Mimic those who are better than you; this is the underlying principle of nearly everything I do in life, whether in my work, in sport, or hobbies. The less I know about something, the more inclined I am towards this, and the more faithfully I mimic. As my skill and knowledge develope, I mime less and reason more, applying my own mistakes as well as those of others to the process we commonly refere to as becoming ‘experienced’. This process continues until I grow into an opinionated sponge; while I continue to mop up any and every piece of information and advice I can get my hands on, I follow the path that is influenced still by advice, but dictated largely by the unique journey that lays behind me and the lessons I’ve learned along it. But still the underlying premise remains: The Pros must be onto something.
So it was that I became obsessed with classic-bend bars; Gilbert, Hushovd, Basso, Potato, Cadelephant, the Brothers Grimpeur – many of my favorite riders cruised into my heart aboard classic-bend bars. Not to mention the likes of Coppi, De Vlaeminck, Merckx, and Maertens – none of whom had a choice but rode them nevertheless. Over time, the swooping curve of a classic, round drop has found its place alongside the Quick Release, Delta Brake, and Record Hub as some of the Most Beautiful Bits of Kit.
I love the way the bars sweep up from the drops and position the hoods at an elegant, upward pitch as the bar continues it’s journey upward to meet the stem. Each classic-bend bar does this, yet the particular sweep of the 3T Rotundo does it more elegantly than any other; the exact radius of its bend and the pitch of its rise is perfection. I have another set of classic 3T bars which predate the Rotundo whose radius of the bend is within a millimeter of that of the Rotundo and yet the aesthetics are not it’s equal. Like all things of sublime beauty, there is something intangible about its curve that sets it appart from others.
But aesthetics are only skin deep, and the real measure of the bar is how comfortable it is. Since getting ahold of my first Rotundo, I’ve moved to classic bend bars on all my machines. I was apprehensive about the move from an ergo bend, which I’d always ridden, to the round bend of the Rotundos. Whereas I had always assumed that a flat section of bar would be more comfortable to grab hold of, this turns out not to be the case. Evidently, my hand is not straight and is in fact quite good at bending and forming to various shapes. Riding in the drops, wrists pointed inwards towards the V-Locus, my fingers grip the curved surface of the drops perfectly. The classic bend also reduces the reach from the drop to the brake lever, which means that long descents with frequent use of the brakes are also much more comfortable.
The positioning of the hoods is a slightly different matter and depends somewhat on the groupo. Bikes Number 1 and 2 both wear 10 speed Campa Record, while Bike Number 3 wears Dura-Ace 7700. The design of the Campa hoods resemble the Power Triangles of Merckx, while the design of the Shimano hoods more closely resemble pegs. The transition from the bar to the hoods on my Campa bikes is smooth like Keith Stone, allowing you to choose multiple positions along where bar meets hood. The design of the Shimano levers, on the other hand, cause them to stand up from the bar more abruptly, meaning that there are fewer comfortable positions available. It’s not really a significant issue, but it does provide less positions which can play a factor on longer rides.
As an aside, the matching 3T ARX stem meets nearly every expectation one can have of a stem; it’s light, stiff and simple. My only complaint is that it is only available in a 6 or 17 degree version; those of us who pay careful attention to how low or how high our bars are find that these two combinations don’t provide enough flexibility to dial in the position; I’m running the bars on Bike Number 3 and am stuck riding my bars about 5mm higher than on my other bikes. To be fair, this is not a shortcoming of the ARX stem in particular; very few manufacturers offer choices outside 6 or 17 degrees. However, for perfect positioning, 3T and others should add an 8 or 10 degree stem to the mix.
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@Minion
At the end of the day, when alls said and done and the chickens have come home to roost it is my belief that on this site we appreciate the "hardman". Think of Thor riding down that mountain in the TdF clocked at 120kph! Think of the Jens Voigt crash at similar speed wearing next to nothing!
It is my personal opinion that cyclists are harder than football/soccer players who roll around on the ground in "agony" when compared with Jonny Hoogerland and his comrades who get back on the bike as soon as possible. It is also my opinion that Rugby players are far more impressive sportsmen than American Football players because they don't stand around most of the time waiting for the next play, or go and sit down while one of the other teams (defence, offence, kicking) are on the field. And it's hard to tell how big some of the US players are, one can't see them for pads! Rucks, mauls and scrums are pretty anaerobic by the way, but still, over 4 hours cycling with Alp d'heuz at the end, that is pretty awesome :)
@Chris
@Minion
Thought I'd jump in for a couple of random comments, as I've played both sports in my yoot.
As you both point out, the football gargantuans that are offensive linemen would never survive in the pack, with all the chasing that is required in addition to the occasional ball handling.
The "girly" armor worn by football players just allows for different types of hitting/tackling that wouldn't go in rugby, like diving at the knees of the ball carrier or driving through with the head and shoulder. My right shoulder is permanently damaged from using the tackling in rugby that I learned in football.
(not to mention the need to tackle in rugby that allows for contesting control of the ball).
Concussions are getting more and more attention here as ex-footballers (and hockey players) are showing up with early dementia from repeated concussive brain damage. Have they seen this in rugby or AFL chez voos? Or are AFL players demented from the start and no one can tell?
Thanks for all the feedback, lads. Disassembled, cleaned with rubbing alcohol, put back together with carbon paste on the bolts. It worked! Two hours of riding this morning with some on a gravel trail and no slipping. It's so damn nice to solve little annoying bike issues.
What isn't nice: having idjits in huge SUVs pass you aggressively, then move all the way right, then slam on their brakes to turn into a driveway, causing you to nearly crash into them like Phinney & leaving you without any room to pass. Thank you, pal!
How do I have compassion for these types of "people"?
@xyxax
Some good points. I've never had the chance to play American football but I've played a lot of Rugby and in most of the positions. There were definitely days when I would love to have kitted up with a helmet and armor and gone for a sit down every few minutes though. When I started playing at school, the were no substitutes and only a couple of reserves. You didn't come off the pitch unless you were dead.
You're right that the armor allows certain things to be done that are either illegal in rugby or just don't happen like using the head. Diving at the knees seems not unlike tackling low around the legs of an player coming straight at you. Not always enjoyable but it happens. I think one of the major difference is the element of control required, as you say, to control the ball but also to make it a tackle rather than merely knocking your opponent over.
I'm not aware of an early dementia and it would be hard to tell with most forwards (the chaps most likely to suffer from it) as they've usually manage to pickle their brains before turning them to pulp. There are certainly those about who've managed to alter their looks. Take this chap for example. He might have ruined his looks by not donning a girly helmet but he did pull royalty (weather he's about to lose all that after this week is another question):
@Chris
Ha. Nice beak.
Another thing american footballers don't get:
@Ron
No I have car keys, and a fantasy involving a slo mo of me, riding past their behemouth, screeching along the way...
@snoov
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3383588
That's all that's needed. Different type of hardmen, is all. When I was at school I rowed and played rugby: I wear glasses and when my eyesight went I couldn't catch the ball or pass very accurately, so my own team started beating me up. After that I decided individual sports might be the way to go.
Professional sportsmen cut their cloth to fit the game: I have no doubt that the American guys are at the top of their game and have worked hard to get there, and would eat most people alive at what they do.
Apart from those fairys that play AFL - reminds me of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKB5TEccis4&feature=related
@scaler911
That's what I like about this site, the lengths people go to in order to help fellow Velominati, including slicing one's own frame in half for the purpose of clear explanation. Or am I mistaken, was this an entirely selfish act in order to create the justification for a new bike?
@V.OldGit
I was actually making canelloni with squid ink pasta, and much the same way as people see Jesus in Tacos, or toast, or grass clippings, the true Velominatus finds seat tube junctures in their pasta. Merckx later appeared to me while riding and told me to build an arc, big enough to take 2 types of each cyclist to Belgium come the flood. I found if I kick out the Mountain bikers and the recumbent riders I can double the size of my bedroom.
funny. this all seems quite familiar. i had cinelli 66 and then 3T deep drop. still have them on the old bikes. they're great but eventually found it harder to fold and hold the old, low position without getting totally numb in the crotch. i have the stems about 5 cm higher now and the seat about 2-3 cm closer. on the new bike, i really like the 3T ergonova with the stem 2cm shorter. they're not as pretty but the egg shape and the curve of drops are perfect. get a bit mixed up sometimes because i'll get up to give it a bit of a kick and find my knees hitting the bars. :)