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 ...
@scaler911
Have you considered riding your bike occasionally, in stead of pushing it?
@frank
Ha! I’m one of those guys that while I take great care of my stuff, I use it until it’s worn the fuck out. If I could have gotten those small bolts out without using a drill and screw extractor, I’da kept using them till the retaining springs broke (which they eventually will, ask @McSqueak).
See, much better……..
@the Engine
The screws that hold the adapter plate in are going right into their respective metal screw sockets in the sole of your shoe. I can’t imagine the amount of force needed to rip those screws out, or break the adapter plate.
I use a bit of blue lock-tight (hand-release strength, NOT the permanent red stuff) to hold the mounting plate screws in and haven’t had any problems.
Just replaced my cleats after 2 years and 8,000k of riding. Plates didn’t look as bad as @Scaler’s and my screws weren’t stripped, but I had broken the end off of the horseshoe-shaped retaining ring on the left side, which made clipping in difficult.
@mcsqueak
You know, the other thing is my left one was way worse than my right, since thats the one I unclip at stoplights and such. The right cleat was still in “OK” shape.
I still want to eventually try SPs but haven’t forked out the dough. Coincidentally, the Zeros are cheaper than the Keo2Max. Were I to go for SeedPlay pedals, which should I get (for somebody who’s not interested in spending $300 for a set of pedals just quite yet): X2s or Zeros?
@Xyverz
I’ve been using the stainless steel X-series pedals forever. I can’t say enough great things about them. A million years ago I bought the first white Look clip in pedals, like Le Blaireau’s, and eventually tired of the look’s creaking and worn cleats. Switched to speedplay and never looked back.
If you get serious about the Kool Covers to protect the screws/cleats, it’s the best ever. I’m trying to get the Keepers to all switch over but they are a stubborn luddite lot.
I can’t imagine what happened to @ The Engine’s pedals, I’ve never heard of that as the pedals are the easiest to clip out of…weird.
@Xyverz
Steel Zeros. If ur looking to save cash, they’re the least expensive. I picked mine up at the LBS for under a $100 if I remember correctly.
@Xyverz Speedplay Zero Stainless $199 versus Chrome-Moly $129. Cromoly will provide great power transfer.
@frank
Got it! Thanks, Frank. Is white lithium the way to go over say Park grease, which is labeled to be good for a few things, including headsets?
Pedals, eh? Been eyeballing Speedplays for awhile. But, the thought of switching pedals on a few bikes, plus a few shoes has me sticking with LOOKs. Some of ya are on the new Keo Blades. An upgrade over Sprints or the Keo 2 Max?
Also, has anyone replaced the axle/spindle on the Keo 2 Max? I have 2009s, out of warranty, but the axle is moving and I feel it every pedal rotation. Took me a long damn time to figure out where the click was coming from, now not sure how to fix the pedal. I guess shops carry the axle replacement kit?
@Gianni I like how they don’t offer Kool Covers for Time – they don’t need them. HA!
@Ron White Lithium is perfectly fine. just soak the bearings in degreaser and use a soft bristled brush (old toothbrush) to get as much of the old gunk as you can, then pack, pack, and repack the bearing with the white lithium and you’ll be fine. It really doesn’t take that long.
I did get a creak/squeak from my Time RXS Carbon’s once, I just put some white lithium in the coil spring and it’s attachment points. Nary a sound since. The iClics look sweet and the concept is so simple, but I can’t justify moving on from the RXS’s until the cleats get to be the same price as the old stock iClics.
@Ron
Dude, I doubt it’s the axel/ spindle. It’s probably the bearings and/ or seals. And while I haven’t worked on those, it’s usually a 6 star screws or clips holding shit together. I’d check the bearings first befor ordering a new axel.
@mcsqueak
Maybe my guns are mightier than I thought
@the Engine
Could be!
I’d certainly be interested in seeing pictures if you have any handy – I’m having a hard time visualizing what you did exactly, besides rip apart your cleats with massive watts.
Anyways – went to the LBS and put new Speedplay cleats on – let’s see what happens. I cleaned, lubed and protected the old ones as per the manufacturers instructions which seems to be more than most but didn’t get much out of them in return.
On review my Shimano shoes are looking shagged – size 47 in the R132. They’re the right length but they’re now way too wide and creasing down the middle. The rear ratchet is right at the end of its travel and still not tight enough. I’ve put the cleats on them for now and had a great ride this evening – within touching distance of my pre back injury times. The LBS effectively only sell Giro, Bont and Shimano. Shimano just aren’t right but there’s a pair of black Giro Trans HV’s, size 46 that seem close to what I want. I reckon there’s only a little bit more in my Shimano’s so I’d like to hear recommendations. The LBS have been good to me so I’d like to stick with their offerings unless this is considered insane.
Also my Campagnolo 10 Speed chain has a couple more weeks life in it – I think the grime on the Coast to Coast did for it – is 2,500 or so kms a bit light for a chain? What should I replace it with for the best compromise between performance and cost? I clean and lube my chain regularly obviously.
Finally (it was a long LBS session) my Vredstein Fotezzas are beginning to look worn – again at 2,500 or so kms. The rear is slick and squaring off – how much longer should I run it and should I replace like for like or put on my beloved Conti 4000 GP’s?
Oh and finally finally – I got minorly cut up by a 4×4 at the end of my ride today – he decided to overtake inside the 30mph limit on a downhill bend leading to a roundabout (where you can’t see the traffic coming from the right until the last minute because of a wall) and a 20mph zone – I was doing 25mph (sorry British) at the time and was signalling to turn right around the roundabout (we drive on the left so right turns and roundabouts are the tricky ones for us) but he overtook regardless. Anyway – I caught him at the lights and was so pumped I whacked his window and gave him some abuse to which he responded in the predictable fashion – I rode off without waiting for the lights to change (well I was next to to two tonnes of metal driven by a man in a bad mood). He passed me further along and gave me a wide berth and no shouting. I think he lives near me.
I’m no expert but provided he got out of the car I’m 100kgs and 1.90 and have been practising karate, aikido, jiu-jitsu and other Japanese words for quite a while. I would likely have done him some damage had he decided to make more of it and I suspect that this is not a good place to be. My point is – does everyone get this aggressive when riding hard or is it just me? I seem to be having an incident every other ride and I’m never sure whether I’m over reacting or the bastards really are out to get me.
@mcsqueak
Brilliantly I didn’t take a photo but if you can visualise the adaptor plate still firmly attached to my shoe with four ragged holes where the bolts were previously embedded you’ll have the general picture.
Jens uses Speedplay and his guns are monumental…
@the Engine
I’d say 2.5k seems a bit light for a chain – according to my records, I had my last chain for 3.4k – it still had a little life left, but had started to stretch and for that type of thing, I opt to replace early rather than try to push it and have to break on me in the middle of nowhere.
I run Shimano rather than Campa, so I don’t know if their chains wear more quickly or not. Maybe you’re just hard on your shit!
Same deal with tires, I got 4k of life out of my last set of GP4’s, and only replaced them because I bought new wheels and wanted fresh tires on them. They are still on my old wheels, and would probably be good for a few hundred more k.
My original tires were some cheap Vittoria ones, only lasted about 2.5k until they were getting quite nicked up and worn, and I started to worry about their integrity.
Lastly, road rage – I don’t have it often but I’m not really provoked often. I’ve had very, very few instances of people being aggressive towards me. Most of my yelling at drivers is more of a “HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!” when I don’t think they’re paying attention while making a turn or whatever, and I want them to see me. Happened last weekend when a girl turning off of a side street was looking the opposite way as she decided to floor it out into the street right towards me. I followed that with a “watch there the fuck you’re going!”, but that is pretty rare.
I’m not built for fighting and wouldn’t intimidate anyone, so I’d rather not prompt someone to get out of their car and try to beat me.
@mcsqueak
Yeah – I seem to be being hard on my kit – I keep it clean and lubed but it’s clearly wearing faster than I thought it would.
The road rage thing started to worry me on holiday – got nicely chilled and realised just how often I’d been shouting at drivers. I mean – is it me? I wouldn’t intentionally provoke someone in to a fight as, for all I know, their mastery of Japanese words is way beyond mine and I’d end up with a Ridley stuffed in to my alimentary system. But today – yet again – I was ready to go for the title and this will surely end in tears. Am I the bully or is it the guy in the 4×4? Or are we both morons?
@the Engine
Ah, I see – so the plate was still in firmly, but the screws holding on the cleat itself ripped out, leaving the cleat still attached to the pedal. Ugh.
And I think the screws in Jens’ speedplays are probably too scared to backout/rip out – his lock-tight is a mixture sweat and pain.
@the Engine
Hard to say since your riding conditions may be wildly different than mine and the driving culture there may be way different, but you may be wound a little tight. But that could very well be justified if you have nitwits buzzing you, cutting you off all the time, and all that – things drivers don’t even think about could kill you, which would get anyone’s blood pressure up.
@the Engine I’ve been amazed by the longevity of my Chorus 11 Speed chain. I don’t own a chain wear tool so I’ve had the LBS check it twice now, including today. Apparently it’s 75% worn and I’d say it’s got up to 4,000km on it. Admittedly, the vast majority of those kms were on dry roads and I wipe it down after every ride. As you say, much depends on the conditions you ride in, plus whether you tend to mash, sprint, climb hard etc. The cost of the chain makes me glad I’ve reserved the #1 bike for good conditions because living in a rainy climate means I’m sure this chain would have been totally worn out ages ago.
@the Engine
Buy yourself a chain wear indicator – a very sophisticated tool which will set you back fuck all. It will tell you when you need to swap your chain. 2500kms is way too early. Unless you have done something like combine a new chain with a very fucked cassette and front rings it shouldnt be worn that quickly. But then again, maybe The Engine is also connected to The Massive Guns which have stretched your chain already.
As to your tyres, try swapping the front over with the rear. Might get you a bit more wear before you ditch both of them and go to Contis. You should never have left them.
As for road rage – always remember that your dimensions and Japanese words are not as effective when you are wearing bike shoes. But I say go for it Engine-san – smash the cunts with a spinning roundhouse!
@Ron Your Park grease will be fine, mate.
@the Engine – I put somewhere in the neighborhood of 6000-6500 kms on my last chain. I wouldn’t recommend it though. From what I’ve been hearing, ~4k is the max anybody should put on a chain.
@Marcus – I have to agree with the bit about chain wear indicators. Cheap as hell and easy to use. But I think a spinning roundhouse with a cleat to the face would be uberdamage… although the slipping on the planted cleat after damage is done will result in massive hilarity.
@the Engine I find it’s better to be cool these days. After years of getting irate (and even violent) at the appalling behaviour of motorists I realised it was actually affecting me much more than them, and that my rides were a lot more enjoyable if i didn’t get angry at every close pass or bad maneuver.
Don’t get me wrong though, I still definitely feel angry sometimes but usually I just choose to breathe through it and let the anger pass swiftly. My blood pressure is reduced, and I get home still in a good mood.
@the Engine
I was aware that I was “riding angry” back when I last lived in Melbourne (Oz). I’d go out and have a half-incident and spend the rest of the ride muttering and grumbling in my mind. Just wasn’t fun. I thought it was my problem and tried to get a lot more zen about the whole experience.
I now live in Singapore and things are nice. Traffic is pretty slow and relaxed and people look out for you, generally. In a year I’ve had “words” with three drivers, and I know this because it’s such a surprise when it happens.
Anyway, I just returned from seven weeks in Melbourne. Hadn’t ridden there for five years. First ride out in Melb some dickhead revved his oh-so-impressive V8 Commode-adore as he passed really close on a nicely wide road. Took some self-control to not react as I passed him at the next red light.
Back to grumpy riding? Not quite, but I think it’s Australian drivers that have the problem, not me. I’ve read a lot of quotes from Aussie pros returning home to know they think so too.
Last thing: Way back when, I gave the finger and a gobfull of abuse to some guy who overtook pointlessly before we got to a roundabout at the bottom of a hill. He overtook closely, then had to brake hard in front of me for the roundabout. Classic agressive/dangerous/impatient shit. After I had a go, he blocked my way with the car on the next climb and got out. We had a bit of a shouting match. He was much shorter than me, but probably weighed the same. I was still straddling my bike, with stupid slippery shoes on. We were both fired up, but I think we both had second thoughts now we were face to face. After a fair bit of shouting and threats, he got back in, I rode away without anything much happening. Afterwards I thought about what might have happened, or the only two things that really could have happened: One, I could have been beaten up. Two, I could have beaten him up. So either I’m in a mess, or up on charges for making a mess of someone else. Just didn’t seem what I was looking for when I set out that day. I try to keep that in mind when I think of chasing someone down.
@Blah read a book a while back written by this English fella who circumnavigated the globe on his bike. Didnt mention driver behaviour at all other than to say that for him, Melbourne was the worst city in the world for driver aggro.
Ha, my old Campy Veloce chain did about 15000kms – and when checked with a wear indicator still had life in it. Would love to know what all you guys do to your gear!! Current Chorus chain is at 3500kms and still looking like new. Bike gets ridden in all weather but hosed and rubbed down and after a wet ride. I do all my own servicing, I like the LBS, just not sure they are as attentive as I am.
On the tyres – I’ve been a die hard VIttoria Rubino fan for ages, the Contis I used before used to pick up so much crap I don’t know how they didn’t flat. I’ve not had a puncture for about 5 years which I attribute to keeping the pressures up and not riding over broken glass… I tried Michelin Pro Race but they fell apart – literally – the sidewalls were disintegrating and they were worn through in 1500kms – awesome tyre but too expensive to run. The rubinos usually last me about 4-5000kms.Currently though I’m using Schwalbe ZX and I have to say I’m fairly impressed so far.
I do maintain the bike and the divetrain but must admit accessories like pedals, tyres and wheels I tend to leave to their own devices – that said I usually ride tyres till I can see the wire and as above have used the same pedals unchecked for about 5 years. The one thing I do go through regularly though is cleats – I reckon I’m lucky to get much more than 6-9 months out of the cleats, it’s not that I walk every where in them, I just seem to be pretty tough on them.
Road rage is a funny thing, some days I’m up for smackng anything and others just content to swear at them and let it go. As I get older I realise that it is completely pointless to get into something at the roadside for the reasons @blah mentions above (it ends up bad either way). As a driver and a rider I try to be tolerant in both ways. Some cyclists are fucktards, and some drivers are and I’m sure I’ve been both at some point. If I can say one thing, I just don’t think a moment of lunacy on anyone’s part is worth the consequences and I just try and keep that in mind.
My 2 cents worth.
Gruppo Centaur – Get about 5000km per chain, cassette has 15,000 and going strong. I am slack on cleaning.
Pedals, just Shimano, probably the cheap ones. Cleats wear out every 2 years from walking on them, get a new set for stuff all and go again.
Roadrage, not worth it. Just attack the next hill harder to let the steam off.
@Oli
+1, I find riders in my area suck and I used to get all furious. I agree with Oli, it was just ruining my day and my ride and really not effecting the douche drivers.
@the Engine
on the other hand, if I was 1.90 meters and a martial artist like, I’d probably be more apt to voice my opinion….this may not be the best for me though. I libe in New Hampshire, a state where for $25 (and backgorund check) you can get a license to legally carry a concealed firearm.
excuse me, the above should say affecting not effecting
@Oli Yea, it’s really good not to react what-so-ever if someone does something on purpose, that way you deny them of any kind of gratification. When they look back in the mirror and see you taking a sip from your water bottle instead of waving your arms or giving the one finger they won’t feel like they succeeded.
Had two old riding buddies along with me on the ride today.
This is the front Shamal Sun Star shinning on the pavement
If the anger grows to great to suppress I find going online and starting a pointless argument on one forum or another definitely helps ease the angst…
*too* :-(
Sound advice folks. Zen is another Japanese word.
I think I live in a place with lots of crap on the road including water, grime and drivers. As an aside – all my crashes and serious near misses to date have involved other cyclists some of whom are unbelievably bad at riding a bike. I suppose its about thinking pro as much as looking pro.
Any thoughts on the Giro’s/Bonts?
@graham d.m.
The kitten lives another day…
@the Engine
As most above say about motorist road rage, stay calm, let it go. Karma will sort them out!
Many years ago, must of been 16/17 years old, a mate and I were on a ride along a generous wide two way back street when a hoon came past with the passenger having the door open coming from behind and shutting it just in front of us really close hanging out the window yelling out crap in our direction.
My mate gave them the finger only to have the hoon lock up his brakes in front of us, his car mounted the gutter, my mate did a quit U-turn and I was met with the passenger jumping out of the car and pulling out a knife on me saying, “Tell your mate to keep his finger to himself, or I’ll cut it off! Then the passenger and driver jumped back in and took off.
I shit myself and was shaken up for a while. That was a freaky 200 meters from start to finish of the hoons, but it didn’t get in the way of finishing our ride.
Like I said, Karma will sort them out. I can only imagine that one day they pulled that knife out on the wrong person and have regretted being a smart arse ever since.
Now-a-days, if a driver get close and doesn’t hit me or my group, I give them a big wave, or if a meet up with them at the lights, give them a wave through the window and they give you more road.
scaler – okay, I’ll check out the pedals & maybe do a bit of research on what problems/fixes others have had/used.
Oli – cool, I’ll use the grease I have!
Dangerous motorists. I’m FAR better than I used to be at letting it go. But sometimes you just gotta wonder what in the fuck people are thinking. Last Friday 7 hours into an 8 hour ride with a pal, dark, pouring rain, very narrow shoulder, hard to see with the darkness, the hard rain, etc. A line of cars decides it’s a good idea to pass us…with a line of cars coming the other way, slim shoulder for us to navigate, then a guardrail. Then got my front wheel caught in a rut. Man, it was bad enough to ride that close in those conditions in the dark, but to add in the rain, the cars coming the other way…ugh. Why?!
But yes, just best to remain calm, focus on the riding, the scenery, the fun/suffering. Still, it can depress me about the state of humanity when motorists act carelessly.
On another note:
1) I have one road bike that is mainly for cruising. A backup of sorts, will use on wet days, slow days, etc. I’ve ridden it with my commuting wheelset which has 28mm tires. The ride was plush! When I need new tires I’m thinking about 25s vs. 28s. Are 28s overkill for a 64kg lad? I have other bikes for training/speed/etc. but I still don’t want to be pushing around a beach cruiser. Thoughts?
2) I sheepishly admit that I was at a pal’s house and picked up his GFs book of cycling tips. “As a Velominati, should I be reading such a thing? Should I even be holding it?” Well, I read about corner. Outside foot down. Knew that. Weight back in saddle. Knew that. Push hard on inside drop of bars. I guess I knew this. Well, I’ve been paying attention to all of this for a few days and my cornering is vastly improved. I guess I did all of this but still kind of tried to steer/aim with my bars. Leaning on the inside drop hard really allows you to keep the corner tight & fast.
Kind of fun to get such an update to my riding technique & skill level!
@Chipomarc – Dude, love the cloth tape. How do you keep that so clean? (Or is it not cloth tape?)
Are entry level Shimano’s good for first time clip in user? R540’s maybe?
@Xyverz
Only reason it’s so clean is that it was just freshly installed. I used the old french Tressosta Velox adhesive cotton bar tape, or as it says on the box ‘Super Tresse pour Guidons’.
@Chipomarc
I got that stuff in Red for my Raleigh. I just have this to say about it: it gets dirty very, VERY fast. One ride, and my tape was filthy. :-( Fortunately for me, I bought an entire box and need practice making it look pretty. ;-)
@meursault
Yep! I’d say go for it. They’re cheap enough that if you decide you’re growing out of them in a few months, it’ll have been worth the money.
Otherwise, I’d go with a higher-quality pedal that will last you many more years of abuse. =)
@Xyverz
I ride those currently. They are fine for what they are. They are cheap and have worked well for the time I’ve had them (not long approx 1500k). I’ll say this though, I’m already looking at some iClics so if you think you may get struck by upgraditis it may be better to just make the leap to something nicer straight away. But you certainly wouldn’t HAVE to upgrade them if you didn’t want to, they will do the job. But as @Xyverz stated they are cheap enough that it’s no heartbreak to switch to something different if thats what you want.
@graham d.m.
TYVM guys, I think I will get these to start with.
@Blah
Thought I’d have a look how close my Ulteams run to the crank this morning after reading that yesterday, my size 45s have plenty of clearance but looking at the IClics they seem pretty bulky between the pedal body & the crank so they may be designed with a little extra space there to account for their shoes…
@Mikael Liddy
Cheers for the response. I have googled a bit, trying to find a q-factor comparison between different pedals, but to no avail. I’m not sure I’m too fussed at the moment. The Sidis have worn in quite nicely, so I’ll continue to use them until they’re shagged. The Time’s appear to have a lot more padding then my Sidis, and I’m not sure that means they’ll be a better choice in the heat and humidity here than the Sidis. (how do you find them in the heat of Adelaide summer?) Making the Times my Melbourne shoes (which is why I bought them when I saw them) would mean they’d be used maybe ten weeks a year, which would be an insult to such nice shoes.
I’ll just continue to pack a pair of shoes in the suitcase along with the Garmin and lights and keep looking for washers for the time being.
@Blah not sure how they’ll go in summer as I only got them when I got the new bike at the tail end of March…reckon the fairly high amount of mesh on the top of the shoes should do a decent ventilation job.
I did notice that when I first got the 2nd version of the new bike & I had overshoes on they would catch on the cable tie holding the cadence magnet on the crank arm (mechanic had done the cable tie up in the wrong spot so the thickest part faced the pedal when he put it on the new bike).
it is done
even the finishing touches