Categories: In MemoriamNostalgiaReverenceTechniqueTechnologyTradition

A Shift In Time

Gone the way of the frame pump

Returning to your roots can be both a rewarding and sobering experience. The nostalgia one feels for the halcyon days of youth, the memories of carefree times in the sun with the only concern to make it home in time for dinner, the hidden alleyways and secret spots where the bike would take you and not another soul in the world would know your whereabouts. To return to those very places only to find that they are gone, buried, replaced or neglected beyond redemption is a slap in the face, as if to say, times change, the past is gone, move on.

These past few weeks spent back in the stomping grounds of my childhood, youth and most of my adult life have reinforced a few things: some memories last forever, others are wiped fairly quickly, and sometimes the grass really is greener etc. Other times, the grass is burnt brown and crisp, but it’s still grass. Even with the ‘better’ choices we have in all aspects of our lives, there remains a certain romanticism and sense of ‘doing it right’ that comes with utilising the very things that were once themselves new and exciting. Like driving a Triumph Stag, or pedalling trails that you last rode under power of internal combustion in the 80s, or drinking a coffee in a building that was last used to vend goods in the 70s…

And shifting your Bicycle’s gears by taking your hand off the bars, reaching down and moving a lever.

Although it may be easier to push a button on an electronic device to play a song or shift gears, the ritualistic quality of placing a vinyl disc on a turntable or manipulating a lever and cable to achieve the same result still seems that much more… cool. We strive to Look Pro, but feeling Pro is so much harder to accomplish, even with the same equipment available to us. Jump on an 80s steel frame with 8 speeds controlled by down tube shifters, and immediately the Pro-ness quotient is doubled or tripled. Sure, you may need to employ a bit more coaxing to perfectly mesh chain and cog; granted you’ll be looking for an even lower gear that just doesn’t exist; fair enough you’ll struggle to keep up with the electronic carbon freaks as they beep and blip away up the road.

But they’ll never be cool. Not proper cool. Not Greg Lemond-playing-The Cure-on-a-Walkman-while-climbing-l’Alpe-in-the-19t cool. While those days may appear to be well behind us, we can still honour them and transport ourselves back in time by simply reaching down, not only into our memories but to a pair of small articulated levers, and shifting consciousness.

Brett

Don't blame me

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View Comments

Jay says:

Dec 13 2015 at 5:11 pm

@chuckp

A true Velominati would shift the left (front derailleur) shifter with his right hand. Still comes naturally to me when I ride my 90s race bike Hollands that is set up with a rear STI shifter and front downtube shifter.

That is one very handsome bicycle. I love the clean, simple lug work and your color choice is near perfect. The Dura-Ace DT shifters are retro and yet look contemporary at the same time.
frank says:

Dec 13 2015 at 5:12 pm

@Jay

@geoffrey

@wilburrox

@frank

A DT shifter reminds you how much work it takes to shift gear; you have to sit, ease off the gear so you can shift the chain over across presumably straight-edged cogs. Then ease it back into the next gear, subtly finding the perfect position for the lever where the gear is noiseless.

I could never resist finishing a clean shift with a little twist on the fixing bolt too just to tighten up a bit on the committed gear.

With an upgrade to Simplex, you never feel the need to tighten that bolt.

Those Simplex shift levers were a thing of beauty. I often wondered why my Campy shifters couldn’t look as cool in comparison.

Yup. I switched over from Campa for that very reason, having no idea how much smoother they actually shift as well.
Jay says:

Dec 13 2015 at 5:28 pm

@frank

@Jay

@geoffrey

@wilburrox

@frank

A DT shifter reminds you how much work it takes to shift gear; you have to sit, ease off the gear so you can shift the chain over across presumably straight-edged cogs. Then ease it back into the next gear, subtly finding the perfect position for the lever where the gear is noiseless.

I could never resist finishing a clean shift with a little twist on the fixing bolt too just to tighten up a bit on the committed gear.

With an upgrade to Simplex, you never feel the need to tighten that bolt.

Those Simplex shift levers were a thing of beauty. I often wondered why my Campy shifters couldn’t look as cool in comparison.

Yup. I switched over from Campa for that very reason, having no idea how much smoother they actually shift as well.

I think that most of us had seen milled out Campy shifters that had a similar appearance, but still didn't top the Simplex. Simplex had some really nice looking alloy derailleurs too, they just couldn't overtake Campy, Shimano, or Sun Tour. Speaking of which, Sun Tour made some nice stuff and are probably under appreciated...
mouse says:

Dec 13 2015 at 7:12 pm

@Chipomarc

@TheVid

@Chipomarc

I see your Cannonade is both from the same vintage and from the same LBS where I bought my first steed (MTB) in the mid 90s. Great MTB riding in the ‘Wack back then. I wonder what the condition of the old logging roads up the Chilliwack River Valley and on Vedder Mtn are now…

As per the current discussion, I can not comment on the feeling of downtube shifters, as the only exposure I had to them was on my Dad’s old purple Peugeot from the ’70s. As he’s 6’5, and I was just a kid when I began my cycling adventures, there was no way I was going to fit that frame for a real ride. Not that I didn’t try.

The MTB bunch have been doing a lot of trail building up Vedder and Sumas Mountain over the last years.

I haven’t done any mountain biking since about 1995 when I banged my shin hard enough to hurt for at least half an hour. Plus I never enjoyed getting mud all over my kit.

Ah, this takes me back.

I used to fly paragliders in the early '90's off Elk Mountain from Chilliwack Lake Road and from Vedder as well.

Good times.
KogaLover says:

Dec 14 2015 at 1:57 am

@ErikdR

hi Erik, I did not see this clip before, but agree it's brilliant. When I saw the title "Romanus eunt domus", I was thinking, what's that...

My oldest son started this schoolyear with Latin, so it all comes back to me.
chuckp says:

Dec 14 2015 at 5:55 am

@Oli

@chuckp

Fair enough! I’m being a pedantic dick anyway, so apologies.

No need to apologize. We're all friends here. And if we're going to do blind tests, let's do wine.
chuckp says:

Dec 14 2015 at 6:02 am

@Oli

@chuckp

You’ve fallen victim to the placebo effect of the blanket call that carbon damps shock, which is dependent on many other factors than just the materials.

BTW, no disagreement that it's not just the materials but also the construction. Just because a part is CF doesn't necessarily mean it will be compliant (or stiff). Depends on the layup. I only have one data point (mine). You have more. That's fair enough too.
Oli says:

Dec 14 2015 at 2:28 pm

@chuckp

Haha, I defer to you on that one!
Mikael Liddy says:

Dec 14 2015 at 4:20 pm

@chuckp

@davidlhill

Has there been a reverence article on beautiful lugwork? Proof positive that in some respects I’m the wrong side of 50 came when I was Boris Biking recently. A rider stopped beside me at some lights on an Olmo which had beautiful lugwork, which I just had to stare at and admire.

Only when the lights changed did I realise properly that the rider was female and gorgeous.

Sigh.

Now that’s just wrong.

may not be an article, but there's definitely a term within the lexicon. Luggs is the description you're looking for.
azryder says:

Dec 16 2015 at 2:59 pm