Picking Up The Pace What was that about pro cycling being boring because of Pogaar again?Sure, his win was a carbon copy of last years, but if you squint you can almost pretend there are other riders behind him:Not that Im saying it was boring, mind you; I didnt even watch, so what do I know? See, I can either watch bike racing in the morning, or I can go ride my bike, and as long as the weather isnt too horrendous Ill always choose the latter. True to the spirit of the season, I spent ample time this past weekend on the Easter Bike:Though Sunday was rainy so I opted for a be-fendered bicycle instead:As I recently mentioned, there does seem to be something special about the Faggin (I mean that in the traditional exceptional sense, not in the euphemistic eats the erasers off of pencils sense, even though its appearance might suggest the latter), and riding it and the Milwaukee back-to-back was an opportunity to explore whether or not this impression is merely psychological. Not only are both bikes similarly sized, but they also roll on the exact same wheels. Indeed, while I dont have a single negative thing to say about the Milwaukees comportment, the Faggin does feel noticeably smoother, despite having nominally skinnier tires. However, Im reluctant to attribute that entirely to the frame, and I suspect the 1 1/8th inch threadless steerer and oversized handlebar of the Milwaukee also plays a significant role.Even so, whether its bikes, or the stock market, or children, or pretty much everything else, Ive mostly given up trying to understand why things behave the way they do. Finding a bike is like ordering wine: choose something you can afford and hope you get lucky. But this doesnt stop people from making sweeping pronouncements about materials, one of the most persistent being that aluminum frames are stiff. The truth is that some are, and some arent. Speaking of which, heres a fascinating specimen I recently came across in the living bicycle museum that is the streets of New York:Like the Normcore Bike, this Schwinn hails from 1989, which was arguably the golden age of aluminum. It was also the golden age of Bee-oh-pah-chay, and how those stickers remain in situ going on four decadeson the filthiest, greasiest part of a bicycle no lessis a mystery no chemist has been able to solve:Heres more about this model from the 1989 Schwinn catalogue [PDF available here]:Bicycling praised Schwinns aluminum line for its superb handling:Though Schwinns own marketing focused more on being able to shower with it:Of course you could also shower with a steel Schwinn provided you applied some sort of rust-inhibiting oil, but riders would often run out after applying it to their torsos first:Yes, it was a different time, when both helmet use and enforcement of sexual harassment policies was sporadic at best:I believe thats called Preppie Cyclocross.
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