Categories: Accessories and GearBelgian AffirmationsIn MemoriamRantings from the V-Bunker

In Memoriam: The Straight Block

13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. That's a corncob Popeye would make a pipe of.

Disc brakes and 1x drivetrains. These are the sort of things that belong on mountainbikes, are questionable on cross bikes, and should make an immediate trip to the rubbish bin when it comes to road bikes. Change for the sake of change; gimmickry masquerading as innovation. And to make matters worse, the appearance of 11-speed blocks has killed the last vestige of the complexity of our sport: block composition and size.

The question of gear choice was once one of the most critical decisions a Cyclist could make when tackling a course. In The Rider, Tim Krabé describes his gear choice and those of his competitors; throughout the book, he fixates upon which gear he is riding in. José Manuel Fuente used to use higher gears that the other climbers to intimidate them. Andy Hampsten famously rode only odd-numbered gears because obviously even-sized gears made his palms go sweaty.

Sean Kelly belabored his choice to use a 13-25 block versus a 12-23 for the 1989 World Championship Road Race. He knew he couldn’t climb as well as the other favorites and wanted a 25 to save his legs over the final climb. If, however, he managed to get over the hill, he would surely need the 12 in order to win the sprint. It was a classic catch-22; use a block that he could win the sprint with but get dropped on the climb, or get over the hill and lose the sprint. The race lay in the balance of a single tooth on a cog.

We used to build our blocks, not buy a complete cassette on ebay. The idea was to keep the gears as close together as possible with a straight block being the holy grail and the relative smallness of the biggest gear being a declaration of your status as Hardman. Every tooth beyond a 1 tooth jump was a sacrifice; every step beyond a 21 or 23 tooth cog was a silent admission of your sissiness as a Cyclist. The Pros today are riding 11-28 blocks on every kind of terrain, every day. Even at Paris-Roubaix, one of the only races flat enough to still require little more than a 19 even for us mortals.

Committing to nothing lower than a 19-tooth gear requires a suitcase of courage, poor planning, or both. And it looks tough as nails, that tight cluster of gears at the back wheel. Not like these big dinner plates we see riding around all over the place these days. You could serve a nice helping of Steak Frites on some of these modern blocks. Disgraceful. And while I’m not building my blocks anymore, I’m certainly still choosing a cassette for the terrain and plan to continue doing so until I’m pushing up daisies, thank you very much.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Matt says:

Aug 21 2015 at 7:08 am

@Teocalli

I knew a picture of a Funny Bike was going to surface. Apparently Rotor or somebody just released some hydraulic shifting bits, yes. I suppose I should have specified that I was talking about my Bike.

Oh that Bianchi. Ouch. But indeed @KogaLover makes a great point. Unlike those Belkin team bikes!
wiscot says:

Aug 21 2015 at 7:34 am

@freddy

I love all this macho talk about straight blocks, corn cobs, big gears and the like. Besides the endorphin fix, the tradition and culture associated with cycling are the main reasons for my addiction to the sport. The technical evolution of the road bike is fascinating in itself: fixed gear/single speed, multi-gears w/ derailleurs, integrated shifters/brake levers, chromoly, aluminum, carbon fibre, etc, etc. These are the reasons that n+1 makes so much sense! Every cyclist needs several bikes to represent the tradition, culture and technology that is most meaningful to them. And just so you know, I just bought a Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 with hydraulic disc brakes to add to the stable–which from what I’m reading above, may lead to my excommunication from the V. Oh well. I know in my heart of hearts, I’m still a believer in the bike.

Nah Freddy, I think if you get a recumbent, you get expelled.
wiscot says:

Aug 21 2015 at 7:37 am

@Teocalli

@Matt

No hydraulic anything, no suspension, and only one fucking wheel size.

hmmm – then they come out with hydraulic gears and there was this phase…………

By "phase" are you talking about the bike or the rather "outstanding" performances of the rider pictured and his fellow competitors?

BTW that bike must have been a bugger to ride. Squirrelly doesn't come close to how it must have handled.
Teocalli says:

Aug 21 2015 at 9:04 am

@wiscot

By “phase” are you talking about the bike or the rather “outstanding” performances of the rider pictured and his fellow competitors?

BTW that bike must have been a bugger to ride. Squirrelly doesn’t come close to how it must have handled.

The two did rather coincide! I was actually trying to find a pic of the climbing bike he used to switch to which had a 26 inch front wheel but could not find one in a quick search.
frank says:

Aug 21 2015 at 10:08 am

@Teocalli

@wiscot

By “phase” are you talking about the bike or the rather “outstanding” performances of the rider pictured and his fellow competitors?

BTW that bike must have been a bugger to ride. Squirrelly doesn’t come close to how it must have handled.

The two did rather coincide! I was actually trying to find a pic of the climbing bike he used to switch to which had a 26 inch front wheel but could not find one in a quick search.

Jan didn't use a climbing bike with 600c wheels, but Joseba Beloki did.
frank says:

Aug 21 2015 at 10:08 am

@wiscot

Lets not forget this lovely.
Teocalli says:

Aug 21 2015 at 11:16 am

@frank

I stand (sit?) corrected. I remember he and Pantani switching to light climbing bikes and thought I remembered Ulrich using one one year with a 26 inch wheel too but my addled brain must have confused it with the TT bike.
KogaLover says:

Aug 24 2015 at 12:04 am

@frank

World record bike: This bike makes you go 268 km/h. At such speeds, disc brakes would come in handy...
edster99 says:

Aug 27 2015 at 3:09 am

@Matt

Simple green is good stuff - I use that. Along with a vibrating headed cleaning brush ( a 'detailer' in automotive parlance). And if you drop your cassette in an ultrasonic bath before you wipe it off, it will look like new - excepting scratches, of course.
litvi says:

Aug 27 2015 at 11:34 pm

@Joe

Amen on the 16T. Road races, crits, circuit races... missing the 16T is like missing air in one tire.