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 ...
@Bianchi Denti
It’s a beautiful bicycle!
Do you mind if I ask if you have a Time as your Number One? If so, I think we have a mutual friend…
@Oli
No, that’s @Rigid. But we are both Richards and we both ride with @Brett. Confused?
My #1 is a Bianchi, and #3 is a Denti. Hence the handle.
@brett
F@ck the cats. No more cats for you. No more cats for anyone!
@Bianchi Denti
So Rigid has a Wilier as well? I met him when he caught me up around the Bays the other day – good dude. I’ve never seen a Denti before, I politely request pics!
@Mikel Pearce
2 possible issues:
Check your cable tension. If there’s not enough, the lever throw will not push the cage across with enough force.
Also, check the distance between the top of the teeth of the large chainring and the bottom edge of the FD cage. It should be about 1.5 – 2.0 mm. Much more than that will allow flexion in the system that will blunt the pushing force required to move the chain acroos crisply.
And here I thought that @Bianchi Denti was just a reference to your brilliant smile…
@Mikel Pearce
Check and see if the cable is rubbing the frame where it comes out of the little routing thingy on the bottom bracket. It happened to me running compact cranks. Seems that the FD ends up just enough lower that it changes the angle the cable runs. I solved the problem with a small piece of sleeve over the cable where it runs thru the cable guide.
Uh oh, I started a lot of nonsense with the cats. Here is a bike photo for the bike section. My steel Casati, which I just recabled. New bars (Deda Zero100s) and new tape (Deda Traforata). Recabling was not so much fun; inner routing looks great, but can be a challenge.
And the front end. I like to wrap my tape coming back on the flats, but couldn’t figure out how to make that happen with the perforations. I’m sure there is a trick to it. (I like to wrap out on the drops, back on the flats, but that exposed the non-peforated half of the tape. Oh well, next time.)
Here’s my steed for rules compliance. Ignore the spacers above the stem as the stem and position are new. Pretty sure I like the fit, but want more miles to make sure. I dig how the whole Campag group set is aluminum, but will be taking delivery of a UT Chorus carbon crank this week. Hopefully it doesn’t screw up the look too much. Need new tape this spring and am now seriously considering white after the current article.
@Tartan1749
See Rule #40. Otherwise, handsome bike.
@Marko
And Rule #41. On the front. Agreed tho, nice bike sir!
@Ron
Very nice! I hear you on the internal cable routing. My frame came with black plastic tubing as guide. I thought I’d be clever and replace it with the inner from Nokon only to find the cable wouldn’t go through. After hours of prodding away I finally got it through.
@Calmante
A serendipitous double-entendre.
@Ron and @Tartan1749 – thanks for helping me get this thread back on message.
@Tartan1749
Nah, fuck that.
It’s perfect as it is.
@Oli
Here you go. Bought off TradeMe from an old lady in Happy Valley (I’m not kidding).
Columbus Aelle tubing (which I believe was nothing flash – the bike doesn’t seem to have even warranted a factory serial number).
Camapa 6 speed mixture.
Ambrosio clincher rims (with Shimano 600 hubs for some reason).
The world champ stripes are because Mino was part of the winning Italian 100km TTT in 1965. He also won Tour de l’Avenir and Giro del Veneto.
His company still makes bikes. But he now appears to have moved on, and seems to run some sort of bike shop/horse customising business with his wife (@PedaleForchetta – help?).
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@Bianchi Denti
His company still makes bikes. But he now appears to have moved on, and seems to run some sort of bike shop/horse customising business with his wife (@PedaleForchetta – help?).
Horse customizing. That I’d like a tour of.
@Tartan1749
I think the black tape looks fantastic. That is a heck of a lot of saddle-to-bar drop… You getting any use out of your drops, or are your trying to emulate Faboo or @frank ?
@Tartan1749
White tape would do you no favours on this bike, IMO. Looks great with black.
@Blah
I agree. The red surrounded by black at the head tube mirrors the red surrounded by black at the BB.
@itburns
Very, very well articulated.
@Tartan1749
Super bike, I don’t see enough Merckx bikes. What sort of wheels are those? I agree about tape, white might not be the best. Of course if it were me I’d have to try red tape sometime.
Still, very cool looking bike and massive seatpost being shown, we like that.
@Tartan1749
That is one handsome bike. If you were to keep the alu Campa group set, the aforementioned new wheel set with shiny bits would go quite well.
@Calamante: I had a 105mm/-6deg stem and I felt cramped in the drops, so I bought a 130mm/-6deg. Interestingly with the shallow angle on the stem, I actually moved it down a spacer and I have about the same drop as with the 105, but just farther out. I haven’t done the actual math, but I know this to be true. I can ride nearly 4km in the drops turning a big gear while on the flats (with elbows bent!). Descending is damn fine. Actual saddle to the tops is a hair under 4″, so not extreme
@Gianni: The fame is a 57cm ETT 2008 – I think one of the most compact frames Eddy made and it has a really exaggerated slope to the TT. As a result, I think they made the post a large diameter to handle being exposed. This combined with a really tall headtube also makes the saddle/bar drop look worse than it really is. I have a 32″ inseam, so I’m not a Dutch Orangutan (although my arms are long-ish). Wheels are some cheap Vuelta XRP Pro-Lites (decals removed for coolness). Probably not he lightest, but they have bladed spokes and only 24 spokes f/r. They came with my old frame and I just carried them over. Never need trueing and I usually out-coast friends on the downhills. I really can’t complain.
@xyxax: Not sure I’ll be able to swing the ~$500 for the wheelset this year (see above reasoning) and the new crank may or may not work aesthetically. We’ll see. I can currently see my square taper Record flex some when really cranking, so hopefully this will help (I’ve read there is a noticeable difference). I do like the shiny bits though!
@all: The only thing the white tape would do is accent the name on the frame. I actually have the fizik dual on there now, but instead of a red/black candycane, I wrapped it reversed and just have the red stitching showing. A nice, subtle accent that I really like.
@Blah
What? My “Nah, fuck that.” wasn’t clear enough for you?
@mouse
A +1
Was very clear, yep.
@Tartan1749
not a Dutch Orangutan…no one can be. Frank has that locked up. I’m jealous of that compact frame/monsta seatpost look. The upgraded crankset will be an improvement and it will look cool too. All in all, it’s a badass ride. Maybe Eddy will hand me one when fall to my knees when I enter the Merckx factory in April.
@Gianni
It will be interesting to see how the tools of the master frame-builders have changed. I hear all they need now at the Merckx factory are really good box cutters and some “Made in Belgium” decals. Not that I wouldn’t love to have one, mind you!
@Bianchi Denti
That’s a very cool bike! Thanks, BD.
Like that Wilier a whole lot, BD! Very cool #2.
@Calmante
Yeah, that is the case for almost every bike except the high end Treks, Colnagos and some others. Unless you live in Taiwan, then you can take some pride in having your bike made in your country. It’s taken the allure out of owning a modern carbon bike, not that having your bike brazed by a bored, pissed off Italian Marxist was such a great idea.
My #1 (Merlin) and #2 (Bella) bikes both made in Massachusetts by hand. Still, a man should own a carbon bike, yes?
@Gianni
I miss my Litespeed Ti. Made in Tennessee. I do, however, still have my Ritchey, made by Tom himself.
@Gianni
Like I said, it’s not that I wouldn’t mind owning one! My number one is Taiwanese, number two is Italian, number three is American. I still don’t have a full carbon bike, but when I do, it will most likely be an OEM frame, straight from the factory. If I won the Powerball, on the other hand, I would buy myself a Calfee Tetra and a Time Ulteam, slap Di2 on the Calfee, and Campagnolo EPS on the Time. I just gave myself wood, right then.
@Gianni
Is the Look line still made in France? I think it is. Serotta makes some fine carbon bicycles here in the States. Lynskey (the founder of Litespeed) is back in business on his own in Chattanooga, TN turning out some outrageously nice ti bikes. He also makes the LaCruz Ti for Salsa (my CX bike of choice that doubles as a commuter) there. Also, check out Foundry Cycles- very nice.
@Tartan1749
Leave it black – beautiful bike. White is a great look but isn’t always applicable.
@Bianchi Denti
What a looker!
@Tartan1749
Sweet ride- I’d give red tape a try when you are due for replacement. I did it on my similarly painted Cervelo S2 and it looks pretty darn good!
@Calmante
A Time Ulteam, you say? I just built this one last week for a mate…
@Oli
Can’t say I’m a fan of the Ulteam, much prefer the round tube shapes of Rigid’s VXR.
@Oli
@brett
But still, that Ulteam is pretty frackin’ hot!
@Oli
Holy cow. Ya. That’s just about my dream bike, right there.
@Bianchi Denti
I agree! The engineer in me loves the angular hi-tech look to the tubes. Form follows function. It could stand to loose a couple of logos, however.
Oh, and that, to me, is perfect saddle to bar drop. A very well balanced build, @Oli.
But wait a sec, are those Look pedals?
Haha, I was waiting for that! Yep.
@Bianchi Denti
@Tartan1749
@Calmante
Can’t agree, never liked any bike with ISP, and the whole ‘aero’ thing just doesn’t do it for me. Kinda reminds me of this…
@Anjin-san
I understand that LOOK frames are made in Africa – somewhere like algeria or morocco (Casablanca would be cool). Then they are finished in France. All Time frames are made in France. Rouleur had a feature on them a while back
@brett
Sorry mate, I won’t do it again.
Think I remember it’s Tangiers now
@brett
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, remember. Just because no one has said something rude about your bicycle doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking it, they just have better manners.
@Oli
Exactly. That’s why I said “I” don’t like… “I” being the beholder in this case. I’m not gonna say I like something if I don’t… and I couldn’t give a shit if someone doesn’t like my bike, or me.
@brett
Bullshit. Even I care what you idiots think of me.
@Anjin-san
All true, and the North American Handmade Bike Show (NAMBLA…errr, correction, NAHBS?) highlights so many well made ingenious bikes and builders. Maybe it doesn’t matter if most frames are made in Taiwan as long as they are well designed and well executed. When steel was king, 90% of all frames looked the same except for paint and lugs. With carbon fiber, design makes so much difference,my point? I dunno, too stoopid from the ride I just did. Daddy needs a nap.
@Marcus
If Look frames are made by the Hashishans, I want one even more.