Given The Choice, I Would Ride...

Having spent four decades as a devoted cyclist, and having worked in bike shops, I've seen lots of bikes come and go.  I have worked on bikes, parts and accessories made by companies that no longer exist (or, in some cases, by people long dead or who stopped for whatever reasons).  Some richly deserved to be tossed into the dust pail of history; others should have been put in the recycle bin or, at least, the parts box.  

Of course, I took a few "test" rides on interesting bikes I repaired, maintained and assembled.  But there are many more that I never got to ride.  If someone asked me what bike, no longer made, I would ride if given the chance, I'd have to spend a lot of time thinking about it.  A classic velo from a constructeur like Rene Herse or Jo Routens would be high on my list.  So would something from Jack Taylor, especially a tandem.  (Of course, I might not be in a position to truly appreciate it, as I haven't ridden tandems very much!) I'd also be curious to try an early Schwinn Paramount or Colnago as well as some bikes from Americans who built bikes for the six-day racers.  Finally, I'd like to ride some very early Mercians (they started building in 1946) and compare them to more recent ones and, of course, my own.

But if someone were to ask me what part or component I'd like to try, the answer would be much easier:  a Nivex derailleur.  I have grown especially curious about it since "The Retrogrouch" wrote a post on his blog about it and in the most recent Bicycle Quarterly, Jan Heine described the one he installed on his "Rene Herse", built in 2011.  Even he admits that its advantages weren't worth the time and effort he had to put into finding parts for, and rebuilding, the mechanism.  Still, his and "Retrogrouch"'s description of it have fascinated me.

Classic Nivex rear derailleur on Alex Singer bike.  From the Bicycle Quarterly Press

I actually saw one or two--or, at least, derailleurs that closely resembled it--when I worked in shops and the first two times I toured in France.  It makes sense:  Those tours were in 1980 and 1984, and I started working in bike shops in 1975.  Dedicated cyclists, especially in Europe, have tended to keep bikes they like for longer than people keep cars and other items.  So it makes sense that there were still cyclists--mostly of a certain age--riding on bikes from the 1930's, '40's and '50's, when the Nivex was produced.  And, because of its rugged construction (mostly from steel) and design (mounted under the chainstay), it tends to last a long time.  

I think there are several reasons why they fell into disuse.  One, of course, is that the supply dried up.  But more important, once Campagnolo introduced its Gran Sport derailleur--one of the first parallelogram derailleurs made to mount on the rear dropout--bike builders made their frames with dropouts for derailleurs like it rather than the bracket brazed on the chainstay that Nivex and derailleurs like it required.  And other derailleur makers, most notably Huret and Simplex, followed Campagnolo's lead.  Also, as more bikes were spec'd with derailleurs that mounted on the dropout, and more cyclists rode with them, people--including mechanics--forgot how to use, maintain and repair the Nivex.  Finally, as production of Nivex derailleurs and others like it ceased and it fell into disuse, parts for it--and, just as important, the hubs, freewheels and companion components that maximized the advantages of the derailleur--became more difficult to find, especially in the days before eBay.  

(These days, you can go to eBay.  But if you do, be prepared to pay for Nivex and other classic French parts, as they are prized by Japanese collectors!)

From what Jan Heine and "The Retrogrouch" have said, the Nivex derailleur offered all of the advantages other derailleur makers would later try to achieve with spring-loaded top pivot bolts, dropped parallelograms, slant parallelograms and indexing.  That is the reason I'd love to try one.  But I don't think I'd order a bike, as Jan did, that's made for it simply because of the difficulties I mentioned earlier.  

SunTour S-1

One of the few recent attempts to make a derailleur that, in any way, mimicked the Nivex is the SunTour  S-1 of the early 1990's.  "Retrogrouch" said that, to his knowledge, the only bike to come equipped with it was the 1993 Schwinn Criss Cross.  (My Criss Cross, from a year earlier, had SunTour "Accushift" derailleurs and indexed levers mounted on the handlebars.)  Even though, from all accounts, it worked well enough, shop owners and mechanics complained about it and customers didn't want it because it differed from the standards of the time.  Plus, Shimano so thoroughly dominated the market by that time that any other company--especially one that was on the ropes, as SunTour clearly was by that time--would have had a difficult time introducing a "new" concept.  (Most people at that time didn't know about Nivex.)  As far as I know, nobody bought the S-1 as a replacement part because it couldn't be retrofitted to most bikes, which lacked the necessary brazed-on chainstay boss. Perhaps one could improvise a mounting bracket, but who would have taken the time to do that?

Anyway, I would like to ride a Nivex one day.  Jan, if I'm ever out your way, could I borrow your bike for a while?  I may even give you my PMP crank for the privilege! ;-)

50 Years After Malcolm X

On this date fifty years ago, Malcolm X was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom.  Today the site of the Audubon, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, is a laboratory for Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.  I have ridden by it many times and, in fact, once went inside the Ballroom.  Every time I passed or visited the site I thought, however briefly, about his importance, not only to the history of the US and the world, but in my own life.

I first read Malcolm’s autobiography when I was about twenty.  It was around the same time I discovered African-American writers like Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston—and when I first heard Bob Marley.  In one way or another, they all not only expressed the burning desire to be free, but also made oppression—which is to say, the things that turn people into slaves of all kinds—clear and vivid.

I identified with their wishes and feelings for, as it turned out, reasons very different from theirs.  How could mine not be different?  After all, as difficult as my grandparents’ lives were, nobody brought them here in chains.  Even more to the point, I knew who my grandparents and their grandparents were, even though I had never met the latter.  So, even though I knew that so much of what I learned in school was a whitewashed (Yes, I am conscious of that word choice!) version of the truth, I wasn’t—couldn’t be—conscious of it in the profound way that Malcolm and all of those black writers and artists were. 

So, in my own clumsy way, I reacted to the injustices that persisted long after Malcolm’s murder and the deaths of the others I’ve mentioned though their polemics, rhetoric, rhythms, intuition and sense of irony.  What I did not understand was that they could use those tools or gifts or whatever you want to call them because they mastered them in ways that exact terrible, terrible costs.  (Baldwin has written that any people who has a language of their own has paid dearly for it.) What I could not understand was that I was paying my own dues, as it were, but I did not yet understand what I was paying for.  So I borrowed anger, grief, pain and a very dark kind of humor in my own feeble attempts to come to terms with why I could not live the kind of life for which I was being trained—or why anyone should want that kind of life.

So why am I mentioning such things on this blog?  Well, for one thing, being a cyclist has freed me from a lot of things.  I think of all of the time and money I didn’t have to spend on buying, fueling, maintaining and parking cars.  That is part of the reason why I have been able to live in New York and spend time with things I love:  I didn’t have to work in some job or in some business that would have destroyed my psyche or other people’s lives.  Being a cyclist when it wasn’t fashionable also, I think, has made me less vulnerable to propaganda and groupthink, if it hasn’t made me a better critical thinker or more creative person (though I think it’s done the latter for me). 

Of course, for me, freedom has meant living as the person I am.  Anyone who cannot live with integrity and with dignity is a slave or a prisoner or worse.  One way I identify with Malcolm is that it took him as long as he did to truly come into his own, even if he accomplished a lot else before doing so.  His descent into slavery, as it were, came when, in spite of his academic success and oratorical skills, his eighth-grade teacher mocked his dream of being a lawyer. When he, as an inmate in the Charlestown (MA) Penitentiary, became a disciple of Elijah Muhammad, he found a voice.  However, it took him much longer, I think, to find his voice.

Our voice, if you will, is how we express our authentic selves in the world.  For some, it is in their careers or vocations.  For others, it is in creative work or performing:  I think of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar as his voice.  Others express it through a passion or relationship.  Actually, I think that for most of us, our “voice” is a combination of the things we do and are.  Whatever it is, if it isn’t authentic, we’re still slaves or prisoners.  For me, that is the real importance of Malcolm X’s life and work.

Will This Bike Be Thawed Out?

The temperature has not reached the freezing point in more than a week.  That might not have been unusual last month, but here in New York, the daytime high temperatures start inching above 5 degrees C (40F) in the middle of February.  

Tomorrow the temperature might reach 1C and a high of about 7C (45F) is expected, with rain, on Sunday.  Will it be enough to free this bike parked down the street from my place?:

I've seen the bike, but not its rider or owner, around the neighborhood.  It's been parked in this spot ever since the first significant snowstorm we had nearly three weeks ago.

If we get more snow--or if the temperature drops and Sunday's rain turns to ice--will this bike be glacially encased until some future archaeologist finds it?  Or, perhaps, some life form from some distant galaxy will chance upon it. What would such a being make of it?

Of course, being the bike aficionada that I am, I wonder whether the bike originally came with its dropped bars or rat-trap pedals.  I couldn't see the name badge on it, but I'm almost entirely sure it's an English three-speed. Time was when bikes like this one were sometimes equipped with dropped bars and road pedals--and even alloy rims and brakes.  Such machines were known as "club bikes".  

How would my hypothetical archaeologist of the future--or visitor from another part of the universe--know such things?  I'm guessing that if someone could make it here from someplace far away from Earth, he or she would have a database far more advanced than Google or our libraries.  So, for that matter, might a yet-unborn archaeologist.

Oh, dear.  If I'm thinking about such things, that's proof I need to get on my bike more.  I'll do that soon, I hope!

Riding Again At Sunset

I'm so happy to be back on my bike again.  Late the other day, I took a ride that wasn't a commute for the first time in weeks.  I was going to meet some people for dinner in the Village, which meant I would have to lock my bike on the street.  And I knew that there was still a lot of ice and sand on the streets. So I took my LeTour, as its tires are the closest things to snow and ice treads I have.

It wasn't a long ride, but enough to stimulate my senses.  I got this glimpse of dusk on the Hudson River near Christopher Street in Manhattan.

And this--with the relatively rare sight of ice on the Hudson--just north of 14th Street:

I did what I could with my primitive cell phone. But I think I captured something of what the light, if not the cold air, felt like!  If nothing else, they're whetting my appetite for more riding.

How Did I Ride Then?

Back when I was young, skinny and in shape--and, I must say, full of testosterone (and, according to some people, some things I can't mention on this blog)--I would sometimes push other cyclists up hills or into the wind--or simply help them get home.  I won't reveal their identities lest they or their friends happen to be reading this, in which case, you know who you are!

And I'll admit to grabbing the back of a truck or a bus and letting it pull me along.  In my defense, I'll say that I did it while riding a fixed gear, so I was still pedaling.  I will also mention that I did it only while I was working as a messenger.  Somehow the other messengers knew if you'd never done it, and that would put a gap in your street cred bigger than any pothole any of us ever dodged!

So, even though I have both pushed and been pulled while on my bike, I couldn't quite tell which was happening in this photo.  Both, perhaps?



Speaking of potholes:  OK, I'll admit there were a couple I didn't couldn't dodge.  So there were times I rode on wheels that weren't quite true or round.  But I'm not sure I ever rode on any like these:



Both of these photos come from the Guy Sports blog.

Wheels On Ice

Lately there's been a lot of ice on the streets and sidewalks around here.  Sometimes plowing the streets leaves little patches of ice that might not affect a car or truck but can cause our bikes to do dances we were never taught.  Or, the snow is piled on the sides and when it melts, the next day or night of freezing temperatures results in ice.  So, in navigating between the traffic and parked cars on the narrow one-way streets of this city, you're bound to hit some ice.

I think I was lulled by a few mild, relatively snow-free winters.  So I never bought tires with metal studs for any of my bikes, figuring that I could use them only a couple of days every year.  But this winter and last, we've had longer spells of snow and ice.

Maybe I should go for the studded tires. Or, perhaps, wheels made of ice:





Wheels made from ice?  Notice that about 3:10, in the first trial, the tire splits in two. At least he has a sense of humor about it!

More Presidents On Bikes

Today is Presidents' Day in the US.

When I was growing up, American schools, banks, post offices and government buildings were closed on the 12th and 22nd of February to commemorate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, respectively.   In 1971, the commemoration of Washington's Birthday was moved to the third Monday in February. Celebration of Lincoln's Birthday was left up to the states.  My home state, New York, is one state that celebrates the President who served during the Civil War.

A little more than two years ago, I wrote a post about Presidents who rode bicycles.  Now I'm going to tell you about two more.  However, they didn't preside over the US.

Here is Nicolas Sarkozy, who preceded Francois Hollande, the current President of France:

And here is Russian President Vladimir Putin   with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev:

Please do not take my inclusion of these photos as approval of any of these leaders' policies, or of my politics generally! I simply approve of the fact that they ride bikes.

A Jersey I'd Actually Buy

I haven't owned a bike jersey in years.

Time was, though, when I had more of them than I have shoes now.  

(OK.  I managed to include two gender stereotypes in the previous sentence.  If you don't want to read on, I understand.)

When I bought a jersey, I chose it for fit, design and colors, in that order.  Or at least, I told myself they were in that order.

Truth was, I didn't care much about which team or brand name--or whether any at all--was on the garment.  I had jerseys from the French National Team and the Credit Agricole, La Vie Claire "Z" and Banesto teams, among others.  I also had jerseys with club names and logos as well as brands I rode, as well as some I didn't. If I liked the look it fit, I wore it.

Someone gave me a Festina jersey. It didn't have a needle in the pocket.


Every once in a while, I think of getting a wool jersey or two for old time's sake.  Plus, they're at least practical.  And it would mean getting more classic or basic color schemes and logos, which would suit me fine.

I don't know if it's made in wool, but this is one I'd definitely consider:

Winter Fix For Vera

What do you do when you’re not riding?

Well, I guess that depends on your reason for not riding.  If you’re in bed with illness or injury, you don’t do much of anything except (if you’re like me) read and write.  But if you’re icebound, you can do those things and make soups, bake, be cuddled by pets and partners and watch Fargo for the umpteenth time.

And, oh yeah, you can work on your bike(s). I’ve been doing a fair amount of that.  If you ride regularly, you need to clean and perhaps overhaul or fix various parts of your mounts.  You might also decide to upgrade or otherwise change something or another to meet your changing needs as a rider, or simply to try something new.

I’ve managed to work on all of my bikes as snow has turned to ice on streets I normally ride.  I cleaned the drivetrains—and changed the chains—on all of my Mercians.  Because of the accident I had in August, I did the most work on Vera, the green Miss Mercian I bought second-hand three and a half years ago.

Neither the frame nor most of the major components were damaged.  I expected the handlebars to be bent, but they weren’t.  (Now you know that Velo Orange makes strong bars!)  But the chainring and chainguard were:  I couldn’t get the wobble out of the ‘ring and the guard crumpled. Also, the front fender bent and, as it turned out, developed cracks around the fork crown mount.  I figured it would be a good idea to replace it for safety’s sake.  Translation:  It was an excuse to try something new!  And, it just happened that Velo Orange recently introduced a new fender style, the Facette.  

Actually, it’s new for VO:  It’s a reproduction of an old French (what else?) style.  I thought it might work nicely with the lines of Vera’s twin top stays:

Those lines and the shape give the fenders—and the bike—a sort of Art Deco look, I think.  

Ely Rodriguez made the fender flap when he made the front bag and all of those other wonderful RuthWorks SF bags he's made for me. 

And, oh, by the way, I replaced the single chainring I bent with two.  The Sugino XD crank was sold as a single but has a provision for a second chainring.  Since the crank has a 110 BCD pattern, a wide variety of chainrings is available.  The ones I chose are made by Stronglight in France; the larger one has 46 teeth and the smaller one 34.

Installing two chainrings meant installing a front derailleur—a Shimano 105 from the 8-speed gruppo—and a lever to operate it.  

I haven’t ridden the bike on the streets yet.  On the repair stand, the new chainrings and derailleur were playing nice with the new chain and cassette.  I feel confident they will work out. I’ll miss the green-and-gold chainring and gold chainguard, but I think I like the look of the new parts—and the bike overall.  And we all know that’s what’s really important! ;-)