The Dark Side
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.
@ErikdR
It’s the 1989 Tour but the climb, not sure. L’Alpe d’Huez?
@PeakInTwoYears I wouldn’t call it fake. how about, “tribute”?? If they can do it with muscle cars, I can do it with bikes:)
Hey, Winnen has white hoods. I’d like to find some for my 1991 Record Gruppo on my Tommasini. It still has the original Leader’s Tape on there, Cinelli cork. I’d like to swap to a longer stem and put on new cables since I’m sure that would improve the shifting and, more importantly, the braking with the Deltas…but I’m trying to see how long the tape can go.
@juliana
Nice! I have to share this with my VMH…she thinks I’m a weirdo because I want attention sometimes, but not others. Guess I’m like your husband! I blame it on being a Gemini – sometimes I’ve very social, sometimes I’m thrilled to be alone.
@DragoRosso
Well, I have my own ideas about this sort of thing, but I don’t think that everyone has to think like I do. I will say that since the site and some folks associated with the site have a relationship with Veloforma, there might possibly be some sensitivity around this. All that said, I’m certainly not interested in trying to speak for anyone else.
@Ron
Funny, I want attention all the time.
My VMH likes it when I pay attention to her preferred pink bar tape, but when I don’t it doesn’t seem to bother her–she still drops my ass like the fat ass it is on the longer climbs. I don’t know whether she’s a Gemini or a Mercury. She’s too little to be a Saturn V.
@DragoRosso
I would call it fake.
Copying trademarks and brand names like VeloForma and the Velominati emblem, is not the same as putting panels over a car chassis to make it look different.
I’ll give you one thing, you’ve got balls of brass to come on here posting photos of it.
@PeakInTwoYears
Possibly a Saturn 1B. Redstones were suborbital so that’s no good and the Atlas and Titan were repurposed weapons which may or may not be appropriate.
@ChrisO
I could care less about the legality of it, but it’s just trashy. It’s like putting an M logo on a 381ti or something. If you want one of those cheap Chinese carbon frames, that’s fine with me, but don’t pretend it’s something it isn’t.
To my mind it puts you in the same league as this guy.
@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.
Yikes, and here I was planning on cruising into the weekend with a peaceful last few hours of the work week. Not with the Green Monster on our hands.
A few of you smarter lads have already said some important things that I agree with. What bugs me though is that you’d do all that to save some money…and then dump money into that big stupid computer on there. If you’re a cheapskate, ride with a damn V-Meter.
Or maybe it’s just an old RCA remote meant to trick us.
Imagine if someone proudly posted pics of fake CR wheels. I don’t own a set, but because I know Dan better than I know VF I’d be seriously lit up. And this is, after all, the same thing.
@wiscot Clearly the guy knew he was buying/creating a knockoff/fake/counterfeit. His rationalization–in this place, of all places–suggests to me that he simply didn’t understand the effect his behavior would have on people here. That’s what I meant.
@DragoRosso
There you go, friend! Good on you.
@PeakInTwoYears
Seconded… although I don’t think it derailed the thread. Instead it seems appropriate that “the Green Monster” has appeared in the comments section of and Article titled “the Dark Side” wherein @frank it describing his own discretion.
Also, someone should put @DragoRosso in touch with COTHO et al. ^That^ is how you do an apology.
@DragoRosso your bar tape and colour scheme (infringement notwithstanding) is pretty sweet!
Getting back to bar tape & saddle color, this is Sith-like no? (though I never realized the similarities until @BuckRogers post.)
I have considered going white-white or black-black, but I have been enjoying the red-red for the last couple of years.
@DragoRosso I am happy to hear that you will be fixing the frame set. Great colours and a nice idea, but Veloforma is a great little company that works hard to distinguish itself in a very competitive market. As a note, I get asked to have wheels painted with the Velominati “V” all the time. I kindly tell my customers that while I will do custom paint and even no paint, I do not do other peoples logo unless granted express permission. In fact, Frank and I have gone through a few different designs that have been painted on various rims sets, which have not been built due to design flaws or “it looked good on paper” or just plain decision changes. These extra rims, I keep aside for repainting. Or if built up, they go into destructive testing. hehehe, yeah it can fun…
I’d suggest keeping the colours and going with a dragon theme finish. Now that could be cool.
Gorgeous wheels, Dan.
@DragoRosso
I didn’t like that the first time I saw it, but it’s growing on me. I’m still not sure that there are any other legitimate bar tape colours than black or white ( but never together) but I’m open to new experiences as they say.
You really do need this, though:
@DeKerr
In fact, the green bar tape on that Velofauxma actually strengthened my intention to go orange for the first tape job on my V-painted Veloforma, when it finally comes (and I involuntarily do something of the same name).
Oh bullocky fuck, that’ll teach me to post after experimenting with gin, vermouth and campari ratios. Kids, read the article and post before posting.
In no fucking interpretation of anything do I condone or approve of @DragoRosso‘s pikey illigal and imoral use of copyrighted material. Cunt.
@Chris
Come on, get off the fence, what is your real opinion?
@Teocalli
I didn’t say anything rude about the French, did I?
@Chris
Bullocky fuck — he’s got no feelings.
Been AWOL for a wee while and just trying to catch up. Black: other colours only exist to show just how black black is. Orange does this best in my opinion.
Fakes/ copies/ tributes whatever you call them. No. Have the decency to buy the real thing from the person who spent time, effort, passion and investment to produce the item that you think is so worthy of ripping off. Don’t encourage them. If it’s worth copying it’s worth waiting for the real thing.
@Dan_R
Take my money… just take my fucking money!
Oh wait… I don’t have any right now.
@DeKerr
You know, it’s kinda weird. I could buy those wheels right now, but I feel like equipment of that extreme niceness (much like the Veloforma or half the other stuff you crazy lot seem to have) is something I haven’t earned. I’m too fat, too slow, too inflexible. Mostly too slow. It’s Dungeons and Dragons logic, I suppose: I need to gain a few more levels of Cyclist before I can pull that sword out of the stone.
@SamFromTex
There is another way to look at it. Have a seat. Let an old man tell you a story…
I was never a great athlete, not even in my twenties–way back when I was lean and agile, back when you had to reach down to shift. (And, no, I’m not making some kind of rude joke.) But I rode a lot and raced a little and loved it all. Then I spent a long, long time in various wildernesses. Often walking. Walking! When I could have been riding! (I’m shaking my head, right? You can see it.)
A few years ago, on impulse, I bought my first road bike in 25 years. Decent bike. Nothing special. But it got me riding again. Had a couple of years of steady gains in fitness, had a great fun season last year. Did lots of long rides and some fairly hard ones. Then this summer was just a series of embarrassments because I’d gotten distracted by other activities that I will not specify and just didn’t ride much and lost a lot of fitness and got my ass handed to me in single-serving packages every time I attended a cogal or similar gathering.
Then I said “Fuck it.” I ordered a Veloforma. And the result? I’m doing twice-weekly interval workouts for the first time in a very long time. And liking it. Why? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Because I don’t want to be The Fat Guy On the Nice Bike. And because I’ve got a really nice bike coming soon. I’ll still be the old, untalented (still kinda fat) guy on the nice bike. But I’ll claw back some fitness because I’m motivated again. Because–like back in the day–I’ll have a bike that excites me and because I’ll have clawed back some fitness and will feel good about that.
Buy the fucking wheels. Then earn the right to them. And have fun doing it.
Life is too fucking short, and then you’re dead for a long fucking time.
@juliana
Get the man a bike and problem solved.
@SamFromTex
Dan, those are some badass looking wheels. Cool carbon weave and nice original graphics. Did Winnipeg Cycle Chick have a hand in these?
@ChrisO
No shit. Not cool at all.
Not to mention, GREEN V-Cogs? Disgrace.
@DragoRosso
If you would have reached out to Veloforma, they would have built you the real thing, in the colors you wanted. They are amazing like that. And you could have gotten our blessing to use our real graphics. No need to go gray market and stealing people’s brands. Massive Rule #58 violation, not to mention Rule #43.
@DragoRosso
Thanks for having the good grace to acknowledge a pretty awful fuck-up and make amends. I don’t want to get on a high horse about imitations but dude, I was just feeling sorry for you to be honest. Go legit, its the only way.
@SamFromTex
About 3 years or so back I became unfit and had a spell off the bike following a virus and a ruptured achilles. So net a year or more off the bike and 2 stone (28 lbs) overweight I started cycling again an fancied a new machine – but at more than a decent bike overweight it was hard to justify, so I used that as my incentive. 4 months of lifestyle change (food wise) and hard exercise corrected things and just at the right/wrong time my LBS started stocking Pinarello. So now I am happy but poor – but the latter might have something to do with the n+3 that followed the Pina………….
@wiscot
Merci!
@Kevin
I like the red. Bar tape and saddle are the same color so OK in my book. Personally, I think bikes should have at least a little bit of color With the advent of carbon fiber, it’s just become a sea of black bikes (my Felt FC included).
@Dan_R
Exquisite design work.
@PeakInTwoYears I gotta say, I respect that, first, ya picked up on the BS and second, that you called out the BS in a particularly respectable (probably far more than deserved) way. Props due ya. Cheers
@ChrisO
I might be risking my site membership here but… I find the whole conversation a tad amusing, considering Veloforma is essentially an open-mold company. I’m not too well-versed in open mold MTBs and ‘cross frames, but the road and track frames are pretty easy to ID. I wonder why Drago didn’t bother to order the correct frame?
@wilburrox Thank you, sir.
@tessar I considered that perspective, too. For me personally, copying a frame design is one thing, but then copying the mark as well is quite another. VF didn’t go into business selling fake Cervelos. And, from what vanishingly small amount I know about frame building, it isn’t a simple matter of using the same mold.
@frank FUCK .. and I thought that I was ballzy and bad for posting pictures of naked Sith Women!!!
That was some chutzpah right there.
@DragoRosso
A little creativity and you mighta had your cat paint a particularly cool custom flame or stripe job that woulda made all the diff in the world for admiration of the bike. After all, $$ was spent… just to copy someone else’s idea ? Without respect of property rights ? Leave that to the Chinese mnfg’s. Creating cool new stuff? That’s what makes the world a better place.
Props for the prompt follow up and acknowledgement I have to hand it to you. And post a snapshot of the bike if it looks a little different in the future. Something tells me it could be cool.