Categories: Keepers TourKitLa Vie Velominatus

Q1 2012 V-Kit Order

It hasn't always been this way, where we thoughtlessly disembogue 140 characters or less in messages sent into a medium where our crimes against language, spelling and grammar will live for ever.

There was a time when we wrote letters. These letters were carefully composed and penned onto thick, quality parchment paper and sealed in wax. These letters were then dispatched to the farthest reaches of the world where they would be carefully read and digested before a response was given. Technology and innovation are often taken as synonyms for progress, but with that progress usually comes the death of ritual and tradition.

As we close the books on the Q4 2011 V-Kit order, we open the books for the Q1 2012 order. Our insistence on the highest quality products made to our exacting standards translates into a long wait while the kit is manufactured. This presents a challenge when loving family and friends want to give the kit as a gift to a velominatus, because the timing of our delivery timetables rarely coincides with the intended occasion. To work around this problem in the past, we have arranged for a letter which is carefully crafted and personalized before being printed on thick parchment paper and sealed with a hand-dripped wax V-Seal for wrapping and giving on the day.

With the holiday season coinciding with our next kit order, we introduce the V-Gift Letter for wrapping and laying under the tree, announcing to the recipient the impending Glory of Merckx which will befall them upon the arrival of their kit several weeks later. We also offer a version of the letter for the Keepers Tour in the event that any loving family or friend intends to make a gift of the ultimate cycling trip to their Velminatus/a. The letter is free, with the cost going towards postage only.

With that, we officially open the 2012 Q1 V-Kit order. The only thing that remains is the choice: Zwarte, Witte, or Winter. However you choose, choose wisely and choose carefully as orders are custom made. Place your order by midnight on January 6 for the next V-Kit shipment, scheduled to arrive in late February.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/V-Gift Letter/”/]

A point of clarification: all packages from the Q4 2011 V-Kit order have been dispatched.

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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View Comments

Marko says:

Nov 29 2011 at 5:03 pm

@Blah
Are you vane or Lampre Man?
Steampunk says:

Nov 29 2011 at 7:14 pm

@Blah
At 178cm and 87kg, I went extra large on bibs and jersey last year. I have very big guns (not boasting, but suggesting that the weight is in my shorts"”okay, now I'm boasting). I've taken off some 10kg this year; shorts still fit well, but the jersey is a little on the big side. Not ridiculously so, but I'd probably scale down a size next time.
Blah says:

Nov 29 2011 at 9:05 pm

@Steampunk
Thanks. That's the info I'm after.
In other Castelli gear I'm XXL and XXXL, jersey and bibs respectively. XXXL? WTF? I know climbers are small guys, but it's like the Italians are ignoring their population when it comes to sizes. I've been there - they're not a small people. Certainly not as small as a Large or Medium size suggests. I cannot conceive of the guy who wears a Small in that brand.

NB: The US may be a big enough market that you get your own sizing scheme.
frank says:

Nov 29 2011 at 10:22 pm

@Dr C

@Marko

@RedRangerAbsolute carnage. Good vid. I like the dude about halfway in drilling in with the panniers on his bike.

I reckon this was his morning commute, and was pretty perplexed to find a bunch of Lemmings joining him
I hope there was a prize for best dismount, the guy three from last who eploded in the middle gets my vote, and why did the last guy have a pig's snout - marvellous
Makes me think again, take my #1 bike to Roubaix ride.....Mmmmmm

Of course you take your own bike. Its called a Roubaix, isn't it? Should it break? Well, what better place for it to meet its maker than in the hallowed grounds for which it was created?
frank says:

Nov 29 2011 at 10:27 pm

@Blah

@Steampunk
Thanks. That's the info I'm after.
In other Castelli gear I'm XXL and XXXL, jersey and bibs respectively. XXXL? WTF? I know climbers are small guys, but it's like the Italians are ignoring their population when it comes to sizes. I've been there - they're not a small people. Certainly not as small as a Large or Medium size suggests. I cannot conceive of the guy who wears a Small in that brand.
NB: The US may be a big enough market that you get your own sizing scheme.

Its not so much the Italians as it is the Pros. This is the same stuff, made in the same factory, as the Pros wear. Last year's Fall order saw a week's delay because they had to interrupt their production to make a new rainbow kit for Thor.

Unless you've got the pro-level stuff, the kit is smaller than what you'll find in stores, so an XXXL is not as disappointing as you might think. Look into the sizing chart, which is accurate, but if you're on the line between two sizes, go up unless you like a race fit.
itburns says:

Nov 29 2011 at 10:47 pm

@frank

@Dr C

Makes me think again, take my #1 bike to Roubaix ride.....Mmmmmm

Of course you take your own bike. Its called a Roubaix, isn't it? Should it break? Well, what better place for it to meet its maker than in the hallowed grounds for which it was created?

@Dr C
You have to bring your 2012 Expert Roubaix. I'll have my 2011. As I wrote to the Keepers, if catastrophe hits and I crack the frame I just hope it is before the factory tour so I can be a kid in a very expensive candy store with expert input from the Velominati. Bike and rims are definitely built strong, though. Fire roads, unexpected massive potholes, nasty temporary "big" chip seal - has handled it all with just a chain slap of defiance.

How does this compare to The Cobbles? We will find out. Hope I haven't just cursed myself.
Blah says:

Nov 29 2011 at 10:50 pm

@frank
Thanks for the heads up and the help. Good advice and timely as usual, frank.
Nate says:

Nov 29 2011 at 11:39 pm

@Blah
Here is another data point for you. 188 cm, 71 kg. Large bibs are snug.
mouse says:

Nov 30 2011 at 3:11 am

@Nate

@BlahHere is another data point for you. 188 cm, 71 kg, hung like a Boa Constrictor. Large bibs are snug.

fixed your post.
lejogle says:

Nov 30 2011 at 11:55 am

@Frank / anyone else who rides in The Kit

what are the bibs like for longer rides (7-12hrs) are they going to be usable at that distance or is it Assos only for them?

cheers