In the 70’s Gustav Thoeni and Piero Gros were the kings of the slopes: nobody could attack the slalom gates tighter and faster: they dominated skiing for six years.
Then came a young Swede from Lapland who did things differently; rather than trying to cut the sharpest corner at each gate, hitting the blue and red post with his shoulders, Stenmark focused on keeping his slalom as smooth as possible: no hard edges but an elegant flow.
It was all over for the Italians.
In the morning rush hour, people on racers and fixie, their head down, are keen to show the lightness of their machine and toughness of their calves; they distance me on some straight stretches, but when we approach a junction, I, sitting comfortably on a Retrovelo or an Azor, with a clear outlook on the movement of all other vehicles, find the perfect line and effortlessy leave them behind.
It happens every morning.
A couple of days ago, a gentleman was debating which of two second-hand Scorchers to buy: I suggested the upright one, a bike so comfortable that mounting it was like sitting on your favourite sofa; he opted instead for the racy one: short Nitto stem, straight bars and a slightly small frame for him. The following day, riding downhill in St. James a taxi made an unsignalled u-turn and our customer flew over the bonnet. Luckily damage was limited to a bruised knee and a twisted roller brake. Totally the taxi-driver’s fault [who incidentally drove off], but I cannot help feeling that if he had opted for the more sensible bike, he wouldn’t be stitching his suit’s trousers now.
Style (and safety) over speed.
I totally agree! I ride a Farrhad Manufaktur T100, and I really appreciate the grace and 'foresight' afforded by sitting more upright.
Agree with that 100%. You may need to change your advertising blurb for the Scorchers though as I fear your may be edging impressionable city slickers to race around London at high speed with scant regard for their own safety. Probably not a bad thing in some instances so well done.
Couple of suggestions:
– 'Go fast and tackle anything the road can throw at you on our Scorcher Sport' to 'Go gracefully and tackle anything, except idiotic London taxi drivers, the road can throw at you on our Scorcher Sport'
- 'A fast street riding machine, with only the bare essentials' to 'A viewing platform for the street scene to help protect your bare essentials’
Total nonsense! I commute on a 'racer', as you put it, quite often and with 30 plus years worth of cycling in my legs you certainly wouldn't leave me behind at the lights – nor would you safely keep up with me either. Not because I consider my daily commute a race, but because I, and those of my ilk, also know how read the road correctly and can certainly ride with safety and elegance – and still keep up with the flow of traffic (the safest speed to travel). Indeed, I personally find the effortless grace of the road bike to be of the highest order. No other cycle comes remotely close.
And as for your upright position, dropped bars give you more variety of hand positions than virtually any off the peg handlebar, including several variations of upright. The individuals you describe may be moronically competitive but not all of us on road bikes are like that.
Don't judge a book and all that
Great Style. Love the colour of the bike. Fitting the photo is taken as she's cycling past a clothes shop
Loved it! way to go!
Well done. I hope others enjoyed this as much as I did.