When I announced last week that George Plimpton’s Y-Foil was on the market I had no idea I’d be competing with perhaps the only bicycle in existence that is even more culturally significant:
Pee-wee’s bike is expected to fetch between $30-$60K:
I don’t know what’s crazier–paying $30K for Pee-wee’s bike, or paying $13K (sorry, $12,999.99) for a plastic Specialized:
Probably the Specialized, since the Pee-wee bike might at least hold its value. Meanwhile, check out the depreciation on an S-Works:
It is sort of amazing how much bike you can get for so little if you’re willing to put up with the primitive technology of the very recent past such as mechanical drivetrains with only 11 speeds and (shudder) rim brakes.
And incredibly the further back you go, the cheaper they get:
No pesky tariffs, and you don’t even have to plug them in to shift!
Amazing.
Then with the money you save you can finally take that dream vacation to New York City, where you’ll get stuck on a tour bus that has collided with a NYPD traffic enforcement agent:
I didn’t witness the actual collision, but my guess is that the traffic enforcement agent and the tour bus driver were racing to see who could block the bike lane first:
[Who else watches “The Last Of Us” and thinks about which bike they’d most like to have with them in a post-apocalyptic scenario?]
In moments like these you’re fortunate to be on a bicycle since traffic immediately backs up for blocks in every direction, but you must also be extra vigilant as drivers will turn abruptly into your path as they desperately attempt to flee the traffic jam like they’re trying to escape the Apocalypse:
As much as I’ve been enjoying my spring bicycle commutes I was quite relieved this weekend to ride away from the city instead of into it:
And as a former professional bike blogger turned semi-professional bike blogger now turned mostly recreational bike blogger it is recumbent upon me to offer the occasional product review, and I’m officially declaring my new tires fantastic:
In fact the whole goddamn bike is fantastic–so fantastic I’m not allowing myself to make any more changes to it whatsoever, despite (or really because of) my predilection to tinker. The bike is so good right now I only wish I were able to physically lock myself out of it completely (apart from riding it, obviously), because trying to improve it any further would be to fly too close to the sun, and of course we all know what happened to Icarus:
[Did Campagnolo seriously not read the story before naming a component group after Icarus?]
In fact, there should be a pre-packaged kit for idiot mechanics like me who are unable to leave well enough alone, the same way they have devices for drunks that require them to pass a breath test in order to start their cars. Basically what I need is a set of those theft-proof bolts, only with no direct access to the key:
If I do want to use the key I should be forced to pay a minimum non-refundable fee of $500, which should be sufficient to at least make me think twice before implementing some unnecessary change or, Lob forbid, “upgrade.”
Speaking of Rivendell, I happened to notice the A. Homer Hilsen pre-sale opened yesterday:
As always I’ll issue my standard disclaimer that Rivendell did not ask me to mention this, and I merely share it as a highly pleased Hilsen owner who was intrigued to see that the latest iteration is not only available in this smart green color but also features a pump peg on the seatstay:
I’m psychologically more comfortable with keeping pumps under the top tube, though when it’s time to carry my bike down the stairs I do consider the merits of alternate pump placement.
By the way, if you’re wondering what the difference is between the Roadini and the Homer, the semi-official line from Rivendell is that it’s not much:
My own Homer is a little more different than my Roadini since it has 650b wheels, but now those are relegated to the smaller Homer sizes only, so ultimately your decision could simply come down to your personal feelings about kickstand plates (the Roadini doesn’t have one and the Homer does) and whether or not you mind having to lean your bike against signs when you’re not riding it:
I made the easy choice and got one of each.
