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 ...
@Anjin-san
Hate to throw the cat among the pidgeons but there’s the possibility that it’s more about your anatomy and set up than the saddle (barring a defect that is obviously going to lead to catastrophic failure) more of your weight is bearing on one side of the saddle and causing it to collapse more than the other side. Might be morepronounced than other saddles because of the design.
I have no objective proof of this, but it’s not an uncommon problem.
@mcsqueak
Baby wipes.
@minion
Yes! and glass/window wipes or furniture wipes for laminate work just as well. Depending on state of said bike; 2 will get the road grime off upt to half dozen for something really grotty. Cuts through grease as well.
@minion @il ciclista medio
Huh, never thought of that either. Do baby wipes leave any sort of residue behind?
I think baby wipes leave behind alcohol: whatever it is evaporates pretty quickly. Dunno bout window wipes.
@minion
I’m pretty sure it’s not alcohol = that would be a bit harsh on infant skin but – more importantly – would also dissolve the waxy polish you used!
@all
I live in an apartment with no access to a hose but there is a car wash across the street. Any tips on washing my bike? Usually I just wipe it down with some wet paper towel.
@RedRanger
It depends how dirty your bike is after each ride.For example if there’s lot of sand and grit where you ride use a bucket of soapy water and bicycle brushes and wash and rinse your bike outside.Lube the drivetrain and moving parts when dry.You can of course speed up drying process by wiping down all the parts of the bike with dry,soft cloth.
If you have to do it in your apartment then use a bathtub.You have to wash it though later so more work but sometimes there’s no choice.Where else would you do it in a small apartment?Balcony,maybe?
If the car wash place will allow you to use their compressor you can use the compressed air to blow your bike dry and lube it later.That way you could dry your chain much quicker and make it ready to be lubed.Ask if you can use their place to wash your bike and bring your own bucket and brushes.That way probably you won’t have to pay.
@heinous
Yep, no alcohol in baby wipes nowadays
@mcsqueak
There are certain brands (not sure about your hemisphere of course) that don’t contain any nasties and don’t leave behind either a residue or strip.
A mate of mine swears by furniture polish (Mr. Sheen to be exact) to clean and leaves a nice shine. He sprays it onto a cloth first. I’ve seen his bikes over the years and it certainly seems to do the trick.
Muah ha ha ha!
I managed to resist the urge and we had a lovely time at my daughter’s party. Last hurrah with the old 105 group during my trainer session yesterday, and I spent part of the afternoon today mounting the new stuff. Now its just a matter of running the cables, wrapping the bars and fine-tuning.
@The Oracle
I love the grey color of the grupo. You are going to find that it runs butter smooth w/ nice crisp shifting. My move to full ultegra from the 105/ultegra mix was a pretty nice jump.
@The Oracle
Congrats! Gonna be sweet. That grouppo should be bullet-proof.
@minion
Thank you for the idea. I have been professionally fitted (fit?) a couple time including this rig. I was told I have short femurs for my height and that my pelvis has a little twist (it’s not quite perpendicular to the top tube when viewed from above with the left side slightly ahead of the right). Could be the cause- when I get fitted for the new Look I’ll bring this up and see what they think. Thanks again for the thoughtful reply.
@RedRanger
I really like Pedro’s Bike Lust as others have mentioned. I put the bike on a stand, drop the wheels and use microfiber cloths with the Lust to give it a thorough cleaning. Almost better than soap and water which will over time get into your BB, headset, and pedals and washout/contaminate the grease. If you want to clean the drivetrain take it outside and use a citrus based degreaser with a toothbrush and chain cleaner (Park sells a nice, inexpensive kit with all you need).
@Anjin-san
No worries. I watched a mate warranty 3 brand new Selle Italia saddles, because one rail was dropping more than the other after a couple of weeks. When he changed to a full carbon saddle with less give he figured out due to the intense discomfort that it was fit rather than fault with the saddle.
Not saying that’s always the case, some saddles are just junk, but trying to treat a symptom of something else sells a lot of saddles I reckon.
My newly built up Colnago C40 (saddle tilt has been fixed).
Deda Zero100 bits, Antares saddle, Khamsin wheels, Look Keo 2 Max pedals
Athena 11s groupset, 11-27 Chorus cassette + chain, Super Record front mech (long story), 53-40 Q-Rings.
: )
@mcsqueak
My experience with baby wipes is that they do leave a bit of soap film but that may be brand specific (Huggies) as others swear by them.
@The Oracle
Sounds like all went well and tranquility reigns in your home. Good job!
@lucky
That there is about as nice as bikes get. Lovely.
@G’rilla
I’ve been wondering for awhile why they don’t offer various sizes of shifters. I see them coming in the near future. Even just a small, medium, large & a narrow or regular would be nice. The 170cm cyclist certainly has different hands than the 190cm cyclist.
Nice ‘nago, lucky!
@The Oracle
That’s looking awesome. I’m sure you’ll get plenty of pleasure fitting and then riding all that stuff. This Sunday we did 70km and I was showing Dave the little ring to la plaque shift. It’s fast accurate and quiet, still fills me with glee!
@wiscot
‘Twas good. Cables are now run (although I have to re-cut the rear brake housing–I left it too long), and I’m dialing in the shifting. I even applied my new Velominati badge, which looks like it belongs there. I think I might spring for some fancy bar tape to complete the look.
I could actually use some help from the initiated. Despite the liberal use of anti-seize during installation, my drive-side pedal is hopelessly frozen in my old crank. I tried the usual suspects to loosen it up (i.e. WD-40), but as of this morning, no joy. Any senseis out there with a good tip?
@snoov
Front shifting quality was one of the least impressive things about my old 105 group (5700 shifters and 5600-everything else). I had to adjust it every-other ride, and it was still always undershifting or overshifting. On Saturday it had a hard time finding the big ring at first, but after a quarter-turn of the barrel adjuster, it overshifted and dropped the chain! I think my old derailleur was on its last legs, but still, very frustrating stuff.
Initial results with the new Ultegra are extremely satisfying–I put tension on the cable, a quarter-turn on the barrel adjuster, and BAM, it was dialed-in. Less than five minutes to set up the front mech. Very nice! The Ultegra shifter seems to trim better than the 105 ever did, as well. All good all around so far.
I’m geeked up for the maiden voyage, but I’m taking my time putting it all together–wrenching on the bike is a favorite past-time, and a good way to channel the V during the depths of a cruddy Wisconsin winter.
@The Oracle
I know you wanted to mount your new groupset asap however you should have left the old crankset installed to help you loosen the pedal.Now you can’t apply the right torque.
What pedal is it and are you able to mount the old crankset back on?
@The Oracle
Front shifting quality was one of the least impressive things about my old 105 group (5700 shifters and 5600-everything else). I had to adjust it every-other ride, and it was still always undershifting or overshifting.
Yea, bike 2 has 5700 shifters and I have a little glitch in the right one. I sometimes have to do a 1/2 tap to get it down from my big cog. Not a big deal, but it took quite a bit of trouble shooting and minor tweaks of the barrel adjuster before I figured out the work around.
@TommyTubolare
First, thank you for not saying: “[A]re you sure you’re turning it the right way?” Which would have been the response if I had posted the question on Road Bike Review.
Trust me, I banged on that fucker for an hour (using a park tool pedal wrench and, in the end, a mallet) before giving up and just yanking the crankset with the pedal still installed. I don’t know what the deal is. I’ve wrestled with jammed pedals before, but this one is ridiculous. Even though it’s not mounted, I’ve managed to get it in a position to pour on plenty of torque (using the hex wrench socket)–still no dice.
The pedals are a Velominatus Budgetatus purchase from Nashbar. I plan on replacing them this summer, but I was hoping they’d get me through the rest of the winter. Plus, since the old crankset is in pretty decent shaped I was going to craigslist it. Otherwise, I’d pitch the whole thing and forget about it.
@The Oracle
I’d put the crank on a surface, supported so it’s level and the backside of the crank is facing upwards. Then pour on some Liquid Wrench into the back side of the pedal spindle. Do it a few times over a couple of days. If that doesn’t work, I’m at a loss. Oli?
@The Oracle
Sounds like the pedal was threaded incorrectly while mounting the first time.
Normally what I do is while the crankset is still installed I place the drive side crank arm at 3 o’clock and at this position non-ds crank arm is close to chainstay.You’d use old strong leather toe strap and wrap it around non-ds crank arm and tie it to chainstay.Like that you can apply more power and crank stays in place.
Try to use Hex/Allen that can be extended along by placing metal pipe over it to lengthen your torque hence your power.
Otherwise wrap the pedal using foil or cling film and dip the crank in the solution overnight.WD40 is good.
Oh yeah before that if you have a can or bottle of Cola pour a decent amount over the thread making sure it’s covered fully and give it another go.
@TommyTubolare
If the pedal wasn’t threaded correctly, then I have no one to blame but myself!
Cola, huh. Hadn’t tried that yet.
@The Oracle
Yes.Better to try everything before you damage the pedal and the crank.If you run out of options we will think of something else.Good luck and lots of torque!!!
@lucky
Sweet ride. 53/40? Hardman!
@Anjin-san
Thanks. Hah, the main reason for that was because they was the only Campag-compatible rings Rotor make, and I didn’t have £200 to spring for a Rotor crank too.
Does a job anyway, I prefer the big ring.
@The Oracle
Kroil works 10x better than WD-40 or Liquid Wrench. Not easily found, however.
@The Oracle
If it’s an al crank and steel spindle a bit of heat might work. (Hairdryer can get the crank hot enough maybe? Ask the experts before using anything hotter than that) just hope you don’t get it out by taking the thread out with the pedal spindle. Done that before, it’s not pretty though you really, really mean all the bad words you get to use in that situation.
Soaking and heat, and patience I reckon. Might take a few days of soaking in WD40 etc to get it out.
Got it. Share in my triumph, Velominati!
Now, to wrap the bars and it’s done.
Okay, so I know there’s a certain bias against the name on my frame. But hey, I have a cousin who works there, I live an hour away from Waterloo, and I don’t give a shit what others may say, it is a kick-ass frame. So, here it is, built up with the new group:
Next on the wish list: replacing the Velominatus Budgetatus wheelset.
@The Oracle
Nothing like a romantic night in front of the fireplace.
@The Oracle
That is great. I have to admit that the LA effect is wearing off: I’ve been looking at treks as great bikes without the LA brand. Even the bikes underneath Lance, if you had a good look, are great machines.
Don’t get me wrong, my next bike is still gonna be a Ridey or a Pinarello. But that trek is very cool.
@The Oracle
Are we to assume that you got the pedal off? I notice there are two pedals in your photo, if so congratulations. You greased the thread this time before fitting didn’t you.
@lucky
Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee
@The Oracle
Very nice. Hope you are able to show it off at the Wisconsin Cogal at the end of March (March 30 out of Madison; details coming soon).
@The Oracle
@Minion
You know, I almost hate to admit it, but looking at that bike now almost gives me a pleasant nostalgia. It oozes that fun era of cycling, especially in the States, when so many more people were paying attention. Hate him or loath him he did a shit ton for our sport in this country. I don’t miss LA but do look fondly on those days and bikes that looked like that. And built up with Shimano as it is it’s very appropro.
@snoov
Yep, after letting the WD-40 soak in for a day, I was able to immobilize the crankset and went at it again with the pedal wrench and a rubber mallet; hold the wrench tight and strike it sharply with the mallet to loosen it up.
The frustrating part of all of this was that I greased the threads (with an anti-seize compound) last time I fitted it, too. I used a different grease this time around, as the stuff I used the first time obviously didn’t do its job.
@Minion
@Marko
I came by that frame last summer, and believe me, I didn’t buy it because of any Pharmstrong nostalgia. I had been on the velominatus budgetatus trail for a few years to replace my old aluminum frame, and last summer through the VMH’s triathlon club I got in touch with a guy who runs a place called Dream Bikes in Milwaukee. Dream Bikes is a nonprofit shop that takes in donated bikes, spiffs them up and re-sells them to low-income clients. The shop also trains inner-city kids to wrench on bikes (and keeps them off the streets). It’s a real neat place with a cause that I can get behind.
Anyway, Dream Bikes is sponsored by Trek, so every once in a while they get shipments of stuff from Trek’s warehouses that they sell for dirt cheap. Trek had that frame (an ’06 Team Madone 5.2) sitting around in its original packaging as a warranty replacement, and sent it to Dream Bikes. I was able to pick it up for a song (while still feeling good that every dollar I paid went to a good cause), and here I am. Although it was six years old, the frame was in factory-new condition when I bought it. It even came with the original documentation (prominently featuring, of course, LA himself).
So, I was in the right place at the right time, and I came away with a terrific frame for less than a new basic aluminum frame would have cost. As such, I can easily overlook the negative associations that come with a Discovery Team Trek frame. Anyway, since I live in Trek’s back yard, maybe 2/3 of road riders are on Madones, so the anti-Trek bias that is more prevalent elsewhere just doesn’t really exist here.
@Steampunk
I’ll be there if I can!
@Steampunk
While we’re on the topic, a second WI Cogal is being planned for May 19th out of West Bend. Details being finalized and posted soon.
@wiscot
Sweet. I could actually ride to that one (not that I would, but I could).
@The Oracle
Nothing wrong with those wheels. I have a pair on bike 2 and ride the snot off of them all the time. They are relatively light weight and stay true on the chip-seal (with a few deep holes) roads I ride here in Appalachia.
@GottaRideToday
Don’t get me wrong, considering the price of that wheelset (under 250, I think?), I’m extraordinarily happy with them. They’re handbuilt, lightweight (comparable to a lot of higher-end aluminum or low-end carbon wheels), even after a summer of hard riding I’ve never had to true them, and they spin forever. Plus, they look great with my ride. They are one of my favorite budget cycling buys. I’m not in a hurry to replace them, but given the fact that I’ve checked everything else off the wishlist with this bike (except for new pedals), a wheel upgrade some time in the future would be the final piece of the puzzle.
Since we’re on the topic of seized things, I’m having my own problem. Trying to recable a bike that has internal cable routing. The rear brake cable goes in on the TT near the HT, then comes out near the seat post. The housing runs through the frame itself. Where it goes into & out of the frame it has corroded and I can remove the housing.
I’ve sprayed it with WD-40 and let it soak. No dice. The housing itself has split too, so the black outer casing is pulling off from the circular metal housing inside. But, I can’t get it to move at all.
Ideas on how to get the housing to move and off of the cable?
@Ron
Spray WD 40 inside the housing using red plastic pipe that comes with it.Then use pliers to pull the cable out.Usually cable end caps rust and it’s hard to remove them from the cable stops on the frame.You can remove cable ends using thin pliers and pulling hard on those suckers.
Picture would help if possible.Beste!