Site Stirrings

Best laid plans and all of that stuff...

Creative work is a funny thing.  You need to be patient but not passive. Driven but not mindless. You need to set a direction and speed, but honor the unexpected and embrace those shifts which clarify. 

But stepping too far from the original impetus for action often causes a sudden loss of momentum.  The reverse slingshot effect as when you fall just outside the protected slipstream on a fast group ride. 

Which is kinda where this whole Cyclofiend.com project currently sits.

With the acceleration of other efforts and focus over that last year or few, it kinda got spat out the back and is now just poking along by itself.  There are a litany of excuses, which are all, ultimately merely excuses.   I guess that means that it just doesn't matter how things got derailed.  That doesn't mean I won't mention them now and again.  It just means that they are getting examined and articulated without a lot of value judgement upon them.  The question just keeps coming back to "what now"?

That's what has me a bit stumped.  The internet, the web, online, social media have all changed dramatically since this project began (itself the morphing of a reasonably unrelated project itself.)  There are venues such as Pinterest which didn't even exist when this started.  Flickr has gone through a chunk-o-changes.  The very nature of online discussion has morphed, acted upon by the major magnetic poles of twitter and facebook.

All of which I use, of course.  So I'm not against any one of those ideas by itself - say the way I'm reasonably unimpressed by disc brakes on road bikes.  They all have their places and their strengths.

That thought has me thinking about precisely what the strength of the cyclofiend.com galleries is. And few things I really like about it include:

• the "hands-on" nature of it - the fact that someone had to site down and deliberately choose 5 images which captured their bicycle.  

• that the layout is simple and stark, with the emphasis on the bike and the words in each gallery, rather than the slickness of the frame. 

• the unexpected friendships which have come from the interactions of receiving, processing and posting the photos.  

• the 2009 Calendar project.  

It would probably make sense to mention the things I didn't like.  But, those really don't come to mind.  Most of the "not likes" have to do with frustration at not posting my way through the backlog.  Of there being a few folks who have patiently waited for their bikes to be posted, or updated or have errors in their listing fixed.  And while there are "reasons" those things didn't occur, ultimately those are the types of excuses which I mentioned at the outset of this post.  But, they do bug me. 

They also cease to matter once action begins again.  So, there's that.

I'm also reconsidering the scope and focus of things.  This blog - cyclofiend.blogspot.com - was originally going to only focus on the new listings in the galleries.  I'd played with some methods of generating an RSS of the four gallery update pages, but none of them worked particularly well.  And though I still use and enjoy RSS, it's become a slightly neglected aspect of design and implementation in the broader sense these days. (Though I'll just pause a second here to say that feedly has happily replaced the retired google Reader.   It's not the same, but has taken what I like about RSS and incorporated some slick, intuitive interface design.)  It's ended up with a more varied set of posts - again, mostly because there just haven't been any posts to share. 

My other blog - ramblings.cyclofiend.com has chugged along.  There's almost 500 posts there.  But, the technology of very much off the back. Again, back in  I should probably just bite the bullet and shift over to a wordpress-based setup. Back in 2005, it was a nice benefit of my hosting company to include the blogging option, but the interface hasn't really gotten a face lift for way too long.  And I haven't slapped on the coveralls and dug under the hood in at least 2 or three.  It gets an ungodly amount of spam comment attempts - one of the benefit of being active since 2005 - but lacks anything remotely resembling a useful blocking tool. 

The Ramblings blog has always been about more personal thoughts and topics, ride reports and such.  I do like that separation and it's likely it will continue.  For some reason, I've been a harsher editor there in the past year.  Much of what got written didn't make the cut to be posted.  Doesn't necessarily mean that what got posted was all that good, of course.   Just that the stuff which got trashed was probably trying too hard, or read too forced, or just caught me wrong when I went back through it. 

Or it was just that I was trying to make it do too much.  Like voice acting, sometimes it ends up much better if you just let it roll.  Which is really the only step that matters right now.

Thanks for being patient!   Here's to the new year!












 

A Little Year-End Tease from Rivendell

This cropped up via the RBW Group a day ago.  It's actually the photo which finally got me to join Instagram, but that's a whole different tangent.  Just an orange downtube (or orange wrap-around decal - we don't know which...) with part of a few letters.

But, scrolling down the comments a bit, rivbike states, "It's our new gender neutral mixte for the masses. we'll have some photos of it built on the Blug soon"

Can't wait to see more!

Current Classics Gallery Updates

Cyclotourist's Rivendell Road
One of the more prolific photographers of "ride shots" has got to be Cyclotourist - aka Dave in Redlands.  He's one of the few folks who has actually made me mildly nostalgic for the winding fire roads in the Southland (that's the greater Los Angeles area, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term).  If you haven't run across his images on Flickr, you owe it to yourself to follow his stuff.



He's also managed to put together some very appropriate bicycles - finding some truly pristine examples of early Rivendell models.  Here, he shares his Road model.

The "Road" was made during the first generation of Rivendell models. I'm currently developing a bit better documentation of bicycles from this period.  The Road model arguably became the branch which begat the Rambouillet/Romulus, then the Hilsen.  At the time the Road model came out, finding decent reach brakes was an exercise in NOS patience - the commercial offerings were pretty minimal. But, even so, this bike was spec'd for maximum clearances with the components at hand, and staked out the idea of good clearance, stable and versatile "road" bikes that didn't need to stay on pavement.




New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery -


#839 - David Horne's Mario Vicini
#840 - John Tsataros' Schwinn World Tourist
#841 - Ted Town's Gardin
#842 - Robert Hill's Raleigh Professional
#843 - Cyclotourist's Rivendell Road

Current Classics - Raleighs and More

Four Of A Kind - Well, four Raleighs out of seven new entries to the Current Classics Gallery - I guess that would make a good poker hand.  It's always funny how these things work out sometimes.  But, the interesting thing is what a variety of models have rolled out of Nottingham. (And if you want more background info on Raleigh - AASHTA - http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/history.html)

But, even with all of these Raleighs, it's hard to pass up showcasing a classic Bridgestone MB.


Jim Roselle's Bridgestone MB-5
I've got a soft spot for the MB series - it was the first Bridgestone which ever rolled through my life (a purple MB-3, if you are keeping tracking) and it is still a bicycle model which has a perfect mix of style and performance.

The late 80's/early 90's mtbs are certainly some of the best riding 26" trail bikes.  Responsive and stable, quick and lively.  I'm lucky enough to have an MB-1, and everytime I hit the trails on mine, it reminds me how well realized this series of mountain bikes was.

Jim's photo of his really captures the spirit of far horizons and wonderful trails.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery -

#833 - Michael Hensley's Raleigh International
#834 - Jim Roselle's Bridgestone MB-5
#835 - Branko's Raleigh Grand Prix
#836 - Michael Baczkowski's Raleigh Touring
#837 - Dominique Fernandes' Centurion Accordo RS
#838 - John Bunnell's Raleigh Pioneer Trail 2000

Four Current Classics for a Four Day Week

The process of organizing and cleaning up can be a little ugly - found a nested folder on the computer that had a bunch of things which folks had sent in late last year, that "I was gonna get to..." but didn't.   Within that unremarkable digital repository is a goodly chunk of cool bicycles.  I may end up threading them into the newer submissions, or just try to do those sequentially (which may in turn build up the backlog for more recent entries.....) We'll see.

Again for those of you who have sent stuff in and have yet to see it represented, patience please! (And Thanks! - both for the images and descriptions and for the patience!) Hang in there, subscribe to the feed and enjoy these fine bicycles.

Nick Roth's Schwinn Superior

Along with the early Trek bicycles, another set of bicycles which I've always secretly lusted after has been the fillet brazed Schwinns.  This under appreciated segment of Schwinn's lineup seems to be largely unknown to folks.  It first caught my eye when I read about them on Sheldon Brown's site -  in Mark Rother's article posted there.

Now, certainly,  I like lugs.  But, there's something really beautiful about a fillet brazed frameset - a smooth, seamless quality to the work that flatters the elegant simplicity of a bicycle frame. The Schwinns such as Nick's Superior just seemed like really undervalued framesets.

Hopefully (since we presumably ride in the same county) I'll cross paths with this bicycle one day - but in the meantime, enjoy these images of this bicycle.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery - 
#829 - Nick Roth's Schwinn Superior
#830 - Gernot Huber's Raleigh Woman's model
#831 - Angus Lemon's Rivendell Atlantis
#832 - Tyler Los-Jones' Miyata 1000

Three for Thursday

I know everyone is hunkered down, trying to get out of town for the big holiday weekend, but if you have a moment in your busy schedule, please enjoy these three fine examples of Current Classics.  A fine example of a Japanese-crafted lugged frame, a venerable Bridgestone design (with it's hallmark of extreme versatility) and a Trek from the classic period of US framebuilding.

It was really hard to pick one to highlight, so I finally just tossed my three-headed dart (or was that a three-headed coin?  Anyway...) and came up with Randy's Trek.

Randy Pugh's Trek 620

Randy has three other bicycles  in the Gallery (Randy's Trek 1500, Trek 600, Trek 660) - all Treks and none made from carbon.   I've mentioned in more than a few posts and online commentary that the early Trek models are one of the bikes I've never had but always wanted to own.  Good, simple, smart builds, with attention to detail that isn't obsessive.  This one is from the "ideal" period and has a lot of the details which really make it prime in my mind: the "marquee" decal design (with the contrasting background wrapping around the tube), the externally routed rear derailleur cable (for a while they put it through the right chainstay), and the excellent clearances and braze-on's. 

A useful and versatile bicycle. Great to see it being enjoyed!


#826 - Vann Hughes' Bianchi Professional
#827 - Matthew Dearing's Bridgestone MB-1
#828 - Randy Pugh's Trek 620

A Good Helping of Current Classics

It's much safer to stay out of the post-Thanksgiving retail scrum and enjoy some great looking bicycles. Between gorgeous images of pre-fall mountain bike vistas and the details of resurrections and renovations which are contained within this batch, my hope is that you'll find some enjoyment and respite from the pending holiday craziness.


Eric Bagdonas' Miyata Ninety Mixte

Mixtes seem to be enjoying a bit of quiet resurgence.  Appearing in  more advertisements and articles to be sure, but it does seem as though I'm seeing them more frequently on my commute and locked up around town as they quietly go about their day being useful and stylish. 

Starting with a well-rendered Miyata mixte frame, Eric has created a sure-footed, weather-resistant bicycle for real world use on the streets of Portland, OR. It's funny to consider how many features I would have poo-poo-ed a decade or so ago - basket, fenders, IGH (Internally Geared Hubset)... indeed, the very notion of a "drop-bar" bicycle itself.  But, now, there it is, with just enough glimmer and glint from the silver fenders to catch your attention as it goes about its way each day.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery - 
#817 - Bob Hague's Motobecane Grant Touring
#818 - Justin Becker's Rodriguez Tandem
#819 - Kevin Mulcahy's ALAN Guerciotti CX/Road
#820 - Tris' Fort Touring Audax
#821 - Michael Kullman's Surly Karate Monkey
#822 - Don Genovese's Rivendell LongLow
#823 - Nick Roth's Raleigh Commuter
#824 - Mauricio Orantes' Trek 1500
#825 - Eric Bagdonas' Miyata Ninety Mixte

A Set Of Current Classics from A Couple Weeks Back

Missed getting this posted when I made the last round of updates - ahh well.... better late than never, eh?

Martin Gierke's Trek TX500

Martin's Trek TX500 hails from the time when frames were steel and designs were versatile. Yes, the heady days of 1977 when punk rock was slipping into people's awareness and the Talking Heads were just an obscure art band with a day-glo cover album out.  Regardless of the musical tides of the time, the renovation of this bicycle today is really gorgeous. 

Starting with the proud simplicity of the frameset, Martin has chosen some very tasteful current parts from Paul Components, Sugino and Honjo to come up with a build that is truly timeless - the epitome of the ideals which started this collection of "Current Classics".  

Truly a pitch perfect example, and one of the reasons that I always seem to have "Steel Trek frame, pre '83" on my want list of bikes.

Additions to the Current Classics Gallery -

#808 - Ray Shine's Rivendell Bleriot
#809 - Michael Hechmer's Bilenky Tandem
#810 - Even Elliots Univega Viva Touring
#811 - Jan Levine's 3Rensho SR Export
#812 - emor's Univega Grand Rally
#813 - Jason LePree's Rivendell Rambouillet
#814 - Jason LePree's Carrera Andromeda
#815 - Lee Hogan's Paramount PDG
#816 - Martin Gierke's Trek TX500

Crazy for S'luki - Jack Courtney's Rivendell Saluki

Gotta say up front that I have a soft spot for this model in general,  as well as the name and orange bikes in particular...

The Saluki was a really interesting bicycle, coming as it did in the first wave of 650B resurgence. At the time, no one seemed to consider using large volume tires on 700C frames (well, aside from us crazy 'crossers, but even then a 35cm tire was pretty wickedly large.)  In addition to one of the coolest bicycle names every, it had a lot of smart details. First and foremost, it paid attention to how well a bicycle can ride when you use a decent amount of air to cushion the ride and provide an ample footprint on the road and trails.

Between the time this bicycle came out and I had the resources to buy one, Rivendell had brought out the A. Homer Hilsen, which is the geared/coastable bicycle I ended up with.  Of course, since that time, the Saluki became the smaller sized AHH's, which ended the model.  But with every 650B wheelsize Hilsen I see, I know there's a lithe coursing hound underneath, chucking a bit...

Jack Courtney's Rivendell Saluki

Jack's bike is pretty much exactly the way I'd think about my own.  Fenders and racks so you can ramble long and not be phased by weather or distance.  Smart gearing for a variety of terrain.  And, it's orange.
 

Updates to the Current Classics Bicycle Gallery

#805 - Jack Courtney's Rivendell Saluki
#806 - William Spencer's Rivendell Bombadil
#807 - BP Hague's Sekai 2400

Current Classics Update: Lucky Seven on the Seventh

It's really gratifying when the randomness of submissions line up with the tenets of the Cyclofiend.com galleries.  Back in 2005 (the waning dour days of dialup?) when these Galleries started coming together, one of the ideas was to highlight the really well designed but reasonably unappreciated bicycle frames which seemed to be fading from people's perception.

While I certainly love the continued expansion of new builders who understand that the strength of a bicycle design stems from its simplicity, I've always said that reinvigorating an older model was an honorable task.  The bicycle which landed at the Milestone spot of 800 seems to epitomize that.

Current Classics #800 - Mike Hauptman's Trek 614
Mike has taken a really nice frame design from probably the golden age of Trek steel and set it up with the parts and accessories which really compliment it.

From the superb coverage of the Honjo fenders to the classic art nouveau of the font on the seat tube, it's classy and useful, yet Mike's not afraid to use the shifting system he prefers.  Best of both worlds and a wonderful addition to the gallery!

Updates to the Current Classics Bicycle Gallery

#798 - Rudolph Luciani's Dave Moulton FUSO FR-1
#799 - Byron Kerr's Surly Long Haul Trucker
#800 - Mike Hauptman's Trek 614 - Milestone!
#801 - Tad Broussard's Jamis Aurora
#802 - Tad Broussard's Schwinn Tempo
#803 - Tony K's Curtlo MTB
#804 - Bob Stoltz's Rivendell Custom

The Mystery of the Sphinx

Gernot Huber's Gary Fisher Sphinx

 Current Classics Gallery #797

Now, here is a Gary Fisher bicycle model that I'd never heard of before. According to his entry, this bike was from 1990, which is kind of the "awkward" period in the history of that brand.  During that time, Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes was sold to Anlen (Taiwan) in 1991, distribution reworked with assistance from Howie Cohen through 1992, before finally becoming owned by Trek in 1993.

Some of the designs from that era, like the RS-1 were definitely out in front of the existing technology.  Other's, the like the e-stay Montare are better consigned to the slag heap (though the idea of kicking the rider back a bit came back on the Genesis Geometry models - which I always liked the ride of.)

Whatever else you might think about Gary, the man loves to ride, and I've been lucky to share a few interesting and thought-provoking conversations with him now and again. The fact that two of those were sheer moments of serendipitous on-the-road connections gives credibility to the fact that he's out there, riding more than most, and thinking about what goes into bicycle design.

The Sphinx really fascinates me. It reminds me of the Bruce Gordon Monster Cross frames - good clearance 700C (622) bicycles ready to ramble anywhere.  Gary certainly has returned to embrace the idea of "29er" (622) mtb's.   It also has a fairly compact frame design, something I generally attribute to Ibis bicycles.

Now, it does have some, uh, idiosyncrasies - most notably the "evolution" series headset (1 1/4") and bottom bracket (88 mm) are reasonably incompatible with anything being made, and the seatpost is 28.6 (shim-able, of course).

But, I have to agree with Gernot's assessment of this as a unique and overlooked design.

#745 - Matthew Dearing's Schwinn Paramount
#746 - Jon Grinder's Bridgestone XO-2
#747 - Gernot Huber's Gary Fisher Sphinx -

Another Classic Dawes

It's actually pretty hard to pick one bike out of each of the day's entries.  For example, today I had to pass over an interesting Follis tandem and a phenomenally well color-coordinated commuter...  It isn't that I like those any less - more that some tiny little thing in another Gallery post strikes a chord or catches a memory.


As I've commented more than a few times, there's honor in getting a disused bicycle up and running again - whether it's been sitting out under the eaves benefiting from seasonal weather and annual disuse or it's been forgotten out of the elements in some sort of Tomb of Tutankhamun manner.   The second thing about today's featured entry is the manufacturer - Dawes.  


Sharp-eyed or long term followers of the Gallery might know that the first bike in it was my Dawes Double Blue, which was scooped from a dusty and forgotten pile at a garage sale. It got resurrected, cleaned up and readied again for use.  It was the second bicycle I made into a fixed-gear (thanks again to the late, great Sheldon Brown!), the second road bicycle I purposely fendered and the first bicycle which I ever broke a crank on.  It rides with a stately, yet nimble gait which is different than any other bike I own.  


Dawes used to be a UK manufacturer, but faded into disuse.  Their name (along with others) got scooped up and is now slapped on a line of down-market bikes imported into the US (and probably other places).  They have nothing to do with this era.  Although Dawes was never a higher-end British maker, they had some excellent models.  The Dawes Galaxy is one of those.


Chris Tolbert's Dawes Galaxy

Current Classics Gallery #792


This was one of those attic finds that lent itself extremely well to a refurb and makeover. Looking at this bicycle, you realize how many nice touches mark its crafting - the double edge of the forward seat lug shape, the brazed-on loop which acts as a cable guide to the rear brake, the chromed fork and rear triangle and the significant head badge.  (The paint job is gorgeous, but was added in the restoration).


It appears to have similar dimensions to my Double Blue, and it's funny how we both ended up with bikes that have a more "French" dimension, leading to a small amount of seatpost showing.   Nice to see it getting newer components and being ready to ride again.


New Current Classics Gallery Entries:
#789 - B. Saul's Raleigh International
#790 - B. Saul's Raleigh International 
#791 - Daniel Artley's Jack Taylor (Daniel, if you are out there, can you send more info on this bike?)
#792 - Chris Tolbert's Dawes Galaxy
#793 - Bruce Gutman's Lynskey Pro Cross Commuter
#794 - William Lockmiller's Follis Concorde Tandem

Tim Fricker's Goshawk Touring

Over the year's I've taken bicycles and their bits down to the last nut and bolt. It's always transfixed and challenged me - pulling things apart and considering the thought and trial/error that went into the development of a given component, or looking at the bearing races in a hub and thinking about the hours and miles that went into honing that groove. In that pursuit, I've broken stuff, reassembled things wrong, tweaked bolt heads, stripped threads and generally made about every mistake that could be made.


That's one of the reasons I have such respect for anyone who decides to take up a torch and go about creating a bicycle frame out of a bunch of steel tubes. Pondering over a pile of loose tubes takes some planning, confidence and commitment.  Which brings us to today's highlighted entry:

Tim Fricker's Goshawk Touring

Current Classics Gallery #785

Tim took the design of his 1986 Miyata and then ramped up the clearances to cover 42 mm tires.  He's already had the chance to do some light overnights and other short trips on the bicycle, and seems pretty pleased with it.  The closeup of the seatstays show a good sense of stability and reliability.  The choice of lugs and sloping fork crown pull it together nicely.  All that he needs is a headbadge to finish things off.

#785 - Tim Fricker's Goshawk Touring
#786 - B. Saul's Nishiki International
#787 - B. Saul's Nishiki Continental Touring
#788 - B. Saul's Nishiki Continental "Raleigh"

Cinco Por Cinco

One of the really funny things about processing all of the Gallery entries is how diverse it is - everytime I think "wow, that's a lot of Rivendells in a row...", I get a set like today's.

When you get this diverse a set of bicycles in such fine condition, it's really a shame to pick out one of them to focus on.  I would have loved to just talk about Peter Vieira's Schwinn High Sierra - a gorgeous, near-stock example of the first wave of production mountain bikes. The long wheelbase and slack angles of that frame still ride well for so many applications.  I even managed to bite down my reflexive regional-centric preference for west coast mtb steel from that era...

Then, there's Anton Tutter's Shogun - wow. When I saw the images, I thought it was a Toei, and to read his description of the restoration/conversion of this rig was pretty impressive.  After that, a couple examples of gorgeous Italian steel classic lightweights - Frank Paxton's Basso Gap (racy, chromed lugs, three-tone paint - what's not to love?) and Clive Standley's DeRosa Neo Primato (a race rig made stylish and useful with the tasteful addition of new parts).

In the end, though I ended up with Randy Pugh's Trek 660, for...well... reasons I'm about to mention.

Randy Pugh's Trek 660

Current Classic Gallery #784

Trek road bicycles from this period (1980's) have always struck me as tremendously underrated and generally overlooked bicycles. They are the bicycles which I've probably always wanted to have one of, despite never having actually ridden one. Yeah, I know.  That makes no sense.

But, hear me out.  They were mostly production bicycles, crafted in the USA.  They didn't have the panache of the Italian thoroughbreds, lacked the racing pedigree of the California Masi's, Peugeots and what have you. They were good, simple, lugged steel frames.  They seemed a dime-a-dozen at the time. They had lighter gauge race-oriented frames and they had canti-brake and braze-on rigged touring models. They were, to be blunt, often regarded as the bikes you upgraded from.

To look back on them now, it seems like they have so many of the things which are generally gone from bike models today (though, arguably, that is thankfully starting to return.) Good clearances, clean lines and useful braze-ons.

With this bike, Randy has added on some newer bits, which also strikes a chord with me.  When you see so many riders today turning over "last year's" model on Craigslist or eBay, selling the whole thing - frame, fork and components - at fire sale pricing,  it's encouraging to see a good, useful frame being used.  I think it helps remind people how a well designed bicycle frame can continue to evolve and be enjoyed.

#780 -  Peter Vieira's Schwinn High Sierra
#781 - Anton Tutter's Shogun 2000
#782 - Frank Paxton's Basso Gap
#783 - Clive Standley's De Rosa Neo Primato
#784 - Randy Pugh's Trek 660

Friday Fast One: Karl's Kogswell

Got a little behind last night and this morning, so if this is a little brisk and choppy, I apologize in advance.

At the top of this blog, I've added in a random slide show from my Flickr sets - planning on periodically choosing one from my feed. Actually, had just done this to show another blogger how it works, but upon reflection, felt it was a nice addition.

Today, Karl's Kogswell P58 is the lone addition to the Current Classic Gallery -

Current Classics Gallery #779

Kogswells have always been interesting bicycles to me.  Back when this Gallery was gaining momentum, they populated the entries and much of the conversation on the iBob list.  To my perspective, they were one of the first steel, lugged production frames to gain visibility after Rivendell. As a value proposition to the Rivendell, it let many riders get contemporary lugged steel within their monetary constraints.

Kogswell probably helped the connection between Rivendell and Maxway, who was the Taiwan-based company which built the Kogs.  This led to the Bleriot, and now the current Sam Hillborne, Betty Foy/Yves Gomez and upcoming Hunqapillar models.

The P/R (Porteur/Randonneur) in 650B really seemed to put Kogswell on the map, staking out an area which no production bicycle seemed to exist.  The idea of swappable forks, different fork rake/trail and front-end-load specific geometry still spurs lots of debate, and really revved up participation in the Kogswell Owners Group.  (Ride buddy JimG also maintains an interesting and informative page of Kogswell info, and puts some serious miles on his 700C P/R)

But, it's these earlier bikes - the D, G and P series - which got them going.

#779 - Karl Littner's Kogswell P58

Doug in Seattle's "Redbear" Camping Bike

Rough and ready setups really tend to catch my fancy.  Don't be me wrong, I enjoy finely detailed, well crafted cycling art.  I can spend way too long looking at the delicate thinning of a Brian Baylis' finished lug at a bicycle show.

But when you see a bike that gets used a lot, and can tell in a myriad of ways how it's been adapted to the specific use of its owner, that resonates with me.

Doug in Seattle had submitted this Jamis Aurora -

Current Classics Gallery #778

It's not a terribly expensive frameset, and it lacks the lugwork that so many bicycles are using.  But, I really appreciate the build.  The basket set up on the front rack, the simple, proven components in the drivetrain, the mis-matched water bottle cages.  I also really like the very real image of his drivetrain.

As he says in his description, it's a bike that will let him go where ever he wishes, whenever he wants.

And wasn't that the whole promise of the bicycle to begin with?

Today's additions to the Current Classics Gallery:

#775 - Robert Starkey's Schwinn Tempo
#776 - Cook Watergood's Jack Taylor Super Clubman
#777 - Frank Kanauz's Italian Masi
#778 - Doug in Seattle's Jamis Aurora "Redbear" Camping Bike

Understated Elegance - Bob R's Toei 650B Randonneur

 It's easy to miss the details on a well rendered, yet understated bicycle. These days, with the bulk of the rides you see on the roads looking all racy with screaming logos and swoopy stripes, subtle details tend to fly under the radar.  Once you learn to tune out the noise though, certain details catch your attention. When I was processing the images for the Current Classics Gallery, this one just made me pause:

 Current Classics Gallery #771

For such a discrete and small part of a bicycle frame, there's a lot going on here - the internal cable routing not being pushed through a dimple, but running into a tapered housing; the thinned and elegant arc of the seat lug; the way the seat stays curve up and almost join; the way the seat post binder bolt fits flush when tightened.

There's nothing particularly "showy" about that work - but it pulls things together with a certain confidence of style, patience in approach and just enough flair that you know someone thought pretty deeply about it before even beginning.

The kind of bit that you just find yourself considering years after you've owned the bicycle.  And smiling about.

Today's updates to the Current Classic Gallery:
#771 - Bob Rogen's Toei 650B Randonneur
#772 - Michael Kullman's Schwinn Voyager
#773 - Tim Merrell's Peugeot PH1 OLE
#774 - Leon Lokkart's Gazelle Champion Mondial

Other Toei bicycles in the Current Classics Gallery

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Prowling The Current Classics Gallery: Nick's Custom Capricorn

Everything "old" becomes new again, I reckon.  It's interesting to consider what catches my attention in bicycle design these days. Longer fenders, clearance for bigger tires, tightly fitting and artfully designed racks (Bruce Gordon seems to to manage both), understated-yet-evocative paint....

The arc to this point stems from Interbike in '97 or so, when GW and I were recovering from walking the aisles and he said something along the lines of "I am so freakin' tired of oversized tubes and toothpaste welds..."

I didn't quite get what he meant - it probably occurred to me that aluminum bikes were boring to him. Titanium was sexy back then, and the good welder laid down a bead that looked like tiny dimes stacked on one another.

Luckily, he had also thrown an early Rivendell Reader at me one day and said, "You need to check this out..."  and he'd made me follow him to the outer edges of the booths to find the Jack Taylor frames. Quiet, lugged and classic, they made little splash at the show where full-suspension mountain bikes were still pretty exotic.

So now, I wonder what impression it would have made on me if this bicycle had been sitting on the forward corner of a booth.

Current Classics Gallery #682

I like to think that something like this Custom Capricorn would have caught my eye back then - though it might have just been the oddity of a large forward-mounted Gilles Berthoud bag. The "pencil" blue would have also been pretty non-standard at the time (still is, mind you, but now it has a historical context for me...).

Nick's Capricorn (posted to the Current Classcs Gallery in 12/09) is one of those bicycles that it's almost impossible to imagine improving. It has all the things you'd want or need, but nothing more.  There are some unique preferences - the Kelly Bike "Take Offs" for example - which make the bike entirely his. 

Whether you were doing serious randonneuring or just wanted to be able to leave the house at dawn for an all-day ride, it would be a fine choice.