You shall know them by what is not seen: neither a pump fitted to their frame, nor a bag to their saddle. These things are hidden in their raiment.
This I have learned today: their drinking vessels exceed not one-and-twenty ounces, except in the most extreme heat of the desert sun.
And they are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.
Thanks to my long-departed grandfather, I took one small step away from O’Dirty dependency this week. My single-speed commuter, a brushed aluminium 2007 Specialized Langster, needed a new chain and freewheel. I’d successfully replaced the old stretched chain without bleating for O’Dirty’s help, but the old freewheel, wound tight on the axle by daily Mount Street ascents, wouldn’t budge. The worn sprocket teeth made an ugly grinding noise against the new chain. I needed more leverage to undo that freewheel; I needed a vice, so I could clamp the freewheel removal tool and use the wheel as a spanner. At last I had found a use for the vice that had belonged to my grandfather, and that my father had passed on to me with Grandpa’s workbench. I bought some nuts, bolts, and washers, and fixed the vice to the bench through the existing holes in the wood top. With the removal tool clamped in the vice, the old freewheel came off easily.
The Langster is now running smoothly again; I’m wearing new 2010 Specialized S-Works shoes (no velcro, just two BOA dials) connected to Speedplay Zero pedals, and an Ay Up system lights the way ahead. This is the sweetest commuting setup I’ve ever had.
So, my ride is tuned; the weather is fine; my nearly-two-year-old son has begun to sleep through the night and has learned to say “bikyll”; and yesterday his mother got up early to go riding on her new road bike. The rain will come, as it must; but for now, life is good.
This account of the recent 230km Five Dams ride begins at 9:30am, at the third dam, Wungong, where the organisers provided lunch.
As I ate, I thought the contents of my meat and salad roll were falling into my lap, because I could feel things bouncing on my thigh. However, looking down, I saw a muscle in my thigh bouncing all by itself. Back on the bike soon after, cramps began in my calves, and then down the full length of both legs. I had trouble keeping the pedals turning.
The ride rules state that you must ride with a partner. To register a finishing time, you and your partner must both complete the ride. Bif shepherded me for the rest of the ride - involving some long unrelenting slogs into the wind - without an unkind word, while I cursed and bitched and moaned in his wake, feebly yelling “Ease up!” whenever he pulled ahead.
Spunker and Cookie, never far behind, caught up with us where Karnup Road meets the freeway at Baldivis. From there, the three of them slowed to my pace and shepherded me the last 40km up the freeway path to the finish line at the Narrows Bridge at 3:30pm. Bif placed a hand on my back and pushed me for much of the last 30km. I was fairly uncommunicative by then.
If not for Spunker, Cookie, and especially Bif, I would not have finished. I think I managed to utter some intelligible words of appreciation to them when I had stopped spasming on the grass like a dying fish.
I need to do some research, and perhaps visit a sports nutritionist, to avoid repeating that experience; not just for my sake, but for anyone riding with me. Cramping 100km into a ride is not new to me, but I thought I’d solved the problem by taking magnesium tablets. Clearly not. Perhaps I just need a dose of HTFU.
I look forward to reading reports from the three other Coglioni. If they were hurting, they didn’t show it.
On Saturday, O’Dirty completed a rebuild of my Carrera Virago road bike, replacing its 2001 9-speed Shimano 105 groupset with 2009 11-speed Campagnolo Record, and its bar and stem with a Deda Newton combination. The Virago (see below) emerged 700g lighter; it (given the “Virago” name, perhaps I should write “she”) now weighs 7.7kg with pedals and bottle cages.
Carrera Virago with 2009 Record
The frame and forks are the last remaining original parts. They weigh 2kg: not light by today’s standards, and heavier than I’d guessed. The carbon forks, with an aluminium steerer, account for more than 500g. O’Dirty was kind enough to break the news to me gently after he’d stripped the parts from the frame.
The 54cm frame, made from magnesium alloy shotgun tubing, was manufactured in Taiwan by Merida. I kept the frame and forks, despite their weight, for several reasons: I like the green paint job; I like to think the magnesium lends the frame a certain cachet (yeah, I know: in my mind); and I could not bring myself to spend thousands of dollars on a lighter frame, or even just a few hundred on lighter forks, when I could lose a few kilos just by eating less and riding more.
However, the 105 groupset’s days have been numbered since 2008, when TechnoBoy shamed me into upgrading to Eurus wheels by referring to the originals as “soft pretzels”. Keeping the 105 forced me to use a heavy steel freehub body that Campagnolo manufactures to allow its wheels to fit 8- or 9-speed Shimano cassettes. This freehub body is 70g heavier (O’Dirty weighs everything!) than the equivalent body for Campagnolo cassettes (or, to be fair, newer Shimano cassettes). The knowledge that I could save at least 70g just by upgrading the groupset rankled me. I am surprised it took me this long.
A magazine review of the Virago praised the frame, saying it deserved better wheels and a better groupset. With Campagnolo Eurus wheels and now a Record groupset, I think the frame finally has the components it deserves, and I think the result is a good-looking bike. I’m not a fan of anodised aluminium (I prefer polished), but I do like the contrast between the black parts and the green frame. The Record components, from the skeleton brakes to the carbon fibre cranks, are beautiful. And I am glad to be rid of the unsightly gear cables poking out of the old 105 shifters.
After stripping the frame, O’Dirty took it to Rider’s Choice to get the bottom bracket faced and chased. They baulked at facing the strange-looking inserts in the BB, which were painted, but they did a nice job of chasing the threads. (Perhaps those inserts have something to do with the frame being magnesium? Perhaps they’re aluminium? The mechanic at Rider’s Choice had not seen them before. Whatever their reason for being, they posed no problem to the build.)
The exemplary quality of the build is a testament to O’Dirty’s experience, care and attention to detail. The Virago is my ninth bicycle in adult life (I have kept three): this second incarnation with Record is easily the highest quality build of them all. In the relaxed surroundings of his Subi apartment, and over a bottle of traditional German farm-produced cider that he provided for the occasion, I had the privilege of witnessing O’Dirty deftly fettle new life into my old bike. No kludges, no fudges, no glitches, no kinks. Everything fit perfectly. The result is a functional work of art; an experience that no bike shop can match, and no amount of money can buy.
One minor issue, but worth noting if you’re contemplating a similar build: the Record cable set did not include two ferrules that my frame requires for the rear brake cable, which runs bare (without housing) between braze-on stops at each end of the top tube. I might have been able to get away without these ferrules, but I would have been risking damage to the cable housing. O’Dirty salvaged two from my old parts.
You might question the upward angle of the stem. I too prefer the look of a lower, more aerodynamic riding position. However, for this build I deliberately chose comfort over looks and aerodynamics, and went for a more upright (”sportive”) riding position. I might change my mind later and flip the stem. Similarly, I’m experimenting with the set back of the saddle.
This Record groupset has a compact crankset (50/34) with a 12-25 cassette.
On Sunday morning, I took the bike for a test ride to Gino’s. I found myself at the top of Majestic Parade in the big ring wondering how I got there so quickly, and wearing a smile instead of the usual pained grimace. The bike felt lighter, yet far more “solid”: more direct, more precise. No more coaxing worn Shimano shifters; front derailleur shifts were particularly quick and easy.
Very, very happy. Thank you O’Dirty!
Two weeks of confidence-inspiring, puncture-free winter commuting, then - pffft! - my new Continental Ultra GatorSkin front tyre fell victim to exactly the type of glass shard I had hoped it would repel. (I checked my tyre pressure before setting out: it was between 110 and 115 psi.)
I know these tyres are advertised as “puncture resistant”, not “puncture proof”, but still, I had higher expectations, especially at $69.95 per tyre.
“‘Gator” skins? If I were a litigious alligator, I might consider legal action. Those lizards have a reputation to protect. Don’t want those sharp-tusked razorbacks getting ideas. Let a species lose respect for you, and the next day it’s keeping its loose change and lip balm in your stitched hide.
Not happy, Conti.
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