***Note to readers: I’m not here. I’m on vacation. You’re not reading this. Nothing is real.***
Further to yesterday’s post, in addition to the Jones, I’ve also got this at my disposal:
Just imagine how thrilling it must be to finish second in a derailleur contest, only to be whisked away on an exotic wilderness getaway:
It’s a true Cinderella story for the Veloce.
I’ve got all the gears I need for skinny-tire riding, though I can’t help thinking that long-cage Athena derailleur that won first prize would go great on this bike along with with the mythical Campagnolo Racing Triple:
This crank more than any other truly embodies the aging roadie. The 52 and the 42 are both valiant bordering on delusional, and then there’s that 30 for when you come to your senses and say, “Fuck it, I give up.”
Speaking of road bikes, in the spring last year, I joked that I was going to make bonded aluminum bikes cool again:
See, 2022 was a much simpler time, and the idea that people would grow nostalgic for the lost art of gluing aluminum in order to make bikes still seemed silly:
Well, not anymore:
Now, for just five thousand and five hundred of your Canadian Fun Tickets you can have your very own modern-day Trek 2300 and/or Specialized Allez and/or Giant Cadex:
Am I impugning the skills of a talented craftsman? Absolutely not. Is there anything wrong with spending a bunch of money on a custom bike? Not a damn thing. Is buying a bonded crabon-and-aluminum bike from a boutique shop in 2023 any sillier than buying a rigid-only mountain bike from Jones or a lugged steel Rivendell with friction shifters? Well, obviously yeah, but so what? We’re talking about bikes here, they don’t need to make sense.
Still, as all the positive vibe merchants over on that other website fawn over this, it’d be a dereliction of duty on my part if I didn’t post this:
Not only is it like a thirteenth of the price, but it takes rim brakes and downtube shifters!
Now that’s a win/win for the glued bike enthusiast.