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.
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The gleam is something to be revered and to mourn, but really only in the sense that we don't get to see it anymore. The image of the glistening bunch rolling along was magical.
But with everything that passes, something new takes it's place. These days, we get to hear the hum of the carbon wheels, which I think is one of the coolest sounds around - not that the sound of 200 tubs on metal box rims was anything to scoff at, but the growling hum of a carbone wheel...ohmeohmi. Sometimes I look for a climb with a concrete wall next to it and climb out of the saddle, just to hear my wheels...
I love my steel bike, and am going to build it a pair of 3-cross tubs, put all alloy Campag 10-spd Chorus on it, and polish it fortnightly, just to do it. But it will remain Bike #2, never Bike #1. That's for a simple reason, too: Carbon is stiff, light, fast, and low maintenance.
I ride the steel regularly, and every time I do I start to wonder why I even bother with the R3 - the ride of the steel is so pure and so nice. And then I swing my leg over the R3, stand on the pedals, and think to myself, "Oh, yeah. That's why I bother with the R3."
@Brett
I put an alu seatpost in the steel recently because I had it laying around and it would get my position to within 1mm of what I have on the R3. Man, I gotta say...I love how that thing looks on there...
@frank
You really need a matching stem on there now, maybe even the headset.
@frank
Yeah, that looks sweet mate; I love that bike.
My carbon post is growing on me, but when the Bozzie gets rebuilt with older Campy, it will go back to a shiny post.
@Brett
It's amazing that you managed to match your bike to that spot of grass the the nice blue water behind that.
Cool bikes guys. I certainly love the look of a polished warbird. On last weekend's group ride my old MBK was leaving bright infinity symbol reflections on the road from the mirror-polished rims and crank. That put a smile on my face.
That is seriously hot, Brett. Good work mate.
@mcsqueak
I love how the visually-level seat bisects the shoreline in the distance too.
Tip for polishing hubs - gleaming silver or otherwise: for one ride tie a small strip of rag (say 1-2cm wide) into a small but loose loop around each hub. As the hubs spin the rag ties stay relatively stable just moving from side to side and effectively buffing the hubs. Looks silly for that one ride but at the end of it you will be surprised at how much shinier your hubs are. Unfortunately doesn't work as well on convex hubs.
@Brett
I just opened that picture of your bike in a new window and stared at it in full size for like 10 minutes. That is a real beauty. Your cranks are at the wrong angle, though. Are those your new bars, or still the older ones from the original build?
Loving the crown on that fork, too.
@Marcus
Thats a great tip. Giani sent me his old Super Record front shifter and I polished that baby up. Amazing how aluminum gleams after several hours of rubbing it with a cloth.
@mcsqueak
Sweet new avatar, dude.
@James
WOW. That is one tight looking bike! WOW! I love it! I love the DT shifter, and the converted SRAM levers. What a beauty!
And it's hard-wired to the big ring! Please tell me you live in a really hilly region.
Here it is in-line, for those of you who missed @James' post due to it being in the spam queue for some reason.