Gun Check

Doubt. It speaks in whispered tones but echoes in our actions and lingers heavy on the mind. It is a thing that weaves itself into the seeds of our dreams and erodes vision into whim. Doubt leads to uncertainty; uncertainty to fear; fear prevents us from reaching as high as we might.

Doubt is a clingy thing. Like a snowball dropped down a mountainside in a cartoon, it starts small but grows upon its own weight. It continues to collect more doubt until finally it crushes any positive thought. Doubt is the fundamental element of the Anti-V.

As Cyclists, our morale rests on a knife’s edge where the slightest drop of grace can send us into the waiting arms of La Volupté while even the smallest grain of doubt can draw us to the cold anvil of her husband, the Man with the Hammer. Little things such as a freshly wrapped set of bars or a recently cleaned and silenced drivetrain can send morale skyrocketing, even in otherwise atrocious conditions. An elusive click or creak, on the other hand, can coax squares from even the most magnificent of strokes.

Clicks, creaks, or a misfiring drivetrain are guaranteed to send me into a tailspin of frustration and doubt; if my machine disobeys the Principle of Silence or malfunctions, I am sure to face a dismal day on the bike. Clean kit and freshly shaven guns, particularly when the guns are glistening with sweat or rain, is for me one of the greatest sources of form and good morale. To see the muscles moving under the smooth, tanned skin as they strain with effort instantly sends away any lingering doubt and leaves only optimism and drive, my conditioning and training cease to hold sway over my desire and willingness to suffer. And when we are willing to suffer, we can do anything.

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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  • Put discs on my road bike and I'll be wanting ABS too.

    A propos of nothing:  so, yesterday, I'm on the mtb on a trail system across the highway from our compound, and it's Rule 9, and I'm ice-breaking through deep puddles and contemplating the question of squealing brakes (they always squeal for a while after I take the bike swimming), and I see a cotton hanky half buried in the half frozen mud. It's a little thing with cool colors and the logo "Mystère de Rochas." Which I have to Google to learn is a perfume that goes for $220 per 1.7oz.  Score! I was duty-bound to broadcast the find to the local mtb mob, but I'm hoping no one claims it. One stylish fucking lens rag.

  • @CanuckChuck

    @PeakInTwoYears

    @Deakus

    Hydraulic disc brakes are awesomely awesome on mtb's. Well worth the time and expense.

    Totally awesomely awesome indeed!

    No reason to want them on a road bike. Tits on a boar.

    I'm going to disagree on this one. Granted, wheel changes are trickier with disc wheels and until they (you know, those guys) figure out a way to make wheel changes as quick as with rim brakes, discs will not gain acceptance in the peloton. But I'll take the all weather braking power and not needing to swap brake pads for running carbon and alu rims. Not that I own any carbon wheels...

    Then why not this...if "you" (the generic You) must be "dirty" and start powering your machines with things other than pure V then this at least looks better and keeps the fact that you are a secret tech whore hidden whilst in motion....only in the bedroom will anyone know you have a "dark side"...

    http://www.magura.com/en/roadbike/home.html

  • @Deakus

    @CanuckChuck

    @PeakInTwoYears

    @Deakus

    Hydraulic disc brakes are awesomely awesome on mtb's. Well worth the time and expense.

    Totally awesomely awesome indeed!

    No reason to want them on a road bike. Tits on a boar.

    I'm going to disagree on this one. Granted, wheel changes are trickier with disc wheels and until they (you know, those guys) figure out a way to make wheel changes as quick as with rim brakes, discs will not gain acceptance in the peloton. But I'll take the all weather braking power and not needing to swap brake pads for running carbon and alu rims. Not that I own any carbon wheels...

    Then why not this...if "you" (the generic You) must be "dirty" and start powering your machines with things other than pure V then this at least looks better and keeps the fact that you are a secret tech whore hidden whilst in motion....only in the bedroom will anyone know you have a "dark side"...

    Admittedly I don't any first hand knowledge regarding disc brakes since I don't ride MTB, but I found this discussion enlightening think its worth a listen.  In summary for those who don't - the conclusion is that they're foolish for road bike use because they overpower current lightweight road bike frame/fork designs.  To use them safely, you need to beef up areas of the bike, which means not only will the brakes be heavier than calipers, the frame and fork will need be as well.

  • @zalamanda

    @frahnk, can you give me the skinny on your superleggere w/set. I've checked the CR site which doesn't say much apart from their weight; 900g. Do they use their Richter hubs or a custom version? Are your Veloflex the Extreme or Carbon's and what are they like on normal roads?

    Great questions - I'm using the Richter hubs, which are super lightweight and awesome. They have small sealed bearings, so I'm curious how long they'll last and when it comes time to replace them, I'm curious how hard they will be to replace. I've been spoiled by how easy Zipps are to service, but I have to admit, both sets of CR's I have ride better than my Zipps.

    The Veloflex's are the carbons, and they rode great everywhere. They are very supple and light and seem durable enough (knock on wood) for their weight. No comparison to my FMB's in terms of supple and comfortable, but they are way better than my vredesteins.

  • @VeloVita

    ...the conclusion is that they're foolish for road bike use because they overpower current lightweight road bike frame/fork designs. To use them safely, you need to beef up areas of the bike, which means not only will the brakes be heavier than calipers, the frame and fork will need be as well.

    This doesn't surprise me. I don't know from frame stress, but look at the differences in applications. My mtb weighs 4.5kg more than my road bike. And I'm wearing a gosh darned fucking Camelback, with wine and cheese and apples and a flask of scotch in it (our group likes to party). And I'm trying to stay upright on real estate that is way steeper than anything one would put a road bike on. And I've got a 2.2" wide tire/tyre in front that sports great beefy knobs, with a 2.1 in back.

    That's why I joked about ABS on the road bike. Hydraulic calipers are powerful. More powerful than I would want with little bitty rubber contact patches on pavement. Yes, it's said the power is more easily modulated. But under enough sudden stress anybody can grab too much brake.  I've nearly dumped my motorcycle (no ABS) from doing that, narrowly avoiding a douchebag driver.

    I dunno, maybe that makes no sense. Maybe it's just better to have more braking power available. But I've never felt the need on my road bike. Somebody else wants discs, who am I to criticize? It's not like those rear-view video monitors...

  • @PeakInTwoYears

    One problem specifically with wet discs on the road is that a long sustained descent at high speed can boil the fluid rendering the brakes useless.  Wires (disc or rim) don't have this problem.  Typical mtb descents are at lower speed, and more modulated.

  • @CanuckChuck

    @PeakInTwoYears

    @Deakus

    Hydraulic disc brakes are awesomely awesome on mtb's. Well worth the time and expense.

    Totally awesomely awesome indeed!

    No reason to want them on a road bike. Tits on a boar.

    I'm going to disagree on this one. Granted, wheel changes are trickier with disc wheels and until they (you know, those guys) figure out a way to make wheel changes as quick as with rim brakes, discs will not gain acceptance in the peloton. But I'll take the all weather braking power and not needing to swap brake pads for running carbon and alu rims. Not that I own any carbon wheels...

    I have had more trouble with disc brakes than any other kind of brake; there is not nearly enough tolerance to adjust them and keep them from rubbing unless the rotor is perfectly true. They squeal, and they are ugly. Most people I know who were foolish enough to put them on their CX rig have gone back to cantis - or, more specifically, Mini-V's which actually work fantastically.

    Fuck disc brakes on anything other than a MTB.

  • Hey, those Magura calipers look like New Age Deltas! Kind of cool. One day soon I'm going to build up the nerve to pop the face plate off my Deltas and investigate adjusting them. I think the looks of 'em have startled me into fearing them, though some say they really aren't that complicated.

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