I am continually enchanted by my Obsidian Blue Madone 6.5. Technology moves beneath me in a sensuous telepathic groove every time I throw a leg over and with every stroke of the peddle.
But, alas, when I swing, straddle and roll upon my sweet ole revamped Trek 412, or the rescued Giapponese Sanwa that strayed into my life, I’m all smiles.
Thanks to Bill Leibman (who also owns a Madone 6.5), these simple diversions on old steel bikes have become—well—how can one convey the appeal of what today are turned out only as works of art?
The answer came when Bill pushed me on to Robert Penn’s "It’s All About the Bike" where he chronicles his pursuit of happiness on the ultimate road bicycle.
And so, as we approach 65 aboard our glorious Trek carbon fiberology, we find ourselves still yearning. Perhaps, if you play piano, it is like striding Gershwin over the ivories of a Bosendorfer grand yet unable to quench a thirst for the Steinway just beyond your hands.
We ushered in 2011 with former teammate and dearest high school friend Gil (too close to Norwegian) Gulbrandson and his gracious wife Debbie (Don’t you dare refer to Indiana University as U of I, or I’ll kick you till you’re dead.).
As the New Year approached, Gil introduced me to his Victrola, along with a memorable collection of big band music, and his Waterford bicycle.
Hold it!
Did I say WATERFORD as in custom bicycle built in what was formerly Schwinn’s Paragon custom bicycle facility in Waterford, Wisconsin?
Gil’s Waterford is a light and lithe late 1990’s set-up, which our dearest high school buddy, Dan Dekoven discovered for him on “ebag” (sic.) for less than the cost of a entry level Trek street bike.
Dan creates lovely fine furniture and passionately restores old steel bicycles in Evergreen, Colorado. As I lifted Gil’s Waterford off the floor, I became instantly connected, and immediately emailed Dan and to ask why he hadn’t thought of me.
Little was I prepared for what transpired after that:
January 2nd, 2011
Dan: “I just acquired a 1994 Eddy Merckx Century frame on ebag (sic.). Paint is rough but frame is straight and rust free. Not too shabby for $280. Hope to get it built up by spring as I have most of the components left over from previous bikes. "Hello, my name is Dan and I'm a bikeaholic..."
Dave: "My God. Why am I missing these opportunities?
Perhaps I’ve been slow at the trigger, lacking in Ebay Savvy, and, yes, because I spent nearly $5 Gs on my 6.5 Madone not 1.5 years ago. Now I suffer through Bob Penn’s book and have for some time been transfixed by the work of an extraordinarily gifted artisan named Dave Wages of Ellis Cycles.
Now back to Dan and his 94 Merckx."
Dan: “I have a mixture of new and used Campy components for the Merckx - Chorus brakes, shifters and headset; Nitto stem, bars and seatpin; Veloce compact crank; new Athena11 speed derailleurs that my friend the bike mechanic said will work with 10 speed; and my Campy Proton wheelset. This is my 4th Merckx and I've regretted selling the other three - especially the MX Leader, which was #98 of the last 100 produced, so will probably hold on to this one. They hold a certain mystique for me... This one is definitely used, so has character.”
Dave: "Has Dan gone off the deep end? No, he is just really detailed passionate about bikes. In fact, when we rode the Santa Fe Century together last May, Dan was straddling his Waterford that he found on “ebag" (sic.) The color scheme is a bit unctuous, but, beneath the paint, it is a lovely bike nevertheless.
We continued our dialog after my dumbfounded concern about the headset on my own restoration of a Raleigh Record—something we’ll chat about later."
January 25th, 2011, expounds January 2nd’s conversation.
Dan: (Dave’s translation of Dan’s tech lingo) “I have the gruppo together. It's a mixture of various Campy components: Record (not Raleigh but Campy as in Campagnolo) headset, Centaur BB, Veloce compact crank, Chorus 10 speed shifters, Veloce 13/29 cassette and chain, Chorus brakes (Centaur, Veloce, and Chorus are all Campagnolo creations.), Nitto (Non e italiano ma Giapponese) seatpin, bars and stem, and new Athena (Campy also) 11 speed front and rear der. (derailleurs) that my bike guy says will work fine with 10 speed. Some new and some used off ebay or parts I had lying around. Bike mechanic just prepped the frame and I treated it with Framesaver before. I'll get it from him on Thurs. and sand out the rust spots before touching it up with Testor's (the company which makes paints we used to use on our model airplanes as kids). We'll probably put it together pretty soon before he gets busy.
By the way, another great resource that my riding buddy Greg turned me on to a couple years ago is www.probikekit.com. They're Brits (funny fellows with funny accents who are wild about anything remotely mechanical) and have the best prices (probably only in Pounds Sterling) I've found with free shipping all the way from England. The only hang up is that they ship via the Brit equivalent of Parcel Post combined with all the new tighter shipping regs. (homeland security provisions) due to package bombs (Brits take very seriously those who skulk in from the colonies not intending to play fairly by the rules of cricket.) - so it generally takes about a month to receive your order.”
Dave: "Gracious sakes alive. I cannot wait to try this Merckx out. Danny, I’m breaking off early from Linda’s family reunion in New Mexico and coming up to ride this re-creation.
Now, we move deep to absolute bottom of bicycle riding psychology. I temper my translations of Dan’s male anatomy jargon trusting that cycling adults will get the point."
Dan: “I see that you got a used Brooks for your vintage Trek. (This was a gift purchase from Bill Leibman who found the lovely leather too soft.) I'm a Brooks convert - currently have four of them. My only complaint was that, unlike modern saddles, there’s no accommodation for your balls on most models.”
Dave: “Wait, Dan. Are there accommodations for one’s balls on any saddle—Brooks or otherwise?”
Dan: “Actually that's not my only complaint - they take forever to break in. The B17 Imperial addresses this with a gonad cutout. I traced it and applied it to my other B17's and my Brooks Professional. I found that it definitely helps me. I'd be glad to send you a pattern and directions if you encounter a case of numbnuts (I don’t ride my 412 all that much and definitely don’t ride it more than 20 miles.). I also gave the Brooks Pro the Sheldon Brown treatment. Do you know about him? He just died, but was perhaps one of the most knowledgeable bike people around. He suggests soaking Brooks saddles in neat’s-foot oil (Mon dieu! I mistakenly thought it was motor oil). My bike guy and many other experts say this is not advisable (Admittedly, since Brooks provides their saddle softening lubrication) , but I like the results.
This is the kind of bicycle minutiae that the dudes at classicrendezvous will go about forever. I'm hooked. It's a nice diversion from the harsh reality of trying to survive as an artisan (Dan’s furniture is on a level with Dave Wage’s bicycles. These are two great artists and craftsmen.). At some point I hope to free myself from this attachment to the material - but not yet...
Don't get me started. Have they hung Lance Armstrong yet?”
Dave: So there you have it. We shall forever love and miss Sheldon and love to hate Lance. The allure of steel is and will be with cycling lovers until the Apennines come tumbling down.
