smd4

If you mean the valve stem is located under crossed spokes, that just makes it more difficult sometimes to install a pump head. I'm sure the wheel strength is not really compromised.

Chombi1 

THE BRAKE CABLES GOES BEHIND THE BAR!!

Robvolz 

Well I've been riding since 197X and I can tell you with authority.

I MISS GATER GUM!!!!!!

Anybody remember Gater Gum? Usually sold by the piece at any bike shop counter.

Made you spit by golly, It sure did.



empty tub found on EBAY for $150. Empty I say.

jdawginsc 

Loved Gator gum. Needed water in bulk.

merziac

Pet peeves are my pet peeve, don't need anyone worrying about how my bike is set up, they likely won't be riding it so it doesn't concern them.

roadcrankr

...when somebody takes a classic - like a Raleigh Pro or Colnago Super - and turns it into a beater/rainbike/fixie.

seypat

I actually saw one of these at the MCM marathon last weekend. A spectator had did this to a red/green/white/yellow Basso. I would have avoided him, but I needed a short break. I walked for about 15 seconds and asked him about the bike.

jamesdak 

Must not be a pet peeve of mine as I'm just now realizing I've never "fixed" the front on the Kuwahara since I got it.

embankmentlb

2 kinds of business. My business & none of my business.

Robvolz 

I had a buddy here in Portland that ran a powedercoating shop. We would get lunch every now and again and I'd see these wonderful old Italian bikes with their cable guides, the shifter bosses, etc hastily ground off to become a fixie.

Torn, because is it better than a bike going to the landfill? Probably.

And if that's their jam and they have good knees, who am I to rain on their parade.

But I saw a Holdsworth and a Masi go through there. The pain!!

jadmt

yes sir

jadmt

this it is a kit by Box4

canklecat

Jacques Anquetil was my first influence when I got into cycling sorta-seriously and occasional amateur racing in the 1970s. I set up my bikes the way he did his in the magazine photos: bar tipped upward just a bit, brake hoods a bit higher than most. It was more comfy, especially on longer rides. And if it worked for Maitre Jacques, it can't be wrong.

When I got an Ironman in 2016 after a 30+ year I-hate-us from cycling, I tried setting it up "correctly," per tradition: drops parallel with the ground, brake hoods low, as shown in the ads with Dave Scott. It absolutely sucked. No way was my then-nearly-60 year old neck and back with years of injuries gonna handle that.

Same when I added a 1993 Trek 5900 OCLV and 2010 or so Diamondback Podium crabon fibber racey frame to the stable. Tried the low and aggressive setup. Didn't last more than a few days before I tipped the bar back slightly and raised the hoods to suit my comfort level.

I'm near the fastest among my age group locally. Setting up my bikes to resemble period correct pro peloton torture devices won't make me any faster.

In almost every photo I've seen, Anquetil had his bar tipped slightly, and hoods raised a bit, compared with his competitors (note the photo with Charly Gaul).

Jacques also wrapped his bars thicker than most, especially in the drops. Dude was all about the comfort.




While less consistent in setups, perhaps because they experimented often with their bikes, I've seen similarly relaxed setups by Greg LeMond and others since the 1970s. LeMond in particular was an advocate of making a bike as comfortable as possible, within the confines of grand tour racing, for the sake of ergonomics and efficiency over a grueling three-week tour. The longest single ride I've done was around 125 miles in a day, 250 miles in two days, and that was a fairly relaxed gran fondo, not a "race," but even in my teens and 20s every little bit helped in making a ride more pleasant and efficient over time and distance.








Besides, a guy who left a trail of kids who looked a lot like him in his wake in every village along the tour must have been doing something right with his bike setup.


Correct bike setup? This is the way.

52telecaster

As long as I don't have 48mm valve stems it's never an issue.

tricky 

His only "documented" biological kids were the ones had with his stepdaughter.

Edit: I got that wrong. He has one child with his stepdaughter and one with his stepson's wife. Sheesh. I just finished one of his biographies, "Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape", but I had to remind myself of what actually happened because it was so bonkers.

canklecat

Jacques must have had a certain charm. For a scoundrel, rogue, a louche fellow, he still was spoken of fondly by most folks in reminiscences after his death. Perhaps those hagiographies were carefully edited to omit the negative stuff. He certainly didn't mince words or play "Who, me?" games about doping accusations or gambling on his own races. But he lived as if he knew he wouldn't grow old enough to feel the need to apologize for anything.

tricky 

Yes, I think his mystique and charm did a lot for him. He probably could have even gotten away with the wrong handlebar angle.

T-Mar

Or maybe if they read a little further, they could figure it out. ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

Robvolz 

Ha!!
blinders removed.

My bars point towards the rear brake stay. I just don't like the ones pointing to the bottom bracket.

Rock on all y'all.

*in search of a colnago pantographed kick stand*

TLaurent 

Being called a “Newbie” despite being in the forum for two years and posting thoughtful and picture rich posts, always starting with the drive side (thanks to @T-Mar).

smd4

Some bars are angled so the brake levers point up 45 degrees or more skyward. It’s unbelievable to me that this position is comfortable to anyone using drop bars. Unless they’re using this position so that riding on the hoods alone is comfortable. And if that’s the case, they need to re-evaluate the use of drop bars altogether.

pastorbobnlnh 

/|\ /|\ /|\

non-fixie 

There is no single truth here. Getting the right bar shape for your preferences is important, but even then you may have to compromise:

cudak888 

This thread.

-Kurt

merziac

All about the numbers, quantity, not quality like so many things now days, participation, banter, etc. matters and can keep the over serious at bay to some extent.