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 ...
@Gianni
When I went from my Vittoria Zaffiro 23 to Conti GP 4000 25, I actually knocked a bit of weight off of the wheels, as the Conti’s were lighter than the Vittoria’s for whatever reason. I like the GP4000 quite a bit myself.
I’m not super heavy, so I run 100/110 psi or so with them, no issues.
Lithions are a great tire for the price. I recommend them over the Krylion unless you need/want a 25mm tire.
@James
Vittoria Open All Weather clinchers. Getting very hard to find.
@gravity bob
Um, I’ve got 25mm Lithions on the VMH’s bike.
@snoov
My bad… thanks for pointing that out.
@brett
Because they’re awesome?
@eightzero
Cool! What time is the early boat?
Has anyone removed/replaced the BB bearings on the newer Campa stuff?
I’ve isolated a weird per-revolution grumble to this area of the bike & I’m going to swap out the BB bearings. Have read that some folks have had problems with the seals. I’m riding a 2009 Centaur gruppo. Doesn’t seem that complicated, but does seem to involve a bunch of special tools. Oh Campagnolo! Since I lack most of them & don’t see myself doing this job often (or have the Budgetatus funds for them) I’m thinking of letting the shop take care of this. Thought I’d inquire however.
any auto mechanic/machine shop worth a damn should be able to remove and press on new bearings without too much trouble and also with minimal cost. Your LBS may, too.
@Ron
Doesn’t ’09 fall into the sealed BB era of BBs? I think you will need the specialized tool and a new BB, neither of which is “expensive”. Is this square taper spindle or outboard? Unfortunately these BB tools are pretty specific and probably won’t do you much good for other years/incarnations. My guess is what the shop will charge for the labor you could buy the tool 3 times tho.
As shown in this article, a gear puller with thin fingers and some softer-than-steel blocks to press the bearings onto the shaft are all you need. Depending on the shaft diameters, PVC pipe/fittings (or wood) can probably be had to do that job. I would also suggest placing the crank arms in the freezer after cleaning and prior to pressing on the new bearings. Some even suggest heating the bearings up to 125-150F as well. For industrial bearings, this minor heat shouldn’t be an issue, but the fit probably isn’t THAT tight.
Thanks for the replies, tartan & raz! This is the Ultra Torque era stuff & I guess the BB bearings are press-fit into the cranks/spindle, not in the BB cups. I think the proper, nice tools are around $150 USD.
That article does a very nice job explaining it. The job doesn’t seem that hard, but I don’t really have a full shop at my place. Though I enjoy fixing my own bike issues, think I’m going to let the shop take care of this. They quoted me an hour at most, and $40USD for that hour of work. I’d MUCH rather put that towards some near parts or gear, but I’d also rather not screw up my #1.
@Ron
Park CBP-3 tool comes with the puller and the presser. $50-60 on the interwebs. More than your shop, but not by much. The Order should have the ability to trade/loan such tools (any over $50 and small enough to ship) among members ……
Wow, Tartan you are really on top of this! The only tool I had found was the Campa one, which was triple the Park tool one in cost. That one looks good.
Now I’ll have to decide. I did just get through a very long & annoying battle to recable a bike with internal routing. I might prefer to just ride & do other things this time around, especially because I’ve been meaning to swap these bearings for awhile and the shop could have it back to me tomorrow. I’d be waiting for the tool to arrive a week from now.
Thanks for the awesome help! That tool is definitely going on my “wants” or even “needs” list!
@brett
Cool, thanks! Guess I knew that, but have seen them in grey or Ti/gunmetal grey more often. I’ll get to lookin’!
@Ron
No problem. I’m fresh with all of this knowledge since researching and purchasing my first UT crank (received and installed last night, first ride today). Also, I purchased these black titanium skewers last year and have had no issues.
Note to all who may need to purchase or replace their Italian Campag UT cups (not really sure how they would wear out …), but Velomine has them for free! I couldn’t figure it out as they are $20-50 anywhere else. I ordered mine with my crank, thinking I’d get a call or an email telling me they made a mistake. Not even a change to the website? odd. Anyway, mine were free and came as polished aluminum instead of the grey, 2012 model.
Back to the Michelin tire discussion for a minute, Nashbar has Krylion carbons and Pro3’s on sale right now, and there’s free shipping today with the code.
Anybody have recommendations for a good training wheel set? I am looking to replace a set of Bontrager Race X Lites that are on their last legs.
@Anjin-San
I don’t know how they would compare to your Bontragers but I’ve found my Mavic Kysrium Equipes to be pretty much bombproof. They’ve stayed true for the whole time I’ve had them (around 8,000 km). I did have to have the rear hub overhauled last year but I’ve been commuting on them year round in Seattle so they see quite a bit of water and rough roads. Plus I often carry a backpack that weighs up to 15lbs.
@Anjin-san
What about building a set yourself? They’ll be pretty much infinitely serviceable by you and it’s great project. The Jobst Brandt wheelbuilding book is a great guide. Otherwise, if you can’t get another set of the Bontragers, I’ve had no problems with Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels. A little heavier than most, but very stout rims.
@gravity bob
+1.
@Anjin-san
Don’t you ride tubulars? Bomber tubular handbuilts FTW.
Bike porn here.
It does seem to have a Garmin mount, so be warned.
@ChrisO
Group ride implies more than one rider so you’re not the only rider spraying the road grime around. Either ride solo, or Rule #5 it and share the ride.
@Blah
For GOD’S SAKE, man, not a Garmin mount???!??!?!
@Buck Rogers
way to ruin a beautiful stem.
@RedRanger
Looks pretty plain and utilitarian, really. Besides, the Di2 ‘circuit box’ thing hanging below it is more unsightly.
Going back to a topic of discussion from a few weeks ago… I’m not so sure about my position on road disc brakes any more. I’m going to reserve judgment until I can see them and ride them myself.
@Nate @GravityBob @James… thank you for the suggestions. I hadn’t considered building a set. Now THAT would be a fun project. Nate, you are correct- I have gone to the Tubular Side for most of my wheelsets, but I like to keep an aluminum rimmed clincher set on hand for when I ride places where tubs are inappropriate (gasp… thinking mostly about the downtime associated with gluing on a new tire when away from home). Also, rode the Bonts the other day after spending a lot of time on carbon rims and realized how much more compliant the ride quality is on them… like butter.
Project Time!!!!
Picked this baby up from the VMH’s parents yesterday to become the day to day runabout after a long idle period in their shed since her brother abandoned it. Mid 80’s Nishiki Custom Sport, Dia-Compe brakes & leavers and Suntour Symmetric running gear. Not sure about the wheels or tyres but they’re in the most need of upkeep (the spokes look particularly rusty).
Intrigued by its provenance as it also has the name Brenton Howie on the top tube underneath the rear brake cable, however extensive research (read 10s search on Google) has yet to turn anything up & her parents don’t remember where it came from.
It’s all in good running order, but needs a fair bit of care to get everything clean & shiny again…thoughts are welcome
@Mikael Liddy
Nice pickup. Best keep it as close to originale as possible me thinks. Maybe with the exception of the saddle, otherwise very cool.
@Mikael Liddy
Great find!
Anybody else riding muc-off wet lube? I just picked some up.
@Mikael Liddy
My first over three-speed bike was a Nishiki 10 speed in about 1986… it was metallic maroon and my dad almost broke his neck taking it for a test ride. Good memories! Congrats!
Never seen that one. I’m currently using Chain-L No. 5
Best stuff I’ve ever used, on or off road. Affordable despite the fancy name play. Found out about it through a product review in the back pages of BRAIN.
@anotherdownunder
@gravity bob
@Anjin-san
Thanks guys, took it for a shake down today in to work…rides pretty nicely, though I’m going to need some toe clips for the pedals. Man it feels weird not being able to pull up! Might have to see if I can do something about the massive metallic dork disc too.
@Mikael Liddy
To keep the retro look of the bike and platform pedals, maybe try a set of those Shimano half spd/half platform pedals…
@gravity bob
It looks like pedals on there at the moment would take the old style straps, I figure I’ll just go with a set of them. There’s not going to be any performance work done on this one, generally just rides to & from places with the VMH.
@Mikael Liddy
That is cool! How much does it weigh do you think?
I have my dad’s old Schwinn as a runabout. It must weigh close to 40 lbs, it’s a freakin’ tank.
And yeah, I want to get clipless pedals or straps or something for it as well. Using platform pedals is a PITA when you’re use to riding clipless.
n+1 strikes again…
In my search for a Team SC (which I found NOS, but the deal is a little sketchy) I came across a NOS EM Premium SL (same model as Buck Rogers) and I stumbled on a barely used Colnago C40 B-Stay at about a 1/3rd the price of of the NOS Team SC and almost 1/4 the price of the Premium SL. I’ve owned a Colnago before (Dream Plus B-Stay) so I’m familiar with how a Colnago handles due to the relaxed head tube angle. My question to the Velominati; can anyone comment on their experience owning/riding a C40 B-Stay?
@mcsqueak
Not sure but 15-20kgs wouldn’t shock me in the slightest.
Digging around for info on C40s and found a picture of this guy…
@gravity bob
Haha! The Garage Days…
Was at a local criterium yesterday talking to a dude I know & have ridden with. One of his teammates came up to talk & I noticed his nice bike & nice build. Cool Ti frame, Record carbon gruppo, Deda post/bars/stem. Cool, I want to talk to this guy a bit, seems like he has good taste. He then went to pin his mates numbers on & decided it would be an okay idea to lay his bike driveside down on the edge of the curb. I would have offered to hold it, but I was speechless. It then slipped on the edge. Ahhh! I had to walk away.
I passed by a bit later and saw the guy trying to rub scratches out of his crankset. What a shame to own such a nice bike & show it such little care.
Awesome photo of The Garage Days!
Some bike maintenance and repair tasks have scared me. I’m worried that I’ll misadjust something and injure myself once back on the road.
Yesterday I scared myself the other way. I was doing a deep clean after a couple hundred km of very muddy roads. I noticed that the safety nut on the crank was way loose.
I unbolted it, thoroughly cleaned it, and put it back on. It wasn’t that hard and now I’ve added another basic skill.
Next is to acquire tools to remove the bottom bracket. Then maybe build some wheels and learn to mount a tubular.
@G’rilla
I hear you! I travel a lot and bring my bike with me when I fly. My bike case requires a moderate tear down and I always have that little “what if” in the back of my mind as I bomb a descent. Funny how I never worry about my set up when I am slogging up the hill…
@G’rilla @Tobin
I was just working on my front brake this weekend (replacing pads and noticed it wasn’t extending fully to the proper open position), and I always think to myself about cables snapping, bolts backing out, crashing, etc. after I work on my ride.
Thankfully several more experienced Velominati were able to give me suggestions to overcome my issue as I worked, via Zuckerberg’s personal information collection system. Sometimes technology kicks ass, like getting near real-time maintenance tips from people hundreds of miles away.
@mcsqueak
I only live like 5 miles away.
@scaler911
Well, average then. Plus your across state lines, that makes it way more farther.
You’re, even. Yay grammar.
@mcsqueak
I don’t think I actually helped that much.
@RedRanger
OK, OK! So, story revision – using the boundless power of the Internet (thanks Al Gore!), I was able to solicit help from Velominati up to 5 miles from my home. That sounds way less impressive.