A Somewhat Clean 2020: Retrospective

[lavi]

Originally Posted by texbike

Especially compared to the Pinarellos! SNIP...

I, for one, am very thankful for the Clean39T and Lionel threads on the Dogmas.
Great reading!!!!...and...It got me to think about, and try modern carbon after a decade dedicated mostly to steel (SV, RS).

It's not like my Dogma adventure (turned Aethos) was in futility. Far from it!
It re-ignited long dormant passions. I follow and love racing. I get that emulating those machines is silly. However, those bikes are RAD! The Dogma tales re-opened my mind to ALL the things that are bicycles. I will never not love the feeling of a steel frame. I will also now keep a curiosity for what those young, lithe folks are pedaling.

I'm not dead yet!

[ridethecliche]

Thanks for sharing!

Like you, SMPs completely changed riding for me in a way that's hard to describe. Everything for me just seemed to click as I got mine dialed and I felt very much like I was riding the bike instead of riding on the bike if that makes sense.

And I still want to test out a forma haha!

To the others wondering why...
I feel this way with snowboards. There's something illusive about finding one that just gels with your style and 'planes' so to speak. There's something telepathic that's at times hard to describe but oh so satisfying to experience. I'm definitely in the camp of having a quiver of snowboards because it's fun to try different things and different shapes, but at the end of the day there are a couple that I'd grab first if I just wanted to enjoy myself and relax on the mountain.

Tldr
I get it.

[bthomas515]

Stalking your bike threads has become one of my favorite hobbies.

Great write up and summary from an all-around chaotic year

[PTinz]

I binged all four years, in one sitting! Amazing experiences and masterfully crafted for our reading pleasure, thank you Clean!

[AJM100]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Regret isn't worth indulging here. End of the day, it's just bikes (or wheels or groups) - there are always more. The experience and friendships are worth more than the objects anyway..

Oh Snap! Right there . . . Dan its a pleasure reading your posts, following your antics and dealing with you. I'm glad we don't ride the same size frame! Happy New year and be well

[texbike]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

The Pinarellos were awesome and the 59.5 F8 fits decently close to the Sachs, just a bit smaller. It's mostly a numbers game - I don't have room or sufficient extra cash to have a high-end niche race bike hanging out that won't get ridden that much here given the rougher roads and my affinity for taking the Sachs when I want to do that style of riding. If I had more space and extra funds, I'd keep the F8 - it is the best full-out pro-tour race bike I've ridden, especially for twisty and smooth roads. The only other bugaboo is it really can't take an SMP - I have to angle it down a bit more than I'd like because of the rail angle and clamping mechanism on the Pinarello seatpost.

As for rim-brakes and mechanical groups - they just work. I don't have a use case for disc brakes that supersedes the value to me of a supple hand-built steel fork. And the tactile nature of Campy mechanical and the simplicity of it just can't be beat for the type of riding I do. There are use cases for both, certainly - just not for me, for my pure road-riding road bike.

Great perspective. Thanks for that! There are a lot of nice, competent carbon offerings that offer wider tire clearances and disc brakes these days that are really tempting. However, for the riding that I do (all road since there's not a lot of gravel close by), classic (rim brake, mechanical groupsets, threaded BBs, limited tire clearances) steel and Ti frames seem to work just fine. I'm just curious if I may be missing out on anything by not moving to something more modern.

Originally Posted by lavi

I, for one, am very thankful for the Clean39T and Lionel threads on the Dogmas.
Great reading!!!!...and...It got me to think about, and try modern carbon after a decade dedicated mostly to steel (SV, RS).

It's not like my Dogma adventure (turned Aethos) was in futility. Far from it!
It re-ignited long dormant passions. I follow and love racing. I get that emulating those machines is silly. However, those bikes are RAD! The Dogma tales re-opened my mind to ALL the things that are bicycles. I will never not love the feeling of a steel frame. I will also now keep a curiosity for what those young, lithe folks are pedaling.

I'm not dead yet!

Nice! Great perspective as well!

Thanks,

Texbike

[Stuart S]

Great stable of bikes That Gaulzetti is absolutely perfect IMO, I would love to own a similar one some day..

[robt57]

Originally Posted by lavi

I will never not love the feeling of a steel frame. I will also now keep a curiosity for what those young, lithe folks are pedaling.

I'm not dead yet!

Is the Ellis still in your possession I was wondering?

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Stuart S

Great stable of bikes That Gaulzetti is absolutely perfect IMO, I would love to own a similar one some day..

It's with Matt now down south.... But thanks - it was a fun bike for sure and the only one of its kind.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[philhan89]

always look forward to these! thank you for ALWAYS documenting and compiling all your work. observing your builds and seeing the research of all the components come together is a learning experience just as much as entertainment. In Clean we trust!

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by philhan89

always look forward to these! thank you for ALWAYS documenting and compiling all your work. observing your builds and seeing the research of all the components come together is a learning experience just as much as entertainment. In Clean we trust!

Thanks, I probably could have done a better job of writing about each one. One of my goals for 2021 is to start a little website so I can go back through and capture some notes and photos on all the different ones I've tried - instead of just having the floating around in random spots here and on IG (or in addition to, I should say).

[Bici-Sonora]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

I made the tough choice to let the Kirk go to Bici-Sonora, who I knew would treat it right (and has).

Building and riding your Kirk this fall and winter has been the highlight of my cycling year. Over the last five years, I'd done so much riding on "supple" bikes that I'd almost forgotten how great a pure all-around race bike feels. It is fun to go fast, and I'm still setting PRs on the Kirk almost every week. Another surprise for me was how comfy it is on 30mm rubber going fast on bad road surfaces. Thanks again for letting me take care of it for awhile.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

...
Around the time I was deciding to let the Mxxxxxo go, I stumbled on a Seven 622 SLX that seemed in range for me... I built it up with a nice all-rounder kit and put quite a few miles on it, really getting used to that lots-of-drop and long-stem position:



The Seven was really brilliant. Handled great, did well on dirt roads and long road rides - and I was quite happy with it...

So along came the '07 Sachs and out went the Seven ....

Thanks for that....the Seven has found a good home and is the best cycling purchase I have made in 15+ years.

[srcarter]

Thanks for sharing. It is always interesting to see your progression.

I feel grateful that I avoided the temptation to buy any of the cast-offs in 2020. We'll see in 2021

[Clean39T]

Well it's been all of three weeks.....time for an update..

Giant 29er is sold, finally.

It's snowing lots so the Sachs is torn down awaiting a rebuild w Record 12, a wax job, and Boeshield treatment - in reverse order.

The Serotta Coors Team bike is on the trainer and I may have another of Chris Huber's team bikes inbound of earlier vintage.



A dear friend is coming home soon.



And an Ellis disc I've been scoping for two years lands tomorrow, weather permitting.



Got chips down in Bozeman and Franklin too, but there's some lead time on those.

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Life is good.
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We're gonna need more hooks.

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