Il Gruppo Progetto: Resurrection of a Pirate
The corollary of Rule #12 is that one focusses the bulk of their energies on upgrading Bike #1 with the result that upgraded gear typically cascades down to Bike #2 and on down through Bike #n. This is The Way of Things; Bike #1 gains the most, but in the end, they all benefit as upgrades trickle through the stable, with the oldest and most worn gear falling from the bottom where they are either discarded or await enough accumulation to justify another build.
There comes a day, however, that we find ourselves needing to inject an upgrade into the hierarchy, an upgrade which disrupts the Natural Order. This was the case when I reluctantly replaced my XL EV2 with my new Soloist frame. My EV2 holds a dear place in my heart. I built her bit by bit, from components scavenged from eBay over the course of an entire winter. She was at my side (under me, actually, if we’re going to pick nit) as I rediscovered La Vie Velominatus. She was built from scratch in homage to one of my all-time favorite cyclists, Pantani, and his elusive 1998 stallion. She was the first bike I owned that fit me the way I wanted. She was the first bike I had with compact geometry, she was the first bike that cleft my heart in two when I crashed during a crit and destroyed the frame. (I quickly replaced hers with another, identical frame, which is the one I have today.)
Suffice it to say, to have her hanging from a nail in my workshop is a dishonor to this beautiful, loyal friend who carried me back to fitness and through some of the greatest ride’s I’ve been on. Never once did she complain that I was too heavy. Never once did she cringe in agony as I pushed harder on the pedals. Never once did she point downhill when the road pointed up. She carried me through the 2003 L’Etape du Tour and up l’Alpe d’Huez on the morning of the stage. She carried me home after bonking in the heat of North Carolina. She guided my rear wheel back to safety as I was slipping to certain death under a passing semi-trailer on a rain-slicked railroad track.
We have been through a lot together; she must be resurrected. But the question is, in what form?
Bikes are meant to be ridden. I have a carbon Bike #1 and a steel Bike #2, both of which are generally ridden in good weather only, although accidents do happen and they do find their way onto wet roads occasionally. I have a sublime Alu Bike #3 which boasts an identical fit to Bike #1 and serves as my rain bike, thereby getting by far the most use. As far as road bikes go; I have the spectrum fairly well covered and I fear that adding another will mean that she lives out her life being overlooked for my daily rides and go largely unridden, a dishonor almost as great as her current state of limbo.
What I don’t have, however, is a commuter bike; a bike to ride to the cafe or farmers market. A bike to hop aboard and pedal to the office. Do I build her into a commuter which gets ridden, if not in the spirit for which she was intended? Or is this a bigger dishonor than not riding her at all? If I do build her into a commuter, do I rider her with drop bars and my old STI shifters, or do I opt for a set of commuter-friendly mustache bars which I’ve fancied ever since I spotted my first Bridgestone X0? Downtube shifters or bar-end shifters? Full funders and wide tires, I think, though how wide is possible on her tight racing geometry?
Or do I build a funeral pire and set her ablaze, allowing her noble soul to return to Merckx on Mount Velomis to be reborn to someone else’s stable?
Fellow Velominati, I submit to your input: how best to honor this noble steed?
@gaswepass
good eye, I think we can excuse him because its a commuter bike at the moment. this bike is starting to take on the life of Black Beauty.
@frank
I wish I could remember who I said it to during the KT (mostly because of the look that I got). Seriously, sometimes I miss the downtube shifters. I remember when Shimano moved to SIS and while it was interesting, I’d turn the ring so that I could keep it in the friction mode. Wow, that was a while ago.
@Vin’cenza
Fuck those things on a road bike, but hellsyeah to them on a commuter. Those things are like a mustache with titties under those circumstances. HELLYEAH!
Not crazy about the white hoods, but NOS Campa hoods in black cost more than the bar, stem, brake levers, and DT shifters cost me combined.
@frank
I’d love downtube shifters on my errand-runner. It has the shifters up by the stem, right at the perfect location to hit with my knees when I jump out of the saddle for extra power – I’ve hit them before while climbing on accident. Nothing better than being knocked into a harder to pedal gear while climbing a hill on a ~40 lb bike…
@Bill
You didn’t say it me, brother, cuz you and me would have gotten yelled at by William for pouring some Malteni on the ground in homage to our fallen brother, the DT Shifter.
First indexing, then the brakelever-mounted shifters (STI/Ergo), now electronic shifting. Its all part of a plan that takes us inexorably farther from being in touch with our machine.
That said, I love my Ergos and for any serious bike would never opt for DT shifters over those little hunnies. Can you imagine how hard it must be to shift on the pavé with those things? Good luck. I was shifting purely by making contact with the Go Buttons and not caring how far they depressed. Bigger gear, please, I’ll take whatever I land on. Merci.
@frank
Oh hell no. I had to sit there and contemplate simple moves like moving one hand at a time from the hoods to the top of the bar, from the top of the bar to the drops. Screw downtube shifters.
@frank
@Bill
I do kinda miss the left DT, right STI combo though. Not hard to reach down and flip the switch to go to the dinner plate.
Doesn’t take long to get used to the difference in the way the hoods feel either.
@frank
Or stick with white and problem is solved.
@frank
Shifting on the pavé must have been a bitch with DT shifters but shifting De Vlaeminck style with your knees (intentionally) on the pavé is incomprehensible.
@Chris
I may have misread the article in Rouleur; didn’t he only do the knee-shifting jibe during sprints? I thought that was the case, anyway. With index dt shifters (at least the shimano ones with their resounding click) we used to do that a bit as well. Not to the extent that we would do it while sprinting, but climbing out of the saddle, we could do it for fun.
@frank
I think you’re right there, shifting with your knee doesn’t make much sense unless your out of the saddle and fairly forward on your bike. I should have checked the article.
You need a -1 fucktard of the week posting badge, some denim bibs perhaps.
@Chris
+1 – Brilliant!
@Chris
With one shoulder torn and hanging down.
@frank
Such a great video, thanks for digging that up. I still have a VHS tape recording of that same magnificent day and achievement. The memories…
A beautiful bike like this unridden, is tragic. Build it up as best you can with period-specific parts and then fill in the rest over time. Next, ride it to the store, ride it to the market, but just don’t let it hang on a wall.
What makes this sort of bike all worth it is when you do ride it somewhere and someone who recognizes what it is, notices the steed and strikes up a conversation with you. Those moments are priceless and bond those in the know. Brotherhood.