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 ...
@ChrisO
AWESOME! Did not know it was possible, but RDV just grew in my esteem for him.
@Mikel Pearce
Why would we want to look up those results??? They’re Tri results. Not like a real race or anything?
(Above in pure sarcasm but I could not resist!)
@frank
Well said. And why would anyone willingly douche their bicycle with salt water or lake muck, ride it not wearing proper attire, and then abandon it for a run?
Group ride rules from my past and current team are no TT bikes or extensions on handlebars in the peloton. If you’re on a TT bike you’re welcome to sit in the back and pace off the group; no dicing it up in the sprints. Best practice I recommend is when in Rome…
@Buck Rogers
@frank
Always loved Benny Hill Frank,didn’t you?
@ChrisO
Google Translate is putting me out of a job. One subtle point is that “keihard” means more than “hard” – directly translated it means “rock hard”, or “hard as a rock” – but the way one uses it in a sentence it means “hard” the way RVV and Merckx rode their bikes, not “hard” the way one of us rides our bikes.
@TommyTubolare
Just KILLS me! Almost as good as the Joey is okay CX vid. I also love the photos of tri people riding with their helmets on backwards.
I know that we shouldn’t pick on them, but man, it’s just so damn easy!
Bagging triathlon is bullshit. It’s a good participative (made up word) and the elites are super athletes. Read Chris McCormacks “I’m here to win”. A great sports book.
CX combines bike riding and running. On you people’s logic that should be bagged too?
@Marcus
No, just tritards. For no other reason than they are tritards. Pretty simple actually.
@Marcus
No. CX riders wear proper cycling attire.
@Buck Rogers
@gravity bob
A+
@TommyTubolare
I get the point and I would never join a group where I was not wanted (TT bike or not).
@Buck Rogers
LoL. 180k in 5:03 – I wasn’t lollygagging.
Most of the stereotypes about triathletes exist for a reason – a lot of them are true and I now laugh at some of the things I used to do. Mostly I was just new and didn’t have a clue. Not that that’s changed much!
@gravity bob
+1
@Mikel Pearce
Yeah, truth be told, I used to do some of that awful Tri stuff myself, although my best HIM was only a 6:25, never did get around to doing full IM.
Thankfully, Pere Fronk led me out of that black hole in life and I was reborn! Praise MERCKX!
But, that being said, a 5:03 on the bike leg is VERY fast, although FL is about as flat as they come (cannot give a tri guy too much credit you know!).
Just having fun, and it’s even more fun if it is at a tri guys expense!
I’ll self-identify –
I ride a CX bike as my daily commuter.
I have a TT machine in the garage that I have used on group rides (to drag the purists along at 50kph for 20km).
I love to run the legs off people off the bike (and I’m not afraid to do it after 180km of riding).
No matter what I do, I embrace Rule V.
@Buck Rogers
6:25 for a half ironman? No wonder you hang shit on triathletes. You still must be angry from the time that they laughed at you when you finished and everything was already packed up.
I admire your honesty though Buckeroonie.
So… You’re the greatest triathlete of all time. Nice to meet you.
I’ll qualify myself, then, as well. I have accepted invitations to be on sprint tri teams in my younger days. I rode them on my regular road bike, with regular road gear. They were jokes.
@Calmante
@Bill
Is it dark up your own asses guys? Because it seems you’re having a hard time seeing the levity of it all.
I’m just upset ’cause I sent a gerbil up there and never heard from him again.
@Calmante
So you were invited to ride just the bike leg of a sprint triathlon, ie. you were invited to ride 20kms and do nothing else? Guess bike gear would have been pretty appropriate then? And that sort of a race would be designed to be a giggle. Lighten up Francis.
Your post served to qualify you on a number of levels…
Huh? Not sure I understand.
You misunderstood, I meant that I rode it with no special equipment. I was a roadie in a strange land. I had written more, but then erased it because of the no boasting rule, and it made it look like a half thought. The point is that i would post the fastest time of the day, and I was far from elite. I realize that they were doing the other legs, but still…
I’ll admit it, I tried to like Tris, but they are boring as shit. That said, a friend of mine just completed his first Iron Man. Sub-2 hours in the water, less than 5 on the bike, and then ripped off a sub-3 hour marathon. He may be dense (how else do you survive two hours of swimming?), but you can’t question his fitness, unless you get him on some categorized climbs. Then he folds like a wet paper towel…
@marcus
+1. Cuntador got what he deserves. What kind of shoes are those he is wearing? They look sweet.
@Anjin-san
They are Specialized S-Works prototypes.
I just wish that these punishments would happen during the events, so the fans don’t have to wait years for Verité Sportif.
@Calmante
Agreed- kind of takes the sting out of it when he will be eligible to race again this year.
I really like the Specialized shoes. I have a pair with about 2.5 years worth of riding on them. They are still going strong, but starting to get a little ratty.
@Calmante
Lemmiwinks? Is that you?
@Marcus
Marcus, you’ve reached a new all time low by insulting anyone’s triathlon times!
@Buck Rogers
All time low so far gotta live in hope.
Heh, BTW was Hitler in the Bunker was hilarious.
Back to bikes… How does one measure the reach and depth of handle bars? I meant from what points?
@minion
Good point! I am sure he’ll not let us down.
@RedRanger
Place a level on your saddle, extended over the bars. Measure the drop from the bottom of the level to the center of the bar.
Reach is measured from the tip of the saddle to the center of the bars, no level necessary. That’s how I was taught, and how I’ve always seen it done.
If you’re wondering whether different saddles will result in different measurements… Yes.
@Buck Rogers
@minion
I consider it my duty to constantly push the envelope. Buck, your response was very funny. However, bagging a 6:20 half IM is bagging your cycling in no small measure.
@Calmante
Actually I meant he dimensions of just that bar. Since I have a stock setup I have no idea what they are to compare it to other bars.
@Marcus
Not when I breast stroked the whole event in almost just over 1.5 hours (i so suck at swimming) and it was in Bagdhad in August during the day when the temps were 110 F.
But really, bagging on any tri times really doesn’t warrant discussion. For God’s sake, it’s a triathlon, who cares!
@RedRanger
What bars do you have? You can often find the info online.
…or laser etched onto it somewhere.
@Buck Rogers
so i guess your Special Forces branch wasn’t the SEALs?
@Nate
It’s the stock C’Dale bars. I have looked but can’t find anything.
@markoNope. Actually I find this all quite amusing.
@marcus
Touché!
Yeah, I have actually worked with those guys on numerous occasions overseas and they are crazier than the Aussies I have worked with. But yeah, they never taught me how to swim. But they did teach me how, and when, to duck!
@mouse
Well played, both of you.
@Marcus goes +1 for the rest of the week for making me laugh more times than I can count this past week.
@RedRanger
Set the bars level on a flat surface. The reach is the distance from the center of the tops to the center of the frontmost point of the bars. The drop is from the center of the tops to the center of the drops directly below the clamp.
@frank
I’m sensing a theme here…
Just dropped my bike off for a st. valentines day service at the LBS. Who says romance is dead?
I appreciate good cyclists. I appreciate good triathletes. Any athlete pushing themselves to the limit is impressive to watch. Hell, weekend warriors pushing themselves is good, cyclists or triathletes or whatever.
On the whole TT bike/aerobars, I have come across bad riders in general on road and TT bikes. Poor form isn’t limited to triathletes/TT bikes. And anyone on aerobars in a bunch is a tool.
Additionally, if you were only doing the ride portion of a tri and you are a pure cyclist, your time should be better than most. Question is what it have been as good had you done the swim, ride, run? Could you even do the swim/run?
@motor city
Not me – took one of my girls out for a date in the hills tonight. She’s real dirty and very lively – and I have some serious welts and scratches on my chest and shoulders thanks to her. (Sadly she’s now got a busted spoke and a screwed freewheel, but we’ve agreed that the experience has brought us closer.)
@RedRanger
Would this help you?
@girl
Road Cyclist Meets Triathlete
I wanted to share this amazing replica of one of my favorite pro bikes ever; Greg LeMond’s 1991 Alpe d’Huez/Carbonframes Tour de France bike. This guy did an incredible job on it.