A Crooked Letter – Bike Snob NYC

On March nineteenth, 2008, I collected 21 well-known quotes about biking:

A number of the quotes have been actual, and a few I merely made up–like this one:

Give me good books, good conversations, and my Trek Y-Foil, and I shall need for nothing else. –George Plimpton

My intent was to not mislead anybody as I figured it was apparent which of them have been faux. Nonetheless, I inadvertently fooled the then-editor of The Paris Assessment, who in 2012 talked about that George Plimpton used to trip across the metropolis on a Y-Foil as if it have been frequent information:

I used to be concurrently amused and alarmed by the virtually Orwellian method by which I’d ceaselessly reshaped actuality and our collective reminiscence just by pulling a very fabricated quote out of my chamois for a foolish bike weblog publish. And like a damaged Winston Smith, now I can also not separate actuality from the ever-changing fiction I personally helped to create. Maybe Oceania had at all times been at struggle with Eurasia, and maybe Plimpton had owned that Y-Foil in any case:

That is the notice that accompanied the newest take a look at topic from Basic Cycle, of which I simply took supply yesterday. “It couldn’t be,” I muttered to myself. “I made all of it up…didn’t I?”

And but there it was, that eerie free-floating seat collar poking via the cardboard just like the dorsal fin of a carbon fiber shark:

As I withdrew the bike from the field, I felt as if I’d slipped via an invisible membrane and right into a world by which fiction was reality, two plus two equaled 5, and full-length seat tubes had by no means even existed:

Sure, it was George Plimpton’s Y-Foil all proper. It stated so, proper there on the…

…on the what? The seat keep? That’s not a seat keep. Y-Foils don’t have seat stays. There isn’t any such factor as a “seat keep.” The diamond body by no means existed. To say they ever did is doubleplus ungood thoughtcrime. It’s possible you’ll suppose you as soon as ran your fingers alongside the dusty tubes of a lugged metal body at an vintage store as soon as, however you by no means did:

I ought to add that till this second I had by no means been this near any Y-Foil, not to mention George Plimpton’s, and I used to be oddly captivated by its sculpted body and scintillating golden hue. What wheels might presumably do justice to this factor, I questioned to myself?

Then I opened the wheel baggage and discovered:

By no means in my wildest desires and/or evening terrors would I ever have imagined that someday I’d discover myself in possession of not solely a pair of Spinergy Rev-Xes, but in addition a pair of (Specialised…? HED…?) Tri Spokes:

Just like the Softride (and the Spinergy Rev-X for that matter), the Y-Foil (say “WIFE-oil”) disappeared from {the marketplace} as a result of it was banned by the UCI, which is ironic as a result of the overwhelming majority of the individuals shopping for bikes like this may by no means, ever have to fret about whether or not their bike is UCI authorized or not. However in 1998, the Y-Foil was a cutting-edge machine on the pointy finish of Trek’s line-up, and Plimpton’s seems to be the “metalized yellow” bike from that 12 months:

Although that description hardly does Plimpton’s bike justice, particularly with the orange and purple accents:

And if something I’d name it “pumpkin spice latte:”

Or perhaps “sweet corn:”

As somebody who’s presently using a 1982 Nishiki Cervino and owns a number of Rivendae it in all probability gained’t shock you that at no level have I ever coveted a Trek Y-Foil. One thing about them has at all times screamed “Furry legs and aero helmets” to me, and I’ve at all times discovered the thought of anybody using one to be amusing, not to mention the late George Plimpton, which is why I made up the quote within the first place. And but, additionally just like the Softride, while you’re truly in its presence it’s onerous to not be charmed by the audacity of this elaborate evolutionary detour. The water bottle sits atop a carbon fiber (I’m assuming) pedestal like a museum artifact:

The seat publish coupled with the dearth of a seat tube makes the bike appear to be some type of futuristic hole-boring machine:

Actually legend has it that on group rides Plimpton would cease and put together a fruit and cheese plate by inserting cantaloupe and gouda within the seat tube void, loosening the seat collar, and punching pleasant cylindrical morsels out of them with the seatpost after which wrapping them in prosciutto. Scrumptious.

If solely Plimpton had had entry to a dropper publish he might have ready his fruit and cheese plates in solely a fraction of the time:

The bracket that holds the entrance derailleur can also be oddly fascinating, and in a pinch can be utilized to pop the highest off a bottle of cuvée:

Talking of the entrance derailleur, the cable stops on the Y-Foil’s fuselage lack barrel adjusters, so Plimpton has made do by becoming one to his STI lever:

The drivetrain is Dura-Ace 9-speed, although Plimpton made some departures, such because the Zero Gravity brakes:

And naturally these wheels, which reduce via the air like a witty comment at a soirée:

He additionally used Campagnolo pedals for a contact of Euro aptitude (although like their Shimano equivalents of that period they’re principally simply Seems to be):

And a Cinelli Frog stem for a touch of caprice:

By the best way, in case you nonetheless doubt the bike’s authenticity, check out the pinnacle badge:

Now what do it’s important to say to that?

Sure, the bike cuts a placing determine from any angle:

And I solely want this child had arrived earlier than the 5 Boro Bike Tour as a result of I might have completely destroyed it on this factor:

Thus far, I’ve solely ridden the bike across the neighborhood on a short shakedown trip, however in that quick period of time somebody referred to as to me from his driveway: “A Trek Y-Foil! Haven’t seen a kind of in awhile!” I ended so he might test it out, and he famous the parts with approbation, although he noticed the decals and remarked with amusement that there was no method the bike might have belonged to George Plimpton: