Chasing wheels

I've been dreaming for a while now of a new frame to replace the Merckx. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the Merckx as a basic racing bike but part of me desires a really expensive flashy bike.

I was reading a tech article on cyclingnews.com about New road goodies from SRAM which has got me thinking about it again.

The upgrades to Rival detailed make me think that I should consider saving up over the winter for a new groupset. I've got the current version on both the Merckx and my Dolan cyclocross bike and really love it but adjustable reach and trim and so on just make it that bit more appealing.

I've been thinking about the Cervelo R3 as a frame or really saving up and getting a Serotta Legend made up for me in London Dynamo colours like Paul Callinan's. There's always the uber-flash Ottrott option as seen on the Cyclefit site:

Serotta Custom Bikes

However, I have a few criteria in my head that keep on coming before issues such as cost and fit and whether I even have space for such things:

• It shall be white
• It will have a classic/shallow drop bar
• It shall be a classic geometry with no slope on the top tube
• It shall not be flashy or over complicated visually

Posted by Alex on 29 April 2008, 17:04 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

My new raleigh burner, originally uploaded by leguape.

Sitting here watching the World Championships via the red button on the BBC *thumbs up* and cheering like a loon at the Team GB success rate.

I forgot I hadn't posted up a picture of this beauty that my girlfriend got me for my birthday. As you can see I've not got round to finding some pedals for it yet so I haven't ridden it yet. Hopefully will sort that on Saturday with a trip to Woolsey's of Acton, my local bike shop and Raleigh dealer.

I'm getting my girlfriend a Bianchi Milano 3-speed in white in return, once I get a moment to find one. It's a bike so sexy I'm a bit jealous that it is a women's model.

Posted by Alex on 27 March 2008, 21:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Then you are riding a plank. No, it's not going to make any difference to how easy it is to glide through those gaps in traffic that you wish you were brave enough to take on.

At the weekend I managed to see some seriously ugly bikes and one seemingly mis-priced one. So, unless I mistook one cute Bianchi Milano town bike for another that price was 200 quid out. This is of course a trivial matter compared to the outbreak of ill-thought out bikes that plagued me.

Drop bars are a thing of true beauty, certainly in their classic form, with the smooth oval bend framing the front of any racing bike like the shoulder on a good wine bottle frames the neck. Dressed in white bar tape and attached to a quill stem there's something almost chivalric about them in those pictures that define the sport.

In this age of four bolt solutions and ergonomic bends that look like dropped spaghetti my heart is always lifted to see a well-positioned classic bar: the drop parallel to the ground and shifters reaching out from the top of the arc like a bowsprit and with the top edge also parallel to the ground.

OK I'll get to the point: I hate cut-down bars, be they flop'n'chop or shortened flat bars.

With the trendification of cycling in that hotbed of the ill-considered, Shoreditch, and increasing absorption of "messenger style" into the mainstream there's signs that Bikesnob NYC may find himself a second source of wonderment in London.

I will never understand why someone would want to ride a bike with a handlebar that resembles the top of a track pump or a hacksawed drop bar that looks more suited to use as a candelabra than steering.

Posted by Alex on 10 March 2008, 21:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

If you are around 31 years old, grew up in Britain and rode bikes as a kid you know what I mean. While nostalgics tends to bang on about the Chopper as the iconic Raleigh bike (it tends to be people who are far to young to have ever owned one when they first hit the market) I would argue that the Raleigh Burner, Mark I and II are by far the most influential bikes that the company ever made.

I used to have one and I still miss it. It was stolen by some drunken idiot back in 1999 or so and never recovered. A classic red and yellow Mark I, less the original padset, long since worn out and lost and with an Aeroyal saddle and some flashy grips. It was basic, tough and more than anything indestructibly rideable.

And now I keep on finding myself eyeing up restored jobs on Ebay and elsewhere and contemplating getting one. But at my age do I really need or want one? I'd look like some sad sack middle-aged Hoxtonite trying to be cool wouldn't I?

But heck they are fun to ride, so if anyone has one that needs a home, I'll have it.

Posted by Alex on 2 November 2007, 00:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

The finished Dolan Cyclocross build, originally uploaded by leguape.

At last, after many hours of tinkering, crying and wailing it is ready for riding. Woolsey's of Acton sorted the headset star nut this morning but otherwise all the fitting and maintenance has been done by me.

It's the first bike I have ever built up from parts myself so I'm rather proud of it. Or will be until something comes loose and I'm cursing loudly.

I rode it across Acton Park's grassy bits earlier to christen it before I put the bar tape on. The position is 10mm shorter in the stem than my usual as I've seen a slightly more shorter position recommended for cross. I say this as if it was choice rather than having a stem that fitted that length to hand.

Can't wait to get down to Rainham tomorrow and see how I fare in my first race.

Posted by Alex on 13 October 2007, 15:10 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

This is how far I've got with building up my cyclocross bike:

Just need to buy some hangers for front and rear brake cables, a wrench or two for the bottom bracket and cranks and get the star nut done and it will be ready to ride. Hopefully should have all but the last of those done by tomorrow. I'll nip down Woolsey's of Acton to get the last of those done on Friday morning.

It's been interesting doing the building for myself. I've acquired a whole bunch of tools and realised it is actually not as complicated as I feared. I won't know how well it has gone until I come to ride it but I'm fairly confident I've got most things in the right place. No doubt I'll be screaming and stamping my feet tomorrow night as I attempt to get the drivetrain to run smoothly.

In the end I have bowed to Brendan's wisdom and gone with the SRAM Rival groupset. Unlike the Merckx there are no stray Force compenents in the mix this time. The rest of the components have come from the old Giant frame which I'm not quite ready to part with yet and purchases covered by ebaying stuff:

Condor Tempo, originally uploaded by leguape.

The new bike, through the Cycle2work scheme. A singlespeed Condor Tempo with fixed/free. Running 46/18 free and 46/17 fixed. Lovely bike to ride.

This will be my everyday bike from now on. It's getting a bit crowded in my flat now with four bicycles. I may have to get rid of one of them, although I can't decide which one and whether or not to break it down for parts. They all serve different purposes and needs - racing bike, winter bike, reserve bike for emergencies/training - and I'm a hoarder who is loath to get rid of any of them.

Posted by Alex on 22 May 2007, 12:05 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Whippy is perhaps my first thought on describing the new bike. Not in the sense of flailing all over the place but in the sense of responsive to the touch and manoeuvrable. Light is the next thing thing that springs to mind: light on the road, light to control and light in the hand.

I have to go by comparison to my 2005 Giant T-Mobile Team Hybrid which feels a lot more sluggish and relaxed a ride. The Merckx is much sharper, both into the corners and when I put the power down out of them. The "sloping" geometry is a lot less so than the Giant's compact shape which gives for a ride where I feel much more connected to the bike rather than somewhere above it.

The SRAM doesn't take long to get used to although I did make the mistake of forgetting to check I had shifted up properly, resulting in me attempting to sprint in 34/12 in the misguided belief I was actually on the big ring. Then again, I do this sort of wrong gear idiocy regularly regardless of what groupset I'm riding. It's clean, it's precise and pretty bloody obvious to use after about five minutes shifting through the range. Once it starts appearing on complete bikes in the shops I reckon it should start to gain some popularity with riders as a genuine alternative to the big two of Campagnolo and Shimano.

Everything else about the set up is just as I want it. The Specialized Toupe saddle took an hour or so to get comfortable on but by the end of the ride I didn't notice the difference from the Specialized Avatar I usually ride. That is possibly the oddest thing about it: that it is set up for me and feels right without me having to think about where I am positioning myself on the bike. So when I do think about it it starts to feel a bit alien to not have any niggles about it.

Posted by Alex on 6 February 2007, 23:02 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

Here at last is my newest addition to the collection, an Eddy Merckx Racing decked out with full SRAM Rival.

You'll probably want the full spec as well to satisfy that "how big's the engine?" thing everyone does with anything mechanical. So here's the full breakdown:

Frame: Eddy Merckx Racing (aluminium)
Groupset: SRAM Rival, 50/34 chainset and 12/26 casette, 170mm cranks, GXP BB (Italian thread)
Bar: Deda 215 shallow 44cm
Stem: Deda Newton 100mm (flipped)
Forks: Easton EC70 (supplied with frame)
Headset: Capagnolo Chorus
Seatpin: Campagnolo Chorus Carbon
Saddle: Specialized Toupe 143mm
Pedals: Look Keo Classic
Wheels: Mavic Kysrium Equipe
Tyres: Michelin Pro Race 25mm

All built up into wonderful working order by Cyclefit

Posted by Alex on 31 January 2007, 23:01 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

Well the classic shape Eddy Merckx frame was too big for me in the top tube. But the compact/sloping one wasn't, so I now own an Eddy Merckx Race frame in black, silver and red. I've also ordered an SRAM Rival groupset for it. I've already got the bar I want (Deda 215 shallow) and a decent enough set of wheels (Mavic Kysrium Equipe) which leaves stem. seatpin, saddle, pedals and bar tape to deal with.

For the saddle I'm quite tempted to go all out on a Specialized Toupe in black with a Deda Magic Stick seatpin, although Cyclefit might have an original Merckx on for it. Pedals most likely Look Keo, although I'm still tempted by switching to Speedplays. Bar tape is obviously going to have to be Stella Azzura Eleganza (or their softer one for Flanders).

On the basis of "what it would have cost me" and "what I saved in reductions" it's great value: the frame was something between £400 and £500 off RRP (depending on where you shop) and the groupset came in at nearly £140 cheaper than most place are doing it. So say £640 saved at most and a bike that should still come in under a grand.

I'm actually rather excited by it, despite the profligacy involved in buying a third bike. Well, one with a triple, one with a compact and one with mudguards makes a nice selection I think.

Posted by Alex on 4 January 2007, 00:01 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks ()

For ages I have been falling in and out of temptation to acquire myself something with just the one gear to choose from. Fixed wheel one side and freewheel the other, no derailleurs to get coated in muck as autumn approaches, no downshifting to avoid having to put effort in.

I have envied a Condor Pista and a Bianchi of a similar name.

I have drooled over Surlys and Fujis while all the time considering the Langster as the most suitable to my budget and needs.

The last few weeks I have been forced to settle on a far more practical solution to my desire for single-geared action: leave the shifters alone. I've had the everyday bike stuck in either 42/18 or 42/16 for my commutes to see what it feels like and see if that will work for me if I get a Langster (yes there was an ulterior motive).

I'm actually getting used to the sensation and I'm really starting to enjoy it. The pleasure of my speed being entirely dependent on the effort I put in, without the variable of a different gear ratio, is a very direct one and reminds me of when I used to ride a BMX - a Raleigh Burner Mark 2 in red and yellow that I had until around 1999 when it was stolen - in that there's nothing more complicated than turning the pedals to worry about and you can concentrate on what's going on around you.

Now the logical next step is to go out and get that Langster so I can bury myself further in the experience by learning to ride a fixed wheel bike where if you stop pedalling, you stop dead/get thrown off. So it looks like it's only a matter of time before I cave in and try to get the best price I can find on one. Place your bets for which month will see me cave in.

Posted by Alex on 26 September 2006, 21:09 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()