2017 Gear

FocusZing

I like the sharks bike too.

yourpaceormine

Going against the grain, I really don't like Nibs's bike. Like the idea of emulating the trophy and honouring previous winners, but no. Bike looks awful. Could be the gold Merida and wheel logos are just too much. It may be the gloss finish of the black paint. It is akin to a fist full of sovereign rings and a shell suit trying to pass itself off as haute couture.

FocusZing

^Don't hold back, say what you think;)

pinno

FocusZing wrote:

^Don't hold back, say what you think;)

I dared not say it but he has and I couldn't describe it better.

It looks like a black bike has been left in the back garden and my girls got hold of some old, faded gold ribbon to embellish it.

As for the Giro collection, I quite like the purple one for some reason.

bobmcstuff

Meridas always look cack anyway.

yourpaceormine

FocusZing wrote:

^Don't hold back, say what you think;)

I thought I was quite restrained actually. That bike is clearly propaganda for the Mies van der Rohe school of architecture.

Doesn't surprise me that the self styled shark is riding it, if ever there was an self aggrandising rider it was him. Shame he doesn't have a consistent level of talent to back up his theatrical personna.*


*And before anyone says "oh, but he's won lots of grand tours" yes he has. But he only tends to win against not-topdrawer competition, or he manages not to crash out (which is, I must admit quite a skill). He is quite good at going down hill, but so am I, in my case my extra ballast is my advantage. At all other times his performance is either dazzling or decidedly lacklustre (and no I am not trying to say suggest something else).

FocusZing

^Fair points.

salsiccia1

Not a fan then?

FocusZing

In my theory. It's too nice a day to get dragged into an argument, when there was no intent in the first place. Personally I admire any rider who had the balls to try and make it pro. In reality the paint jobs are just marketing to sell bikes, I get that, just trying to get a bit of positive enthusiasm for the race:)

salsiccia1

No argument necessary - I just was entertained by the strength of yourpaceormine's opinions

FocusZing

^Ha, yes:)

yourpaceormine

Doffs cap. Thanks.

No, not a fan of Nibs. But am looking forward to the best grand tour (that doesn't involve comedy climbs, or has lost part of it's soul because of the size of the event).

The bike... it could have been so much betterer. Nude/matt carbon finish, with the gold swirly stuff. Understated white logo (or even better a gloss black logo) and normal wheels. Right off to be curmudgeonly with work stuff.

maddog 2

That's hideous.

FocusZing

Ummmmm.

maddog 2

go disco

Paul 8v

bobmcstuff wrote:

Meridas always look cack anyway.

This ^^^ the paint jobs look awful on nearly every single one, a shame as the bikes aren't bad.

You can't polish a turd, but you can make it even more vulgar by covering it in Gold... Looks like Michael Carrol's bike.

bobmcstuff

Paul 8v wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Meridas always look cack anyway.

This ^^^ the paint jobs look awful on nearly every single one, a shame as the bikes aren't bad.

You can't polish a turd, but you can make it even more vulgar by covering it in Gold... Looks like Michael Carrol's bike.

Au contraire, I think their aero bike looks terrible however you choose to paint it!

Coach H

bobmcstuff wrote:

Meridas always look cack anyway.

Oh I don't know, that one Jungels is riding looks OK!

FocusZing

The Coppi collection.

http://pages.rapha.cc/feature/made-in-italy

dish_dash

FocusZing wrote:

The Coppi collection.

http://pages.rapha.cc/feature/made-in-italy

FFS... is nothing sacred?

rick_chasey

dish_dash wrote:

FFS... is nothing sacred?

Well Coppi was an athiest...

rick_chasey

I'm still waiting for the Rapha Super Mario special.

FocusZing

I guess it's good marketing spin with a hundred years of the Giro. I like it:)

pinno

Rick Chasey wrote:

I'm still waiting for the Rapha Super Mario special.

They have already done it. You can have a choice of green or red shirt, green or red hat:

mamil314

It's a bit ridiculous now. If they hope to attract me with events full of PED abusing 'champions' of the past, well, it is, actually, having an opposite effect. They could release Caesar or Mussolini lines for all i care, and i have and like some Rapha pieces.

pinno

mamil314 wrote:

It's a bit ridiculous now. If they hope to attract me with events full of PED abusing 'champions' of the past, well, it is, actually, having an opposite effect. They could release Caesar or Mussolini lines for all i care, and i have and like some Rapha pieces.

PED's or concoctions that were deemed to enhance the performance of cyclists in the 1930's were viewed as 'innovative' and 'ingenious'. So the culture of drug taking was once upon a time socially accepted. Tom Simpson died as a direct result of partaking in a practice that although illicit, was accepted as a necessity if one was to compete. Then came slow steps to curb the practice until technology improved to the point where they could test for certain substances, Concurrently, medical breakthrough's have provided a source of some very sophisticated drugs which can enhance an athlete's performance.
It is a reflection of what is morally acceptable at any given time. Now we live in an era where drug testing and the use of drugs is taken very seriously, so what was acceptable then may not be acceptable now.
Couple the adoration of stars, celebrities with money and the commercial pressure of the advertising space that is a cyclist (and their bicycles), the culture we live in incentivises taking illegal substances.

Given the above, at what point do you as an individual decide that person a or person b in era x or y should be disregarded because of their actions when the taking of what we now call PED's has been a long and gradual process gaining sophistication and ever increasing reward?

It's one thing to sit on a moral pedestal now but it's flawed to use that moral pedestal for the past.

Soz guys, you can get back on topic if you like.

mamil314

Thanks for elaborate reply. I would agree with most of your statements, but it hardly matters. Rapha is pushing wares now, to us, and not to our ancestors of 1930s (even if sometimes it seems to pretend it did). Not all of us can be bothered to roleplay what was cool back then; maybe i am just not emphatic enough. Or should get out to events more and see what appreciation for memorabilia is about.

pinno

mamil314 wrote:

Thanks for elaborate reply. I would agree with most of your statements, but it hardly matters. Rapha is pushing wares now, to us, and not to our ancestors of 1930s (even if sometimes it seems to pretend it did). Not all of us can be bothered to roleplay what was cool back then; maybe i am just not emphatic enough. Or should get out to events more and see what appreciation for memorabilia is about.

Fair enough but the likes of Prendas have been doing retro stuff for years and no one has complained.

FocusZing

kleinstroker

that Lapierre looks pretty good, shame they're not very popular