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 ...
@Blah
Of course the focus is on road, but we don’t need to be told what we can post on our site. Anyway, I know Scaler meant nothing by it, nor did I. All part of the banter.
But minion, well he’s just someone who can’t ride a mountain bike!
@RedRanger Possibly, but that’s a whole different issue – I was answering the query about adjusting gears or cables etc.
@Blah
It’s @Derhoggz’s. My new steed is a bit farther up-post.
@mcsqueak
How long is your top tube and how long is your current stem? By the way — since you are a fellow Felt owner — Felt replaced my cracked 2005 frame with a nearly new 2011 frame under their lifetime warranty. Should you ever need it.
@Monkeyscat
Always had a soft spot for Santa Cruz. Make re think of this obar friend. Long since retired, but fond memories!
This has got me looking at pics ofolds bikes. Here’s another one in V-Colours…
@brett
You and I are going to have fun at KT2013. At least that’s what Frank tells me. ‘Course he’s Dutch…….
@936adl
Speaking of V- Colors, I rode this around on the 4th.
@brett
Of course dude, It was just a good opportunity for me to post that photo.
@brett
Damn you and damn your mature defusing of what could have, and should have, been a really good pointless argument about nothing at all!
@Nate
Yeh, I did know it was Derhoggz’s, but screwed up the reply, sorry.
Your Pegoretti is the mutt’s nuts. Seriously beautiful bike.
@936adl
I can’t beleive how pathetically small that 32 chainring looks!
@scaler911
That cruiser really is something! What’s it ride like?
@brett
This could be the only scenario in which you constitute the 1%.
@Blah
Oh hell no, not while I’m around. And I feel obliged to point out to Brett that I can indeed ride a mountain bike. Badly, incredibly badly, but they’re buckets of fun till I hurt myself, throw the toys out the cot, sell them and refuse to ride them for another two years.
Did I mention I picked up a trailstar for 20 bucks? Can’t find the fucking camera after we moved, but when it turns up you’ll see.
And on the point of immaturity, what about Scalergate? Redeemed or bluffing?
@936adl
weighs a ton. goes up hill poorly (but that’s partly because you’re not sitting over the cranks, and partly because I was pretty hammered), but on the flats and downhill, it’s like a 72 Cadillac. Smooth. My buddy buys old bikes and then pimps them out. Here’s another one;
@minion
@minion Wait. I thought tthat was a picture of @Scaler911
@mouse
@DerHoggz
Izalco 3.0 seems to be winning lots of awards for best in class – must be good – did you get a test ride?
@936adl if you look in the back ground of my pic you will see a Superlight back there. I have been riding it for 8 years and still love it.
@Monkeyscat
So there is. You’re obviously a big Santa Cruz fan. Mine was replaced by this……
@936adl Yes I am. When I got that bike it was down to a choice between the Ellsworth Truth and the Santacruz Superlite. I went with the superlite because there were no ellworth dealers around. No regrets about my choice at all.
very nice replacment bike. is that a Manitou Black fork? What area of the UK do you live?
My first love, whaddaya think of the sidewalls?
@Monkeyscat
cheers. The forks are Pace RC40s.
I live in Shropshire in the midlands.
@snoov
Fucking loving that . My favourite ever BMX. Never managed to own one, yet!
Sadly I gave it away once I’d put a crack in it, wish I’d kept it because now you just can’t get this version anywhere, only the looptail version where the chain stays and seat stays are made from one piece. I replaced it with a Skyway Street Beat which I had a bad slam on and sold after a couple of months, never to ride BMX again.
@snoov Sweet bike.
Here is a pic of Little Scat bringin the pain. he has been racing for about two years now.
FTW
@936adl I was in the UK a fews back for a visit, but never made it to your neck of the woods. Beautiful country. Looking foward to bringing my boys there soon.
@Monkeyscat
Awesome, little scat looks like he knows a thing or two already about getting rad.
@Monkeyscat
Thanks, little scat has a pretty cool set up there too, sweet.
I got it chrome plated and sprayed it and of course got Redline Flites for it.
Then I replaced the F&F.
Now I’m all grown up and all about road bikes. I just posted these to dilute the mountain bike photos, but when I’m out on my bike I nod at anyone on any bike.
Turned up this quote today by H G Wells.
“When I see an adult on a bicycle I do not despair for the human race.” I really like it.
@Nate
I ride a 56 and my current stem is 100mm.
Glad to hear they hooked you up!! Great customer service.
Those old Treks are boss.
I feel really lucky to have gotten this bicycle for what I paid for it. It really blows my mind that the bike and components are in such excellent condition considering it is something like 22 years old. Shimano 600 Ultegra parts and a Biopace ring. I love it.
Just because you all love the mountain bikes so much… my current ride;
GT Sensor 9r, full XTR, Stans Arch/Hope, Haven bar/stem, Reverb post.
@brett nice. Rule #25 has dashed a mountain bike from me. hope is alive.
@snoov
Why’d you let Justin Bieber do that to your bike?
@brett Lovely. Like mud wrestling a severely freaky woman – good times!
@brett Disgraceful! How very dare you ride anything but a road bike?
@Oli
Exactly!
@minion
His minders told me they’d break my legs if I didn’t let him ride my bike. Like me @monkeyscat and @936adl, Bieber thought it looked rad and wanted to buy it off me till he noticed the crack. I said it wasn’t there before he started doing his circus stunts on it and he shuffled off without saying a word, what a scumbag.
@brett
I’m gald to see GT making a come back. I have owned several and loved them all. Nice looking bike.
@RedRanger you need to get a cheaper car. I have a 99 chevy truck. So, I can go buy just about any bike and it will still be worth more than my truck…. Rule Compliant… for once.
@minion WTF was that? looks like an inverted Ball Bag. is that what yall show your kids down there?
Specialized is going the road disc brake route. It just looks wrong.
http://twitter.com/bikehugger/status/222721782828904453
@G’rilla
Gotta clean my eyes out with soap now.
I like caliper brakes. :-(
I think I know what my next project for my frame building endeavors will be…
@Oli
I hear you. I hope it’s a fad on road bikes.
@Cyclops
Add some stakes to aerate a lawn.
@Cyclops
I’ll get to work on empting those kegs for you.
@Monkeyscat
Bit of an in joke, it’s exactly what it looks like. From a British show called the Mighty Boosh, which goes down well with English bred Aussies/Kiwis.