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the folding stuff
every now and again a stoater of an idea comes along, and even better if that idea relates in some way to cycling. i've mentioned before, the excellent evening of cycling in prospect at the smithfield nocturne which has now taken a turn for the splendiferous.
dahon cycles, makers of some of the world's finest folding bikes, have sponsored a 'le mans' start folding bike race. yes, dressed in jackets and ties, competitiors will have to run to their machines and unfold them, before heading off to the office (well, to race each other to the finish actually, but we're trying to keep in character here).
i think we could safely say that entertainment is guaranteed. now i'm even more annoyed that i shan't be there.
posted monday 4 june 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................making a drama out of a bike ride
well, that's it all over for another year, 
and from a cycling point of view, up till today, it has been quite wonderful. and just to make matters worse, today was the visit to headquarters at ardbeg distillery. from a touring, masterclass and dramming point of view, it appears to have been a great success. some german chaps i met this morning said, in hushed tones, that they actually preferred today's weather. i can't actually think why since we had gale force winds, very low cloud and, by mid-day, torrential rain that lasted most of the afternoon.
this was the first day that i have had to put on waterproofs, and even then i did manage to arrive at ardbeg completely dry, which is just as well, because it was a slog into a headwind all the way there.
so just to recap, since last saturday in order of visitation i have been to lagavulin, bruichladdich, caol ila, port ellen maltings, laphroaig, bowmore, jura, bunnahabhain and ardbeg, covering a total of 365km in the process.
considering the location of each distillery and the road conditions leading to them (there's a hill on the bunnahabhain road that manages 20 percent in places), it's been a great way to test a bicycle and its components. the lightweight ventoux wheel review is already on the post, i'm a good way through the c50 review and that will leave the surprisingly excellent fibre-lyte chainrings. should be all done by monday (i hope)
there is already a gallery depicting the colnago's travels throughout the week, and any similarity between these and issues of cycle world magazine are entirely on purpose. i'd like to thank colnago uk, carbonsports, fibre-lyte and barry at bespokecycling for all their assistance before and during the islay festival of malt and music. i hope you've enjoyed it as much as i have - and i never touched a drop.
reviews below
lightweight ventoux review
colnago c50 review
fibre-lyte chainrings review
posted sunday 3 june 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................dario pegoretti
i think it's true to say that bicycle frame builders are a breed apart, not just because of the skill required to produce a classic frame in steel, alloy, titanium or carbon, but because of the singular attitude needed to survive in a mass-produced world. think how much easier it all would be to take a flight to taiwan, with drawings in the back pocket and have nice bikes churned out in the quantities required.
so it becomes even harder to accept that life would throw another obstacle in the way, but such has befallen the great and idiosyncratic italian frame genius, dario pegoretti, who has just discovered that he is suffering from blood cancer. in true pioneering and individual style, he has decided to fight this on his own terms, and despite undergoing chemotherapy, he is continuing to accept new orders. it seems characteristic of the man that a letter to his customers apologises for any delays that may occur due to his life threatening illness.
pegoretti initiated his frame-building career with gino milani, setting up his own frame-building business in 1987, eschewing the traditional lug building method and opting for tig welding instead. unwilling to settle for the standard niobium spirit steel tubeset from columbus, pegoretti insisted they heat treat the tubing for use in his frames. this latter feature makes any subsequent frame feel like it's gliding over the road. (in his bike-testing days with procycling magazine, robert millar showed a penchant for pegoretti frames, reviewing two models over the course of his tenure with the magazine.)
as famous for bizarre paint jobs as for innovative frame design, despite his italian nationality, pegoretti exhibited some very interestingly decorated frames at this year's north american hand made bicycle show. to read more about the great man, get yourself a copy of the forthcoming issue of rouleur which carries a major pegoretti feature. guy andrews (rouleur editor) and rapha supremo, simon mottram visited the pegoretti workshop along with phil burnett of mosquito bikes, uk retailers of pegoretti frames.
we wish dario all the very best for a full and speedy recovery.
posted saturday 26 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the beautiful machine by graeme fife. £16.99 hardback 333pp illus. published by mainstream publishing
it's interesting how many cyclists seem to have come upon the bicycle as a means of escape. this is not to say that they are all attemtping to escape from the same thing, and it is often evident that their attitude towards the bicycle changes as the head towards maturity, but i don't think that i've read a biography where the participant has taken an initial interest in the bicycle as a mechanical object in and of itself. perhaps those folks would end up writing very short books.
graeme fife is one of the former. the opening sentence from chapter one reads 'i knew what the bike promised: it promised freedom.' mr fife appears to have had a less than happy childhood due to an overbearing father and learning to ride a bicycle equated to a form of escapism (and a healthier alternative to today's playstation escapism).
i confess that i approached this book under what appears to have been a complete misapprehension: while the subtitle is 'a life in cycling, from tour de france to cinder hill' i thought that i was about to read graeme fife's autobiography. by this i mean the usual format - born, school, college, working life, interesting acquaintances and on to the present day, all chronologically presented. overall, that's perhaps what 'the beautiful machine' amounts to, but in reading it comes across more as a series of articles, few of which are connected other than by the ever present bicycle. if you have purchased/intend purchasing this book on the promise of the title, there is precious little by way of information regarding bicycles. i say this not as a criticism, since this lack of specificity lends the book to a wider readership than the cycling fraternity.
there is also considerably less about fife's career as a tour de france journalist than i would have expected. as the writer who is often identified with le tour it was somewhat of a surprise to learn that his authorial credits strike further than velocipedal issues, but we still learn precious little about his writing as a career.
the trip to mali for a calendar shoot with two colleagues occupies the largest percentage of the book's chapters and fits the 'boys' own' profile - exciting, funny and enlightening, but the books other chapters almost come across as articles with no home to go to. reading was enjoyable, since graee fife is a particularly well educated man with a distinct mastery of the written word, but i have to say that it's not the cycling book i was hoping for.
graeme fife, along with photographer pete drinkell, has also produced a volume to be published by rapha, entitled 'massif' concerning the great road climbs of the pyrenees. originally destined for june publication, the book will now be released in the autumn of this year.
posted saturday 26 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................don't leave home without it
i'm sort of disappointed that i have to write this sort of article again, because i really thought that we had entered a new age of cycle touring, leaving behind the bad old days when touring was done on a pair of halfords mountain bikes with spaghetti for spokes. yes, over the last couple of years bicycles have become more sensible (if sometimes a tad less exciting), and technical problems have been of the 'heck, i didn't know that could break' type of thing.
but within the past week or so, i have provided two tyres, a set of brake shoes, an inner tube and a gear cable. i fully realise that this would constitiute about five minutes worth of sales for any decent bike shop, but it's the circumstances under which these items were required that has me concerned. in each case, it was total lack of foresight that led to the cyclists having to speak to me at all. in both cases, the folks who needed new tyres stated that they thought the originals would have lasted until they got home. in other words, it wasn't the unexpected that forced them to buy new. and who the heck tours ireland before moving on to islay and needs to buy a gear cable? gear cables are very light and small items, so carry spares with you.
however. the most worrying was having to replace all four brake shoes on a mountain bike because 'i thought they'd last till i got home' - one of the rear shoes was down to the metal, so they couldn't have looked that great before leaving. most brake shoes have a wear line indicator.
so please, please, if you intend cycle touring this summer, check the bike from front to back and replace anything that shows more than fifty percent wear, and carry spare spokes, spare inner tubes, a cassette/freewheel remover, some gear and brake cables and a few chain links and a chain rivet tool. it's also a great idea to take a selection of allen keys and a pump (don't laugh - you'd be surprised).
i know it makes sense
posted tuesday 22 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................paint my wagon (wheels)
i'm sure i remember many, many years ago, someone running a competition to design the paint scheme for an aircraft - a very large canvas, as we ex-art students would say - though i can't for the life of me remember which airline it was that came up with this novel idea. but now, to celebrate their 75th anniversary, those happy chappies at vicenza have reduced the size of the canvas a tad, and announced the bora art contest.
for those less of a competitive nature, the bora is one of campagnolo's top of the range carbon wheels. with a rim depth of 50mm, they are indisputably smaller than an aircraft, but should prove an interesting challenge for those of us of an artistic nature. of course, it could prove just as much of a challenge for those with no artistic nature at all.
the competition starts on may 21st, and entries will be accepted up to september 14 2007, and to enter, all you have to do is nip across to the competition website, download a bora wheel (not a real one, you understand) colour it in without going over the lines, and upload it to campagnolo.
first prize is a bike fitted with bora wheels and a chorus groupset, second prize is a bike fitted with centaur and eurus wheels, and third, a bike fitted with mirage and a set of ventos. sound like fun? you bet it does.
now where did i put those crayons?
posted monday 21 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................oh no, he's not going to talk about this again...
on the 28th of june, i shall find out whether all the training in all weathers and winds has actually worked, when i set off with over 150 others, to cycle from london to paris over the course of three days. (obviously we'll not be cycling the wet bit from southampton to st malo), and the very nice man who got me into this, was the aforementioned graeme freestone king, who will accompany us all the way as one of a battery of mechanics (well, a couple at least).
but graeme doesn't just wrench bicycle bits, or content himself with vittoria shoes and vista pedals. if you've checked his website, you'll have an idea of the range of products he represents, another two of which are about to become very important to me: eddy merckx frames and italian wheelsbike wheels.
i don't wish to sound put upon or particularly wimpish, but the logistics of transporting a bicycle from islay to london are not to be sneezed at. so when graeme offered the possibility of a place on the london-paris ride, hesitation made me hesitate. but i can now alleviate one problem and gain a review/road test into the bargain. yes, for this year's event i shall be riding a merckx chm carbon frame shod with wheelsbike wheels, not only in an attempt to make sure museeuw doesn't get too far ahead (a guy can dream can't he?) but also to provide the basis for a road test during the inevitable resultant article.
the merckx has a palmares beyond question, but what about the round spinny bits? well their palmares is likely to improve dramatically this year because the wheelsbike wb3000s (i'll be on wb1000s) are being used by noted new zealand tt supremo, gordon mccauley of team pca. gordon won bronze in the commonwealth games tt and is four times nz road champion. since gaining wheelsbike round bits he's had two second places and a fourth.
i'm hoping it's the wheels and not mccauley that makes a bike go fast.
posted saturday 19 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................shiny shoe shuffle
i'm not generally one for ostentation, though i can think of several who would disagree. i have resisted the urge to wear cycle jerseys which look like the proverbial explosion in the dulux factory, but remain quite happy to wear a pink rapha club jersey. and a pink rainjacket, come to that, though i'm using the well worn excuse that this is to raise my personal visibility midst a sea of cars (living in the hebrides, you can see how the latter comes across as less than convincing).
footwear is sort of another matter - spinning feet are unlikely to be the first point of recognition for passing motorists, so between carnacs and sidis, black and white are often the order of the day. so why are my size forty-threes now enclosed in a very bling pair of gold shoes, that even bettini would be proud of? all credit is due to italian shoe makers vittoria and graeme freestone king of fk:marketing (also proud uk importers of eddy merckx frames). graeme not only proffered this pair of unique 30th anniversary vittoria shoes but also a pair of the intriguing luxembourg made vista pedals.
but first to the shoes. i'm happy to say that i really like the all gold look, though the shoes are also available in black for those of a less demonstrative nature. assuming you'd had a pair of these sent through the post, you could be excused for wondering if you'd been sent an empty box. vittoria claim a weight of 194g (size 8): the test pair are size 43, which equates to around a uk size 9, and they don't feel a whole lot heavier.
closure is effected by three velcro straps across the top, leaving lots of room for adjustment, easily taken care of when cycling. it's a shame that these shoes will only ever be seen from the top, because the carbon fibre soles would cheerfully equal anything from colnago in the attractiveness stakes. it's this carbon sole that helps push the weight downwards, though the ultralight gold fibre does its part too. cleats are affixed to the sole by the familiar three points, so they'll suit cleats from look, campag etc.
in use, the weight, or total lack of it is quite revelationary. my more regular cycling footwear is from fellow italians, sidi, and although not quite in the same retail price range as the vittorias, they are considerably heavier (relative terms, you understand). if you're a drummer, like graeme and myself, you may be familiar with the practising with heavy sticks and playing with a lighter pair. similar feel. and in the same notion that it is better to save weight on the wheels because it's rotating weight, rotating feet adhere to the same principal. and by golly it works.
italian shoes are often a more narrow fit than other international footwear - i appear to have italian feet because the vittorias fit very comfortably, and i'm sure it's to great advantage that the soles and uppers are made in house. it's often a concern trying out new cycling shoes (i kept my carnacs for nearly ten years because the were a great fit), particularly if they cost a lot of money, and there are often a few niggles on the first few rides, but my italian feet took to the shiny shoes like a duck to water, even the incredible stiffness of the carbon soles which graeme informs don't suit everyone. as far as sizing goes, it is apparently possible to vary the size between left and right shoes, should you be so afflicted, and the shoeplate fittings can be specified further forward or rearwards if required.
the shoes come with their very own pair of coolmax 30th anniversary socks and a monogrammed carry bag. bike and run sell the black or gold versions of the vittoria unique anniversary shoes (and i am informed that they are now also made in white) for £195 (around $350) in sizes 42 to 45. well worth the money for some podiatric bling.
exploring new vistas
if you've been into cycling since the late eighties into early nineties, you can't help but remember the good old shimano biopace, a word that equated to oval chainrings and, like many of shimano's offerings, was much copied by others. the notion behind biopace was to iron out the 'dead spot' that occured with normal round chainrings. biopace morphed into biopace sg which was slightly less oval, before shimano eventually as much as admitted that there was no real biomechanical evidence to prove that the system worked. which was great news for the front derailleur.
last year, on the fk:marketing stand at the london cycle show, graeme freestone king was able to demonstrate the principal behind the vista pedals. when attached to the cranks, instead of the pedal axle being level with the crank bolt centre, it sits lower to allow the crank bolt centre to be level with the big toe 'axle'. confused? well this effectively places the axle centre ahead of the crank on the downward stroke, but behind the axle on the upstroke. the theory is that this duplicates what shimano were trying to achieve with biopace.
the vista magic x pedals are constructed of forged aluminium, with a claimed weight of 120g. they render my chunky pedal spanner somewhat useless, as they require an 8mm allen wrench inserted from the back of the crank arm to tighten them in place. in order to protect and secure the cartridge bearings, it's necessary to make sure the supplied washer is fitted between the pedal and crank arm. the more astute amongst you will by now have sussed that if the pedal is several millimetres lower than normal, then without any seat height adjustment, those spindly legs are going to be well and truly stretched. graeme suggested lowering the saddle by around 20mm, and though he also suggested moving the saddle forward around 18mm. i didn't find the latter necessary. depending on the thickness of the soles of your shoes, your mileage may vary with regard to the seat height (it took me a few adjustments to get it right).
clipping in is the next science to master. i cannot explain why i found it simplicity itself to pop the left foot in, while clipping the right foot resembled fred astaire with ginger rogers. granted this dancing has eased after a week, having got the hang of the process - the cleat has a 'pincer' at the front that slots into a single capstan at the front of the pedal. the rear of the cleat then pressure clips into the spring loaded retaining clip at the back of the vista. although there is an adjustable screw to allow increasing or decreasing the release tension, the pedals are dialled for zero float, in the same way as the black cleats on look pedals.
so do they live up to their promise of 'biopacing'. not being a biomechanical engineer, i have no way of scientifically proving that the pedals achieve what it says on the box. that said, and bearing in mind my very limited experience of fixed wheel riding, it actually feels as if you're riding fixed, only freewheeling is still possible (ah, freewheeling:-). power appears to be being applied through the entire 360 degrees of the pedal stroke.
i didn't think i'd like these much - i wasn't at all keen on having to lower my carefully prepared saddle height, was sure i'd hate the lack of float and there's something just not right about pedals that are lower than the end of the cranks. but having ridden everywhere on them for almost a week, i am rapidly becoming an adherent. in fact now i'm having palpitations about having to revert to my chorus pro-fits when the test period is over. and with the lowered saddle, i could easily be mistaken for fausto coppi (admittedly from several miles away).
bike and run have these pedals on sale for £99 (sort of in the region of $190)
posted friday 18 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................smithfield nocturne
for the tour de france in london, the roads will be closed. when those of us riding the london-paris, a week before the tour, reach the shores of france, we too will have closed roads (how cool is that?), but let's face it, it's not the sort of luxury british cyclists can normally experience, whether racing or just riding for fun.
but rapha condor have managed the almost unimaginable and got the city of london to close the roads round smithfield market on the evening of 23rd june (when i shall still be on islay, darn and blast) for the smithfiled nocturne. there will be a children's cycle parade, a messenger race, all star challenge and the evening will end with a 'real race': a criterium featuring elite racers (if you're an elite or 1st/2nd cat rider, you too can take part).
admission is free to the public, though there is hospitality available for a price. whichever way you choose to enjoy this evening, it promises to be a fabulous stage setter for le tour en londres a couple of weeks later. the smithfiled nocturne is brought to you by rapha condor and face partnership. supported by transport for london, corporation of london, paul smith, smiths of smithfield, procycling and cyclesport. check out more at smithfieldnocturne.co.uk
posted wednesday 17 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................in search of robert millar by richard moore 352pp illus. published by harpersport june 4 2007 hardback £15.99
king of the mountains in the tour de france, second in the tour of italy, twice second in the tour of spain, king of the mountains in the tour of italy, winner of the dauphine libere, and the only british rider to win stages in the three major tours...
if you've read thewashingmachinepost and its associated offerings often enough over the years, you should by now be well acquainted with robert millar. or at least with his sporting legacy. there are countless numbers of cyclists, scots and of other descent, who were first introduced to this most beautiful of sports by robert millar's success in the 1984 tour de france. having watched millar climb rather quickly up a few alps, i figured it would be a piece of cake to do likewise over dundonald hill in ayrshire. needless to say i never received the call up from the peugeot team.
and it is because of this inspiration and legacy that thewashingmachinepost searched the archives (with much willing assistance from other millar devotees) to give them a home here. fortunately someone far more able than i, has had the presence of mind to put it all in a book - richard moore was a member of the 1998 scottish team entered in that year's pru-tour managed by robert millar.
i doubt that it can be presented too often that this diminutive scotsman from the gorbals in glasgow, not only wore the polka dot jersey to the podium in paris in 1984, but came fourth overall. to date, this is still by far scotland's (and by inference, britain's) finest result in this annual extravaganza of world cycling. he was also part of the 'british legion', the heyday of british cyclists abroad, that included sean yates, malcolm elliot, joey mcloughlin et al. robert 'retired' from professional cycling in 1995, arguably on a high (he won the british championship) but also on a low, since the team to which he was contracted for that year - le groupement - folded before reaching the tour de france, leaving robert high and dry and one tour short of equalling the british record of tour starts.
interestingly, the first real public face experienced by the british reading public was of a millar very much at odds with the reputation gained as a professional rider. he edited a special edition of cycle sport magazine before ending up as a regular bike tester for procycling magazine. and in each case his writings were warm, accurate, humorous and enlightening.
if you've ever watched the 1985 granada tv documentary 'the high life' which followed millar's post polka dot season (during which the same level of success eluded him in le tour) you will have cringed with sympathy for poor keith bingham trying to interview him at the end of a mountain stage. millar's brusque, 'don't suffer fools gladly' persona was one that seems to have been cultivated (consciously or otherwise) in his teenage years and carried on into his cycling career. To quote from the book: '...Robert wouldn't become one of the crowd...He wouldn't mix because he was focused on what he wanted to do.'
millar wasn't in cycling for the glory, he was in it to win, and to be the best cyclist he could manage. everything else was of secondary importance if, indeed, it even merited such status. One of robert's former managers is quoted as saying: 'The challenge with Robert was to get him to tell people to fuck off in a courteous way.'
richard moore has left no stone unturned in his search for robert millar. he has tracked down and interviewed many associated with robert's early career such as billy bilsland, and several of his team mates throughout his professional career: alan peiper, wayne bennington, atle kvalsvoll, sean yates and many others. suffice it to say that all hold millar in high esteem. moore has also detailed many facets of millars post racing career, including his brief flirtation with national coaching, where he often rode the races in order to watch the progress (or otherwise) of his charges.
after ceasing monthly bike tests for procycling magazine, millar effectively disappeared off the face of the earth. one or two kept in touch, most notably former motorola pro and now cycling.tv commentator brian smith, but it appears that contact is entirely at millar's discretion. unable to speak face to face with millar, richard made contact with millar through a third party to inform him he was about to embark upon the book project. 'the response was surprisingly positive, by which i mean that he didn't tell me to fuck off.'
and the crowning glory, after millar saying that he wouldn't/couldn't help with the book is the final chapter: millar's e-mail correspondence with richard moore - one of the most enlightening and exciting chapters i have ever read anywhere, anytime, any genre. it makes me immensely proud to say that richard asked me to proof the original draft of this book at the end of 2006, and i was so consumed by the whole thing, that i was reading and proofing quicker than richard was writing - he e-mailed, and i read.
in january 2007 harper collins sent me a draft copy, and i read the whole thing cover to cover (over 350 pages) again over the course of a couple of days. it really is that good, if not better. every now and again, a book comes along that effectively transcends its subject matter; by which i mean the reader needs not to have an specialist interest, because it's just a great book. the last one to come by that fitted this description was tony hewson's 'les nomades du velo anglais.'
it's all here in 'the search for robert millar', start to finish, warts and all, refreshingly written and without the sensationalism implied by the precis that appeared on amazon.co.uk late last year and subsequently reprinted on the post's robert millar pages. the book also reveals several photos from millar's career that you will not have seen before. it's published on monday june 4, so please form an orderly queue, and buy a second copy for someone you like.
'Millar's only real 'presence' these days is thanks to an unoffical web-based fan club run from the small island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland - which somehow seems suitably obscure.'
richard moore will be presenting a talk at the old kiln cafe, ardbeg distillery on the evening of 17th june and will sign copies of 'in search of robert millar'
posted wednesday 16 may 2007
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................as always, if you have any comments on this nonsense, please feel free to e-mail and thanks for reading.
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