Someone’s not doing their research…

By blackmountaincycles,

Filed under: Rant

I tried. I really tried. I tried to not disparage or make fun of stuff like this. Some of my past comments were a bit childish. I thought I was over it. And I was. But then this! Oh, the horror one can imagine when I gazed upon the photo of the bike with that, that, that … CABLE ROUTING!
The bicycle, and by bicycle, I refer to the purest of bicycles, the racing bicycle, is an elegant machine. In its simplest form it is an incredibly efficient machine. Bicycles today are not elegant, nor are they simple. But, oh the bicycles before shifters were jammed into brake levers…now those were pure, simple machines. When cables flowed out of brake levers with just the right arc to the housings…huh? What’s this? NOOOOOOO! Oh, you were so close and then you routed the cables in front of the handlebars!


Did you guys not read the excellent article by Dave Moulton? The fact that Dave’s piece was in reference to Faliero Masi and brake cable routing makes the image of the bike above even more avoidable and unfortunate. It breaks my heart. The information is there. There are people you can ask about how to route non-aero brake cables. They are supposed to run over the bars, not under. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. It’s a pretty good looking bike, but that cable routing – the first thing my eye was drawn to.

Maybe I’m just a freak and notice those tiny details. However, I think there needs to be more freaks who notice those small details.

The quote in Dave Moulton’s blog post when someone told Faliero Masi “It is no big deal, and Americans don’t care about such things,” probably still rings true today, but not with this American. Get the details right.

(What’s playing: KWMR’s Faultline Radio)

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0 responses to “Someone’s not doing their research…”

  1. Jason says:
    September 30, 2010 at 5:30 am

    "Maybe I'm just a freak and notice those tiny details. However, I think there needs to be more freaks who notice those small details."

    It's a good thing to be a 'freak' and notice those tiny details. It's one of the reasons I keep up with your blog – I appreciate all the little things you notice and comment on.

    Also, this morning as I was finishing up a training ride and riding to grab some coffee I came across I think a road (orange) Black Mountain Cycle. It looked great. Good work on those!

    (I'm down in SF, if you're wondering. I bet you know which owner I saw)

    Reply
  2. blackmountaincycles says:
    September 30, 2010 at 5:31 am

    Thanks for the comment – and thanks for noticing the frame. That's a sample road frame that is the only other one besides mine. Production frames should be here in a month.

    Reply

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