Categories: Accessories and GearFolkloreNostalgia

On the Rivet

Pete Boydell shows us what Rule #5 looks like.

I’m proud to declare that I am fluent in three languages: Hyperbole, Dutch, and English. All of them rubbish. The language of the peloton is, by and large, the most beautiful and expressive in French and Italian, which already make anything sound sexy. But they really excel in le langage du peloton: Sur la plaque, La Volupte, Grinta, La Fringale – each of those smash their English translations with pure linguistic voluptuousness.

The exception is, of course, the term “on the rivet”. Don’t ask my why we all slide forward on our saddles when we’re riding hard, but we all do. Slip your saddle forward a bit to accommodate the forward position, and you’ll still slip forward once you start laying down The Five. It’s one of life’s great mysteries, alongside gravity and how the frosting got inside the twinkies.

Saddles used to have a rivet on the front, to hold the the crotch-numbing slab of leather in place because Cycling saddles at the time were modelled after Western horse saddles. And whenever you were well and truly on your limit, you’d have your rump precariously perched right over that brass nubbin. Hence the term, on the rivet.

To kindly demonstrate the point, no one does “On the Rivet” better than former Manchester DC legend, Pete Five Face Boydell. Even his saddle is having a shit.

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.

Next Style and Fashion »

Previous « La Solidarité

View Comments

Chipomarc says:

Nov 18 2015 at 9:16 am

The bucket thing always happened when you got the cork stuck solid in the neck of your water bottle.
chuckp says:

Nov 18 2015 at 9:40 am

On the bucket > on the rivet.
Oli says:

Nov 18 2015 at 12:19 pm

@chuckp

He can't be because we can see the nose of the saddle still - to be 'on the rivet' it needs to be right up the old chookster!
Ron says:

Nov 18 2015 at 12:46 pm

RE: The Bucket Man - why were they doing clamp on bidon cages at that point? To difficult to build in bosses? Too costly?

Oli? Wiscot?
Oli says:

Nov 18 2015 at 1:04 pm

Both Ron - the braze-ons could often weaken the frames if they weren't brazed perfectly, plus the extra time they took would ramp up the cost. Also I think it was partly just the fashion of the times; although the French constructeurs were doing amazing things with brazing in terms of add-ons in the randonneur scene, road frames were perhaps regards more prosaically and were hence more workmanlike in construction.
Teocalli says:

Nov 18 2015 at 1:21 pm

@Oli

@chuckp

He can’t be because we can see the nose of the saddle still – to be ‘on the rivet’ it needs to be right up the old chookster!

Said rivet location........
Teocalli says:

Nov 18 2015 at 1:37 pm

Bucket phase 2
frank says:

Nov 18 2015 at 1:42 pm

@chris

Fucking awesome photo @frank.

I had a look around on googel to see if I could find out a bit more about Mr Boydell, not much going on there (I’ll see if my old sensei Mr Cammish can come up with) but I did find this.

Despite having the sort of beard usual reserved for religious nutter and sex pests, this chap was obviously capable of laying down so much V that his bars needed reinforcement.

Another weird single ring subset of British cycling, a hill climber this time not a tester.

His beard also qualifies him for tending bar in Seattle.
frank says:

Nov 18 2015 at 1:46 pm

@Apex Nadir

What the fuck is that shit.

@litvi

@Oli

@freddy

He’s “testing”, for sure. You can see his stopwatch on his handlebars.

He’s also using a psychological technique that always worked pretty well for me: look that stopwatch straight-on, and yell “say ‘tick’ again, motherfucker! Go ahead, I DARE you!”

Which is the opposite of the technique I use when doing intervals, which is where I stare it down and ask it to please stop slowing down and start ticking faster!
frank says:

Nov 18 2015 at 1:47 pm

@Ccos

@wiscot

@RobSandy

@freddy

…and this was before Strava, right?

Have to say this, with no disrespect to RobSandy, but if it’s on Strava, I really don’t give a fuck! Strava’s just another enabler of smart phone addiction.

Amen brother (ironically typed on my cell phone…)

This. @RobSandy must have momentarily been hit with the Anti-V stick, which is not unlike the Forget Me Stick.