Particularly pleased with this though. Managed to find a NOS chainring and a set of cranks that were scruffy with knackered chainrings (so were cheap) but cleaned up nicely for the NOS rings.
@Teocalli
Well now you don’t stink.
@universo
Ha Ha!
@Teocalli
Gonna “quote” here because that chainset is . . . gorgeous. They sure don’t make them like that anymore!
@wiscot
I love those old Stronglight cranks as they have 86 BCD so you can make a modern compact – great for my old and knackered body.
After a scan and consultant visit my right knee is somewhat on it’s last leg – pun intended. So it needs all the TLC gearing I can give it.
New old bars and stem on Old Faithful. Cinelli Pinocchio CrMo quill stem and Nitto B176 Dream bars. And some Dia Compe BRS-101 brakes so that things will eventually come to a stop at the bottom of the hill, which wasn’t happening with the purely decorative Colbalto calipers before them…
Nice. I just love those engraved bars.
Talking vintage brakes, I used to buy genuine vintage Campy replacement blocks but just swapped to modern Koolstop equivalents. I can stop now! Finally dawned on me that the thing about vintage blocks is that they have effectively cured solid. Trouble is, now my brakes squeal. Have to look at my own advice a while back re toe in!
@osbk67
Beautiful!
A quick snap before I take it out for the first ride.
-Eddie
@EBruner
Jaegher Ascender Pure Frame
Super Record ’15
Royce Hubs
H Plus Son Archetype Rims
Zipp Stem and bars
@EBruner
ooooooooooooo
Do you think bikes suffer FRB worries? Will I make it? Will I have a mechanical? Will it be good?
Gios ready to go on FRB later today. Big grin time.
Mega pleased with some of the components I managed to find. Callipers in great condition, though strictly speaking from a bit later era, that chainring. Saddle is one I had lying around so still to decide whether to get vintage style or a modern Brooks. Need to redo the bar tape, not sure about the red stitching too but that was all the LBS had in white the other day. Seat post will get a highlight in the grooves as was the trend in the era but Red or Red/White/Green?
Blue is not quite Gios blue but that was how it came to me. May get a true Gios makeover next year.
Looks like I’ll be joining the tubular ranks next week;just sourced a pair of 38mm carbon tubular wheels,basically chinese rims on dtswiss hubs with spam spokes but best of all come fitted with FMB paris-roubaix tubs.Get a spare tub(not FMB) plus some sealant thrown in on the deal too plus the skewers and pads.
Looking forward to giving them a try and see what difference they make from the Hunt alloys and open paves,should get them Tuesday so not long to wait.
Of course that’s Sapim spokes,not the Python ones,,,,
@Teocalli
The story of 3 TTT bars is worth a read. Tecnologia del Tubo Torino. Now, I’m guessing you already knew this history. I didn’t. And I have modern C 3T bars on my CAAD10 today. So now I know! So cool and much respect for all you dudes that keep these classic beauties on the road today. Thanks and Cheers
A few fettlin’ issues – good job my LBS was at the half way point! Great ride. Those boys back then knew a thing or two about building steel frames.
@Teocalli
fantastic job, stick with the tape just mind the gap, and definitely the Italian tricolour on the seat post. Great you’re riding it not hanging it on your wall…
@EBruner
I like it, looks all business. first impressions versus the Spirit tubed one?
@Teocalli
There’s only one saddle that belongs on there and that’s a white Rolls!
Sweet, sweet ride. If it were me though, I’d have to go with toe-clips on there.
@Gianni
did i buy this off you ?
@DVMR
It will have toe clips, just not got there yet and wanted to ride it so pulled the clips of #9 bike as it’s not raining at the moment.
Had a bit of an off yesterday, Angus and I were riding in the Randonne des Chateaux when we over lapped wheels. I was following and lost the bike out from underneath me, catapulted over a fence, down a bank and landed on my head. Once I’d eventually dragged myself off the ground I checked the bike over to find that I’d rolled off a short section of tubular where the front wheel hit the fence and scuffed a shifter. Looking at it today, it looks like I may not have been quite so lucky, there’s a small star shaped crack on the top tube. I’m going to get it properly checked out when I get back home but it’d be interesting to hear if anyone else has suffered similar?
I’m not going to say that my helmet saved me from greater injury or worse but I’m glad it had it on.