uncle uncle

Bike Snob NYC: Eroica CA DVD Extras!

A few years back, I proposed, as an experiment in thinking, the idea of doing the Eroica on a limited budget bicycle, and posted it on the Bike Forums C&V threads. It was universally (mostly) panned as a ridiculous idea. Anyways, had I instead proposed my idea to my magazine publisher, and had I already been a celebrity bicycle rider/writer, maybe my idea with have been taken with more of the serious. I looked, but I couldn't find the original thread. Anyways NYC Bike Snob sorta gives me an idea how my original idea might have gone.

SurferRosa

I can't ride a bike not perfectly tuned and with a gross cockpit.

It's hard enough riding a bike I didn't rebuild myself.

Lascauxcaveman 

Not perfectly tuned and with a gross cockpit? That sounds very much like a bike I rebuilt myself, actually.

daviddavieboy

Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and they look prettier at closing time.

T-Mar

I'd be hard pressed to use the term "craptastic" in reference to a Univega with a Miyata manufactured, triple butted CrMo frame. even if it does have first generation Cyclone Accushift.

ksryder

This really must be vintage if people are still reading bike snob.

wrk101

I know crap and that Univega is not crap. I guess shows how big of a snob he is.

bikemig 

+ 1

Mr. Spadoni 

If Bike Snob was looking for a challenge, here’s what he could have done.....

ITALIAN CYCLING JOURNAL: L'Eroica on a Fixed Gear

Difference would have been that a vintage track bike would have set him back more than a modern fixie.

due ruote 

In fairness, he does say it appeared to be a pretty nice frame. Which sort of makes me wonder about the whole point of the exercise.

ThermionicScott 

Just so it's clear, it appears that Bike Snob himself thought the bike was good quality, he just didn't spend any time dolling it up for the ride. He said he might have kept it if it weren't a size too small for him.

The "craptastic" part was added by @uncle uncle.

jlaw

Last year he rode the California Eroica on a truly vintage bike:



His writing is entertaining. The Bike Snob blog is his most free expression. The Outside columns are a bit more tame.

He also writes a daily bike forecast for the NYC area where various transportation issues are discussed and dissected:

https://www.transalt.org/bike-forecast

Last ride 76 

<<< Guilty as charged...

Andy_K 

Agreed. I don't understand why a magazine would seek out a writer like him and then ask him to tone things down a bit.

uncle uncle

ThermionicScott speaks the truth.... I'm the one who chose the word 'craptastic'. In retrospect, I should have picked something better, or at least a word who's definition is more established. In my defense, I'm impulsive, do things when I should instead be sleeping, and don't usually allow well reasoned thought processes to affect my decision making.

uncle uncle

I enjoy Bike Snob, mostly, but he can be an acquired taste. His exposition style on his own site includes cuss words, nudes, and belittling groups of people... which, if you are one dude, and you basically think people will grok you, warts and all, that's one thing. Being that as part of a collection of story providers... well, others might not want to stand by you. I think at Outside, even with him toned down, Bike Snob is still Outside's most humorous contributor. Actually, every other article over there is a snorefest. Plus, Bike Snob may pull people who read his site over to Outside.

Classtime 

Cute story...but I wished he took that Miyata on the Coastal Route at least. The $150 challenge is a neat idea (easy for me in L.A.) I could'a done it this year on my $150 Turbo if new tires wouldn't count. We all hate flats, so I would propose that fresh tires and tubes not be included in the $150. I have a decent tool set and work space and I believe that other L.A. area B.F. members would be game to facilitate possession/storage and workspaces for out of staters.

Kent T

No Univega is crap. They offered nice bikes for the price. I like Univega's offerings olde and new.

RiddleOfSteel

I feel ya. Normally/always for me it's a full teardown and renovation/restoration. In absence of that, "triage mode" is tune the brakes, tune the shifting, lube the chain, and adjust saddle position and bar/stem to get as close as possible to my normal fit, and then just ride it. But I'm putting tape or just about anything on top of those sticky hoods.

rccardr 

Nice read, and he's an entertaining writer.

But the way I ride, no way I'd bomb down the back side of Santa Rita or Cypress on a bike I hadn't torn down to the last nut and bolt, rebuilt myself, and tested thoroughly.

Classtime 

Could be that my brakes weren't working very well on the way down Cypress and I overshot a turn because it is so hard to brake with my fingers crossed.