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 ...
This is a Bosun…
@Oli
The Higgs Bosun is of course the famous StJohn McCockles-Arkwright the Bosun of the sloop USS She Man Oh! who rescued Captain Elijah Higgs from certain death at the hands of the Wild Women of Nantucket. Higgs went on to develop the concept of photographing expensive bits of safety bicycles whilst recuperating in Wyoming and it is his theories of angle that all serious cycling photographers refer to.
@Oli
StJohn McCockles-Arkwright himself.
He was only 27 when this picture was painted. His time on the She Man Oh! was tough. On his return home from that last terrible voyage to Japan he discovered that Mrs McCockles-Arwright had shacked up with a triathlete and he took to drinking Baxter’s from the china mug in the picture – all that was left to him following the acrimonious divorce proceedings.
@mouse
Of course. It was early when I posted that and I’d stupidly forgotten about the Higgs boson and the resulting Yukawa interaction. This is why I shouldn’t post before the morning caffeine infusion.
@the Engine
I’m afraid to google Wild Women of Nantucket while at work in order to confirm your story, so I’ll have to take your word for it. Clearly your knowledge on cycling photography and its history is encyclopedic.
mouse – nice bike, though I have to say the pink tape is pushing the boundaries. Would rather some contrasting tape, say black. (I think white tape on cx bikes is for dudes who don’t have to clean their own tape.)
Woah, one cross series is called Dirty Deeds? Damnnit, I’d love to race in that. Neckties, contracts, high voltage!
The ex-gf’s father was a bosun out of Galveston, TX on some huge tankers. He was charged with keeping some pretty nasty dudes in line for months at a time. Carried a handgun, rode a Harley when not at sea, & wasn’t the warmest guy to meet. I did my best not to piss him off.
@Oli
Really? Looks like Andy Schleck in 30 year’s time to me.
@Gianni
Beautiful machine. I have a couple of issues. Given its rather small size, I think I’d man it up a bit with a black saddle and white or black bar tape. It looks a wee bit girly as-is (and this is coming from someone whose Colnago Super Record in the 80s was pink and white.)
@wiscot
I’ll take the counter argument here.
I’d go as pink as possible. That way when you race, you can lord it over everyone when you beat them on a pink bike. Alternatively, in the unlikely event you get beaten, it’s no big deal. They’re supposed to beat someone riding a pink bike.
I raced a pink Cannondale back in the day. And I currently ride a pink – er, magenta – T-Mobile Giant.
@mouse
Oh, and great looking bike, btw.
@Oli
Dammit @Oli, your edjamucation was clearly better than mine.
@Ron
@wiscot
@Flying Crowbar
Clearly I subscribe to @Flying Crowbar’s argument.
I figured that as I’m gettin a pink bike, I might as well go bat shit crazy and make it as pink as possible, within limits of course. Hey, I did restrain myself from putting pink hoods on.
Nothing wrong with having a bike that makes it look like you have lady bits so long as you can back it up with your guns.
Extra motivation, I say.
@the Engine
Of course. *slaps forehead*
I always conflate people with hypothtical elementary particles predicted by particle physics.
What an amazingly deep history we have here on the origins of safety bicycle photography. The most amazing thing though is the coincidental cross logic of Higgs Bosun and the Higgs boson.
A compelling argument for the unified field theory. Give that man a Nobel Prize.
Who says that Velominati is just about bikes.
@mouse
The universe has rules and the Velominati have Rules. However ours are not only capitalised but are infinitely more complex. Unified Field Theory – pah! I give you Rule #8.
Road next to this guy for awhile on my commute home. Fixed gear. Denies doing it for specific training, just looking for a workout on his rides to/from work.
@Flying Crowbar
PINK KIT FOR THE WIN I’ve been thinking that for days. If you beat people on a pink bike, wearing pink kit, preferably with pink tyres and with a pink flare trailing pink smoke off the back of your bike, that would be awesome.
@Ron
Wow. That sounds like either the beginning of a violent 80’s movie, a story in a bar or what’s written on your chart in hospital.
@Oli
@Flying Crowbar
@mouse
@the Engine
I applaud the turn this conversation has taken.
@xyxax
I can only imagine how obnoxious that fork would be.
@DerHoggz
I have to admit, I’m just not getting the “why” for entire concept.
Public discussion:
When I last left my bike at the mechanic, he replaced my bartape free of charge. Problem is, I had intended to install new, white bartape. Instead, I believe this is an opportunity for even better colour-matching. The two options (for a black bike, with a white Fizik saddle)
A) Black bike, white saddle, white tape
B) Black bike, white saddle, white stem, black tape, white hoods
It appears to me the second option would offer nicer contrasts.
@Flying Crowbar
I’d love a picture of said ride. I’m awaiting the day I get to inherit my step-dad’s T-Mobile Giant – such beautiful steeds.
@tessar
This is it when it was first built up. I’ve since gone to white bar tape and added a V badge to the top tube.
@Flying Crowbar
I’m not normally a massive fan of the Giant geometry (the triangles always seem too squashed) but fuck me that’s a beautiful bike. Bel Mezzo indeed!
@Mikael Liddy
That’s clearly ’cause you’re too tall to appreciate geometry that suits us midgets.
@Flying Crowbar
That sir, is a beautiful bike. Interestingly, I rather like the black tape and saddle combo. The whole white tape / leader argument that gets trotted out here all the time shouldn’t always apply IMHO.
@xyxax
I rode the last 5km of my ride out of the saddle today with a softening tire. That bloke has my respect, at least at a physical level, if not an aesthetic one.
@tessar
Not a fan of black bars, white hoods. White hoods are OK if they are 80’s (and early 90’s) era Campa record, or with white tape, but I find white hoods with black tape a bit garish.
I say white saddle, white tape.
@Flying Crowbar
Well done. Hope you kept the stem, the Deda Newton is of a more refined era, and is my second-favorite ahead-style stem ever, after the ITM Millenium.
Isn’t there a date in the states like independence day or groundhog day that is the traditional day to change from black to white bar tape for the race season? I think it must be in spring sometime, and it’s a fruity holiday that no one in their right mind would pay any attention to – but that could be a rule round here. First day of spring, white bar tape goes on #1, et cetera.
@frank
After riding behind him for awhile, I came alongside and told him how impressed I was. He said the hardest was going downhill, having to keep the pedals turning, but with little to “push” against to hold his body weight.
I also note that his forearms are bigger than my calves.
@frank
This reminds me of something I saw on Sunday when I was doing the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) ride in Milwaukee. On the road in we passed a guy on a scooter! It had like a 24″ front wheel and 20″ back wheel. Looked custom-made. He was doing the 80km option. Crazy! Mind you, compared to that thing in the picture, riding (?) a scooter would be a breeze.
Thanks for the compliments.
@frank
I have the Newton stem/bar combo, and it is quite fantastic.
I may have to consider getting a new set of bars as the anodize is wearing off between the stem and bar tape on this set. Anyone ever see that before? Is my sweat that corrosive? I’d like to think it is flaking due to wind blast and massive exposure to V, but I know better, sadly.
@mouse
I went to the white tape (fizik, of course) with much trepidation, but after I wrapped the bars, the bike took on a whole new, and to me, better, look, which I didn’t think was possible.
At the urging of my good friend Steampunk (whom I have known for many years, but only for a few months as “Steampunk”) I am finally getting around to introducing myself to the community. About two months ago, almost to the day, I bought my first road bike. Prompted by Steampunk, I quickly found Velominati.com. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Frank and the rest of you for such an entertaining, informative, and engaging site. My daily visits here to read the articles and banter have quickly become a most enjoyable part of my introduction to the world of cycling.
In the past two months, I have gone from being a non-cyclist to someone who rides almost every day. Much of my time off the bike these past few months has been spent reading about cycling and about bikes, or in conversation at my LBS over many tasty espressos (yes, I think I am well and truly hooked, on the cycling and on the espressos!). I look forward to joining the conversations here, to improving my rule compliance and, especially, to joining some of the Cogals. I have already committed to Steampunk that I will join the Canadian Cogal next year (I live about 6 hours up the road in Ottawa).
In the meantime, here is the bike I’m currently riding. I have upgraded the wheels to Shimano RS80 C24s with Continental Grand Prix 4000S tires. I switched out the original FSA Vero compact crankset for an FSA SL-K standard. The new saddle is a Fizik Arione. I also replaced the original Felt bar tape with Fizik microtex.
@Duende
Welcome! I think you’ll fit right in with that kind of bike, banter and use of the magic F word.. Watch out for that nasty looking case of cross chain (big ring, big sprocket) you’ve got going there!
@Duende
Kudos! Black means severe business with Red “blood pipes” (credit Marko) — cables
@Duende
You have done well for a first road bike. Chapeau!
@wiscot
Which F word? Fizik, FSA, or Felt?
@Duende
I’d also recommend getting rid of the long vertical pole that runs through the bottom bracket. It might serve some purpose in keeping you upright in the saddle, but it can’t be that comfortable (even if it is colour coordinated with the rest of the bike).
(Looking forward to riding with you soon!).
@wiscot
On the topic of scooters, around here we pass these all the time: http://www.amishscooters.com/moreinfo.html
Other than the horse and buggy this is one of the faster ways they choose to get around.
@King Clydesdale
Nah, it wasn’t an Amish looking rig. Bit more pro-scooter kinda thing. It was one of those rides where all shapes and sizes of folks rode all kinds of bikes. Violations galore as I said before, but hats off to many for tackling distances that were way beyond their comfort levels.
@Steampunk
I think Fizik is a magic word around here, non?
@wiscot
Thanks for the welcome and well spotted!
@versio @Flying Crowbar
Thanks!
@Steampunk
But the guys at the shop told me they were throwing it in as a no-cost special extra. Something about “kicking ass on the merry-go-round.” I just assumed they were using some insiders’ cycling lingo.
@Duende
Would that be the same merry-go-round currently featuring the Schleck Brothers and Johan Bruyneel?
@Flying Crowbar
How old are the bars? You are in Houston right? Sweat can corrode the shit out of bars and stems, and you’ll be all over the road in all the wrong places if either fails while you are riding. Bottom line, I’d inspect the bars carefully including under the bar tape and stem clamp, and probably replace them.
@Nate
Yeah, I’m in Houston. Been here my entire riding career, and I’ve definitely seen corrosion on bars before. But I’m not used to seeing the coating abrade away. Of course, these Newtons are the first bars I’ve ever had that weren’t clear-coated, so it might have been happening and I was just missing it.
I’ll definitely take your advice on the inspection and go from there. I didn’t see anything under the tape when I changed it or around the bar/stem interface, so it might merely be cosmetic.
@Frank
I noticed that when ‘fizik’ is posted from a smart phone (or at least an iPhone) it doesn’t auto-correct to Fi’zi:k. Were you aware of that oddity?
@xyxax
Well, if your goal, as the name on the frame suggests, is to make your ride harder, I’m pretty sure that contraption is definitely going to do the job.
At least he’s got a brake on the front wheel…
@Duende
Your enjoying descending with that merry-go-round bar takes on a whole new meaning…
@Jeff in PetroMetro
My Look is dead. Cracked drive side seat stay. Warranty inquiry begins Monday morning. If that doesn’t work, I’ll check into crash replacement or maybe have Calfee fix it.
My Cervelo S1 has just moved up to Bike #1 for now.
Bummer.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Lame, that bike is what, a year old? I bet they’ll help you.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Dooode! What happened? That sucks.
On the subject, I think something that doesn’t get discussed too much is carbon. Well, in the sense that we don’t talk about how it’s hard to properly inspect it. On a steel frame, you can see rust, dents, cracks in the welds. Easy. But with carbon it’s a lot more subtle, if you can see it at all. I just got some carbon bars and stem, and they’re really nice (takes the road noise out really well). What troubles me is that you can’t see them slowly wear and fail. I guessing that if they do fail it’s catastrophic.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Foook, that sucks.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
FUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKK!!!!! NO! Calfee can work miracles, so that’s a good last resort. Please tell me your bike couldn’t handle the massive power of your guns.
Dude, it will be OK. And the Soloist is a solid fall-back bike. But. Seriously. FUCK. What a fucking bummer.
Condolences.