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 ...
I have a question regarding a potential rule violation which I may be about to make. I won’t repost it, but my beauty can be seen above in post #47.
Given the Italian nature of my bike and the understated *cough* Italian tricolour’s across the frame, what would the thoughts of the Velominati be on changing the three headset spacers for one green, one white, and one red spacer?
I am aware it may end up looking more Equitorial Guinea or Kuwaiti due to the orientation of the headset but is the idea in itself a rule violation or just silly?
From Italy I say go for it :)
But please the green on the top!
@Dexter
I fear the response to the query below will be “Headset spacers!!! Ride lower” or somesuch.
@Dexter
I think I’d leave the spacers black. Maybe you could use “il Tricolore” tape near your stem to secure your white bar tape. That would look cool, but I don’t know if it’s manufactured. Hey, maybe I just hit on something. Hmmmmm.
HAHA! Yeah I understand I have left myself wide open for some abuse but hey, you live and learn…
That’s a nice idea. Didn’t think of that. Pretty sure they do make national flag finishing tape. It’s probably a more ‘compliant’ option!
@Dexter
Yeah, I’m in the “leave the spacers black” camp – or white. Besides, surely your spacers are carbon, yes? Surely they must be left black. I like @Jeff in PetroMetro’s tape idea.
@Steampunk
Is your chain half way between the small and big rings in that pic? That’d be a first.
@Marko
Touché. What comes around goes around. But as Frank says, it’s better for the chain. You and I can never actually ride together, because we’ll wreck our knees doing 15% grades in the big ring out of pride.
I am a bit loathed to post this, since it’s such a technically shitty shot (look at those EVEN pedals! And do I spy… valve stem covers??), but I figure I post here enough that I need to pony up a bike picture.
This is my #1 bike, the day I picked it up from the shop and brought it back to my office last March. I’ve made some changes since then, wrapped the bars white and I’m playing around with slightly lower bar configurations, but my outside riding has been very limited recently so I haven’t had as much incentive to tweak it. I’ll try and remember to get an updated shot next time I’m out for a ride.
It’s a pretty basic bike as far as the hierarchy of fancy bikes go, but it’s my first nice one and I love it.
As soon as I posted it and read it back I started to think about how many people would ask me why I bought a carbon frame designed and made in Kuwait! And the fact that I couldn’t find a green carbon spacer for love nor money after about an hour of searching on the internet sealed the deal.
So it looks like the tricolour finishing tape is the way forward. Will post a shot later in the week…
@mcsqueak
It’s a brave man who uploads a photo AND points out his own rule violations all in the same post.
A kind of FSA Hari-Kari.
A lot of #1 bikes being posted. What are you lads riding for your winter/rain bikes? If all of you are riding Ti Serottas I’m going to be pissed and maybe go rob a bank tonight. Steel? Al? Older gruppos? A cheap single speed? DT shifters on an old steel frame?
My current rain/winter/lock up bike is an Al Cannondale that has always been too big for me. Trying to figure out a new frame/bike. Keeping on getting lured to bikes that are far too nice to beat up or lock up. Don’t really like messing up nice paint jobs, but I’d also freak out about it being stolen.
It’s just hard to buy a new bike that doesn’t knock my socks off, but if it did, I’d immediately be back in the market for a rain/winter/lock up bike. (don’t currently have the room where I live for a townie bike + a rain bike so I need one road bike to do double duty)
And did it get really damn cold for anyone else in the past two days? I was in a SS jersey last week and now it is 35*F and windy as hell. Condensing the Winter HTFU period into just a few days is rough.
@Ron
I think the most important aspect of the Rain Bike is that it needs to have the following properties:
1) Position is right & as close as possible to Bike #1 so you don’t pick up bad habits
2) Easy to maintain, inexpensive to replace parts
3) Corrosion-resistant materials. People tend to gravitate towards steel as a bad-weather bike, but that’s not the way to go since steel will rust etc. Go for aluminium, titanium, carbon, etc, and leave the steel for Bike #2.
Here’s my bad-weather steed. After I upgrade the steel to Campy, this one will inherit it’s original DA 9spd and will get race blades in the place of the current fenders. This was bike #1 until I got the R3, and then sensibility put it into the Rain Bike category over the steel as per (3) above. The Shimano 105 groupset is bomber and easy to maintain; ideal for riding in shit weather.
Great riding bike all around.
Alright Frank, thanks for sorting me out.
1) I definitely need a new frame/bike. My current rain bike is a 55.5 cm TT. My other three bikes are all 52.5-53 cm, so this bike is huge for me. I try to compensate by using a ridiculous 60mm stem. I’ll stop deliberating over whether or not I really do need one. (my velominhottie has already told me she can’t stand hearing about it and just wants me to buy one)
2) I have a Shimano 105 group on the current rain bike that I can swap to a new frame. Also, many of the bikes I’m checking out have that group. They tend to fall in the price range I’m aiming at. Yeah, not looking at anything too nice in terms of components. It’ll be locked up sometimes too and though I’m careful, I don’t have it in me to lean nice parts against poles, racks, etc. or come out to find some jackarse has leaned his POS fixed conversion right against my bike.
3) I’ll think about frame materials. Ti is too expensive at the moment. Carbon is a bit expensive, but I also worry a bit about crashing it and locking it up. I know carbon is tougher than often thought, but still a concern. Al is a good idea, but so many of the Al frames are Cannondale & after riding one that is too big, plus from 1998 (I think the general consensus is newer Al is going to offer a nicer ride than 12 year-old Al), I kind of have an aversion to them. (I know this is kind of foolish). I’d framesaver any steel frame I got, but also wouldn’t sink too much into the frameset. Looking at decent, but not high quality steel.
So 1 & 2 are clear and simple for me. I’ll definitely take your advice on #3 into consideration. Either way, thanks for the concise set of considerations; my mind has been calmed through the sage wisdom of a more enlightened Velominatus!
@Ron
If you’re just looking to replace a frame comb ebay (obvious I know) but keep at it. I’d been searching for months until Il Gruppo Progetto showed up. Or if you’re not concerned with brand names or top shelf quality get an off brand (Scattante, Nashbar) or one of those re-branded Motobecanes with alu main triangles and carbon stays/forks. It may be tacky but you’ll have a bike that fits your needs. And yes it’ cold. 10f/15 below windchill.
@Dexter
Ha, yes. Only through admitting to my sins can I hope for atonement.
Because the picture is so shitty, you probably can’t tell, but the crank arms are FSA. I have Speedplay zero pedals, and it’s running standard workhorse 10-speed 105 components.
For now, it is my wet weather bike as well. It’s aluminum and carbon, so it’s not going to rust, and I clean and lube it after wet rides. I have rollers as well so I can avoid riding in very foul weather, but I’m not super worried about it being destroyed by some wet-weather riding.
@Ron
Here is my rain bike.
Alu/carbon. Recently swapped out the wheels/tires to Ultegra 3 cross Open Pros and Vittoria Open Paves for the rain. The handbuilts significantly improved the ride quality.
Alright, since I’ve opened this can of worms…I’ve been driving myself crazy the past two weeks on this…
I could get a frame and put my 8-speed 105 group on it, plus the wheels and everything and sell off the frame.
I’ve also thought about getting a full bike and just selling off my current rain bike. Weighing both options. Part of me wants to just do a frame swap. The current rain bike is my first true road bike so I feel like at least keeping the parts/wheels would keep the spirit of those 8 years and thousands of miles with me. But, maybe I’m being too nostalgic over a material object.
Trying not to sink too much money into this.
Oh, and another factor is that I’ll have just about four more weeks of riding between now and April 1. Traveling for the holidays (will at least be able to ride on rollers while visiting my parents for the holidays, probably too much snow outside), then a vacation in January (no bike) and then I’ll be in Europe for February and March. Talk about having a GREAT excuse to be two months away…I’m going to have to jog in the snow (I hate jogging) and look for a spin class or pickup indoor soccer to stay in shape. Not bringing a bike.
I wonder if I’m just crazy getting a new bike now. Maybe I should just wait for the spring. But I’ve also found a solid deal on a decent steel bike. Good frameset, 9 speed 105, I have nice parts around like a post, bars, saddle, stem. Might be hard to pass up. I know you lads tend to lean towards aluminum or carbon or ti for winter/rain bikes. But, I’m pretty good about cleaning after wet rides and do summer overhauls.
Anyway, I think cabin fever is already setting in on me and I’m overthinking this a bit too much. Thanks for the feedback. I need to get this sorted or drop it so I can go back to just riding and toughening up in the sudden cold.
@Ron,
Re frames for rainbikes mine is the Nos Motta columbus SL pictured up the chain – it all depends on your budget but I’m swapping frames all the time – I’m with you on the assessment of ride quality – realistically are you going to trash a steel frame in a year or two of wet weather riding?- headset maybe – if you wipe it down and its protected I’d highly doubt it unless you are riding on roads that have been salted for grip. So I’d trade off ride comfort vs durability – which I’m sceptical about anyway.
If you live in a flat area singlespeed is a good low maintenance way to go. Not a bad way to improve your Stroke either.
@Marko
Photo as promised:
@kiwicyclist
you should go fixed, even better for your stroke.
@Ron
my winter bike is a full carbon and Dura-Ace affair. But then I only have one bike and not enough space to store a second bike. But as Frank says a second bike needs to be as close as possible in position to the main bike, not only to minimise picking up bad habits, but to reduce the risk of injury.
Years ago a winter bike of mine needed replacement forks. A free pair were duly found at the back the bike shop. The steerer was a little short and would only allow a very cheap steel, minimal stack headset (I think a BMX one). It worked, just. But it the headset kept coming lose during rides, which meant that I spent a lot of the time hand-tightening the headset while riding and that i couldn’t take my hand off the bars. The latter made putting on windstoppers and capes a bit tricky and by the end of winter I’d forgotten how to ride without hands on the bars.
@Jarvis
– I hear you – I ride a track bike with a front brake set up for commuting as well (bike no.7) – will post up a photo soon – I love the tight twitchy geo, toe overlap, fixed feeling but its not such a practical option for longer rides or as a winter trainer imho. I did run a road frame fixed for a while but on the 40-50k rides with others on road bikes it became a drag – too much bouncing around to keep up and tight cornering with the lower bb height of a normal road frame/vs track frame made for some interesting pedal bouncing (pants filling) turns.
@Kiwicyclist
Hmm, nothing special there except the bike. I MUST be imagining things.
@Ron
Mate, you’re talking about your bike – impossible to bee “too” nostalgic over it. And “material object”?? You’re talking about the central tool in our craft, for Merckx sake!
Personally – and this is really just silly – but the idea of buying a built bike gives me the wee jeebees. I say buy up a reasonable frame, move the components, hang the old frame on the wall and spend the months in Europe contemplating whether you should sell your “first frame”.
@Dan O
Admittedly, the wording on the Rule makes it a bit vague, but the Bars and Saddle should always be touching the wall TOGETHER if there is a wall; it’s for stability, that way it will never fall. Just the saddle when leaning against a pole. NEVER the frame. Just the bars is not so bad, but not stable. If you are really badass, you can touch the bars, saddle, and wheel. You can also, under some circumstances, lean it by JUST the back tire, but that is a Pro maneuver and is only suitable for experts.
Thanks for the advice, Frank and Kiwicyclist. Still thinking it over, but feel like I’m getting closer to making up my mind.
And Frank, I knew this was no place to question the legitimacy of having quite strong feelings for a simple machine. It’s only other passionate, borderline obsessive-compulsive cyclists who can understand the link between us and our machines.
@Frank
Amen to that – rule worthy I reckon….
@Dexter
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Cycling/Parts-accessories/Other/auction-338045404.htm
too much?
yeah, too much. still, might be worth it for the end-plugs.
@CJ
25 bucks is about right for that tape. That’s about 50 cents US, plus postage. Dexter could have that in his hands for $2!
@CJ
If you used that tape, your bars will look like giant candy canes.
Now THIS is awesome.
Need to raise money to visit America on a cultural trip? Sell things that look like guns! Very American.
@Brett
Totally. Our economy is such a cutie.
@mcsqueak
Until I can learn to stop using my palm to sweep glass off my tyre, my bar tape shall remain a practical black.
@mcsqueak
It’s ironic that the guy whose gravatar looks like a kid in a santa’s hat would raise this issue.
@CJ
Fizik Microtex White. Fucking magical. Never gets dirty. Even with a chronic tire-cleaner like myself.
@frank
A santa hat? Surely, you must still be hung over from Sinterklaas or accidentally left a bottle of dumonde tech open near your computer.
@CJ
I picked up a very useful tip from Cycling Tips for this a while back – instead of using your hand use the side of your waterbottle. Works a treat although I refrain from doing so with my campy bottles – that would be wrong.
@Kiwicyclist
Yeah, I generally remember that CT post right about the post-ride moment I notice the tyre-grime I’ve managed to smear on my face.
@frank
Black for now. Need to keep the bike quiet til the legs can talk a bit louder.
I’m in a world of hurt right now. Bike 1 is at the shop and my new rain bike is also at the shop waiting on a standard crank. I AM BIKELESS!
So help me out here with some style advice. The new rain bike is a Cervélo S1. Can I go with white handlebar tape and saddle, or should they be all black? Or red? There’s no white on the frame, but white handlebars would look so pro.
@Geoffrey Grosenbach
I say black on the rain bike, white on numero uno.
@Marko
That makes sense. I think I’ll use my existing black saddle for the rain bike and buy a white one for #1 when Spring rolls around.
@Geoffrey Grosenbach
Black tape, black saddle. If it’s the S1 with red and black paint, you could go with red tires. Do you have black rims? If not, go with black tires.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
The rain bike has black tires, silver rims. I had the option of getting those really cool looking green Vittoria Open Pave tires, but The Rules forbid green tires on non-green bikes. So I got the same model tire in all black.
I’m still in conflict about the bars. Both bikes now have compact/ergo bars (stock). So if I go with a classic bend on bike 1, I could use it as an excuse to re-wrap with white tape and get a white saddle. I’ll probably wait a few months since I won’t be riding it much until then anyway.
Yes that.
And then a picture.
Cheers @CJ. I found this the other day and is about as close as I could get. Can’t find any ‘proper’ Italian finishing tape but am off to B&Q tomorrow to get the assorted colours! As already stated I think this tape may move my bike from ‘PRO’ to ‘OH MY GOD I WAS JUST SICK A LITTLE IN MY MOUTH’.
@ Geoff – Ah, to be bikeless is a nightmare. I feel generally uneasy anytime one of my road bikes if out of commission. Good luck getting them back soon. It does seem like you can go along fine for months at a time and then, suddenly, two or three of my bikes will have a problem at once. I hate that. And it’s a good reason to add another bike to the stock, as a precaution…
As for me, I finally went ahead and made up my mind, grabbed a new-to-me rain bike and it’s in the mail heading my way.
Suggests an egregious Rule #58 violation. Presumably not, though …
Okay, let me throw a monkey wrench into the Velominati gearbox by posting a mountain bike to the mix. By the way, this is my 4th bike posted to this thread. Any kind of Velominati award or ridicule will be appreciated.
Bike displayed is my very well used ’91 Fat Chance Team Yo Eddy. This was my main mountain bike from ’93 – ’99. It has seen much action. I semi-retired it in ’99, though still use it occasionally. Picture is fairly recent, where I used it at a ‘cross race to support my son. Beats running around the ‘cross course to cheer on my 11 year old doing battle.
Bike reflects the era of its age. XT derailleurs with top mount shifters (8 speed), Cook Bros crank, WTB cantilevers, Ritchey brake levers, Chris King headset, Control Tech stem, Flite saddle, Ti Cycles titanium seatpost and ‘bars, Onza bar ends, Mavic 217 rims with Shimano hubs, WTB tires. It currently sports downhill platform pedals for easy neighborhood or race site cruising.
Some bikes have something magical to them – just ride fantastic. Maybe its the tubing, the love that went into making it, or some other voo doo. This is one of those bikes. The steel frame and fork just feel right and it handles great.
If interested, more pics here:
http://yoeddy.blogspot.com/2009/08/personal-rides-fat-chance-team-yo-eddy.html
That’s hot!
@Dan O
I think you meant to post that on Retrobike not here.
*Chuckles out loud*
G’phant – not to worry, I picked it up from an online mate I’ve “known” for awhile. He’s a good dude, had a nice bike he wasn’t riding, and the price was right. I have a nice collection of parts I’ll put on it. The best news is that I just checked the tracking online and it should be here tomorrow. Have to go out of town with the GF for a (future?) in-laws holiday party. Is the bike’s arrival grounds to refuse to go?
As for a Rule #58 violation, my LBS can currently go get fucked. They share a building with a certain organic chain grocery store. The grocer wants to expand, they share a wall with the LBS, and they’ve been on the lease longer. LBS needed to find a new building and my employee friends there told me they were looking at a spot just around the corner. Excellent. I inquired about their move last week when I was there getting some stuff. They are moving out of town, into a fucking strip mall hell, which contains Red Robin and Wal-Mart, and all the roads I’d need to ride to get there are truly awful. Low or no shoulder, constant traffic of SUVs, insane intersections with four lanes coming in all directions.
I’m gutted by this news. Currently the LBS is within walking distance. I can ride a bike over, drop it off, and walk home. If something is really messed up I can walk or carry the bike there. Plus, their new location is only a few miles from their other shop, plus around five other bike shops. It doesn’t make any goddamn sense to me. Now the downtown area of where I live is without a bike shop. If I have to get in a car to go to a shop, I’d rather just drive a bit further and go to a former PRO mechanic I know who has a small, one-room service shop set up. He’s far more knowledgeable about bicycles than any of the LBS’s mechanics, raced for years, has some stock of awesome stuff, and has a crazy collection of very fine bikes from the 1980s through today.
If anyone is eager to open up a bike shop, I can tell you a fine location that is now in dire need of one. What also doesn’t make sense is that currently they are directly across the street from a university. They get freshman who walk in with wealthy parents on the day they arrive and buy a brand new $800 bike. They also get a lot of business from the uni cycling team. I can’t imagine anyone from campus is going to ride the death roads out to strip mall hell to give them business. I’m baffled by their decision. And pissed off. I was just thinking a few weeks back about how life doesn’t get much better than having the LBS within walking distance. No longer, damnit.