Yesterday I put the ‘Nonerini up for public sale:
And I’m happy to announce it appears to be like like we’ve obtained a winner!
I can solely think about how a lot cash we’d have raised had I auctioned off one thing extra unique, just like the Normcore Bike:
Nevertheless that gained’t be taking place very quickly, as this bike is a priceless piece of velocipedal historical past.
Talking of which, like all bike dork I’ve all the time obtained one eye open for fascinating bikes once I’m strolling across the metropolis, and just lately this setup caught my eye:
Within the post-integrated shifting period folks with previous bikes will typically go to nice lengths to get their gear controls within the neighborhood of their brake levers with out making a expensive funding in STI or its numerous equivalents, and the above is an efficient instance. Whereas I admire all types of various shifter, I admit I favor mine within the extra canonical places, and as such I’ve by no means been focused on choices like these from Gevenalle:
I get it, I applaud it, it’s an ideal various to expensive and proprietary built-in levers, however I admit I merely can’t get previous the aesthetics, and when you notice it appears to be like like some kind of unhappy robot-insect wanting up at you plaintively you merely can’t unsee it.
I really feel the identical means concerning the IRD Energy Ratchet:
Once more, it’s a incredible various to one thing that locks you right into a devoted drivetrain and I’m all in favor of it, however I’m additionally a shallow and self-conscious particular person and lack the arrogance to equip my bike with a brake lever that appears prefer it has a windshield wiper.
I used to be enthusiastic about all this as I contemplated this explicit shifter in addition to the stent that ran below its raggedy bar tape, and I questioned why in the event that they wished extra handy shifting they didn’t simply use bar finish shifters as an alternative:
They’re clean-looking, they’re simple to succeed in, they usually don’t require working cable all the best way up the bar. So why use these items as an alternative?
Then I figured it out:
Certain, they might not take bar-end shifters, however an underappreciated benefit of the Scott Drop-In bar is that if you yoke your bike to a pole by the stem it’s that a lot more durable to take away the bar to steal the bike:
Until after all the thief merely removes the quill stem, during which case the bike is theirs in a matter of seconds. However at present’s thieves most likely don’t even know what a quill stem is, and in reality I’m moderately sure that nowadays they’re solely focused on e-bikes anyway.
Additionally, it’s no worse than locking your bike to the leg of a mailbox, which is how my very own bike obtained stolen again once I labored as a motorbike messenger:
Both the field wasn’t bolted to the bottom, or else any individual unbolted it whereas I used to be inside, however both means once I got here out my Cannondale was gone. Regardless, as a proud member of the Bonded Trek Siblinghood, I hoped this bicycle didn’t meet with the identical destiny:
Plus, the bike sported not solely the mighty Altus rear derailleur, but in addition my favourite chainstay protector of all time:
See?
There isn’t any design higher than perform particular design.
