RVL's Ugly Ducklings

Ooooft, that's brutal! Glad you're alright, looks like that could have been really, really nasty. Any plans for a replacement road bike?

Thanks - I must say I do feel really lucky.

I’m not 100% sure what will come next… most likely a Sunday-best road bike

Fancy enough for café rides
Comfy for summer rides up to 300km
Lightweight for trips to the alps

I’m feeling quite drawn to a Ridley helium, perhaps one of the unpainted ones from Paul Milnes.

First ride on the shorter this morning.
Surprisingly friendly geometry for a classic track bike. This was the only period-correct seatpost in my parts bin and even with concor the saddle is still a bit low for me, other than that, love it

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Looks good!

Thanks, I'm not a huge fan of the chainset - it's a bit in-your-face and not particularly period correct.
I don't know exactly how old the bike is, the hubs are Maillard and date stamped 1989 which would seem about right I guess....
The gearing is also a bit tough for my daily commute (48 x 14) so I'll dig around in the parts bin and see what I can find as a replacement chainset/cog.
Also being a velodrome bike there's no lockring on the rear hub and being Maillard I'm guessing it's an annoying thread standard!!

Fluted seatpost looks really good on this actually. Great bike!

Thanks. I agree
Sadly it was too short so I had to replace it. Pics to follow

Went for a little happy hour on Saturday

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Olivier is an absolute gent and gave me a towel to dry myself off - and then let me go backstage…..

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Workshop goals

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Such beautiful bikes - here’s some CLB-on-honjo action for you winter bike pervs

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If heaven exists, I reckon it just might look a bit like this workshop/collection.

Wow where is this?

Wow! Although I will never understand who thought shellac'ing handlebar tape was a good idea!

Alex Singer - Paris

I don’t mind it, but I did find the beetle-blood/chrome-frame combo a bit jarring

New project nearing completion

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Pretty sure this has definitively pushed the thread into ‘(Not so) Ugly Ducklings’ territory!!

Went there once, but didn't get to visit... Bought the Japanese book that is dedicated to their bikes and a cycling hat... How did you end up there? Are you having a frame made?

Done it a few times, and will do it again (only on black tape though). I love the look and it's indestructible.
What I've also done (accidentally but now I would do it on purpose) is letting the tape age and fade a bit with use and UV, and then shellac, so it look less uniform.

I did this also accidentally. I purchased new old stock white tape from the 70s and it had patches of yellow. The first time I used, it was with new black track mitts within days it looked a mess. A light shellac brought it up to a lovely vintage colour.
https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/dawes-leroica-rat-bike-10725#photo73358

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I was in town on business, wandered along to the shop in the pissing rain, I was the only customer and we got talking about Pignon fixe - Olivier the proprietor was appalled that I’m riding a vintage track bike on the road and wanted to school me in the difference between a sensible fixed-wheel winter bike and a proper Vélo Piste, so he brought me through to see his Collection Privée

Yep, I think so…. Over time, I’ve become a little bit more cash rich and time poor so faffing around trying to rescue the piles of ratBike junk in my shed is no longer really an option.
Also, post lockdown, My utility mileage (commuting etc) has reduced so I’m needing to get the miles in on the weekend further reducing workshop time.

Had the day off today so I pootled down to the coast. For a track bike this is pretty comfy on a long ride

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New wheels, tyres and bar tape for Neil
Loving the look of handbuilt wheels on this but I think I need a -8deg stem rather than a -6

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