The Low Buck

I remember, back in the 90s, how I once had an interest in motorcycles. I began to look at magazines, but I never followed through and bought a bike. I read Magazines about real motorcycles, and by real I mean Harley Davidson. Easy Rider was my first choice, but I couldn't see the bikes for the chicks draped over them. If I wanted to see tanned, shiny women, I would have bought Vogue or Harper's Bazaar. I looked elsewhere and found a far better choice: Iron Horse Magazine. This was the real McCoy. Bad grammar. Abrasive language. And real motorcycles, or, more accurately, choppers. And the guys at Iron Horse did not appreciate all those old yuppies who rode over accessorized Harleys while wearing Harley jackets, bandannas, underwear, and countless other yuppie corporate American junk. The Iron Horse crowd were minimalists and hard core.

What I miss about Iron Horse was a column called Chop on the Cheap, written by a guy who went by the nickname Low Buck Larry. He would find some BSA or a piece of junk Harley Sportster and make it work, and Larry always did this while staying true to his frugal calling. As I tinker and expand The Fleet, I often think of Low Buck Larry, for anybody can, with enough time and money, build a super bike, but to do so without spending money as though their project were destined for the Department of Defense, shows true ingenuity. This is one thing I truly love about the the cycling community here in Portland. I see some very cool, inventive bikes which cost less than either of my top creations while matching my work in style and inventiveness.

My focus on this, my last project, -it really is, honest- is to produce a commuter that can carry just about anything: groceries, recyclables, school books and binders, and bike parts. And I'm going to do it on the cheap.

Return of The Vitus: Bits and Pieces

Got a wheel. It's a super wide Sun rim, built around some low-buck hub. The bearings look like they will hold out through rain and sleet.









Looking in my stash drawer, I see stuff that should fit the frame. I've somehow amassed a collection of Campagnolo bottom brackets, with English and Italian threads. Step by step, the Vitus comes together.

Guess Who's Back in Town

Once in a while I get a visitor looking for information about The Vitus Dural 979 aluminum frame, and I wonder, will my old frame ever see the road again? This week, I acquired a rear wheel for another project, and thought, why not ressurect my old Vitus? Just for the summer. I think there are enough bits and pieces to cobble it back together. We'll see.

Tags: Vitus Frame, Vitus Dural 979

The Fleet (Part 7)

It took five months to complete this project. Earlier I wrote how this bike, a 1984 Trek 760, may change everything, and this seems to be the case. The fit is perfect, raising the bar on performance and comfort to a level my other bikes cannot seem to reach. The only thing I would have done different is my choice of a rear hub. It's fixed/free, and I wish I had chosen fixed/fixed. I had no idea I would enjoy a fixed gear this much.

Though the Blackbird is my last bike, just like my last two, I still look at frames in the many shops here in Portland, as well as ebay. Some of us are destined to build things, and I include myself in that category, but if the frame isn't a 57cm size and made from Reynolds tubing, I'm not interested. The size rules out a lot of Italian frame builders, although, thankfully, my beloved Somec is not one of them. This Trek brings up a question; can Columbus tubing match the feel of Reynolds steel? What about Ishiwata tubing? There's much to explore.

Below are the before and after shots of the Blackbird. It's hard to believe it's the same bike.

The Specs:

Project Name: Project Blackbird

Nickname: The Blackbird

Class: Strength and endurance trainer. Clear weather only.

Gearing: 46 x 16

Frame: 1984 Trek Model 760, 57cm. Reynolds 531 tubing, including fork and stays.

Crank and BB: Sugino

Pedals: Speedplay Light Action

Headset: Chris King

Wheels: Phil Wood hubs, 28 and 32 hole. Front laced radialy, rear 3x. Velocity non machined rims.

Tires: Bontrager Race Lite X. (Slow, but I never get a flat.)

Post: Oval Concepts.

Seat: Fizik Arione.

Stem: Thomson (I'm sold on Thomson, it's like the bar and stem are welded together!)

Bars: Syntace

Brake System: Cane Creek levers and Campagnolo Veloce Skeleton Brakes.

Not one Shimano part on the whole bike!

Tags: Trek Model 760, Fixed Gear, Fixed Gear Bike.

The Fleet (Part 6)

This, my only Italian racer, is the pride of the fleet; an extremely rare Somec Air Record. The only other Air Record I have seen was on e-bay. According to a catalog I discovered, this one was the top of the Somec line.

I almost didn't buy the frame at first. The paint scheme, an Americana theme, didn't excite me, and I had no idea who Somec was. When I picked it up, I thought, "is this steel?" I had become very curios, and went home to learn more about Somec. Thirty minutes later, I was back in the little bicycle shop on Sandy Boulevard with a hand full of cash, eager to buy the frame.

Although this frame is nicked, gritty, and one size too small, my Somec always gets me home after a long ride.

Many Italian frame builders carve a unique symbol into the frame lugs. Somec chose the lotus, as shown in the photograph above. Below, the unusual routing of the rear brake cable.

The derailleur cables are nearly invisible. They are neatly routed through the down tube to exit at the back of the seat tube, and the other at the end of the chain stay.

I tidied things up a little, but bits of dirt remain here and there. Below, one of the frame's mysteries: who made the fork? It's not from Somec.

More details...

My Somec Air Record. I'll never sell it.

The Specs:

Nickname: Somec Americana
Frame: Columbus steel tubing, most likely SL. 56cm.
Wheels: Velocity deep V laced to Gippiemme hubs.
Gear train: A hodgepodge of Campagnolo Victory, Mirage, and Chorus, with a Regina freewheel and chain.

Pedals: Campagnolo Centaur
Seat: Fizik Arione
Tires: Vittoria Rubino Pro
Bars: Ritchey Bio Max
Brakes: Campagnolo C Record levers (good looks, so-so performance) and Gipiemme calipers

Tags: Somec, Somec road bike, Somec Air Record

The Fleet (Part 5)

If anyone thought I was finished posting stuff about The Fleet, they're wrong. I have this bike and two more. The others are the Somec and the Blackbird. Of course, I'm still building the Blackbird.

It was this time last year that I planned what I called project BK_Ultra. Yes, I do love my goofy project names. This was meant to be my ultimate bike and the last one I would do. It's a first in two ways. This is the only one that's all Shimano, and the only one I didn't build myself. I'm an Italian bike snob, this took some attitude adjustment.

The engineers at Cervelo, a Canadian firm, did a good job on selling the bike. They go into a lot of detail at their site about what they wanted it to do and how they did it, without giving away the secrets. Still, the proof lies in the pudding. A test ride was in order.

Did it do all Vroomen and White said it would? Yes.

It took me over a month to get the fit right, this thing is a pain to tweek. The seat developed a creak, I got three flats in the first fourty miles, and more than a few back pains riding it.

I finally got it all dialed in and fixed the creak. It's super comfy, and the bike goes as fast as my meager muscles can push it. I took it down Mt Hood to see what it would do. Stable even up to 45mph. When the aerodynamics go into effect, this thing locks in and doesn't waver. But don't expect me to try that stunt again. You can get killed.

Because of its stability, stiffness, and acceleration, it's the only bike I use to ride the hills. It just loves them.

The specs on the Soloist are at Cervelo.com, so I'll only list the general things.

Bike: Cervelo Soloist Special Edition (It has red paint)
Frame: Aluminum
Nickname: Cervelo-1, The Warbird
Project Name: BK_Ultra
Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra

Tires: I did have Vvredstein Fortezza Tri-Comp tires on it, but switched to my trusty Bontrager Race Lite XXX Hardcase. I do all of my century riding on this bike, and I don't want to deal with a flat tire.

Weight: 17 pounds

The Fleet (Part 4)

This is the bike that may change everything. It's the only 57cm frame I have, and I find that I really do fit that size frame. I've never had problems with any of the other bikes, all of which are 56cm. Cervelo-1 was a nuisance to get right, but when I did it worked exactly as the designers said it would. My Somec was a perfect fit from the begining. Then I got this old Trek (model 760), and my understanding of comfort rose to another level. If I find another Trek 760, I'm going to jump on it.

The bike still looks like a circus but in time it will enter a chrysalis, and the Blackbird I envisioned will emerge. This pic will give you an idea of where I'm heading.

Stats:

• Frame: Reynolds 531 steel (all tubes and forks)
• Geartrain: I'm considering a Sugino Messenger or a FSA crank. Since it's a fixed gear, that's all I have to worry about.
  
• Hubs: Phil Wood or Suzue laced to black Velocity rims.
• Seat: Black Fizik Arione. They take a while to break in, but when the do they're very comfortable.
• Bars and Stem: I've tried a few around town. I'm going with Syntace.
• Brakes: Suntour Superbe Pro with Cane Creek time trial levers.
• Tires: Because they're so puncture proof and give a cushy smooth ride I'm leaning toward Bontrager Race Lite, but I will consider the offerings from Vredestein.

The Fleet (Part 3)

Wifey-Do found this bike on Craig's List while I was out of town. It's a "Coast King" bicycle, and this is exactly how it looked when I got it. I haven't done a thing to it other than switch the seat, a real butt killer, for one I ordered one from Schwinn. The new seat is designed for one of Schwinn's retro-cruisers, so it looks correct on the Coast King. The King is heavy and has only three gears, but you can get up to a pretty good speed just the same. I think the bike was made for the chain of Coast to Coast stores by Huffy.

Stats:

Frame: Steel
Nickname: The Coast King
Class: Special events / Noodling around
Gearing: Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub
Wheels: 26 inch steel rims

The Fleet (Part 2)

Since I still get a lot of hits from people researching this frame, Ive returned to this post to update it with more info on my experience, and how the Vitus compares to my other bikes.

This old frame served well as a winter bike. I felt it a shame to equip it with my bad weather wheels, wheels which are a sorry cluster of loose spokes and beat up rims, but I didn't want to build an appropriate set of wheels, so I retired the frame. Now my Vitus Dural 979 hangs in my shop, entombed in a heavy plastic bag.

I believe this frame is late eighties vintage, and far lighter than steel frames of the same era. Sean Kelly, the King of the Classics, set a speed record on a Vitus, proving the frame race worthy. Other cyclists hate it because of the frame flex, and refuse to ride it, regardless of its history.

People seeing my Vitus assumed it was a fast bike, equating light weight with speed. Truthfully? It is sort of fast. With a good set of wheels borrowed from my Somec, the Vitus is impressive, but the flexing of the frame doesn't let me accelerate like good steel (such as my 1984 Trek 760) or new aluminum. The flex is like a little thief stealing a wee bit of my power with every mile. On the other hand, the Vitus isn't harsh. Riding on bumpy roads doesn't lead to the fatigue that I experience on my other aluminum bike (a Cervelo).

I enjoyed the history and reputation of the Vitus. Not one of the other bikes I own evokes a reaction as consistently as this one. Walking into a bike shop with the Vitus is like stepping into a Spaghetti Western scene.

Scene 1
Local Bike Shop, Interior

The door swings open. Rider with Vitus steps inside.

Bike Shop Boy recognizes the frame and announces its arrival

Bike Shop Boy
"Vitus Dural. Nine seven nine."

Sound of staccato whistle from off screen,
followed by "Wa Waa Waaaa."

Here's the stats:

Frame: Vitus Dural 979 aluminum 56cm
Class: Foul weather long distance trainer
Nickname: French Noodle

The Fleet (Part 1)

It's time I got around to talking about and showing the bikes I have. I refer to the lot of them as "the fleet", and have six bikes total.

Let me start by describing the first bike I put together when I got back into cycling over two years ago. I began with an old Motobecane frame from City Bikes, an old set of Avocet hubs I had been saving for years, and slowly hunted down the rest of the parts and put it all together. The Moto wasn't very comfortable to ride at first, but after some advice from Beth at City Bikes I made some changes and now it's much better. Because I ride it in the worst weather, it doesn't have my best parts and still has mismatched tires. I'll have to exchange the front tire, a Bontrager, for a Vittoria Zaffiro one of these days. I will say that Bontrager Race Light tires are about as bulletproof as you can get. I've pulled some big pieces of glass out of them, ran over a beer bottle, which exploded as I did so, and haven't EVER had a flat. They take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. The Zaffiros have been pretty good as well.

Here's the summary of the old Moto...

• Bike: 1970s Motobecane (model unknown)
• Nickname: The Old Moto
  
• Class: Foul weather commuter
• Frame: Crome Moly Steel
• Rear Spacing: 120mm
• Wheels: Sun Rims with Avocet Hubs
• Bars: Ritchey BioMax 42mm
• Seat: Fizik Aliante
• Brakes: Soma levers (excellent!) with Modolo on the front and Shimano on the rear
• Weight: A ton
• Drivetrain: Bulletproof Crank, MKS pedals, Shimano rear D, Campagnolo front D, SunTour freewheel.

Tags: Motobecane