Each of us remembers how they became a Velominatus. For me, it was at Grimpeur Wielersport, in Zevenaar, The Netherlands. Its the perfect place: a small shop, on a small street, in a small town, in a small country, run by a Giant of the Sport, Herman van Meegen. I haven’t been back in years, not since my mentor and original owner was forced to retire due to a nagging back injury.
Despite it’s diminutive appearance, inside this small shop existed a world vast beyond my wildest imagination. The owner spoke with the soft ‘G’ – typical of the Dutch dialect in the region. Former head mechanic at Helvetia – La Suisse, and later for Team 7-Eleven, he had previously wielded a wrench at the world’s major events including Le Tour before opening this shop. He knew everyone. Pros strolled into his shop on a regular basis. Imagine the awe of a thirteen-year-old Velominatus Novus as Erik Breukink wandered into the shop and dallied about for a bit.
But it was the tales and experience from many years on the Pro circuit that made those visits to special to me. He explained in detail the way Steve Bauer preferred to ride a smaller frame than his contemporaries or how Pascal Richard liked the tension of the spokes “just so” as he laced a set of wheels for my dad. He showed me how he filed out the holes in the hub flange to cradle the spokes better and reduce the chance of breaking one. He built wheels on a truing stand he built himself and to which he affixed a micrometer. He told me that a perfectly true wheel will never go out of true, not even on the cobbles. “Maar het moet werkelijk perfect zijn.” But it has to be absolutely perfect. Sounds like something you need a custom truing stand and micrometer for. (That bike is now something like 20 years old, and has never seen a spoke wrench; the wheels are still perfectly true.)
He was personal friends with Eddy Merckx and picked up a frame my dad had ordered after dinner with The Man at the factory in Belgium. A prototype Campagnolo saddle with titanium rails and air bladder that never made it to production somehow found its way atop my dad’s seat post. I can’t imagine how his insides churned as my dad insisted on having a set of Scott Drop-Ins installed on that bike. He never uttered a word about it, opting instead to teach me how to seamlessly splice two rolls of bar tape together to accommodate the long bars – a skill he picked up wrapping the bars of riders who wanted double-wrapped bars on the tops but not the drops at Paris-Roubaix. He taught me to cut my cables short and solder them before cutting for the perfect, sleek finishing touch. He taught me how to “feel” a bolt to get it just the right amount of tight – where it holds but the soft aluminum doesn’t strip. He taught me to trim soda cans and tuck them in between the bars and stem of a handlebar that persistently slips. But most importantly, he showed me the intricate beauty of our machines.
He also stocked a backpack called the “Body Bag” which I always felt could have used a more sensible name and whose marketers perhaps missed a nuance in the language.
Apart from his poor choice in backpacks, this was a man who understood the finer things about bicycles, and I’m grateful he took the time to teach me even a tiny little bit of what he knew.
So, I leave you today with this question: if you could ask a pro bike mechanic – perhaps even one on the ProTour circuit – one, single question, what would it be?
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@Guy
Beautiful. I can get past the Pharmstrong association and say that's a beauty. Love that it's the pre-compact model, as well. The Madone, I believe. Nice.
Love the schwalbe tires; I always thought that would be a good match to the Zipps. Get the labels spinning in sync. Excellent work with placement of the labels over the valve stem, but get rid of those fucking valve caps.
BTW, WordPress filters out any images unless you're logged in, it seems. Still working on a hack to get around that. (A planned feature of this site will be letting registered users upload and embed photos directly.)
@Roberto Marques, @Guy
Classy mountain bike. Love a hard tail. Beauty.
@Roberto Marques
If I ever have a spare bike, you can have it. Spoiler alert: I will never have a "spare" bike. Man, you look great in that jersey!
@Roberto: When I was racing mountain bikes in the end of the 80's/early 90's I rode fairly standard stuff like Marin's Eldridge Grade and early Rockhoppers. I LUSTED after the exotic US bikes like the Ibis Mojo, Fat Chance Yo Eddy and Breezers. The one I really,really wanted and could never afford) was the Salsa a la Carte . I remember Jason McRoy (RIP) riding a Jellybean a la Carte and that was it.
Well, yesterday, 18 years later, I finally got my Salsa.
It's a 2009 frame, adjusted for front suspension and with disc mounts, but remains true to the 'Steel is Real' ethos. Whippy, compliant and beautifully welded from True Temper OX Platinum we've built it up from various components to give a light overall weight (sourcing some mint Rock Shox SID World Cups with a carbon steerer because they suit the look of the frame better than some of the newer forks. It's XT throughout, with Hope Hoops built up on DT Swiss EX5.1's, Carbonlite bars, FSA stem, carbon seatpost, Selle Italia XLR XC saddle.
I love it. Doesn't get ridden much but I'll be hanging on to it.
@frank. Thanks. I know that was tough to get past the Pharmstrong thing ;). It's a Madone 5.2 frame, as with the Salsa built up from a frame. It's a lovely ride but I'm getting itchy for that Pegoretti. Not this year though. I am logged in btw, and no joy.
Oh and i have a real hankering for an R3 as well. And a Dogma.
@roadslave Lennard Zinn's practice is the best I know. After every ride, wipe the chain down, apply a drop of (oil-based, not wax) lub to every link roller. Wipe off the excess oil.
He claims the constantly supply of fresh oil flushes out the inner part of the roller. I don't know, but, just cleaning the thing after every ride may be what's really effective.
A friend of mine swear by a similar routine. After every ride spray drivetrain with GT85 and after every other ride relube.
Oh, level 3
@Guy
Gorgeous MTB. I haven't got a MTB anymore myself, but as a Minnesota kid, I'd look seriously at a Salsa.
@Guy
Good work on Level 3! That was fast!
Love the Salsa; really old-school looking. I recently realized a similar dream on what I called Project Zero, which was when I got my hands on a Bridgestone MB-0 after about 20 years of waiting.
If you want to see SEATPOST, check out the completed bike rebuild.
@Jarvis
I would also ask this. Back when I was just a nipper, my dad used to get his wheels from a guy called Dave Russell, who had a tiny, incredibly cluttered shop about 15km down the road from where I lived at the time. From what I remember this guy was an ex-pro of some flavour who had owned a bike shops from the mid 60's onwards. He was a quality wheel builder; I've still got a set of mavic open pros laced onto campag hubs that have never gone out of true. He also hand-built frames. My mam's bike is one, as is my winter bike. We used to spend hours in this shop listening to him talk, a real friendly guy.
I just googled him to find his palmares and managed to find out he died a couple years ago, which has wrecked my day.