Hey...it's justa bikemo

[rounder]

How come whenever new bikestuff comes out, there are people who go beserk trying to find out what is the latest and greatest or lightest and tightest. At the same time. there are lots of otherwise same people who subscribe to the theory that nothing is new under the sun and that nothing has ever improved since the development of lugged steel frames with non-indexed shifting...you still have to pedal them. I know i have heard (read) atmo say numerous times that...hey it's just a bike. Meanwhile, he has dedicated his life in building beautiful bikes with incremental improvements over the years. I know that he also races them, but so do others on other bikes. Others, including Serotta, have their own versions of what makes a beautiful bike. But, basically, we are talking about a frame with components and wheels and steering. These things are well engineered, but have not advanced over time like cars or medecine. So...how come we spend so much time debating them or drooling over them...not to mention obsessing over them.

[Viper]

I was polishing a Campagnolo Daytona alloy (silver) crankset today. It was and is gorgeous. I also recalled what I already knew, that Daytona, which was end-of-lifed for Centaur...used to be the Record of five years ago etc. This Daytona crankset/gruppo gets scoffed at for being a). 10 speed b). super heavy c). not sexy enough as it's not Record of even Chorus.

I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful SRAM Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense. Nothing like a good blaster at your side.

Who needs eleven speeds? :confused: When I heard of eleven speed coming out, it reminded me of the seven...minute...abs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzxJy-7ggx0

Seven is the key number here, think about it! Seven, eleven. Seven dwarfs. Seven chipmunks twirling on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea! It's like you're dreaming about gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly brie time baby.

:beer:

[Ti Designs]

There's one bike in my basement that doesn't see much use (well, other than the two tandems - that's different). It's my classic Peter Mooney with it's Brampton fastback seatstays, heart shaped cut-outs in the lugs and Nuovo/Super record components with Simplex retrofriction shifters, Ambrosio Durex rims and Pave tires. Once in a while, when I'm sick of all the latest and greatest stuff that I get asked about at work, I take it out for a ride. It's easy to say there's no advantage of going from 10-speed to 11-speed ('cept you can use the line from Spinal Tap), but take a 25 year step back in time and you realize just how much has changed. Wow those brakes are stiff, and they don't produce the sort of power or modulation that the new brakes do. My hands are larger than the hoods - what's up with that? That quill stem is kinda flexy, and being Cinelli it creaks. It's hard for me to complain about the cranks and bottom bracket on that bike. The BB was the first Campy part I ever owned, I bought it used and it followed me from bike to bike the entire 15 years I raced. The crank is that square sided Nuovo Record (kinda funny to use the term "Nuovo" for 30 year old parts in an industry that reinvents the wheel every 4 years) with a Super Record outer ring. The smallest [campy] chainring is 42 and it's not as stiff as most newer cranks, but right next to that bike hangs my track bike with the same crank and only one chainring. Nobody has even hinted that what's holding me back on my track bike is that old crank...

If I rode that bike for a few weeks it would start to feel normal to me. I guess I'm what you would call adaptive. I don't see the point in complaining about not having the very best equipment. The bike is a tool, use it. Nothing could make that point better than how I ride my fixed gear. When I first switch over it's on my mind all the time while riding with guys on geared bikes - "I'm at a serious disadvantage". Somewhere along the line I stop thinking of the bike as a disadvantage and start thinking about it as the bike I'm on. I once won an uphill town line sprint on my 25 pound Surley Steam Roller with 33c tractor tires, and one of the guys on a race bike said "well these aren't my race wheels..."

[rwsaunders]

Sam Snead used to with tournaments with clubs that in today's world, would break your forearms when you hit the ball. A little technological advance sure does help, but you can go over the top very easily with any sport/hobby.

[Ahneida Ride]

But Bikemo is fun ...

and we all have our unique definition of bling and performance ....

Yea ... I really needed those 100 frn blue ceramic pulleys.

Love those polished parts Viper .... ;)

[Lifelover]

The significant advances are almost ALL in the components. However, the only part of the bike that we consumers really have a choice in is the frame.

Since for most of us cycling is simply a hobby that we are spending disposable income on, we make "owning" the object part of the hobby.

I tend to believe that the biggest difference in frames from today and 25 years ago is that really, really good frames are much more available today. The overall quality has taken a major leap while the difference in the top end has taken small steps.

[Viper]

Sam Snead used to with tournaments with clubs that in today's world, would break your forearms when you hit the ball. A little technological advance sure does help, but you can go over the top very easily with any sport/hobby.

Back in the day, before all things were known, Snead hit a fantastic shot. Instantly a fan asked what iron Snead used to hit the shot. "A Wilson" Snead replied. Snead knew it didn't matter if it was a six or seven iron, it wasn't the level of gruppo or the max gear size, it was the Indian, not the arrow and he wanted the fan to understand the samemo:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:B8osyQJLuk8J:www.slate.com/id/2078176/+sam+snead+wilson&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

:beer:

[rounder]

My dumb story, for what it's worth, is that years ago i had a bianchi brava with suntour 7-speed that i was perfectly happy with, but would drool over the bikes that racers rode. Then one day, while away, read in Spokes that my favorite lbs was closing. It was horrors...what am i supposed to do now. Went there the next weekend and found out it was true. Gorgeous bike stuff was on sale but, somehow, it did not feel right buying things on discount while knowing your friends and favorite store was closing. Anyway, during this time, bought a serotta nhx that had previously been hanging from the ceiling. There were mixed feelings...i was glad to have the bike, but sad about the shop. The bike was built up with 7-speed ultegra and later bought a set of mavic op with 501 hub wheels that were gorgeous and that i loved. The wheels were built by my friend who owned the shop. Later on, went to duraace 8-speed with downtube shifters and got a set of mavic cosmic wheels. That was fun. That winter, went to a bike swap and found some campy 10 speed bits. I knew that shimano stuff was perfectly fine but had always wanted to know what campy was like...so made the change. Bought up all the campy 10 speed stuff i could find (one of each). Then one day while clicking around (in a weak moment) found a serotta ciii on ebay. Nobody wanted it. I lucked out and bought the thing. Built it up with found campy 10-speed parts and it is my main ride...still have the nhx which i love also.