tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post5179750562123845840..comments2024-03-28T11:56:48.304-04:00Comments on The Retrogrouch: Louis Vuitton Buys PinarelloBrookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-78930427171850391452016-12-15T14:42:22.325-05:002016-12-15T14:42:22.325-05:00To be fair though, the company fired serotta himse...To be fair though, the company fired serotta himself when he wouldn't get on board with selling the brand to be made overseas. I have a Colorado II (bought it used) that is wonderful and still going strong despite a lot of hard miles and several bad crashes.Conradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09297850009729752883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-60718557317929693682016-12-13T08:58:55.307-05:002016-12-13T08:58:55.307-05:00Perfect!
What happened to bikes, where did all t...Perfect! <br /><br />What happened to bikes, where did all the elegance in design go for those of us who would not be seen dead on plastic, in Lycra or emblazoned with advertising...?Colinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667939789517989280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-1867562296957510912016-12-13T07:02:30.116-05:002016-12-13T07:02:30.116-05:00I like that. well said.I like that. well said.Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-25690366191211432942016-12-12T20:10:57.625-05:002016-12-12T20:10:57.625-05:00It used to be that being a cyclist caused you to s...It used to be that being a cyclist caused you to spend money on a bike.<br /><br />Now some people seem to think that spending money on a bike is what makes you a cyclist.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-85770444545595551712016-12-12T12:57:17.614-05:002016-12-12T12:57:17.614-05:00Yep, saw that, and simply rolled my eyes.
I gave...Yep, saw that, and simply rolled my eyes. <br /><br />I gave up, a long time ago, worrying about which brand would "fall" next. <br /><br />In time, they all will. <br /><br />Cycling, now, is less about passion and art, and more about greedily making sure you check out of the industry with a good chunk of change in your pocket, than in giving a rats ass about the "units" produced under you're guidance. <br /><br />Serotta is at the top of my list of heralded names that whored themselves into oblivion at the hands of doctors and lawyers who ride 50 miles a year...MendonCycleSmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02213406716238931069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-42492635190687563502016-12-10T20:13:08.238-05:002016-12-10T20:13:08.238-05:00North America will never be a truly cycling part o...North America will never be a truly cycling part of the world until lots of people use bikes for transportation as well as casual recreation. That part of cycling is well served by metal bicycles, and few, if any, (that I know of) made of carbon fibre. It's part of the reason I have little interest in bikes of that material. As you say, it is for the wealthy 'Walter Mitty' rider who likes to think if he rides an expensive enough bicycle it will make him fast. (They don't seem to understand, no matter how much you pay, you still have to pedal it.)<br /><br />I own half a dozen fine bicycles from the last half century - yes, the oldest dates from 1965. Little did I realize when I bought them, and hung onto them, that they would come to represent an almost obsolete form of the highest craftsmanship. Lucky me, and any one else who chooses to find and enjoy using a cycle from what in retrospect must be seen as a golden era of cycle crafting.Vancouver Island cyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15150635169233877051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-38270807632466713592016-12-10T18:17:59.461-05:002016-12-10T18:17:59.461-05:00I still have working cameras from up to 45 years a...I still have working cameras from up to 45 years ago, some strong enough to hammer in tent pegs. The top of the range Nikon from the 1990' was dumped after a very short time and digitals which followed have even less charm and some have even gone into the trash!<br /><br />Progress hey? I feel sorry for those in the market now...Colinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667939789517989280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-9176536498619068372016-12-10T16:48:06.219-05:002016-12-10T16:48:06.219-05:00The plus side of sticking to steel is that steel n...The plus side of sticking to steel is that steel never gets boring. Even despised frames age gracefully and always bring fun unlike carbon ones that even if not damaged, bore owners so completely that they sell those with no hesitation.<br /><br />This being said, I can't take seriously any CF frame that I've seen to date. Have you ever seen carbon frame from the inside? Really, have you tried to look at least at what's inside BB shell or the head tube?<br /><br />CF Layering is said to benefit in supporting frame structure in critical places while reducing the weight in places where the stress is minimal. True on paper but not so true in the real life. Patches of CF are arranged in such a careless way that I can't find any cultural word to describe what's going on inside the frame. The wall thickness varies vastly and the arrangement of fiber layers is random at best. Icicles of epoxy are everywhere and there are lot of sharp edges on junctions of patches. Bear in mind that these frames I talk about are from reputable European manufacturer (since I'm LBS worker, I may lose my job if I will drop any names, but trust me — it's an eerie experience) and to make things worse, it features internal cable routing. There was a patch of fiber free of epoxy at all in one frame and it was flapping like the banner in the wind inside the BB shell.<br /><br />How in the Earth this abomination is claimed to have consistent quality? I have never seen anything like that even in the most crappy frames made of no name hi-ten steel, not to mention truly quality ones. I trust homogenous structure of cold drawn steel tube rolled of glorious sheet — it always has consistent wall thickness, has no piercing and no cracks in the micro-structure.<br /><br />Dudes from marketing departments from all over the world, sing your praises to cosmic technology to those with more money than brains and say what you want. No matter what you'll say, carbon fiber will remain disposable as ever.<br /><br />This being said, I've no laments over fate of Pinarello. Even in the world so retarded like ours there will always be place for little no-nonesense manufacturers whom we, consumers, have to support.tumbleweed_092https://www.blogger.com/profile/03101115616028888885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-50751327357709765582016-12-10T10:37:09.404-05:002016-12-10T10:37:09.404-05:00I lament the relegation of the bicycle to a luxury...I lament the relegation of the bicycle to a luxury toy. The typical carbon fiber bicycle has a safe useful lifespan of 0 to 2 years in my hands and costs as much as a motorcycle. And still has some glaring design flaws. I am pretty much the last person contesting local cat 1/2 cross races on a steel frame and fork. I have yet to destroy one of my bikes although some of them have 20 plus years of racing and hard miles on them. My point is that it probably isn't a good thing for the sport or industry to have the mindset that you need a disposable 5000 dollar bike in order to partake. I don't want cycling to be the new golf. We are better than that.Conradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09297850009729752883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-80618105286003251702016-12-10T10:35:14.603-05:002016-12-10T10:35:14.603-05:00The smell of hot flux and the hiss of the torchs, ...The smell of hot flux and the hiss of the torchs, That was and is cycling. Did you ever get a chance to see "Marinoni " ? The Vancouver Bike scene I remember had Talbots, Brodies, Rocky Mtn., Legge, Off-road Toads, where one could see the products in production. Keep up the good work !ofoabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02145180145442539127noreply@blogger.com