Progressively Retro
Innovation is a beast that lurches in leaps and bounds, fueled by its own momentum and restrained by its own progress. It lays dormant for ages before springing to life and briefly disrupting the world around it. And, just as suddenly as it appeared, it ambles back to its cave to slumber once again.
Until 1984, eyewear protection in Cycling was governed by the same parameters that remedied the average librarian’s poor eyesight and kept airplane debris out of the Red Baron’s eyes. But then Oakley solved that problem and within a decade, the riders that had spent a century picking road grit out of their eyes universally were wearing badass shades that simultaneously made them 97% more intimidating and got them 74% more chicks.
That’s just one example. Have a look at Gino here, shadowed by his pal Fausto. On what was apparently a brisk morning during the Giro d’Italia, he had to have his mother stitch a pair of legwarmers together from what appears to be soft underbelly of baby buck sea monkeys. Or burlap sacs, although that seems a bit far-fetched. Not to mention his jersey and bibs are made of wool, which is a terrific material so long as it isn’t used anywhere where holding its shape when wet matters. And, although you can’t tell from this photo, he’s wearing oxfords – literally wearing dress shoes – with cleats nailed to the soles. I’m nostalgic for the look, but I’ll be fucked if I ever wear any of that on a bike, and not only because I’m fond of baby buck sea monkeys.
Right around the same time that Oakley was contemplating how to better shade a rider’s eyes, some bright spark at Castelli realized that elastic would do a better job accentuating a rider’s curves than wool ever could and the Lycra bibshort was born, forever changing the way Cyclists cultivated their tan lines. As with Sunnies Revolution, within the decade synthetic fabrics took over nearly every aspect of Cycling kit, with the Giro d’Italia being the last stronghold of the wool jersey and not giving way to a synthetic leader’s jersey until 1989. I might also mention that prior to the invention of the synthetic jersey, no one needed to install mudguards on their bikes because whenever it rained, wool jerseys stretched out below the saddle, making fenders unnecessary.
This innovation in kit was mirrored in bicycle technology, which had laid similarly dormant since the invention of the parallelogram derailleur. Seemingly all at once, aerodynamic equipment, composite frames, clipless pedals, and brifters arrived on the scene, easily making the 80’s the most innovative period in Cycling, apart from the 1880’s (when the bicycle as we know it today was actually invented).
In my own journey as a Velominatus, this was the most exciting time in the sport. The cyclic nature of innovation suggests that I will not see another such period in my lifetime, and 50-100 years is a long time to wait, unless you’re a Grail Knight. The problem with innovation, if we can call it a problem, is that disruptive change tends to polarize; we either love it or we hate it, and in order to accept accept change we have a tendency to reject the old in order to justify the new. The trouble is that we can’t tell the difference between innovation that solves a real problem and innovation that feels exciting because it’s different. But irrespective of that, legacy is brushed to the side and rejected as antiquity.
The Velominati are often accused of being luddites, praising the ride of steel and espousing the merits of wool over modern fabrics. But Legacy and Innovation are two ideals we hold equally in our hearts; we desire the latest, lightest carbon innovations as much as we cherish the steel rides we also keep in our stables. (Rule #12, remember?) We are judiciously skeptical of new developments like disc brakes and electronic shifting, but also re-evaluate what worked well in the past that perhaps doesn’t work as well today. I don’t see the need for electronic shifting, but admire the change in paradigm that SRAM’s eTap provides. And I will go kicking and screaming into the disc brake world, but if time demonstrates the value, I will change eventually.
Contradiction and myth occupy the gray space between absolutes where we find the most interesting revelations in life. I live in yesterday’s future; I have no intention of going back. But I will always respect those who have laid the path upon which I ride today.
Nice article, and summing up my feelings towards electronic shifting and disc brakes, …
@frank, a bit like brussel sprouts, I care not that they are better for me, I will have no e shifting or disc brakes on my plate thanks
Good article. I recently purchased a copy of my first high quality roadbike from 40 years back. It is fun to ride the old bikes and admire how well they perform in some aspects all the while highlighting how well modern (carbon fiber brifter sporting) bikes perform. You really appreciate new bikes and old ones too, I can highly recommend every velominatus having a vintage bike in their n+1 collection.
Good one @frank.
It’s funny the whole technology thing. I think that’s one of the things that drew me into cycling in the early 80’s, Bikes and components were undergoing an amazing transformation with regard to aerodynamics and materials improvements. Reynolds and Columbus were experimenting with new tubing profiles and internal butting. Butting appeared on spokes for the first time. Shimano began applying aerodynamic profiling to their components.
During that time, I raced exclusively on Campag Super Record. Sure it was becoming a tad dated by then as C Record had arrived and Shimano was doing their thing with indexed shifting. I remember poo poo-ing Shimano back then, somehow feeling that it was inferior to Campag. Shows what I knew. That innovation ushered in probably the most significant reconfiguration of the drivetrain since the 40’s and 50’s when you had to shift your rear derailleur by reaching to your seat stay.
I had similar thoughts about Di2 when it first came in. Why do we need batteries to do what a tried and tested mechanical system can do? Now that we have e-Tap, my feelings toward it have changed significantly. I like the apparent simplicity of it. One day, I’m sure that I’ll be racing on that.
My thoughts on disc brakes have flip flopped as well. When they were first suggested, I was quite positive about it. Now, not so much. More so because I currently have multiple sets of wheels that I can swap across road and CX bikes. Seems that time is coming to an end if I need to upgrade.
Technology is awesome. History is awesome. There’s space for both. Celebrate them equally. Not one over the other.
I have yet to throw a leg over a carbon fiber bike. Not that I have anything at all against them, it’s just I’ve been quite happy with the CAAD series.
Currently riding a CAAD 10 and using the old CAAD 3 as the winter go to bike again.
@mouse
same here, not so enamoured with DI2 or Campy’s version, but wireless, now that, that just has a higher level of cool, hydraulic? not so much.
As a newer Velominatus I never thought I would notice what the bike reviewers were talking about when they spoke of one bike being so much smoother or having a stiffer bottom bracket etc. etc. Now I do notice the ride of carbon and the feeling of power transfer while climbing with it in comparison to my older steed. I look forward to the next new bike and the things I will come to love about it, be it discs, Di2, aero or some other change.
Wonder where would we be now tech wise if Mavic Zap stuck around?
Still recall the day my mate rocked up with STI brifters when they first came out. “Changing gears with your brake lever! Hah! The novelty will wear off!” I told him. Had the last word.
Reminds me of this article.
Agree we should exercise our prerogative to be late adopters, for technical or aesthetic reasons, if we wish to.
For instance, I’m not loving the massive Oakleys on display in the peloton, but acknowledge that Oakley have shifted the Overton Window of lens size such that, quite soon, I will look at my hitherto normally sized shades and realise that they now, through no fault of their own, look a bit shit.
Would this be a good place to mention that Telekom ad with Peter Sagan Looking really quite Fantastic on a descent? Rouleur linked to it in a recent email. Think it’s here.
Having the ability to jump between wildly different eras in cycling via my new Force 22 equipped carbon bike, and my old steel Lotus has let me appreciate the convenience of indexed shifting. Though I would say there is a certain magic in executing a perfectly silent shift without interrupting your rhythm mid pedal stroke. An even more magical feeling is executing that perfectly silent shift from little ring back to big with downtube shifters. (Yes I know, I’d never need to do that if I lived in the Big Dog all day, but alas my Starter Pistols are still growing) I love both bikes for different reasons, and wouldn’t think of parting with either.
I’ve never had to ride in a wool jersey, but I do love my merino base layer to bits. As a former Maine resident, and all around fan of being outside in winter, the superiority of wool for insulation is well established in my mind. Come summer however I also love me some lycra. I sweat an inhuman amount when the temps go up, and couldn’t imagine dealing with wool in that condition. Breathability wins the day.
I guess in summary it would depend on my goals any given day. Riding to enjoy some dirt roads, get lost, and see new things? I take the steel bike every single time. Wanting to smash some buddies at the Saturday morning ride? Give me carbon.
I’ve never ridden a carbon framed bike.
I did used to have an old fashioned steel race bike that my father-in-law put flat bars on then gave to me. That had DT shifters, and as I used it for commuting I remember not really thinking about shifting. I certainly didn’t look!
I knocked the pedal on a kerb, and some time later the whole crank snapped off the BB spindle – I’d cracked it and corrosion got inside. Bike shops I spoke to said there was no way to repair/replace any of the parts because it was so old but I wished I’d tried harder. Wish I still had that bike, actually.
I hung onto friction shifters until the mid aughts (2005 or whatever the hell we call that time period). Making the move to index, brake lever shifters completely changed my riding: from masher and infrequent shifter to spinner and frequent shifter.
I don’t know about disc brakes, I try not to use my rim brakes now as it is. Maybe in 2025…
Steel (Reynolds 653, to be exact) … check … and still using a downtube shifter for the front derailleur
Carbon … check
It’s all good.
@chuckp
What’s that….THING…on the top tube of your Trek?!
Talk of carbon vs. steel frames, downtube vs. brifter, etc makes me think of my record player.
I like listening to old vinyl records, and I’ve got some really great albums, but when I get in my car I don’t haul out the turntable. That’s what the phone is for. We embrace new technology (within reason, as Frank notes above) because it makes some aspect of our lives better and/or easier.
I doubt Merckx in his heyday would have turned his nose up at a full carbon rig with Di2 wireless. He’d have gotten on and crushed fools.
“I might also mention that prior to the invention of the synthetic jersey, no one needed to install mudguards on their bikes because whenever it rained, wool jerseys stretched out below the saddle, making fenders unnecessary.”
This is exactly WHY mudguards were needed. It’s exactly why an EPMS is needed. Wet wool, shit load of stuff in your back pockets – that’s a mini dress not a jersey you’re wearing. Once stretched, acrylic and wool stayed stretched.
Damn, Frank. As a historian I feel like I need to point out, based on your first sentence:
Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
I had to read this in graduate school and his biggest argument is that science(tech) changes not gradually, but in big leaps and jumps. Interesting idea, interesting book. The history of science and medicine was a reading field for my comp exams, so I read a bunch on this area, though I’m far from fully versed.
Cool to turn what I read there in school back towards bikes.
@RobSandy
That’s my wife’s Trek Madone WSD. Top tube bag that she puts her phone, ID, etc. in when she rides. Yes, she is a heathen (she loves wearing sleeveless jerseys). :-)
@chuckp
@chuckp
Oops. Hit submit before typing anything. Correction. It’s a Trek Domane WSD.
@chuckp
After I posted I looked again, I thought it must be a VMW steed, but I wasn’t convinced enough about the difference in the saddle heights to correct myself. Or care enough.
My wife’s Bianchi looks like a child’s bike next to my Felt.
@RobSandy
My wife’s saddle height is almost the same as mine. But I have a long torso (relative to inseam length) and she has a short torso. So her bike is a smaller frame with a shorter top tube (plus relatively short stem). And due to bike crashes resulting in different neck/shoulder issues, she has to have her bars pretty high up (almost level with her saddle). Not very “pro” but I’m happy that she’s able to ride a road bike. And happy when we go out on rides together.
@RobSandy
I’ve never elected to ride a carbon frameset either. There is still no need to change my investment and commitment from Columbus Tubi nivacrom steel to carbon. I need to see and feel lug construction. I’m with you in the sense that we can continue to rescue and save steel frames. Those experienced guys at the bike shop may have had a connection with steel, but did not have the passion to save your frameset. It would be expensive and something not to consider – maybe. It could be worth it despite those opinions. Realizing that it was just the bb becoming fused to the shell, someone could remedy that and bring it back to life. We should both get busy finding the “right” frame allover again.
@RobSandy
Looks like just the right size to keep a shrunken head.
@RobSandy
this reminds me of Roger Waters’ Amused To Death (the actual song) where he included an interview, a story telling, the narrator wishes “there must have been something more that I could’ve done.” Amused To Death re-release 2015 is very good and has a strong effect.
@chuckp
I’m curious to know if your wife has a similar penchant for handbags? (I am fortunate in that my wife is a minimalist) It might serve to explain the size of that thing on the top tube.
That said, it’s great that she gets out and rides with you. Hopefully you have been leaving photos of The Divine Ms. V, Armistead, and Ferrand-Prevot laying around for her to notice and realize that proper jerseys really do look better than anything her friends are wearing to spin class.
@DeKerr
Nope. She’s not really a purse girl/woman. But when she rides, she doesn’t like stuff in her jersey pockets. Hence the top tube bag, which is actually more practical for her than a seat bag since she can put everything she needs, i.e., spare tube, tire levers, CO2, ID, phone, etc. in it. And as for proper jerseys … What can I say? She just prefers sleeveless jerseys. That said, she’s been known to wear a “normal” jersey. Even a proper one. :-)
@chuckp
Yeah, but sleeveless jerseys still have pockets, non? Does the “etc” imply a tent and a stove? (emoticon here)
@chuckp
I hear ya. My wife’s madone had a “bento box” thing like that on the top tube. She could keep her gels, sunscreen and phone. Visually, an abomination. Luckily it “disappeared”. Enough said.
All three of my bikes; steel, ti and carbon have the downtube shifter braze-ons on them. Everything is ergo shifter now but jesus, either I’m old or cheap as fuck or both.
@wiscot
It’s funny. Even though my wife gave racing a go (back when I was a full-bore racer), she’s really not a “racer girl.” She prefers sleeveless to sleeves. When she does wear a “normal” jersey, she prefers solid colors or simple patterns over logos (the exception being when she wears her Revolution Cycles jersey, the store she is the HR and social media manager for). As for stuff in her jersey pockets, she just doesn’t like the feel/weight of having stuff in her jersey pockets. What can I say? Women, especially wives, are allowed to be different. :-) But she’s not what I would call a girlie-girl and all my male friends would characterize her as a guy’s-girl. If we, the Velominati, are the V then to riff more on Dan Brown and “The Da Vinci Code,” my wife represents the inverted V. :-)
@Gianni
It’s OK for me to “work” on my wife’s bike, but I know better than to f**k with the stuff on her bike. :-) Plus if she didn’t have the “bento box” I’d be the one with even more stuff in my jersey pockets. And like mother, like daughter. My daughter has one on her Felt ZW95.
@Gianni
Did the tooth fairy leave a stick it note on the top tube with “Rule 29.2” no EATS? *
* European Anterior Toptube Satchel
@Frank
Too funny @Frank. The bits about the wool kit had me laughing out loud.
I believe that holding on to nostalgia is an admirable pursuit as well as embracing modern and arguably better technologies. Case in point: I own a vintage motorcycle, which I painstakingly restored, as well as a modern motorcycle which is reliable and much safer. Both are a pleasure to ride and each has its own essence. When it comes to cycling, we should have a health mix and affinity for the past and present.
@Sparty
Interested to know what the two motorbikes are ? Perhaps a Norton and a R1 ?
@Sparty
@Barracuda
That looks like what the boomerang throwing dude from Mad Max would ride.
@Ccos
Too much fortnight at the end of my money sadly, but if the reverse would to happen, Id be building a cafe racer quick smart.
Oh, and a black interceptor, last of the v8’s.
Speaking of which, our home state hero’s shutting the doors soon, the last of the v8’s produced here is a bit of a bucket list job also
@Barracuda
1971 Honda CB750K2 that I modified into a cafe’ racer. Engine is now 910cc. Wicked quick. The modern bike is a 2014 Triumph Tiger 800XC.
@Sparty
Well played, the Honda is very nice.
@chuckp
@chuckp
One of my cycling buddies (who is a she, and is tough as nails by the way, recently did LEJOG with no training at all) rides with one of these monstrosities hanging off her saddle, which is always full of stuff.
She’s also often seen taking a full rucksack of ‘stuff’ to a track session at Maindy. No, we have no idea what she’s lugging around with her the whole time.
After migrating my MB from V to disc brakes I will be extremely slow to do same for road riding. The V brakes simply worked and were easy to adjust/maintain. The disc brakes have less consistent power and I can’t stand the occasional squealing. I’m using mechs. Maybe both of those problems can be fixed with properly installed hydraulics, but pouring good money after bad?
As for the RB, I try to do as little braking as possible on the road, so brake type of little consequence. The rim brakes work fine.
Love both the Mad Max Triumph and cafe racer Honda. When I quit bike racing (and riding altogether before getting back on the bike last year), I got into motorcycle riding. Eventually, however, my sense of mortality caught up with me. But I miss doing this. And I have to remember that I can’t corner like that on a bicycle. :-)
My first sportbike. The last year of the Suzuki GSXR-750 in its double cradle frame incarnation. At my first California Superbike School (subsequently matriculated through all four levels) at Virginia International Raceway. My previous pic (on a Kawasaki ZX-6 school bike and also at VIR) was my post-Level 4 class, i.e., grad school.
Correction. My GSXR-750 was a ’93. Suzuki kept the double cradle frame through ’95 before introducing a completely re-designed twin spar frame model in ’96.
@Ccos
if you find a moment, watch this documentary “the madness of max”
@universo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DcqnkzGEFQ
A quick look into my head as I mash the gears…..
Next on my list will be having a seat made of Baby Buck Sea Monkeys, but it will have a way to go if its going to take the place of my Baby Panda two tone seat….
@universo
or
https://youtu.be/hiNZbcEzogU
The latest mech group sets perform 11-sp shifting exceptionally well for fair cost. The rim brakes work very well when you pull the levers. And especially if using box section AL rims. And the latest AL wheel sets with C fairings can provide the aero benefits with a small weight penalty and lower costs than C.
Therefore, no one needs electronic servo motor assisted shifting, carbon wheel sets and hydraulic disc brakes… But, the fact is, these things can provide better performance.
Aesthetically, disc brakes and little motors ? Meh… C wheel sets? Well, they can look really good.
The perfect lines and custom paint on a steel frame bike vs C ? Easy choice. Mech Campy? Oh man it just doesn’t get better when comes to looking good.
If only interested in all around flat-out performance: C fiber frame set, C aero wheel set, push button battery powered motorized shifting and hydraulic disc brakes.
And I will NOT ever again use a lightweight steel frame set for CX.
Cheers all.