Friday, May 25, 2012

The new steed is a "Falcon"


check out the
fully-tricked out vintage-retro-Eames-era photo.
no it's not a real Falcon
like the bikes who sometime shared the use of
phoenix 1027 aerospace tubing


warning: video will induce sea-sickness

but some "random" decals
some "random" owner stuck on some
"random" frame, after they had done a
"randomly" bad, home paint job.
but that was all long enough ago now that even the home paint job is "vintage"

by the way
what makes people put "random" decals on a bike?
well I think I found out
when I asked an easyBay seller-dude why his "Columbus" bike
had a "Reynolds" decal on it.


Well buddy, my brother just put that sticker on from a different bike just to make it look cool.

in light of that statement, am I the only one to be un-reassured about that bike's provenance? 
obviously said dude's brother thinks Columbus tubing is some kind of gas pipe.

and note to said dude: don't start your correspondence with the salutation
"buddy"
it sounds like you're about to engage in fisticuffs.


back to the Falcon.
what I liked about it was its lazy angles
its bolt-on seat stays
and its fork ends.
it used to have a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub.
i've replaced that wheel for the day when I have time to get my head around
servicing those things.
now has a cheap alloy rim and coaster brake hub.

otherwise going for the all-steel look.

the bike is not worth it
but I'd love to put a set of these on it.


chater-lea steel crankset

Could almost be a Viscount tandem

maybe it's just the colour
or maybe it's the era of components
but this old Schwinn gets my motor running
mmm, delicious fillets...

did a bit of google-jutsu and found out that the Paramount
unlike 99% of Schwinn's output
was not some 
beater
as they say in Nth Mexico
but a handbuilt, top-end frame

the guy on easyBay want's $1600 for it
I can't imagine anyone in Oz putting a buyitnow price
on something like this
not unless it was $10,000
check out the shimmy on that seat-tube
so here's what I'd get rid of:
nasty seats
nasty cockpit
all of it
nasty cantis
nasty pedals
if you've been reading this blog at all
you should know by now what kind of components I'd replace that lot with.
and there are those Phil Wood hubs again.
isn't that always the way?
you see something once
then you see it everywhere

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

fave decals 2 - Velocity


precious few Aussie companies
make an impact in cycling
so hats off to these guys
and love the red, sky blue and flesh tone livery.
right up my aesthetic

DC cantis go salmon



sometimes fleabay is not worth the trouble
these lovely brake blocks by kool stop
needed old Mafac brake block holders
fleabay said 20 bucks plus shipping from the old world
ask around locally
one pair = free
the other pair = one dollar

Vive le Tour!



it's not long to go now
but it will be nothing like this:
riders stopping off at bistrots to scavenge bottle of beer and wine for the ride
sharing an ice-cream with your team-mate
riders getting off their bikes to refill water-bottles

a short film by the likes of Louis Malle and Georges Delerue

oh and the bikes...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Old school Dia Compe "DC" cantilever brakes


lovely simple design
only problem is its extremely hard
actually impossible to get the whole brake pad to contact the rim.
any tips from friendly DC folk out there
would be gratefully received

Monday, May 14, 2012

favourite decals - 1


a lovely old codger
in the uno bycling shop said
Jo's tubes were 531 with nervex lugs.
well that's good enough for me
so I went and bought me some fake decals


in French of course.

this post is the fifth-in-a-row with no views.
shooting for ten!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Rodée main selon a D. Rebour


finally an Ideale TB90 on my bike.
the sensation after 100km
is of there being nothing under your bum at all
just air.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Morning ride with Dr K


like a still from Carol Reed's
The Third Man
I waited for Dr K...

shiny components pick up all the light
antithesis of stealth


after a tour of Studley Park
Dr K and his Colnago
he's a mate so he's allowed to ride crabon
with impunity
that and it has the full 
dura ace groupset



the flavour of the sky was
rainbow paddle-pop
when I made it back to the hood.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday morning ramble - tour of bridges


left at 6 this morning
to burble along Bell st
swerved at the Tulla fwy
along Moonee Ponds Ck path
dodging under pylons and overpasses
out to Docklands



which is like the set of the Truman Show
or Thneedville.
they even have a wall that is the boundary of their world.


beyond this you can see what used to be.



and some tiny signs of life —


a pair of robins resting on a beam


which is more than can be said for the
town square
with the giant screen broadcasting
morningtelevision
to no-one


sanity was restored with coffee under a tree
next to a ramshackle
but sufficiently groovy café in st kilda


where owls guarded my bike.



Tour D'Eltham


seriously bloody picturesque
and a pretty gnarly 33km loop that has more than a couple of
18% hills.
amazing what lies just outside suburbia




Saturday, May 5, 2012

Viscount Aerospace Supa Sport, Lomo-ish


what better way to further fetishize
your favourite steel object
than with blogger's new
app-like play-tools.
this one is meant to be like a lomo camera.
I think this blog is about to have
new life
breathed into it.

of course the picture is really bigger than this.
you know what you should do.