White is a troublesome color; hard to keep clean. I have a white dress shirt that I never wear because even if I manage not to spill on the front of it, the cuffs and collar will look crap by the end of the day regardless. I mean, I can keep from eating something all day, but I can’t keep from drinking coffee or wine, and before very long some of it is going on the shirt, right were people check out my man-boobs.
I can’t keep my dress clothes clean, the ones I wear to my office. That’s a clean business, going to the office. And Cycling is a dirty business, even on sunny days there is a road grit and chain grease to contend with. And our feet and hands get the worst of it. Who in their right mind would ride with white socks and bar tape?
In my younger days, I started a website called ControlFreak, for which the tagline was “a term used by lazy people to describe someone with standards.” Obviously my writing skills had some room to grow and I was also too young to understand the practical complications of having things like “standards”. Nevertheless, I am proud of the sentiment. It was a first (malnourished) seed of Velominati; its uncompromising attitude built a fiber of the vein that runs through our heritage in this community. In the ControlFreak sensibility, white socks and bar tape are for those of us with standards of cleanliness; they are for the aesthetic steadfast who are willing to invest both the time and inventory to maintain a matching set of curtains and drapes. Black is for those who are too lazy to keep a clean house.
My Number #1 has always had white bars. The other bikes can have black tape because white bar tape is for leaders; Bike #1 is Alpha, the others are Beta – no matter how much I love them.
So why is it that I have been attracted by the blackness of my handlebars every time I unwrap the tape from them? I’m not talking about the Betas, I’m talking about my Alpha: my Veloforma Strada iR. It was a time of turmoil, maybe. Perhaps some unrest in the Force, where the Dark Side grew in strength. Or maybe I enjoyed too many Recovery Ales that day. The event was too long ago and too poorly documented for anyone to be certain, but the fact is, I wrapped Bike #1’s bars in black tap.
Let me say that again in a separate paragraph: I wrapped Bike #1’s bars in black tap.
No one else. Not the guy down the shop because he didn’t have anything else. Not the VMH. Not my sister. Me.
And I loved it.
The bike was so stealth I felt like I was riding a Sith. Actually, maybe not – I don’t think a Sith would stand for that sort of thing. Maybe I felt like I was riding a Sith Speeder.
But something was missing. I didn’t feel right. I felt a few centimeters off-center, so one night I picked up a new roll of fizik microtex and rewrapped the bars in white.
It felt good to go back, like taking a shower after a long camping trip. Or brushing your teeth after a night on the piss. There was something visceral about it. I brought the bike up to the bedroom and leaned her (gently) against the wall so I could gaze at her as I fell asleep. It felt good to know I had come back to my center. I had come back to expecting more of myself. I would keep my bar tape clean.
Darth Sidious said, “If one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects.”
Just because he’s a jerk doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Just so long as we find our way back to The Path.
That night, I slept soundly.
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@SamFromTex
Repurposed weapon? That could be her.
(She did work in the shuttle program, btw.)
@SamFromTex
Tend to agree - if Chinese factories copy their clients' frames that's an issue for their relationship.
But in regard to the legality of it there is some relevance.
First that Frank sells V-decals but DragoRosso was so impressed with this free site which relies on the time and effort of a small group of dedicated people that he chose not to support it by buying some of the few bits of merchandise they sell but by simply copying the emblem. He gets whatever kudos he thinks he has by association with Velominati while basically telling them/us to fuck off.
Secondly, VeloForma IIRC donated a bike as a prize to the Velominati Super Prestige competition. So imagine you're a small company which has supported this community and you come on here to see someone posting pictures of a cheap rip-off. I think at the very least you would hope to see people calling it out as wrong, but you might also consider it next time someone came looking for sponsorship.
So I'm not coming at this from a general moral aversion to piracy, more from the specific rubbing of noses in it.
@ChrisO
This was the thing that bothered me. Veloforma has supported the site, and some of us have purchased/are purchasing Veloformas. (They've got my money, and I'm waiting for their frame.)
Personally, I can't give a wet fart if somebody wants to feel cool riding a knockoff of one of their bikes. I find it incomprehensible that someone would, but I just can't care much about it.
But that there is a relationship between Velominati and Veloforma makes theft of copyright (which is what this is) a real issue here, IMO. I'm not about to tell Frank his business. But if I were him, I'd delete the photos.
You see I have actually got a real V-bike in V-colours that I bought from the small company that makes them and you have little concept of how annoyed I am that some dick is using an open mold to produce ripoffs.
I mean, it's not as if the real manufacturer's frames are so ludicrously expensive that (like say Rolex) the only way you can have something that looks like one is by acquiring a fake.
If this is a fake - and it does seem to be - then you're stealing from people that we know and respect - not some corporate suit who couldn't give a shit for our sport. It would be unfortunate if you'd bought it unknowingly from a third party but given that it seems you knew perfectly well it was a fake then you're in the same boat as the rip off merchants who made the thing.
I'm guessing that if whoever did this did it once they've done it elsewhere. Best you can do - take the real parts off the frame, put the frame through a band saw and then buy a real one like the rest of us. Unless you'd like to hand it over to the authorities or real manufacturer as evidence that is.
I'm with ChrisO on copying the V-decals - a bunch of dedicated guys have worked very hard for not much financial reward to establish the V-emblems as a mark worthy of respect. Putting it on a fake bike is a personal insult to them and to those that support what they do and stand for.
I trust that we'll hear and see no more of this.
@the Engine
It's worse than buying an already painted knockoff like a Chinarello or something. Presumably he bought an unpainted Chinese frame and then personally took it to be painted in Veloforma's colorway with Veloforma's and this website's trademarked logos.
It completely boggles the mind how he could then think it's a good idea to come to this site and post photos and a link to a forum where he admits that this is exactly what he did.
@il muro di manayunk
Naiveté, I suspect.
@PeakInTwoYears
Nah, it's not naivete. Naivete is doing something out of ignorance, not knowing any better. Drago knows exactly what he's doing. He's passing off one thing as something else. Frankly, that's fraud in my book. It's the equivalent of me putting BMW logos on my Ford Focus. Just cos the words say something, don't mean it is. The big issue here is 99.9% of people would know my Focus isn't a BMW. 99.9% of folks will think this is a Veloforma. That's what Drago wants, but to come here and post that shit is beyond rude.
This isn't even close to the Dan R/Spesh case. No-one got Dan mixed up with Sinyard's mob.Dan wasn't trying to pass his stuff off as someone elses. He was legit. Drago isn't.
@wiscot
Much like mislabeling a car, the people who won't know the difference don't give a shit and the people who DO know the difference WILL NOT BE IMPRESSED. I've seen a lot of fake M3s, a lot of fake AMGs, and once I saw a Boxter that swore it was a 911 Turbo, and let me tell you it's never made me impressed with the owner.
@Wiscot, agreed
I must admit that I, for one, was completely fooled by those photos - which I had initially looked at without reading any of the text on the forum. Prior to the heads-up by @PeakInTwoYears, I actually thought I'd been looking at a genuine Veloforma and even found myself wondering whether the green V-decal (which turns out not to be a decal) was some kind of 'special order' for that particular bike. Ah well - more fool me, I suppose.
Sort of fits, I guess, that the guy who did the actual paintwork apparently goes by the name 'Bogus'
Gentlemen. My apologies in all regards.
I had not considered all the aspects of this paint scheme which you have all pointed out. I will not try to defend this decision with any form of argument.
Please excuse my ignorance, rudeness, disrespect, or any other offence. It was not intended in any way shape or form.
The offending paint will be removed as soon as possible. This I promise. I do respect this community for what it bring to the love of cycling.
apologies for derailing this thread as well. Have a good night.