Welcome to Bike Snob NYC, a member of the Way of life Exercise Snob, Inc. household of publications:
You could be certain Cigar Snob is 100% free from tedious biking content material, not like that Cigar Aficionado rag:
I learn that paragraph 5 instances and I nonetheless don’t perceive it. However, somebody ought to inform Cigar Aficionado that bike is to biking as vaping is to wonderful cigars. See, whether or not it’s bikes or cigars, the secret’s to chill out and revel in:
In fact I do additionally get pleasure from a wonderful highway bike, and I’ve been attending to know the LeMond Tete de Course:
On Friday we disturbed what I consider to be a turkey vulture making an attempt to chill out and revel in a meal:
Mmm, scrumptious!
I additionally found that the 28mm rear tire of the Tete de Course was gently rubbing the chainstays on climbs:
So I modified each tires for a pair of 25s earlier than heading out once more on Saturday:
Oh, sorry, improper bike:
As I rode, I handed a deer carcass on the facet of the highway, and I happed to note that it was lacking a leg. It then occurred to me that the highway I used to be using runs parallel to the one I had been using the day earlier than, and that I used to be fairly near the place I’d seen that vulture, that means that the leg may very nicely have belonged to this very deer:
So tickled was I by this little bit of macabre serendipity that I virtually circled to take a photograph of the lifeless deer, however I used to be having fun with the trip an excessive amount of and didn’t need to lose my momentum, which might be a superb factor because you’ve already seen extra carrion than you could on a Monday morning…although with each pictures to review whereas making an attempt to maintain our breakfasts down we may have confirmed whether or not the leg did in reality belong to the deer, which is the kind of satisfying roadkill-related closure you hardly ever get to expertise.
As for the bike, clearance was a lot better:
And the tire swap netted me the additional few millimeters I wanted to trip in blissful silence:
Because of Traditional Cycle I’ve had the chance to trip quite a lot of totally different highway bikes from quite a lot of totally different eras, and a few of them have confounded my expectations. For instance, I didn’t even contemplate the chance I’d truly like the Vengeance Bike, and it turned out to be considered one of my favourite highway bikes ever:
In the meantime, I simply assumed the Colnago Bititan would really feel very clean as a result of it was titanium, however in reality it felt fairly stiff:
It will be a stretch to say I didn’t like the Bititan–I imply I may actually dwell fortunately with it–however I by no means fell for it in fairly the identical means I’ve felt for a number of the different bikes Traditional Cycle have despatched this fashion over time.
In the meantime, the Teledyne was virtually too clean, and it was so flexy it was borderline unnerving:
I imply it was a complete pleasure to trip, however that fork deflected like a partner in an argument, and like a wedding the place each events can’t be utterly trustworthy with one another I feared for the bike’s long-term prospects. (Then once more it’s survived for nearly 50 years so possibly it’s like a type of outdated {couples} that appear like they combat on a regular basis however actually love one another.)
Then there are the bikes the place I don’t actually know what to suppose beforehand as a result of I’m too distracted by the aesthetics. For instance, earlier than the Davidson confirmed up all I actually seen was the insane splatter paint:
If I have been ordering a motorcycle I’d by no means select the end that steered a number of individuals had been butchered close by. Nonetheless, the bike received me over instantly, and since I appreciated using it a lot I additionally grew to love the wild look. In truth I got here near preserving it, although I’m glad it wound up with a reader.
To this point the LeMond is just a little bit just like the Davidson, besides it was the supplies and never the end that I couldn’t get previous at first:
I like easy bikes, which is why after years of using I’ve bought a bunch of metal ones, solely considered one of which has listed shifting and disc brakes:
So after I see a motorcycle just like the LeMond I believe it’s gimmicky. I believe it’s making an attempt too exhausting, and in flip I believe it makes me seem like I’m making an attempt too exhausting. I believe it’s asking for hassle by combining two totally different supplies for seemingly no motive–and never simply two totally different supplies, however two costly supplies.
However just like the Davidson, as quickly as I bought on it I noticed it was an exceptionally good highway bike, and after the primary 100 miles there’s been nothing by any means to undermine that impression. Bikes just like the LeMond are like high-end eating places: if you’re strolling previous them you suppose they’re cheesy and that everybody in them is a douchebag, however if you’re in a single your self and also you’ve had a drink or two you’re like, “Okay, that is fairly good”.
As for whether or not gluing crabon and titanium collectively is asking for hassle I do not know. 5 seconds of Web analysis suggests crabon and titanium don’t fall sufferer to galvanic corrosion or no matter, however I believe that’s particularly “commercially pure” titanium, which titanium bikes aren’t. For no matter it’s price, I didn’t actually discover any reviews on the Web about these items failing, although I additionally do not know what number of of them Trek offered within the first place. I did discover this on the Ti Cycles web site a few Tete de Course that wanted a brand new downtube, although they didn’t say how or why it broke within the first place:
Clearly you completely can’t go improper shopping for a body made out of only one materials, particularly if it’s metal, although I’m keen to provide Trek the good thing about the doubt in the case of gluing stuff collectively as a result of they’ve been doing it for a very long time:
Then there’s the truth that the economics of latest bikes and “classic” bikes are utterly totally different–and really a lot in your favor, even in the case of the exotics. I don’t bear in mind firsthand how a lot the Tete de Course was again in 2003, however based on this story it was like $5,000, which suggests at the moment it might be like $8,000. However at the moment you would in all probability choose up a Tete de Course in good form and with good components for lower than what a typical “entry stage” highway bike prices. Certain, it’s the bike body equal of a gold diamond-encrusted watch, however moreover that it’s bought no bizarre proprietary fittings and takes all customary components, and with the passage of time (and the diminished price ticket to match) all that materials gimmickry begins to really feel just a little bit extra like classic appeal, or a minimum of endearing quirkiness. I suppose all that’s a roundabout means of claiming it’s a fairly cool bike.
Anyway, after a two straight days on the Tete de Course I bought again on the Cervino, simply to see how totally different it felt, and you realize what?
It actually didn’t really feel all that totally different. The Tete de Course is clearly a lot lighter, however you don’t actually discover that till you truly choose it up. And clearly you go about shifting the Cervino so much in another way, however even the outdated freewheel shifts fairly easily now with the 10-speed chain, and except you’re racing you possibly can simply settle in and benefit from the variations between the 2 drivetrains as a result of there’s nothing on the road. In any other case they each really feel quick, clean and comfy, and other than maybe the absence of a decrease gear one bike doesn’t actually go away you wanting for the opposite.
I suppose a pleasant bike is a pleasant bike.
