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 ...
@The Boomstick
Hold on! I thought I was the most self-centered, self-important, and idiotic prick around here?
I’m starting to get a better picture of you, you internet superhero you. You’re cleaning up the streets and washing away the scum, right?
Talk about self-important…
@Oli
Campagnolo Vince! got the same description.
OK, getting back to the point of this page….I have a project. Or more correctly, I have a commission. This is awesome. I also have a budget. This is not awesome.
VMH wants a road bike. VMH does not want me to spend all the holiday money on it.
I want to build up a totally sweet Italian frame with some mid-00s Chorus and some Campag Proton / Neutron wheels if I can find any.
Getting back to reality, however, I need to try to do this for under £600 ($950). So some questions:
1. Looking for frames. Anyone looking on ebay for frames can’t help noticing large numbers of dirt cheap carbon frames from Taiwan. I imagined these might be the rejects from quality control in one of the big factories – except there are SO many of them. Does anyone have any opinion based on experience (even second-hand) of these frames? I have plenty of suspicion and prejudice of my own, so I won’t need an more of that.
2. Gruppo. I’m inclined to go for Campag because it’s more compatible with my toolkit, but Shimano stuff does seem significantly cheaper second hand. Any views on quality of bearings? My experience so far is that the bearings in Campag components I’ve owned have been outstanding, but unfortunately not so good from Shimano.
3. I’d love to build the wheels by hand, but buying the stand and dishing thingy won’t be an option. Anyone tried building wheels without these? (Thinking of using the bike frame to hold the wheel and knocking up something from the hardware store to measure the dish.)
To be entirely honest, not very much thinking has happened so far – just enthusiasm and some beers.
@George
1. Cheap frames are real. Not cast offs, or rip offs. I have one, and it’s the best bike I’ve ever ridden. Refer discussion on this post a number of pages back.
2. I would agree with your assessment. I think that Shimano bearings and cups are made of that stuff they cast matchbox cars out of, but lots of folks think they’re sweet as, bro.
3. Think carefully about what you’re suggesting. I’d prefer to let someone who knows what they’re doing build my wheels. Lots of magicking going on that I haven’t the skill or inclination to learn.
@The Boomstick
Seeing a bit of a pattern with you sunshine.
Your sole contribution to the discussion thus far is;
1. Campagnolo Vince! “Shut the Fuck Up!”
2. Oli “Shut the Fuck up!”
This is a cycling discussion.
The Shut the Fuck up discussion is over at RBR.
Thanks for your consideration.
ebay has a lot of answers to a lot of questions, though buying new might keep you in the good books with the missus – and if she has a shiny new bike, and you’re on your older, battle scarred ride, you may benefit out of the arrangement in the long run. May not be as expensive as you think by the time you look into it.
@Nate
Alright, with give that a try. What I have occurring is “chatter,” where the chain isn’t seated perfectly on the cog and makes some noise. I guess this is still cable tension. These are some 2007 Centaur shifters and I’m having to kind of trim them just a bit to eliminate the chatter. I’ll shift, then need to use the lever (not the thumb one) to move the chain to where is won’t chatter.
Another mechanical question – was out riding yesterday when one of my pals noticed my wheel/rear brake were quite centered. Brake was crooked. While I have had success moving a Shimano caliper by hand, these were Campa’s which simply return to their position. As far as I know, you need a wrench to put over the bolt where the rear brake meets the frame, then rotate the caliper as desired. Is there another way to do this? None of us had a 15mm wrench. (it’s a 2009 Centaur caliper)
@George
Tried to build wheels without the proper jig once because I was skint and could only get cast off hubs rims and a bag of spokes. Based on the experience lie down in a dark room until the feeling that you want to build them yourself goes away – I’d blow £200 at the LBS on a pair of Fulcrums or similar. Given your VMH will notice wheel problems before noticing frame related issues and having been married for a very long time this is my mano a mano advice.
If you can get a serviceable frame for £200 and have a box of bits and appropriate tools then you’ll have no probs with the budget.
@George
Here in Malaysia, Polygon and Merida are very popular frames that seem to be good for the price. Reports in the Asian magazines are claiming that they are catching up with European bikes quickly and that the different in price is mainly in the name only. The guys that ride them here are all happy with them and they seem to take the constant beating of the Kuala Lumpur potholes without splintering to thousands of small carbon pieces. For a man on a budget might be worth a try……
@Adrian
I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that Merida are basically the main competition to Giant and make a lot of the stuff that is branded as European.
Great article (as always) from Inrng here, about the origins of the modern road bike.
http://inrng.com/2012/05/the-ancestor-of-your-bike/#more-8416
Who would have thought the UCI would think about banning compact geometry. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.
@George
George, I like to custom and mix/match as the next person, but do yourself a favor and just go a LBS and buy new:
1) She’ll be riding with you next week
2) If something goes wrong or needs adjusting, she won’t blame you. She’ll feel more confident going off and riding when you’re not around.
3) She’ll feel more attached and likely to ride if she knows a BIG chunk of cash went to the purchase instead of a bunch of smaller purchases
4) Unless it is family jewelry, ALL women love to get NEW stuff
5) If something does need adjusting, have HER take it in and I’ll be the LBS fixes it for free the first year.
It’s just easier and cheaper in the long run. If she starts to see/feel the componentry hold her back, then you’ll have the green light to upgrade. That’s when you window shop!
@Ron
Good chance tweaking the cable tension will work. I assume your chain is well lubed, otherwise that could be a culprit.
Mine had been a bit noisy and I tried ProGold and the chain is both more silent and more shiny. Double win!
My 2009 Chorus brakes adjust with either a 15 mm wrench or there is also a small set screw on one side that takes something like a 1.5 mm allen wrench. Does Centaur have this?
Hi Nate. I’ll put it in the stand and play with cable tension a bit. Yep, well lubed. Every 2-3 rides or so it gets a wipe down & a relubing. I think I have some ProGold.
Brakes. Yeah, my Centaur calipers do have that set screw and I thought it was in fact there for caliper centering. Didn’t have a 1.5mm though, just my 6 tool m.t., which also didn’t have a 15mm wrench. I wonder what the pros/cons are of the Campa design vs. the Shimano? Most Shimano calipers seem to be able to be recentered by hand, but not the Campa.
On another mechanical note…I have some older wheels with a Shimano 8-speed cassette on them. Are these going to fit 10-s modern Sram or will the spacing be off? Might not be wide enough, as I do know the skewer from this wheelset is a for a 126 not 130. Was curious if I could tell before pulling off/putting on the new cassette.
@Ron
You ought to be able to get either tool for not a lot of money and can probably pick up the allen key at the hardware store. There are limits to how much you can adjust with the set screw. For the 15 mm you’ll want a thin bike-style wrench — the typical automotive style wrench probably won’t fit in there.
Having run both Campagnolo and Shimano I like the feel of the Campagnolo better, and find that it needs to be centered less frequently than the Shimano.
For the wheels I’d think you’d need a frame with 126 mm rear spacing.
@Ron
It’s not really a design fault, more a set-up one. If a Campagnolo caliper is set correctly it generally won’t move, so either you’ve fitted it improperly or it’s taken quite a bump to move it. Just re-set it properly and it will be fine – I’ve never had to re-set a caliper on a ride ever.
@Adrian
As well as being a major shareholder in Specialized. I would be very surprised if Speccy had any frames (especially carbon ones) made by anyone that’s not Merida. And that includes that stupid McLaren bike they tried to sell and failed at.
Bike fit advice: My left knee has started to hurt when riding especially when pushing heavier gears. Pain is below the knee cap right around that knobby bit on the front. Any ideas what I could try to change on the bike to try to alleviate it?
Hey Nate – Oh, I have a 15mm wrench, just didn’t have it in my pocket when out riding this weekend. And yeah, I think you’re right about the wheel spacing. Oh well, was hoping to use this old wheelset as a backup set/road setup for my cx bike. Thanks for the feedback.
Oli – Okay, just how they are designed. It had been centered so maybe I knocked it when putting it in the stand or working on it. Never had to recenter on the road before. Thanks for the reply. Got it recentered with a slight turn on the 15mm wrench.
@Adrian
Two bits of advice from someone who’s been there:
1) Go see a reputable bike fit specialist. You can ask for recomendations from your LBS, local cycling clubs, internet reviews, etc.
2) Go see your orthopedic doctor. I started having pain in my left knee in late December/early January, and I just pushed through it. (I had a Retul bike fit, so I knew my bike was dialed in). Eventually it go to the point I was in such pain it hurt just to walk. My doctor diagnosed it as quadriceps tendonitis, which is considered an “overuse injury.” His prescription was rest. As much as I hated not riding, I took the entire month of February off the bike, and started slowly on March 1st. The knee pain has never returned, and I’m riding as fast and as far as I used to before the injury.
@doubleR
Best advice. You might even feel like Superman after a time off the bike. Love adding steps each week to add stress to the ride, but never a giant leap.
@minion
I’ve seen one of those in the wild. The guy got it at a dirt cheap price either from a friend who worked for Specialized or a rep at his LBS. Either way, he wouldn’t tell me the price he paid for it, but he did say that he wouldn’t have purchased it otherwise.
@Xyverz
A McLaren Venge? I saw one here at ProCycling and another on the road here in Colorado Springs near a new LBS on the north side. It’s a nice looking bike, but so are Wiliers and any number of other modern breeds. I would like to have the new Roubaix like Boonen rode at P-R, but a New McLaren or top end Roubaix aren’t going to make me any faster. I’ll stick with my current ride.
@Xyverz
And, the most expensive bike in the world isn’t going to make me any faster. I just need to ride more on the bikes I have, as my VMH consistently reminds me.
One turned up real quickly at Wellington’s Specialized dealer which made me suspicious. The scuttlebutt was that Specialized couldn’t manufacture the McLaren venges to specs that McLaren insisted on, which led to a falling out of the relationship, a very quiet period then these things popped up all over the place. Marketing fail if it’s true, if its not then internet rumours only.
Another nice modern bike (Courtesy of Cyclingnews.com) Francisco Ventoso’s Pinarello Dogma 2
@versio
Am worried rest might be necessary……done quite a few Km’s this year getting ready for a three day race, maybe too much too quickly.
Wilier’s are beautiful bikes, never been a Specialized fan, the whole concept shop doesn’t work for me, a bit too much Stepford Wives
@Adrian
Would second the bike fit suggestion. I dropped my saddle a fair bit a couple of months ago to ease some shoulder stiffness, but found that my knees started to ache. Much the same kind of pain you’re suggesting, but more achy than painful. Saddle went back up and knee pain disappeared. That is not to say: raise your saddle, you’ll be fine, but rather to look into whether you’re ideally positioned on your bike.
@Adrian
Rest, let your growth hormone do it’s work, and grow those blood pipes. Rest and you will feel solid.
Alright, looking for some peer counseling to help me out if I’ve lost my mind…
I have four nice road bikes. #1 is a carbon deal, then a nice steel Italian steed, then the other nice steel Italian Sunday cruiser, and finally…a third Italian steel steed.
I got this third one as a rain/lock up/commuter bike. Realized that even though it wasn’t rare or too nice, it was fucking dumb to be locking up a nice Italian road bike. Picked up a proper bike for those needs.
Now Italian #3 almost never gets ridden. It has Thron tubing, 9-speed 105, nothing too rare or jazzy or awesome, but a nice bike.
Thinking of selling it since I simply don’t ride it. Am I crazy? Will I regret this down the line? I’m all for a big stable, but I’ll still have 3 road bikes, 1 cross bike, 1 cross/commuter/rain bike, 1 track bike even if I move this along.
@Ron
The saddest thing is a bike that doesn’t get ridden. Be patient and make sure you’re not just going through a phase and that you won’t wind up riding it in a while. To me, though, three steels is a lot, so unless you want to keep it for some specific purpose, send it off to someone who will ride it.
n+1 is really about having bikes for different needs purposes and always having a reason for riding them; its not about just filling a house with more bikes for the sake of having more bikes.
Bikes are like people and dogs: they need a purpose to be happy.
Frank – NICE! You’ve just sorted me out.
I kind of grabbed this bike too quickly without thinking things through. Like I wrote, was going to be my rain/winter/do-it-all/lock up bike. Then I could barely fit full fenders with 23s AND I realized it was a shame to ding the paint by locking it up. Now have the perfect do it all bike, plenty of room for fenders/tires AND mounts for a rack – only wedding gift I’m pumped to get is a set of panniers and a rack (oh, and a new rack for the VMHs car). Going to do some touring this summer!
Haven’t ridden this bike much in many months. But good to caution me about a phase. This bike was too nice to serve the purpose of do-it-all but not quite as nice as my other 2 steel bikes, so never really gets ridden.
Will make an awesome bike for someone else. Plus, I’ve sold two bikes in the past few years and both are still in town so I get to see them around. Unlike an ex gf, I’m always happy to see them…and glad they have a purpose!
And yes, three steel road bikes is too much. Heck, I don’t own a mtn. bike!
I’d say if you truly got it as a commuter and no other reason, let it go since you already have another one to serve that purpose, and you have nicer bikes for proper road rides.
Get a mountain bike in it’s place.
“its” even. Damn grammar.
@Ron
Would love to see the bike and may help find someone to ride it — buy it. Realized you’re NC and can be up there if we organize ourselves. Have headquarters (parents) at Lake Lure/Chimney Rock. Would bring 2 other riders if we plan a ride.
Always a good feeling after ordering stuff (clearance) on probikekit.
@mcsqueak
squeak,
Well, I got it as a do-it-all bike – wet winter riding, rain riding, locking up, around town. Then I realized 1) full fenders are nice in wet weather. 2) road bikes don’t like full fenders & fat tires 3) locking up Italian steel & Italian paint, no matter how much inferior to my really nice Italian Jobs is still unacceptable.
I’ve been through one winter and I used one of my two cross bikes for most of my rides, either in the woods with my race one or on the road with my fendered one. Don’t see myself really riding this bike in bad weather because a) no fenders b) it’s still nice enough that I’d feel the need to give it a cleaning post-ride.
With my fendered modest cx bike I am set to hit the roads in wet or grimey weather and I don’t feel the need to keep it pristine. It’s the only bike I have that is truly…just a bike.
versio – I like keeping bikes in the family! Get in touch if you want. sirnrg at y’hoo
Need some color coordination opinions on my upcoming build. I’m equipped to go either way on this. White Cervelo R3 frame with black decals:
1.) White saddle + white bar tape + black hoods?
or
2.) Black saddle + black bar tape + white hoods?
Original plan was option 1, but I’ve since acquired a really nice black saddle, and thought option 2 might compliment the deep carbon wheels and avoid an over-abundance of white.
@Velosophe option 2, all white is a little excessive & the black will break it up nicely.
Ok – shiny Ridley Damocles has a problem. From the first day out of it’s box the rear cage (Centaur Gruppo) brushed the wheel in the big sprocket – no worries I thought and I adjusted the travel to the point that it only just went in to the big sprocket.
Cage still brushed the wheel.
Took it back to the LBS – adjusted there – tested thoroughly by man in shop who knows what he’s doing.
Cage still brushed the wheel on Sunday’s club run with man who owns the LBS – couldn’t adjust out at the roadside.
Going back to LBS later today – still no idea as to the cause – any theories? Ones from rocket scientists particularly welcome.
It’s a compact and I’m a big guy. I can’t imagine that I’m so strong that I’m twisting anything out of shape though.
As it’s a compact I can live with out the big sprocket 99% of the time – frankly when engaged its like riding a unicycle – but on the 1% when I need it I really need it.
@the Engine
Is the wheel out of dish causing the spokes to be closer to the drive side? Or maybe the cage or hanger are bent?
@Mikael Liddy
Thanks. #2 it will be. Although the verdict is still out on the white hoods. We’ll see.
@the Engine
I trust you had the rear derailleur hanger alignment checked?
@the Engine
I’m in the bent hanger or bent derailleur camp, maybe it got bent in the box. Of course the LBS dude surely would have checked this.
On another topic, the 200km cogal you proposed with Cairn o’ Mount etc while impressive just seems a bit over ambitious to me. It took me a few days to recover from the 130km of the Etape (4:27:38) and I was cramping in both knees and both calves at about the 90km point. If you’re going to be riding on the 17th anywhere near me (within an hour) I’d love to tag along. Maybe we can discuss the cogal by email or something?
@Marko – thought of that – the wheel appears to be spot on in the LBS jig but I’m going to try some other wheels as a test to see if that makes it go away. I can’t imagine that the torque would deform the wheel so much that it hits the cage.
Cage and hanger seem fine visually and the cage doesn’t touch the wheel in 1st on the stand. If it is the hanger the variation is so slight as to be invisible and the tolerances can’t be that close.
I’m thinking that my guns are putting enough wattage through to twist an already marginally in gauge cage slightly but surely there’s lots of big Belgians who would have reported on this already if it was a fault with the original factory build or grouppo.
@the Engine
Could a washer be fitted before the cassette goes on? Might give you an extra millimetre of clearance.
@snoov
LBS called – can’t see anything and have tested all the alignments – best guess is that the chain touching the front cage in the lowest ratio has a resonance that sounds like the spokes hitting the rear cage – would also explain why it only seems to happen under load. Will test tonight and let you all know if its a solution.
Could cut the Cogal distance by centring on, say, Stonehaven and going out by Cairn o’Mount and back by Durris. You were getting on for 13 minutes faster than me on the Etape (I didn’t lie about my time and spent most of the morning passing two wheeled road blocks as a result – I’ll know better next year – although I could have observed Rule #5 and just pedalled harder) so I wouldn’t worry too much about beig dropped and having a long and solitary ride towards the end of the run.
Are you in Banchory? In any event the Trossachs Ton is on the 17th (entries still available) and I thought that might be good for many of us Scots because its in the middle of the country and not because it goes past my house.
@the Engine
Gasp! Are you insinuating I lied about my expected time? Only joking and I reckon without the wind and rain, with a bit of Sun, I might have been close.
Would it be ok to use my 18-23mm latex tubes with 25mm tyres?
@snoov
Yes
This is my sole remaining racing bike from the 80’s. I think it’s the King of Mercia Racing model. It’s from around ’83 or ’84. (I started racing in ’84, but didn’t acquire the frame until ’88 or ’89.) The frame is Reynolds 531. It only has one set of bidon cage braze-ons. The cage is American Classic.
The components are mostly Super Record. At least, on a distant previous frame, everything was Campag Super Record. As frames were broken, the parts migrated. Some were damaged in crashes and replaced. Others were loaned to teammates, and there was much bartering. Still other parts were replaced because I found stuff that worked better for me.
The saddle’s a Selle San Marco Rolls. Great saddle. The seatpost is a Campag Record. The Super Record tended to slip. The Record was/is bombproof.
The front derailleur is Chorus from around ’88 or ’89. I swapped it with a teammate who wanted my Super Record front derailleur for his TT bike. It was supposed to be a temporary swap. Oh well. The rear derailleur is Super Record.
The bars are Cinelli 66-42, Campione del Mondo. The stem is a Cinelli 1A, 130mm.
The wheels are my training wheels, Mavic MA-2, 36-hole, three-cross. I built them myself. So completely bulletproof. Hubs are Campag Record.
The pedals are Campag. I got them in ’89 which replaced my white, first generation Look pedals that I rode in starting in ’87.
I still have my Super Record pedals in a box. However, the Christophe clips and Binda straps are gone.
The shifters are Simplex friction. IMHO, they worked better and faster than the Super Record shifters (still got ’em in a box).
The freewheel is either a Regina or a Suntour 7-speed, 12-25. The cranks are Super Record, 172.5, 42×52.
The headset is Record. Super Record was soft and pitted pretty easily.
The calipers are Super Record, basically the same as the C-Record without the little blue stone.
It’s last race set up wasn’t so retro. I just put it back together a few months ago with the non-aero levers that I had taken off around ’86 or ’87. I found some reproduction gum rubber hoods that look great and some reproduction vinyl tape that looks pretty sharp. Too bad I didn’t have original Benotto tape sitting in a box.
It has a wonderful ride. It’s like comparing albums to iPods. My old bike is warm, rich, solid, and full of something good that I can’t describe. My Look is badass in a Nissan GTR kinda way. My Mercian is a Triumph TR-6. Minus any Lucas electronics.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Love your bike. I am going back to my stash of 42×52 EPS rings and 44×54 next — just to live to tell about it (to myself).