Doing things the hard way is a luxury. It says to the world that we’ve beat evolution; intelligence is no match for technology and economy is no match for indulgence. We need only step a bit outside our bubble to realize the scale of the illusion, but nevertheless it has become reality for many of us who live our lives happily and fortunately in the middle and upper classes of the developed world where survival has nothing whatsoever to do with being the fittest.
One of the things that struck me within weeks of moving to the Pacific Northwest was the frequency with which people die here; not from disease (although Ebola can go fuck itself, pardon my francais) but from tucking into the wilderness for some weekend relaxation. The PNW has some of the world’s biggest cities, but most of it is untamed wilderness – including radical weather systems, cougars, rattlesnakes, bear, The Sasquatch, and possibly ManBearPig. This place will mess you up, son; your GPS or iPhone isn’t going to be your savior.
The first-hand experience of the realities of a system provides a more intimate learning tool than does the passive observation, although in an evolutionary sense the latter is the more effective method for the survival of a species; our ancestors learned to stay away from bees by watching the guy who drew the short straw poke at a hive and die from anaphylactic shock without needing to then poke at the hive themselves. Nevertheless the tangible nature of repercussions forges an indelible bond between action and result.
It is also interesting that complexity and abstraction are inversely bound; the more complex the system, the farther the user is removed from its operation. The simplicity of the friction downtube shifter is in sharp contrast to the complexity of an electronic drivetrain. My steel bike has friction downtube shifters, a fact that makes itself especially well known while climbing. To shift requires planning and skill; I have to find a part of the climb where I can be seated, unload the chain, and shift by feeling the chain as it slides across the block and listen for the telltale silence when the chain is securely seated back onto an adjacent cog. At that point, I’m committed to that gear until the climb grants me the next opportunity to shift. On Bike #1, I can shift under full load at my whim and without consequence. The artistry of shifting is lost, though I wouldn’t go back to downtube shifters on any bike I plan to ride seriously.
I love the contrast of evolution and tradition in the modern racing bicycle, with carbon tubulars being perhaps the most fitting contrast where the most modern technology is dependent on the oldest form of affixing a tire to a rim. Gluing on a set of tubular tires is no longer a necessary skill in our sport with good clinchers being readily available. Gluing tubs takes time and careful attention, two things that are in short supply in our modern society. But to glue on a set of tires brings you closer to the machine and from where our sport has progressed. To build a set of wheels does so even more, and I imagine building a frame by hand builds the ultimate bond to our history.
We live at a time when the things that are irrelevant to survival take on their own crucial importance; we return to tradition in order to remember where we came from so we may understand where we are going. Doing things the hard way is a beautiful way to remind ourselves of the history that built the luxuries we surround ourselves with.
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@ChrisO
Oh come on man... dump the battery powered power meter then and ride by feel and what the race dictates... that's just a little more pure hey? whatev...
Still, I might well have put more miles on a down tube friction shifting 12-sp bike this past year than anyone in my town that ride bikes. So at least that counts for riding a bike I guess. The rest of the time I'm just f***ing around I suppose. That's okay 'cause I like just f***ing around as much as the next guy. Even if it is just f***ing around with a HR pinned at 170.
@frank
And another THIS!
This relationship with a system you understand and can interact with meaningfully is such a welcome relief from the effects of our intensifying division of labor. It's like digging a cat-hole and shitting in the woods (you aren't really IN the woods until your first shit is done and buried). It's like cooking and eating something you killed and butchered or grew and harvested yourself.
No cyclist is an island--I doubt any of us is ever going to mine and produce our own metals and such and build a bike from the ground up. But, still, any slivery semblance of mastery in a world that makes us progressively more focused on one or two things and more stupid about everything else is a good thing.
@frank
Exactly. The battery running your lights, or a cycle computer or power meter is not powering the vehicle, and they don't make it easier for me to control it.
The battery on Di2/EPS is connected to the drive train FFS - apart from having an actual motor how much closer does it get.
Why does it matter? Imagine a cold Milan-San Remo when the finishers' hands are frozen, but the rider who has been training in Belgium all winter is able to shift and sprint and the rider who stayed indoors... can now press a button to get the same electrically-powered effect.
@ChrisO Not only that, they can mash a button that's been strategically placed so as to better manage the sprint ! What I'm gonna take from this is the purely psychological effect that my drivetrain has a battery attached to it and I should be faster than everyone else. Someone earlier mentioned regenerative power. They're on to something.
Me, personally, I can think of one GOOD reason to not like Di2. It's not pretty. And if I'm building a bike purely focused on aesthetics, say a steel framed beauty, I'm sure not gonna plug on a servo motor hanging off the drop out.
I can't wait for a good reason to post pictures of my belt drive bike ! I love that bike. Cheers
Batteries not included......
@frank
Yeah, I am a FOOOK'IN retard when it comes to computers. That is a pic of my 1992 Merckx with every piece legit '92. I put the original Rolls saddle back on and it has full DA 7400 with aero seatpost and all. I actually had to replace the seatpost as it was too short for me but I have the original saved. As for the handlebars, they are Cinelli Eubios with a Cenilli stem. Fucking LOVE HER. I get my best rides with the cycling ghosts on her. Often Fignon, LeMan and Hampsten join me for a ride when I take her out.
And, you would be able to see her in person if you ever came to any of my Cogals, i.e. 200-on-100 or the multiple West Point Cogals!
@wilburrox
^ This. The junction box is ugly. It clutters the stem. The derailleurs are lumpy. If there's a battery on the bottom of the down tube... Don't even get me started on that.
That said, they'll improve and the parts will get smaller. When they're as clean as mechanical then I'll be much less down on them, but the future-proofness will still be a concern.
@Buck Rogers
You could instead say that you're a caveman.
@ChrissyOne
The current breed with the battery in the seat tube are a lot better. However that is step 1 in your comment - how long will you be able to get an external battery when they start to pack up? Then you have to buy a seat tube one with the conversion kit being a drill for the extra holes required in the frame.......
When I started riding my first real bicycle back in 1965 was a 1937 Belgian race-bike with three gears and a single guide wheel shifter. You had to learn clean shifting if you wanted a clean ride. It became part of the soul.