A death is a painful thing to experience. Particularly, I imagine, for the one doing the dying. For those left behind, it takes time to mourn and come to grips with the change; it is an unpleasant process, but such is the way of things.
The crack in the chainstay of my beloved Cervelo R3 had been weighing on my mind ever since I discovered its existence while cleaning my bike in Hawaii. Assuming the crack was superficial, I continued to ride the machine and took it with me to Belgium to rattle along over the cobblestones during Keepers Tour. It was during this trip that Andrew, a carbon fiber engineer for B’Twin, pointed out that the crack was not superficial and in fact quite serious.
I continued to ride it, and slowly made peace with the fact that my favorite-ever road bike was destined for retirement. Denial turned into anger, anger turned into grief, grief into acceptance, and acceptance into glorious Rule #12 obsession, deliberation, and contemplation. Still, my final ride on my trusted friend was bittersweet; I was on great form that day, and together we turned mountains into hills and carved the many curves as we rode along the seaside in the somber knowledge that this would be our last day out together.
I contacted the shop where I bought it and had them reach out to Cervelo for a warranty replacement, but even if they warrantied the frame, I wouldn’t want one on account of the tall head tube they’ve adopted on their large frames. I’m very picky about my position, and loved the ride and fit of my R3, so I was left with a conundrum as to what bike to get as my new #1. Then Mark, the owner of Veloforma, pointed out that he’d designed his Strada iR based on the R5ca, along with several improvements to the design. And he could do it in a custom Velominati paint scheme. Sold to the obsessive-compulsive Dutchman in the back! (That makes two Veloformas bought in the span of a few months, the VMH pointed out when I delivered the news.)
As much as I loved my R3 for its ride quality and fit, I have never been crazy about the 73 degree head tube angle. You wouldn’t think a half degree would have much effect, but the Strada’s head tube is relaxed just a hair to 72.5 degrees, and it really smooths out the handling compared to the the Cervelo. Aside from that, the dimensions are similar enough to my Cervelo that the first ride on the new steed felt like a reunion with my lost friend.
This thing is embarrassingly light at 6.3 kilos. For a 61cm. The head tube is nice and short at 19.5cm so I can get as low as I need to but tall enough that I still get to slam my stem. I also got a new carbon Pro Vibe stem whose paint job accidentally matches the markings on the frame’s custom Velominati paint job. It is almost too glorious for my tiny little brain to handle. Also, the front derailleur hanger is mounted at a slight angle which brings the derailleur cage in perfect alignment with the chain rings, which results in lightning-quick front shifting. Its little things like that which really impress me about Mark’s attention to detail when designing the bikes. Now that I think of it, both my Veloformas have the best front shifting performance of any bikes I’ve owned. Finally, the internally routed cables makes it astoundingly quiet; the lack of rattling cables makes this machine the high water mark in my quest for the Principle of Silence. And that paint job, oh that paint job.
I haven’t ridden the Strada a whole lot, but I did the V to V Cogal on it which consisted of two long days in the saddle and featured a lengthy session with my old friend, the Man with the Hammer. I’m happy to report that she climbs and descends like a monster. The bike has the road feel of my R3, but is more responsive with a stiffer BB and steering column. But the relaxed head tube makes it handle like a Merckx; the descent off Mount Saint Helens had some seriously sketchy tarmac in places and her handling probably gave me too much confidence in light of my Schleckian descending skills.
What started as heartbreak ended in a love affair. Funny how that works out some times.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Strada iR/”/]
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
FWIW, I bent my rear dropout on my Seven with only a few hundred miles on it. Cost some quid to get it repaired by the factory, but my LBS and the factory did make it right. My derailleur hangar is integral to the frame, but it made me think: derailleurs should be attached to the frame with some metal screws/ bolts. Aluminum or perhaps brass. Sure, you'll shear one out on a ride, so carry a few spares and a multitool. But when you need to to pop to save the frame and components, it will.
Be nice is someone knew a source.
@xced
With respect, your comparison proves nothing.
Whilst the geometries are roughly the same, the chainstay length is shorter on the Veloforma.
It's very easy to think conspiracy about Chinese frame manufacturers re stealing molds etc. The reality is more likely that there is a body of knowledge that has been built up in the industry over the number of years that carbon frames have been made in China and that entreprenurial types have been setting up thier own manufacturing factories.
There is 100 years of tried and true geometry angles that make up modern bikes. It's pretty hard to fuck it up unless you're really not paying attention.
As to quality issues, I suspect you would find that the quality would not vary a great deal for off the peg Chinese frames, and generally, it's pretty good.
Talk all you like about the mystique of Colnagos etc. They're pretty much all made in China/Taiwan/Far East...
@mouse dont you have one of these Chinese bikes? I'm interested in the quality of the wheels. All the ones are pretty heavy looking.
@eightzero
My first real race bike was similar to one of these (mine was silver tho):
Cinelli lugs and drops. Sexy chrome fork. Campa Super Record. I regret that I sold it. Anyway, I "crashed" it in the winter, hitting some black ice. Totally fucked the RD and hanger. Took awhile to source another OEM hanger, but I did and got it fixed. Whoever thought of the modern "breakaway" hanger gets big props. Simple and effective to avoid costly frame repair.
@eightzero I think replaceable derailleur hangers are the real solution to what happened to you. Most frames use them.
@The Grande Fondue
Yes. Mine does not. And note @gregorio's story above.
@mouse http://usrehoncyclo.wifeo.com/ou-est-fabrique-votre-velo.php
I've only got 11 speed coz I had a 10 speed when I was a kid.
Custom Reynolds 853, 9-speed Chorus with 8-speed Gruppo brakes, Record Ti seatpost. Hard to beat a classic.
Before anyone says, the tyres were just some old ones I had in the garage to get rolling. I'm back on GP4000s and Gatorskins these days.
Amazing to even think what The Prophet would be able to do on one of todays ultra light rocket ships.
@Marcus
Though twas Pfizer who worked out how to make it in industrial quantities. Fleming knew what he had but couldn't made a stable version of it. Fleming shared the Nobel prize with Florey (and Ernst Chain).
My (admittedly somewhat Baroque) point is that we're now moving on from the Fleming, Florey and Chain era of carbone frames and into the Pfizer mass production phase. This is a Good Thing in my opinion.
There are several new strains of antibiotic in my helmet lining - I'm hoping for a research grant...