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 ...
@Cyclops
Sorry to hear. But sounds like the frame is ok. Hope the wrist gets better fast.
@Steampunk
A+1.
Honour demands no less.
@Cyclops
Ahhhhhh shit. I have a slight mark on my Ritchey Superlogic seat post and it drives me nuts. Can imagine what real damage is doing to you. Chin up.
Ready for spring. Finally got me a Marinoni frame as a complete bike with triumph bit that will go on ebay and then rebuild it with new veloce hand polished derailleur and cranks, suzue freewheels hubs laced to ambrosio nemesis rims and some dia compe dt shifters. It will also be the bike that i will use for the 200 on 100 cogal. Here is the bike in question
I also got myself a cheap bianchi to replace the pinarello as the university commuter, price: 250$ and it just need new tire and a new chain.
So bring on spring i am ready for you.
Wow, what a cool brace of bicycles!
Cool paint on that Marinoni!
A little late to the discussion of components but oh well. I have SRAM Force on my cross bike, Campagnolo Record, Centaur alloy, Centaur carbon on my road bikes, Shimano 105 10-speed on my commuter, and 105 9-speed on my rain bike.
I like SRAM, after some initial warming up. I earned my roadie wings on 105 8-speed and think I’ll always have some affinity for the lever action. Campagnolo fits my smaller hands well, shifts smoothly and flawlessly, though my 2009 still isn’t as silky as my other two. I’m hoping it’ll “break in” though. The new 10-speed 105 stuff is nice with the hidden routing but damn, there is a really sharp edge on the shifter that I don’t like. Can’t believe they didn’t catch this. Could see cutting my hand if racing and shifting under stress.
I guess I’m a compo-lygamist; I can’t have just one.
@Ron
Noticed on my 10spd ultegra(the current version) that sharp edge- I think it seems to catch side of index finger on the recoil. It’s annoying. Is it the same thing on the 105? One of the reasons I prefer SRAM for cross- less distracting. Huge improvement over 9spd ultegra shifter ergonomics though.
New build project: Italiano. I just picked up this frame (it had a fork too but the fork is shot so I’ll replace that) from a certain online auction site. Will build it up with 10sp record. Question is, what wheels do I put on it. I’m thinking 32x of some sort or maybe some HED Ardennes. It’ll take me a while to complete but I’m excited to have a nice steel bike again. Wahoo.
@Marko
Do you even need to ask?
@Marko
Schweeeeeeeet! Nice project!
What wheels? Italiano, of course. Gat some classic, or classic-looking, Campy wheels (Neutron?) rather than HED. That’s just my opinion, of course.
@brett
I’m assuming you’re thinking Nemesi (plural?) which have to be way up there on the list. But @Blah brings up a point – Campy -Shamals maybe? I’m not sure the bike needs to be 100 percent Paisan where wheels are concerned but I’m leaning heavily in that direction. After all, asking followed by pondering is half the fun of a project like this.
@brett
BTW, Brett, when you did your Bozzie it looked like you had some corrosion on the chrome stays. Were you ever able to take care of that? This bike has a few spots I’d like to take care of. Maybe @Oli has a suggestion. I already did the chrome polish which cleaned it but that shit doesn’t remove corrosion.
Unbelievable how some people will just let a bike go. I removed the bb and headset last night to clean it up. Must have been a table spoon of spooj in the bb. I couldn’t believe it. It’s a fucking steel Colnago Master people, take care of your shit.
@Marko
3-cross, box-sections. I’d say tubbies, too, but I’m not sure you’ll go for it. My second choice after the Nemesis were the Campa Pavé rims:
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=C1742895-1B98-461D-8AA2-43E642831CCE&Enum=107&AbsPos=59
Build them yourself – my tale is forthcoming, but building a set of wheels brings you closer to the art of your machine than any other activity aside from building the frame yourself (which I’d also like to do some day). You gotta do it. If you don’t want to buy a truing stand etc, we’ll build them together on your next visit.
Yeah, breaks your heart, yeah? But if the guy who sold it thought like that, then he wouldn’t have sold it. Certainly not at the price you got it for! So in the end, it works out and you’ve got a kickass project.
Jeez, I never get tired of seeing those frames. Nice score, Marko!
I prefer low-profile rims on thin-tubbed steel bikes, but with a discerning eye, anything can look sharp.
Every time I ride my Genius-tubed, steel Casati I think, “Damn, I could throw out all my other road bikes. Whoever built this knows a thing or two about bikes.” Now, if they’d just send that guy to my house this winter so he could recable the thing, I’d be really happy. Crazy internal routing has me a bit nervous, so I’m waiting for the proper day when I feel calm to do it, though I’d gotten a lot of advice and a friend has some thin guide housing he’s going to lend me for the job.
@Marko
Nicely done. I was watching that frame myself and look forward to seeing how you build it up.
Go with the Nemesis, they’d be perfect for all the rough road riding you do up there in the Frozen North.
I’m selling a lightly used SRAM Rival cross groupset for $300 if anyone is interested. Email boss@topfunky.com
@G’rilla
is this from the Van Dessel? thats a smoking deal for sure.
@G’rilla
So when you say cross group, what is the gearing?
@RedRanger
Yeah, from the Van Dessel. After riding SRAM I realized how much I love Shimano. Someone else probably feels the same way about SRAM.
@DerHoggz
Chainrings are 38/46. What I’m selling doesn’t include the cassette or brakes.
@Marko
NICE! I was up shopping with the VMH in Aberdeen just before the festivities and as it was my birthday she let me take her to some bike shops. In Holburn Cycles they had this exact frame in brand new condition! The owner was very chatty and friendly but a little pushy, I told him I’d buy something but not the Colnago F&F at £1750.00. A total beauty. Bought a teeny weeny light for my helmet.
@frank
I am consistently amazed at the use of Sram over Shimano. The lever travel of Sram to downshift is too far and I have a large hand. Especially on the front lever, I find I have to upshift with my whole shoulder rotating. Shimano has the ability to downshift on the rear even under braking which I don’t understand why the contradiction from Frank in the example of braking and shifting whilst desending to a stop sign. I do this all the time on my Shimano equiped road bike and yet not on my Sram cross bike. I have an arthritic middle finger on my right hand that the tough lever action of the Sram causes lots of pain too. I just don’t buy the Sram concept as superior, especially when the very arguements for contradict my experience. I’ll stick to Shimano and as long as people are enjoying their gear, cuddos.
@Nate
That’s funny. I’ve often wondered if other Velominati are watching what I am or even bidding against me. The internet is a very small place.
Loud and clear on the Nems. Front runners for sure. Although the Mavic Reflex have my attention as well.
@snoov
This frame is certainly not in like new condish but is in very good condish. I wish a shop near by had one built up to ogle over.
@Marko
Everything you bid on costs $200 more because of Frank also bidding on the same item.
@Marko
Didn’t bid but I have an eBay RSS feed I call “classic italian steel.”. I worry I lack the experience to properly value one of these, but I try to follow interesting frames and one day might buy one.
@nvvelominati
I am with you. I have a cross bike with a SRAM Apex Group and Cervelo with a Red/Force Group (Race Bike) and bike #1 with an older Dura Ace 7800 Group (I did break down and buy a 53/39 7900 Crank- couldn’t resist). After putting a few thousand kilometers on each I can definitively say I will never buy a SRAM grouppo again. I don’t like the DoubleTap shift mechanism and I find the throws to be very long. I have also found that SRAM cassettes and chains don’t shift as cleanly as their Dura Ace brethren. For the relatively small price premium I am going to go with Shimano. That said, my LBS is going to start carrying Look bicycles… a 695SR with the Super Record 11 speed would be amazing and Rule #25 compliant.
@mcsqueak
I have truthfully thought about this in the past. We should have a page on here where we let each other know what we are bidding on so that we do not drive the price up and first come, first served on items.
Said a bit in joke but it actually could end up saving us a lot of money as well.
It took me about 5 hours (seemed like 2) to upgrade my bike to 10 speed with the new bits Santa and eBay dropped off. First time I’ve done all the cables and bar tape myself and this weekend took the bike for a spin. Saturday was in about 45kph wind so I couldn’t really feel the improvement but Sunday was raining but only about 10kph wind and my sensei reckons the wheels have given me nearly an extra 4 or 5 kph. He asked me on Saturday if I thought it was a Rule #9 day but it wasn’t cold enough. On Sunday the rain stopped before we headed home and it was pretty much a fantastic day. Oh and the shifting! Especially the front mech from small ring up to le plaque, so very satisfying and the cause of a huge grin that is still spread right across my face!
@snoov
Nice story – always fun to do the work yourself (and get it right. Get it wrong and it sucks). Even better when time flies when you’re having fun.
Which groupset(s) have you gone with?
@snoov
Congrats! Ahh, the simple pleasure of a crisp shift.
snoov – Very cool! There is nothing better than the first (few) rides on a newly classed up bike. And yeah, I’ve fallen prey to the bike work time warp. “Oh, this’ll take, like, 20 minutes.” And then a few hours go by.
Doing your own work and swap outs can be really damn fun. I’m about to recable one of my bikes for the first time. It has internal routing, which has me a bit nervous, so I’m waiting for the right winter project day.
@ Marko
Very nice frameset.What do you think of these?
@Blah
A mix of Ultegra 6600 and 6700. I was given the bike which is a size or more too small and the shifters were last to go on as I’m putting all the old stuff on a bike for my VMH and wanted to transplant the old bars with levers and tape. So I waited for new bars (got a good deal on ergonovas with a stem) as I don’t like the anatomical ones that spesh put on their budget bikes. Had the 9 speed cassette on the new wheels but slipped a disc and couldn’t ride for 4 weeks so got to use the new cassette too!
@Anjin-san
Shift heaven – and to think there’s also DuraAce and one day I’ll have to get Campa!
@Ron
How did I do?
My sensei let me work on his new second hand SuperSix recently, he’s not much of a wrench, and as I succeeded where he had failed (couldn’t get the headset tight) I think I’ll be seeing a lot more of his bikes.
Oh and I will obviously put a towel round the seatpost when I have a seatpost that deserves it.
@TommyTubolare
I like.
@TommyTubolare
Nice. From an old Colnago of yours? Not sure I want disc wheels though.
On an unrelated subject, if you sweat alot, here is a good reason to change your handlebar tape.
The LBS here on Maui says it’s not too uncommon. Holy Shiet! Two people here have broken their bars while riding because of it, neither have met a bad end. A good argument for carbon bars.
@Gianni
Wow. I hope that didn’t belong to you! This sort of corrosion was on my mind last night during a roller session. The sweat off the brim of my cap was dripping right into the gap between stem and faceplate. I gave the area a good rinse-out as soon as I was done, and I think a more thorough cleaning will be in order soon.
@Nate
Thankfully those were not my bars. It must be a sweat and ph (or sacrificial anode with carbon bikes issue?) because I sweat more than anyone and I’ve ridden aluminum bars up until my present gifted carbon bars and my aluminum bars never had a hint of corrosion. Just weird. But it is a nice reason to own a Ti bike, all that sweat that ends up on the top tube has no ill effect.
@Nate
Dunno how well this would work on rollers, but on my trainer I drape my bars in a towel to catch any errant sweat.
Speaking of which, I’ve had the same tape on for a year now. Probably a good time to replace it and check the bars out.
@mcsqueak
Works for a stationary but I’m not going to guinea pig that one on rollers. I just need to wear the hat backwards, then the sweat drops from chin to top tube.
On my rollers I have a towel round my shoulders and periodically mop up sweat but the tape is still soaking after the session. what about electrical tape under the bar tape? Or some other kind of tape? Wait a minute – I think I’ll prepare my patent application. I hereby serve notice …
@Nate
No doubt, getting a towel in the spokes would be a Darwin-award winner for sure.
@snoov
You know, that’s so crazy it just might work. Or sweat would simply find its way through the tape, or corrode the tape itself. I really have no idea.
Saline proof under bar tape tape.
Speaking of upgrades, I’ll probably need to upgrade my crankset this summer. I’ve been having some on-and-off again shifting issues with my FD, and when I took my bike to the LBS last weekend they said there was some slight warping in my large ring. Not sure what caused that, certainly not my starter pistols. Probably one of my bad shifts that sent the chain over the ring.
Right now I run a compact. I was hoping to make this crankset last long enough that I could consider a standard if I was strong enough. I don’t think I am at this point, especially considering the amount of hills around here – I’d just wind up having to compensate by getting a cassette with lower gearing (right now I have an 11-25). I do like to ride up hills, I’m just not fast and need as much mechanical advantage as I can get.
Another consideration is that I could just replace the big ring itself. That would certainly be cheaper. However, the crankset is FSA Vero and I’m not such a huge fan of it.
An excuse to upgrade to Shimano would sort of be welcome. My other consideration is that I currently have 105 components. I could get an Ultegra crankset and save myself ~200 grams, which is pretty decent.
Would it be silly to just slowly upgrade the 105 components to Ultegra as they wear out? My RD is 105, but works fine. Shifters/brakes are 105 and in good shape. Rear cassette will be replaced this summer, thinking of going to Ultegra. Chain is already Ultegra based on mechanics recommendation (said it runs smoother than 105).
Would running a mix of these components be silly, or cause any sort of compatibility issues? I’m not going to be in a position to buy a new bike with a whole new drive system any time soon, so I need to make the best out of what I’ve currently got.
@mcsqueak
Wise move, I think you might find the cranks the biggest change: Ultegra will be a huge upgrade and will work fine with 105, though going from compact to standard you’ll have to shift your front mech and adjust cables. TBH I think you’d probable stop there: shifters and derailleurs are hard to replace if they work fine. Ultegra cassettes and chains are good value for money compared to Duraa Achheee, and go for miles.
@mcsqueak
Personally I only noticed improvements while upgrading one piece at a time (from Tiagra). The crankset had no problems with 9 speed although I made sure to lube and clean the chain almost every ride. It does run quieter with the 10 speed chain though but I only notice the difference with the bike on the workstand.
@mcsqueak
What are your long term plans for your bike? It looks like the Vero is pretty far down on the FSA food chain. My bike came with the Gossamer pro and 105 FD and works fine, that crank is also a good 100 bones less than an Ultegra crank. will you save weight? no, but it goes back toy your plans for your bike.
Also speaking of upgrades, between an unexpected christmas cash windfall and the (heretofore pitiful) “new bike bling reserve,” I’ll finally be able to get rid of my doesn’t-shift-as-clean-as-it-used-to and I-think-at-least-one-cog-is-bent 105 group and upgrade to a brand new ultegra groupset. The parts should be here in a week or two and I cannot wait to lovingly install each one.
The only thing I was on the fence about was that I just bought a new set of 5700 105 shifters last fall, so I could hand down the older 5600’s to the VMH. I was debating whether to get the Ultegra shifters–I know there probably won’t be much of a performance difference, but I really REALLY wanted to get the full group. This is going to be my main ride for the forseeable future, after all. In the end I decided to go for it, because I should be able to re-sell those 105 shifters (with only a few hundred miles on them) for almost as much as I paid for them.
@mcsqueak
Really depends on the bike and your long term plans. If this is going to be Bike #1 for the foreseeable future, then probably a good move. Otherwise, it’s a lot of money to drop on a groupset if you could get it for less with a bike in the not-so-distant future (have been weighing this a bit myself recently).
@The Oracle
It might be consumer spin, but I keep hearing really nice things about the Ultegra shifters. And I can relate to the temptation of wanting the full group.
@RedRanger @snoov @minion
Long term plans are to keep riding it until I can afford something in more of the 3-4k range, which is certainly a ways off. My Felt is on the lower-end of the Felt food chain, but is certainly nice enough and I don’t find myself eying other rides, except out of pure “bling” factor, e.g. I’m never out on a ride and think to myself “gee, I wish I had a new bike” or anything like that.
I think I’d eventually like to try racing, and I’ll need to have this shifting bullshit worked out before then, that’s for sure. I also have a few big rides planned for this year (like the Seattle-to-Portland 1 day) that I’d like to not have a mechanical in the middle of.
I really think the inconsistent shifting I’ve experienced comes down to the lackluster FSA crank Felt decided to use to make the bike less expensive – I don’t ride in a destructive style I don’t think, I take care not to cross chain, etc. so it’s frustrating to go for a shift and get a surprise in the form of FD-destroying mis-shifts.
I’d be lying if the weight savings weren’t temping – my ride is 19.5, so a tad porky but light compared to older bikes. I’m also planning on buying some new wheels this spring/summer which would take off another ~500 grams.
@The Oracle
Nice! Yeah swapping everything at once would be smart, so it’ll all wear together. But my RD is in fine shape, as are my brakes and shifters so I can’t really justify the cost of upgrading all of those from 105 to Ultegra.