jerk's swallow no. 58 est arrivee!

[jerk]

ok so the jerk's swallow showed up today...the thing is really nice and comes packaged with a soft rag, the tension tool and some proofide as well. beyond this it also comes with a certificate signed by the president of brooks and the (one) guy who makes these things....supposidly they take 90 days to make. there will be 999 made for the whole world...the jerk thought about hiding the thing in the jerk safe deposit box for about a second and a half but then put it on the big orange merckx. this thing is awesome...one can definatly tell it's handmade and quite labor intensive...the ti hardware and rails really look nice and yeah it rides fine. nothing special but the jerk doesn't notice it and that's a good thing....(no i'm not going to remove all the rivets and baste the thing in mayonaise and throw it in the oven...but it will break in and it should be awesome.) the big orange is quickly becoming a neat bike....it's frame, wheels, tires, components and now saddle all look to the untrained eye as being old and retro...but all these things are actually new and entirely modern. the fork is ahead, the frame tubes are super oversize and actually pretty light, the wheels are offset and "pre-built" and saddle has ti rails and hardware...oh yeah the sew-ups are team issue for any modern paris-roubaix contender.....yeah everything except the cinelli 65's is decidedly new school.

i love my bike.

jerk

[Tony Edwards]

Can we see the Merckx with the Swallow and Dugasts?

[JackL]

Jerk,
There may be a few readers who aren't old enough (like me) or obsessed enough (like... um ...) to know that the Swallow is a remake of a Brooks leather racing saddle. Here is a link to some information: http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/daily-news/article.php?id=3906
JackL, also a Brooks fan.

[Smiley]

I get mine tomorrow , don't know the serial # yet . I can't wait either to ride the thing on my Hors Categorie.

[Marron]

I got a chuckle from you description of the faux retro Merckx. I am just in the process of swithching over from Ergo C-Record to DA 9 speed on mine. The weight finally got to me on a long ride two weeks ago; when you start thinking of your Rambouillet as your climbing bike you know you've got a problem. I figure that pound or so of Italian aluminum will make a big difference in how the bike feels ; ).

[Climb01742]

funny. as i ride my mxl more, it's actually feeling lighter. or perhaps i'm simply not noticing its weight at all anymore. even climbing. it isn't light, for sure. but as i ride, weight never crosses my mind. this kind of thing must drive builders crazy. same bike, two different impressions. both valid.

[Marron]

I had it down to just the frame fork and headset and it did feel light. I didn't bother weighting it, but it's probably no heavier than other steel frames I've owned. The tubeset sure feels thin walled when compared to the Ram or my Corsa Extra.

My motivation was as much about changing the feel of the components as it was about weight. I really don't think that a pound will make much difference one way or the other. On the other hand; I can try my Heliums and see how that feels. That's an incongruous justaposition of incompatibles isn't it?

[Smiley]

my saddle is number 082 and I like that as this is my sail number on my boat . Very cool saddle , looks like proofhide tonite and let it sit for a few days.

[Wanker]

Smiley,

I'd sure like to see an image of your hors cat with the new swallow. See what you can do for us hors owners and post some hc pics. It's gotta look way cool.

What other bike(s) do you ride on a regular basis? I really enjoy switching from my steel bike to my hc and visa versa. Makes me appreciate what each has to offer in the way of feel.

There's nothing like the feel of hauling ass down hill on my hc. Especially taking long sweeping down hill curves. Incredibly stable. I'm doing hills sunday!!

later,

wanker

[Smiley]

I was planning on posting my Hors Cat once I mounted this beautiful sadle. actuall NOTHING else seems to compare to the looks and feel of this handmade Brooks Swallow. Too Bad I have to ride it to break it in. I will post today or tomorrow if I can reduce the size of the image enough.
I only ride 4 bikes : A tandem , a Hors Cat and a TiMax and a newly aquired old steel 531 Raleigh Fix gear conversion. I am in the process of building a 2 car garage to add a CSI and a Ottrott as my wifes told me NO more bikes ( she has 2 bikes and we also have a size cycle in a very small home). So it will cost me tons just to add a few more bikes. Best of luck to you AJ .