3 posts tagged “bikeporn”
I started this post a couple of times but ran out of cycles before I could complete it. I'm not going to go into the lengthy digression about how awesome my new Della Santa is, how well Terry and Jerry at Shaw's pulled everything together, how amazing it feels underneath me and how fast I go blasting down the road perched atop. Not, not, not.
Just going to post a couple of semi cruddy pics from Day 1 (a week ago) to get the word out.
The other stuff comes later.
The past couple of days I've been tormenting myself over what Marlo on The Wire calls "one of those good problems to have" -- figuring out which custom bike framebuilder I should fork over my bonus dollars to. Tough decision. Unfortunately I wasn't sure I would be in the market when I went to the NAHBS in March, so I wasn't in the mindset to ask practical questions of the many excellent builders who were exhibiting there. However I've been going back through fixedgeargallery's writeup of the show and using it as a launching pad for checking out so much bike porn my eyes have been glazing over.
As Grant at Riv Bike says (more on him in a moment):
I'm in the latter category; I certainly hope that a pro framebuilder knows a lot more about how to build my frame than I do, so tubeset selection and headtube angles are their domain. The answers to the questions though: I want a sexy kinda road bike, which to me means pretty-but-not-ornate lugs on a classically styled straight-top-tube steel steed. I want to do rides like last week's 80-mile jaunt along Skyline with greater comfort and speed than my Jamis Aurora provides me. I want a go-fast ride that will be a nice-weather backpack commuter bike and a long-haul weekend pedaller.To some folks, custom-made bicycle means “I’m paying you the money, now here’s how I want you to build my bike.”
To others it means, “Hey man, this is what I want to use the bike for, these are a few of my personal quirks and preferences, now for crying out loud, will you build me a bike?"
I am something of a retrogrouch myself, but let me limn more details by contrasting my views with the grouch I quoted above. The Rivendell bikes are really close to what I'm after, but I'm afraid the differences are a gap too wide to bridge. I don't want to ride on dirt roads, so clearance for 40mm tires doesn't matter to me. In all likelihood I won't ride this bike if it's not gorgeous outside (that's what the Jamis is for), so I don't need cantilever clearance for fenders. I don't like six inches of quill stem sticking out the top tube; I'm a flexible guy and I can handle getting down in the drops. My biggest problem with Rivendell bikes is that I don't think the Riv name is worth the premium over some of the smaller builders who actually do the whole thing in-house, won't have a two year waiting list, and just generally aren't quite so fussy about things, if you know what I mean.
And just who would that be? Well, here are a few top runners at this point.
Della Santa - I saw a built-up bright orange DS in Shaw's a few months ago and was really impressed with the understated style and the detail work. Shaw's are affiliated with DS and the commentary from Bikeforums and other place is that he's underpriced for what you get, which is as good a frame as anybody makes. My only reservation is
Townsend Cycles Limited - I was struck by this beautiful track bike at the show but didn't talk to the builder at all. As I was browsing the FGG links, his road bike (link to big image) blew me away as being just about exactly what I'm after. Those stainless lugs are gorgeous and not over-the-top like this much-photographed Llewellyn, which the Townsend resembles yet manages pull back somehow from that bike's ostentatious rococco.
Waterford Precision Cycles - Not to be a bandwagon-jumper, but Clayton has one of these on order and they are definitely in the running here, though my taste runs more to the Road Sport RS22 than his Rohloff-hub+disc brake tourer.
Naked Cycles - I got pulled into this one for two reasons: Sam lives on Quadra Island off Vancouver, British Columbia where some family friends also live, and it struck me as odd that a HPT record holder and frame builder lives on this very remote little island. Second, he has a huge variety in his work from track bikes to mtb and pulls all of them off with panache and sound engineering.
Might append to this post, but that's all for now. Hoping to settle into a decision in the coming week. I'd really like to be riding this bike by the end of the summer. Time's a-wastin'!
Well after 5000 miles the rear cassette on my commuter bike started to get pretty worn. My fault for not changing the chain more often, but in my defense it was fine at 3000 miles and only started to get bad in the last few weeks. Cog wear happens, folks! Here's my 18t off the old casette:
