thewashingmachinepost




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mince pies and chain-l number 5

chain l no.5

cycling is a celebration, a celebration of life, of being fit(ish), of the technical marvel that is the bicycle and just the very joy of being part of a whole world of like minded people. and while we can celebrate simply by taking the bicycle out of the bike shed and going for a pedal, it's nice now and again to celebrate something in particular - something that means we can take over the whole of debbie's on a sunday lunchtime and be insufferably self-righteous to the civilians unfortunate enough not to be cyclists already there. jez, mrs jez and offspring are off elsewhere for christmas later this week, so today was, of necessity, the velo club d'ardbeg mince pie ride.

while many of the world's rides take place over a recognised route, we simply meet at deb's on the appropriate sunday morn and cycle to somewhere that the prevailing conditions allow. islay has been perishing cold all weekend; there has been heavy frost and icy bits on the roads, especially the country back roads, so we stuck to the tried and tested today for a lot of kilometres and a very cold headwind towards espressos and mince pies.

all this weather occasionally drags the roads department out of hibernation, to scatter the roads with quantities of sand, making life safer for cyclists and motorists alike. but of course, there's a downside to all this. the choice of carbon fibre as a frame material wasn't only forced by a sense of trend and one upmanship (if carbon still grants this nowadays), but by the fact that it simply doesn't rust. however, similar cannot be said for the hardest working part of the bike (apart from me after three weeks off the saddle) - the chain. life for them has not become any easier as the years have trundled by, what with an increasing number of sprockets, changing under pressure and a decrease in width. it is, therefore, incumbent on ourselves, as responsible owners, to make sure that we make life as easy as possible. and with a never-ending slew of bizarre perfume adverts on the telly for christmas, there can only be one choice: chain-l number 5.

the mighty dave t

both jez and i have been conscientiously applying this thick lubricant to each individual link on every chain we lay our hands on, before running the chain through an old rag to wipe off the excess. and it works a treat. in fact, i rather carelessly left the campagnolo chain on the colnago c40 untouched for three weeks after a wet ride before holiday time. yet ferrous oxide had gained no foothold at all. in this rarefied, salty atmosphere, that speaks volumes.

two double espressos (the machine's just been serviced) and two mince pies (thank you mrs hastings) were just reward on a cold, windy day.

chain-l.com

twmp

posted on sunday 7 december 2008

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rapha leather town glove

rapha leather town glove

i never trust item designations in the image of the purveyors. apple, for instance make the macbook and the macbook pro, and quite obviously those of us who use an apple computer for footering about in photoshop or some such, as a means of keeping the wolf from the door, will immediately opt for the pro version. and possibly quite rightly, but it really depends on the demands made upon the machine - perhaps the lowly macbook would have done the job just as well, in a similar manner to those frighteningly stiff carbon fibre frames shoved in our faces. yes, they'll be lovely to ride, but are we ever likely to strain them to their utmost?

rhetorical question.

and so to winter, and those frozen little digits we rely upon to change gear and stop us in a hurry when sheep run across the road. there are a plethora of cosy mitts available to ensure that the above functions are carried out with nary a second thought, some of which will cook your fingers, others that will struggle to maintain any warmth at all (admittedly those are in the scant minority). but it's a bit useless having cosy fingy wingies without a degree of comfort and flexibility. so it comes back to the designations assigned by the marketing departments of the respective sellers on which to make your choice(s). and if you're me, who lives on the outer edge, not even within shouting distance of any towns, what on earth would be the point in wearing leather, long fingered gloves from rapha proffered as town gloves?

i agree with you entirely, but it's not always a good idea to base choices on what the manufacturer says, so i ignored the perren street diktat completely. as i am incredibly fond of saying, sometimes you get the mountain, and sometimes the mountain gets you - today, i got the mountain. since one of the principal purposes of said gloves (from my point of view) is to keep those little handies warm and cosy, while exuding more style than can easily be handled by one cyclist, today was more than ideal. ambient temperature was a couple of degrees below zero, and though there wasn't that much wind, the chill factor drove that down by at least another degree.

and you wondered what the point of that rapha silk scarf was.

the company colnago has, as you may already know, a brooks swallow leather saddle atop its carbon seatpost, and i have two pairs of short finger rapha leather gloves in my possession, both of which are still functional and stylish despite several seasons of functionality. so the notion of wearing leather gloves in winter seemed a perfectly sensible one. rapha's town gloves use the finest goatskin leather, something that really has to be experienced to be fully appreciated - this stuff is soft with a capital 's'. the cuffs snap shut with the option of two fastening studs depending on whether you have frail little wrists such as i, or slightly chunkier versions that demand a tad more space. poppers say so much more than velcro. the smooth, soft inner lining is made from coconut fibers and yarns which provide a natural method of moisture management, and absorbing odours. way to go rapha. the palms and thumb sections are provided with trademark sniper padding to increase the comfort when on the hoods or drops.

i've concentrated on the thermal properties of the gloves here, if only because today was bone dry. without doubt, a secondary consideration, though quite high priority, is how well they keep those hands dry in the weather that i'm bound to experience sooner, rather than later. in the words of your last job interviewer, i'll let you know.

so is handmade, quality leather just the sort of thing we should be decorating our hands with now that the temperature has taken a nosedive? oh, you'd better believe it. these town gloves should never have been restricted to an urban setting even if only by name - rural, open spaces love them just as much. they were warm, incredibly comfortable and gave me a degree of style that no-one will ever believe. the cocona lining was a real revelation, meaning that despite the insulation, clammy they weren't. if rapha were only allowed to be judged on one product, this should be it.

available in either black or brown (more a tan colour if you ask me) in sizes from xs to xl, this luxury will relieve your bank balance of £120 ($200), but cast your minds back to the brooks swallow saddle - that retails at around £160 ($235), is one of the three points of contact on the bicycle, and it lasts for ever (well, nearly). choose your sizing carefully - unlike man made fabrics, leather breathes and stretches in use, so you really want these to be a bit on the snug side when new. do not be fooled into judging these alongside more technical fare.

stunning.

rapha.cc

twmp

posted on saturday 6 december 2008

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industrial light and magic

knog gator light

while it's always interesting to bring new products and stuff to your attention, i feel a degree of responsibility to make sure that anything that deserves a longer test, or an update because the test circumstances may have been altered gains the pixels it deserves.

a few months ago, moore large were kind enough to send along a knog gator front light to test in the wilds of the countryside. this light employed a one watt light emitting diode as its main source of illumination, as opposed to the halogen bulbs of old, and i was rather keen to find out how bright such a tiny source would be in comparision to the biggies. when you think of the sort of lighting rigs used by the stadium bands of today and yesteryear, and the phenomenal output of same, somehow the idea of one watt doesn't inspire confidence.

popping out for a fifteen minute whizz up a nearby unilluminated single track road dispelled fears that i would just about be able to see my front wheel. however, what i hadn't taken into account was the high earth banks on each side of this (and other) single track lanes. the existence of these meant that where the edge of the road was, was never in doubt, the road being narrow enough to satisfy the one watt spread. however, a more practical test was for me to pass the knog gator onto a colleague who cycles a daily eleven mile commute, five days a week on very rural roads with two way traffic, and very little in the way of banking at the sides. so he has been doing so for the past month or so, and here are the observations...

the downsides are quite literally the lack of power from the little led, and the fact that the direction of the light is fixed by the method of clamping to the bars. the road which leads between bridgend and bruichladdich is flat and bordered on each side by similarly flat grassland and sand. therefore, there is nothing to constrain the light beam, which is frankly, not strong enough to illuminate enough of the road for comfortable cycling. with the exception of the villages it passes through, this road has no illumination at all. secondly, to make life easier on this commute, it would have been really handy to be able to point the light towards the side of the road; even with the limited traffic on this road, it is safer for the lone cyclist to adhere closely to the edge of the tarmac, but that can only be achieved if you can see it.

on the plus side, the size of the light and battery are perfect for fitting unobtrusively to a slender steel road frame, neither giving rise to any rattles or vibration. they are both remarkably waterproof, and believe me, that feature has been tested severely. the battery charge time is excellent, taking only three hours each day - a lot shorter than previously owned lighting.

if your commuting consists of pedalling along roads with street lighting, then the gator one watt would be more than adequate, particularly since the edge of the road should be more visible. knog also offer three watt and six watt versions which are not noticeably larger than the light tested. if you need to ride on unlit rural roads, one of the latter two might be better employed, but it doesn't really get by the problem of varying the beam direction. if knog could somehow incorporate direction control into what is a very natty bar clamp, joy would be ours (and yours).

knog.com.au

twmp

posted on friday 5 december 2008

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it's a steel

steel merckx

you may remember, what seems like a long time ago now (2007 actually), that while the guys at the eddy merckx factory in belgium were rummaging around in the deep, dark depths of the broom cupboard, they came across some steel merckx frames from the early nineties. none of them were painted, but it apparently seemed like a good idea at the time to offer these for sale, painted in any one of a number of merckx favourites from the past. since the possibility of acquiring the very last of the merckx steel (currently, the merckx range consists of aulminium alloy and carbon fibre) was a great attraction to many, but then the offer was withdrawn almost as quickly as it had been made, leaving a lot of disappointed merckx fans across the world.

well, guess what - the offer is back on again, only this time the details are a bit less vague. all the frames (slx, strada, strada os and mxl) will arrive in plain white enamel with the decal shown in the photo above and it is believed that they will all steer using the mxl fork. cost will be around £650 except for the mxl which will be £100 dearer. according to the info i have to hand, the sizes available are 51, 52, 53, 54, 62 and 62.5 cm, though not necessarily in all frame variations. sale of these frames is on a first come, first served basis, and they are on offer worldwide - meaning if you want one, you'd better be quick.

frames can be ordered through the uk merckx dealer network (and presumably similar throughout the world) of which you can find a list here.

you have been advised.

twmp

posted on friday 5 december 2008

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what someone else did on their holidays

independent fabrication

there can be no doubt that working in a high end bike shop has its compensations. aside from the fact that you can be constantly surrounded by several thousand pounds/dollars worth of bicycles, clothing and components, day after day after day, there's the occasional opportiunity to travel somewhere other than the daily place of work to find out more about what it is that pays the bills each month. one such lucky blighter is phil burnett, one of the owners of mosquito bikes in islington road, london.

mosquito's roger graver sports many years as an expert bike fitter, employing the serotta bike fit system used by most high end fitting services. but it obviously makes more sense if there are more than one of you able to carry out this service, so phil travelled to serotta's plant in saratoga to undertake their bike fit course, before travelling on to somerville to visit the independent fabrication factory. kindly, phil has penned a precis of his sojourn, and provided a selection of photos from if bikes. enjoy the read, and click through to the pics at the end (for which you will need the flash plug-in).

if factory visit

independent fabrication

i was in the states primarily to take the sici (serotta international cycling institute) professional bikefitting course, in saratoga springs, upstate new york. although we don't sell serotta at mosquito we find the system originally developed by ben serotta to be the best there is. my colleague roger went out to take the course seven years ago and since then we have seen a huge rise in the appreciation and understanding of the importance of correct bikefit. to be honest, a three day intensive course can't properly cover all there is to know; further learning can only come with putting the theory into practice.

included in the course was a trip around the serotta factory, housed in a purpose built building - which provided me with a nice contrast to the independent fabrication factory which i was visiting next. after several days spent in leafy and affluent saratoga springs, driving into somerville (where if are based) was somewhat different - gritty, urban america, just like you see on tv!

the if factory space is housed in an old red brick building in an industrial area of town. the only clue that you are entering into one of the world's finest framebuilding workshops, is provided by a fading independent fabrication sticker on the heavy duty metal door guarding the factory. however, once inside, there is a sense of light and space, not unlike an artist's studio, appropriate given some of the works of art which we have seen emerge from here. i was reminded of visits to dario pegoretti's workshop in italy - hulking machines seemingly belonging to another age, but which are kept gainfully employed and all part of the process of the individual handcrafting of bicycle frames.

independent fabrication

joe ingram (cfo at if) gave me a guided tour of the factory. starting with the raw tubes (which are individually cut to size) then tacked together before heading over to the welding area. all if frames are custom built: joe will usually do the frame design in conjunction with the bikefitter and tubes are then selected to best suit the individual rider. after welding, and constant alignment checking, the frame is prepped for spraying. if have a justifiable reputation for great paintjobs, and a lot of time is put into this process. eleven souls work at if and as an employee owned organisation, there's a substantial amount of democracy when it comes to decision making. each member of staff specialises in a particular area; from joe who designs the frames (in conjunction with roger in our case) through tacking, welding, finishing, painting and finally despatch. as someone who sells this stuff it's always a great kick to go to the source and see where the frames begin life and experience first hand the time, effort and passion put into the crafting of each frame.

picture gallery

mosquito bikes | independent fabrication

twmp

posted on thursday 4 december 2008

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wrapping up warm for winter

giro merino sweater

as local and geographical lore would have it, the island of islay sits comfortably on the gulf stream which apparently accounts for a dearth of snow when the rest of scotland is sending its kids home from school to play at slides. this gulf-stream however, is not a panacea for all chills, something that is particularly evident at the moment. for though black ice has not reared its ugly head so far, baltic temperatures accompanied by that oh, so famous wind mean that they're drinking whisky with ice whether they like it or not. brave would be the cyclist who ventured out without a wardrobe load of windproofing.

but in the never ending quest to remain a cyclist even when the colnago is cosily tucked up in the bike shed, it becomes necessary to seek out winter warmth wearing a badge of honour. and while many offer such succour to the frozen, prendas have again come to the style and promise of summer rescue with a merino wool, giro d'italia sweater, which has raised the temperature in washinmachinepost cottage just looking at it.

and not only are prendas offering this in either cream or navy, but in a respectable number of sizes, ranging from small to xxl, though being of italian origin, this latter size makes it 44 inch chest. just right for our svelte, out of season anatomies. coming originally from a milan style council, these jerseys sold for the stylish price of £125.95 ($194) - not so from prendas, having reduced the cost of owning down to a much more manageable £49.95 ($75).

and, of course, there's more: since the british government saw fit to reduce value added tax by a mighty 2.5 percent, it means that everybody's goods are now 2.5 percent cheaper. now if you cast a cursory glance over the hundreds of items on the prendas site, you can imagine the serious spreadsheet work that would be required to reflect all this online. in order to obviate those unproductive hours, prendas have decided to offer free postage instead. dastardly clever.

prendas.co.uk

twmp

posted on wednesday 3 december 2008

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