I posted this picture as a joke in yesterday’s Anatomy of a Photo piece, but I find myself going back to it over and over, captivated by the way the light gleams off the peloton as they race by. Gleaming metal bits – hubs, cranks, spokes, handlebars, stems, frames, toe clips, all reflecting light from a thousand discrete points as the bunch rolls by, is a thing of the past.
Something of the romanticism of our sport has been crushed under the inevitable advancement of technology, as little by little each handmade alloy component on our bicycles has been displaced by a machine-built carbon replacement. It started with the clipless pedal’s succession of the toe clip; robbing us of the shimmering vision of sunlight reflecting off the metal clips from 200 riders’ feet as they approached from the distance. Today, even the metal shifting cables on the modern bike have been replaced in some cases by the rubberized cables of electronic drivetrains.
I look at my cherished R3 and, while I fully embrace the advantages and conveniences provided me by it’s modern technology, there is hardly a silver component in the lot. Even most of the alloy components like the stem and bars have been anodized black. Just the hubs and spokes, and little bits of the front and rear mechs are silver, but even those pieces don’t have the polished luster of the machines I see in the photo here. I wish I knew who took this picture because I’d love to offer him a beer. It’s a work of art: the long shadows, the bikes leaning in unison into the corner, the looks of determination on the riders’ faces, but most of all, the way the light is exploding out of Greg LeMan’s bike.
So, next time you find an old bicycle leaning against a tired wall, it’s aluminium components glistening in the sunlight, take a moment to linger and contemplate the beauty of it’s componentry. You will be standing before a relic of a bygone era when the grace and elegance of our great sport was enhanced by the glistening light radiating from the machines that carried our great heroes.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
The bikes' bling is like the lingerie that addorns our Velomihotties. Eye candy for the beholder and from what I understand in my most humble opinion, it makes them feel sexy too. My bike likes being clean and kept. She observes the rules...
@Souleur
This reminds me of an argument we have in the army about the new digital pattern and the old green uniforms. I miss the way freshly pressed uniforms and mirror shined boots make a soldier look sharp as a tack. However, it's so nice to not have to iron and spit shine boots for at least an hour every single day.
Good reason for multiple bikes I say! (Besides that I must have n+1!)
That's what I like about DA 7800, it is the last high performance metalic shiny groupset
I think you must mean Shamals.
There are always bike builders like Circle A...
http://www.circleacycles.com/bicycles_gallery.php?act=view&collection_id=021&name=LISA&type=1
@Joe: I have to say no doubt. My bike shed has one more slot available, and always has.
I do love the retro stuff, actually, I rode much of it and in some ways it is superior, many ways not. In terms of sheen, the metallic gleam that is in memorium, I could handle and I shouldn't say I totally would throw it under the bus, its just if I had one today, she would have to be a prom date only. Not my daily driver. The utilitarian aspect of the gleam is hard upkeep and a very high maintanance girl.
I'ts like the auto industry - show me a car with a nice chrome grille and you've got my attention. The black is so commonplace in the bike industry that they've started introducing such crap as white, red and the of course the "New Black" known as "Wet Black".
I raced that event, the Coors Classic, for the Shurfine Team. I was so cooked, there was no buffing of steel. The team worked our asses off keeping it together from stage to stage trying to be relevant. The Euros were at such a higher level than most of us. The handmade bikes and components were pieces of art that glistened unlike today's cookie cutter molds of plastic.
And damn! the bikes may have lost their art, but so freaking fast now! I loved the past, but i love what's made now!
@Souleur
Yeah, my old Schwinn has a lot of shiny metal bits, including the rims, and it's a lot of work to keep clean. The rims especially, what a pain in the ass to get looking really sharp...if the cleaning rag is dirty at all, it just smears the surface rather than making it cleaner. They then get dirty again very quickly.
My Felt on the other hand is almost entirely matte-black, and wipes clean much more quickly. It has a few pieces of bling, like the rear derailleur and hanger, and the spoke nipples, but everything else keeps looking rather clean, and cleans up easily when dirty.
@Oli Brooke-White
Damn. You're right. I think I was high on chain-lube when I wrote that