Whatcha ridin'?

I had a quick scan but didn’t really find a recent thread about what the avid bikers on Core are zipping around on these days.
I think I remember there is quite the bike community here!

Since my move to Switzerland, I have become a total road biking nut for obvious reasons: mountains, lakes and empty roads.
While I have always been into biking, it was a lot more urban and of the downtown worrier variety.
Back in SF, I loved my Look KG 381 Laurent Jalabert Signature, frankensteined with a bunch of random XTR and XT components. Those Looks are fantastic, even when they have a few years on them.

I’ll start this off with my latest commitment: The 2015 Advance Propel 1

This is my first Giant. It’s ordered and should arrive some time this week.
Any thoughts or experiences with this frame? I haven’t ridden it for long.

Older photo, But looks exactly the same still. Some no-name aluminum frame I built up sophomore year of college. Has held up commuting in Boston, SF and Portland. Whole bike might retire soon as it needs a massive overhaul and might be easier to just start new again.

Nice rides guys. I’m a little more vintage.

[ Deleted ]

Dig the mustache bars, Michael! I’ve had to pare down considerably. Using a Surly Karate Monkey for an everything bike (kid hauler) at the moment.

I’d really love one of these next, though.

Larry vs Harry Bullet

Or one of these:

Twin Six Standard Rando

I don’t ride all that often, though have put it on my list to get back into to help with Marathon training. I have this beast. It’s heavy, it’s stiff, needs a tuneup, can’t lock it anyplace, but it glows in the dark :wink:

R

I bought one like this a couple of months ago. It’s uncomfortable, heavy and quite weak, but it takes me everywhere and I’m not afraid of just leaving it on the street for a day or two if needed. It was quite cheap as well.

Nice!!
It looks like it’s been through the wringer a bunch of times! :wink:

I’m the n+1 in the crowd. In chronological order,

1933 Frejus Model A - same make and model as Gino Bartali’s first team bike


Frejus001 by iabisdb, on Flickr


1948/49 Viscontea pista - possibly built by Faliero Masi


Viscontea 001 by iabisdb, on Flickr


1950ish Pecorari cambio corsa - a small builder out of Emilia Reggio


Pecorari 001 by iabisdb, on Flickr


1953ish Bianchi Selvino - “hot rodded”, my Sunday-going-to-church bike


1953 Bianchi Selvino 033 by iabisdb, on Flickr


1958/60 Cinelli Model B - same make and model as Viktor Kapitonov’s 1960 gold medal for the road course bike


Cinelli_Model_B 004 by iabisdb, on Flickr


2009 Cinelli Bootleg - my commuter, since converted to a fixed gear


Commuter 004 by iabisdb, on Flickr


2009 Cinelli XCR - stainless steel goodness


Cinelli XCR with Super Record 001 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Dang. Quite the drool worthy collection, iab.

Also, Richard, that bike rules. I’ve always wanted one.

Current bike with half parts the changed out from stock.
I mostly ride it in the trails and jumps though as a recreational activity to discharge stress and only occasionally for commuting.

Thank you NURB. We all have our silly hobbies, riding a bike is mine.

The irony is the worst bike, the aluminum-frame commuter, gets the most miles. M-F, maybe 125-175/week. Saturday is for the XCR, 40-80 miles and Sunday is vintage day, 30-60 miles. The pista only gets ridden at Northbrook and the Bianchi is for riding with the family.

I have mentioned before, I am in the process of designing a custom commuter, but have been on a break for a year. Only so much time in the day. I’m thinking either Ellis or Anderson makes the stainless frame for me. It will be the most expensive in the bunch, but why should I be cheap with the bike that gets the most saddle time?

iab. That 1933 Frejus is “off the chain” as they say.
Nice attention to detail ont he water bottles. What is going on down here behind the crank?
Screen Shot 2015-06-02 at 10.25.07 AM.png
Screen Shot 2015-06-02 at 10.25.02 AM.png

L’Eroica Approved, for sure.

yo, that is the second generation of the first great Italian derailleur, the Vittoria Margherita. It is actually too “new” for that bike and I have since replaced it with the first generation VM, but more on that later.

The “lever” behind the crank is a chain tensioner. There is a pivot on the chain stay. The “arch” just above the crank connecting the seat tube to the down tube is a ratchet that holds the lever in place and keeps tension after you shift. The little triangle on top of lever turns and actuates the “flappers” on the chain stay between the crank and rear gears.

So to shift, you push forward on the lever, that makes the chain slack. While back pedaling, you twist the triangle which moves the flappers and then moves the chain to the next gear. You then pull the lever back to reapply tension to the chain. And Bob’s yer uncle.

The first generation VM does not have the flappers, you need to move the chain with your hand as you back pedal to change gears. It isn’t so bad when you get used to it.

For some history, the first year the Tour de France allowed derailleurs was 1937. All teams used the Osgear Super Champion, a French copy of the VM. In 1938, again all teams used the Osgear except the Italians (kind of a nationalist, fascist thing). They were allowed to use the VM. Gino Bartali won the tour that year using the VM.


Second gen


Frejus035 by iabisdb, on Flickr


Rachet


Frejus038 by iabisdb, on Flickr


Flappers


Frejus041 by iabisdb, on Flickr


A better bottle shot


_MG_9153 by iabisdb, on Flickr


My favorite detail, the chain oiler


Frejus075 by iabisdb, on Flickr


First gen VM


_MG_9137 by iabisdb, on Flickr

One more history lesson.

The first great Italian derailleur was the Vittoria Margherita. Dominated from 1930-1940.

The second great Italian derailleur was the Campagnolo Cambio Corsa. Dominated from 1940-1950. Although the Simplex Tour de France was probably used more post war.

The third great Italian derailleur was the Campagnolo Gran Sport. Dominated from 1951-now. I say until now because is was the first commercially accepted parallelogram derailleur and all of today’s derailleurs that followed are just a derivative. The first parallelogram derailleur was made by Nivex in 1938. Never caught on.

VM


_MG_9137 by iabisdb, on Flickr



Cambio Corsa


Pecorari 042 by iabisdb, on Flickr



Gran Sport


Cinelli_Model_B 095 by iabisdb, on Flickr

I don’t know much about bikes, iab, and from your first post couldn’t figure out what was so great about all the old bikes you posted since the names, dates and brands don’t mean anything to me, but looking at the details (names still mean nothing to me) I can appreciate them a bit more. Some nice looking engineering and detailing on the small parts. Don’t really get how any of it works or why it’s good, but I like what I see.

So to change gears, you move those levers somehow? With your hands? How do you reach down there and not get your fingers stuck in the pedals while changing gears?

R

With the VM, the lever is a simple pivot. You can see the screw head at 8:00, inside of the chain ring. The ratchet and chain tension keep it in place. The upper portion of the lever is bent metal to lock into the ratchet. With the gen 1, you use your hand to move the chain across the rear gears, gen 2 you use the flappers.

With CC, the upper lever twists away from the frame. This loosens the wheel just like any quick release does today (Tulio Campagnolo invented the quick release). Yes that means the wheel is loose while riding. While the wheel is loose, the lower lever moves the chain across the rear gears, again while back pedaling. The rear dropout has teeth you can see in the first video. The rear axle has corresponding notches. The axle moves forwards and backwards in the dropout to keep chain tension. The teeth keeps the axle from twisting when shifting. When done shifting, tighten the wheel with the upper lever.

Carefully. :wink:

Time to balance out all this old tech with some new tech. Behold, Yeti’s SB5c, with their crazy “infinity link” suspension. So far… it is impressive.