Useful reference article

Bicycling July 1988

The emperor's new clothes

La Carrera "Futura" Colnago Master track frame. Sold USD $12,101 (14 Nov)

Damien Hirst screen print "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide". Sold £10,000

Art because I tell you so.

Art

The troll finds much of modern art impenetrable. Bicycles and bicycle parts are much more accessible. Not to mention (often, but not always) more shiny.

Have iphone. Will take photo and post on internet.

By happy circumstance, an opportunity arose to expand the troll’s exposure on a weekend trip to Sydney. It was the 14th annual “Sculptures by the Sea” where artworks are strategically placed on a spectacular stretch of coastline between Bondi and Tamarama beaches. The sculptures are competing for a AUD $60,000 prize and all are apparently for sale - price on application. This public exhibition runs for a couple of weeks every year (28 Oct - 14 Nov this year) and, most importantly for the troll, is completely free (in matters artistic the troll prefers to look, touch, giggle, then go home - without having to part with coin).

Pictures from http://sculpturebythesea.com/

Art has a peculiar effect on people. Some are completely turned off by the very notion and (presumed) pretensions of its many vocal advocates. Others are more sanguine. In many ways art is like an appendix. An apparent addendum of human existence. Unobtrusive and probably important to human well-being, but volatile (or at least a little controversial) when it presents itself for recognition.

The troll once found himself at the National Art Gallery in Canberra (Canberra is Australia’s capital in the middle of nowhere simply because Sydney and Melbourne could not agree on who would get the top job. In 1908 a default location was chosen between the two cities, and conveniently, no one was living there at the time. No one wants to live there still...). And the the troll got educated. He worked out that he really liked Arthur Streeton but could take or leave his contemporary, Mr McCubbin. That Mr Warhol liked to (re)do pictures of soup cans, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe in psychedelic colours but could not paint within the lines. Unlike Jeff Smart who had really good vision and a steady hand. That Sidney Nolan used a big, black paint brush. And that Jackson Pollock's "Blue Poles" looks silly in a book but is mind-blowing in real life.

And that timing and context is important in all aspects of Life but particularly so in the understanding and appreciation of modern art. Indeed, this appears to be true of all forms of high-brow human endeavour.

Low-brow but not quite Neanderthal endeavours are more at the troll’s level. And so we come to this:

Colnago Stash & Futura. Collaboration of street artists with Colnago mediated by La Carrera Cycles 2007.

Art in the context of a bicycle.

Both bikes (limited edition of 33 each) are standard Colnago track frames painted by a street-artist-cum-fixed-wheel-enthusiast. Yes, it is very easy to poke fun or dismiss that which we do not understand. And the troll has clearly no idea what’s going on here. The Futura has a lot of colourful dots on it. The Stash has a lot of dark arrows. They look ridiculous. They would look more ridiculous if there was a matching kit to go with it.

Unfortunately there is.

The culprits are apparently well-respected graffiti artists and important proponents of “street culture”. A genre that the troll is not particularly familiar with (the troll likes his musty burrow - hanging out in the streets sounds like a little too much fun, not to mention dangerous) and so the statement is lost on him. But there are no provisions for attaching brake calipers on these frames. That's a shame. Pedestrians and other non-bicycling road users (99.8% of the population in most cities) will be too busy avoiding the death-defying antics of an obstreperous, brakeless track bike to have the wit to savour the artwork paraded in front of them.

Then again, it is possible that these items were meant for display only. The bicycle taken away from its natural environment and displayed on a wall. Street culture becomes wall culture. Or whatever.

Nearly 100 years earlier we had this displayed in the upper echelons of high society:

Bicycle wheel. Marcel Duchamp 1913.

Bicycle in the context of art.

Duchamp challenges the observer to question his notions of art as something perceived by the observer as opposed to necessarily something created by an artist. The first of his “readymades” (found objects placed in a setting that forces the observer to rethink common objects as art) it reassigns the perception of art as not merely the object observed but also the context in which such an object presents itself. Like the other readymades, the troll finds this an insightful, interesting and an important statement. So clever it makes his brain hurt. Clever but that doesn’t make it art.

Art is contentious because it defies definition. You can’t argue logically about it if you are unable to establish a reference point. For the troll, art is an experience of an object or event that appears deeper/ greater than the sum of its component parts. More than just paint on canvas. More than a collection of instruments playing a musical score. The troll has seen many beautiful and clever things but few that he has experienced as “art”.

And, no doubt, someone else will have a different opinion.

Back to the coast.

Although the troll rather enjoys mingling with rich, beautiful people in the midst of high culture, he is also rather fond of this stretch of rocky coastline. And, at some time, it would be appreciated that the area return to its status quo.

A pleasant stroll where raw nature meets refined human habitation.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours’s bike

Cinelli Laser track frame. Sold on ebay USD $5400 (31 Oct)

The troll has never really been all that enamoured by the various itinerations of the Cinelli Laser. Not because the lines aren’t clean or easy on the eye (they are) but because the troll only became aware of the Laser (precedence notwithstanding) after he had already espied and fallen for the Kestrel 200 SC in the May 1989 issue of Bicycle Guide.

The 200 SC was a cutting edge, carbon monocoque road frame that had beautiful flowing lines, light weight and (reportedly) great handling. And it wasn’t prone to catastrophic failure as some of its carbon/ fiberglass forebears. With the revolutionary Kestrel 4000 released a year earlier (1988, arguably the first production carbon monocoque road frame*) and the super-light Kestrel 200 EMS unveiled a year later (1990), the place for carbon amongst the bicycle elite was sealed. Admittedly, it did take quite some time for the traditional-minded Europhile-roadie to come to terms with the idea (it was up to the pagans that took up the nascent sport of “triathlon” and the heathen American cyclist to dare to embrace new technology).

In this setting a steel bicycle with its corner joints filled with bondo just didn't make sense. Not when there were ultra-light carbon creations to be had.

Well it didn’t make sense, that is, until now.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s bike...

-----------------------------

It is not that often that the sublime and the ridiculous gets captured in the one picture.

(the ridiculous, of course, being the fact that the 1st generation C record rear derailleur with the stamped logo has been paired with something other than a stamped 1st generation C Record crankset)

Modern pedals suggest that the bike will be ridden. Paper under the tyres suggest that the ride will be awfully short... or someone is gonna go through a lot of paper...

One version of the road-going Laser. Two examples.

Smooth transitions and perfect proportions. Classic yet timeless elegance. Art merged with technology. Form and function. That Cinelli blue... One can wax lyrical forever.

Just sinful.

(pictures from Circle Traders, a Japanese bicycle reseller)

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* Brent Trimble who designed the Kestrel 4000 (as well as doing designs under his own name and working for Trek in their early forays into carbon) was an early innovator and proponent of composite bicycle frames. Pity that there is little recognition of his work - well not much that I can find on an (admittedly superficial) internet search. Alas I will have to rely on a fading memory and some old bicycle magazines.

Bicycle Guide Aug 1988

http://www.mombat.org/Trimble.htm

And not to forget another member of the Trimble family ...

Bicycle Guide Aug 1989

Hot Designs... 1988

Bicycle Guide Nov/Dec 1988

Cino Cinelli

Bicycle Guide Jan/Feb 1989

Wanderings of an ebay troll

The troll’s on a short leash. An iconic image I have of 1970s Australia is the backyard Hill’s hoist (a stand-alone clothes line that characterised Australia as much as the outdoor dunny before Paul Hogan and "Crocodile Dundee" came along) with the toddler leashed to it by old stockings tied around his waist and secured to the upright of the hoist.

The classic Australian Hills hoist. In this current politically-correct-lest-you-be-regarded-as-a-moral-vacuum-come-pervert climate you will have to imagine the backyard with the child on the stockinged leash.

A dog barks in the distance.

The leash might be short but the troll has good vision. And the backyard fence is short. So the troll has been able to watch the passing ebay traffic.

3Rensho keirin track frameset. Sold USD $1,725 (13 Oct)

You have to admire the broad range of lug combinations used by San Rensho (3Rensho). This is perhaps a little frustrating for the focussed collector who has to confirm provenance but fascinating for the casual observer. This example sports the famous Ohtsuya “bent plate” bottom bracket shell and Yoshi’s “Superend” dropouts. The lugs have a single long point without cutouts (for a couple of other lug variations see my previous posts under single speed). Full chrome under the (original) 'Takizawa Blue' paint yet sharp enough the reveal the typically meticulous Japanese lugwork. Apparently built for Masamitsu Takizawa.

For comparison there was this ad which the Troll found fascinating (the Troll’s backyard is a little empty of things to play with):

offered for auction is one used steel track frameset MALI SPRINT. this frame rode to a Gold Medal in 1994 World championship in Palermo, Italy, by Galina Eniukhina. i got this frame by chance. the previous owner had told me that this frame is a real champion etc. but i had my doubts, so i had it repainted in color of my choice. then later this video footage (of this particular frame winning the 1994 world championship) surfaced on youtube... and i said: "...oh S#!T, what have i done!"

here's a video footage on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7SNAMWf08A

well, anyhow, this frame is now offered for auction here. it's way too small for me, and i need to make room for new projects. don't miss your chance to own a piece of cycling history.

this frame does not take anything larger than a 21c tire. please make note of that!

tires pictured here are 21cX700. this is a real professional track sprint frame without any provisions for brakes etc. bb threading is ENGLISH.

tubing is ORIA.

included in this auction are frame, fork, bb and headset. nothing else is included. the picture of a complete bike is here for reference purpose only. also, picture of frame in "before" condition is also for reference purpose.

i will update the rest of the info shortly.

here's a "before" picture

Mali track frameset. Starting bid USD $995 (no bids)

The ad comes across as frank, educational and entertaining as anyone with a fetish for bicycles could have made the same mistake. There are some among us that believe that old bikes should look and behave like old bikes while others are more progressive, replacing components that have worn out (or updating with newer technology that simply works better) and repainting when necessary (to protect the frame in some cases, or to freshen up a dated “colourway”). However, it is a sin to knowingly repaint a frame with significant provenance (the seller is excused but not forgiven by his failure to confirm provenance). Even worse if the frame build isn’t particularly exceptional (check out the overfill/ underfill in the struts at the admittedly tight BB junction, even the lugs haven’t had any refinement whatsoever).

And therein lies the Troll's fascination, nay admiration, of this frame and the sequence of events that has brought it onto the ebay market. Races are won by cyclists not bicycles - in this case a hardened and experienced cyclist trumps a younger rival on a fancy carbon frame. Her weapon of choice is customised to simply get the job done and nothing more. A great counterpoint for all those artisan bikes that get displayed rather than used for their intended purpose (my humble collection included). Then it got resprayed. And the statement lost its voice.

Speaking of collectible bicycles, quite a few made it through ebay (as usual, the Troll assumes all sales are prima facie)

Colnago C35 with Campagnolo Record groupset and Bora wheelset, NOS. Sold USD $4,450 (3 Oct)

Colnago Master with Campagnolo 50th anniversary groupset, mint. Sold USD $4,000 (18 Sep)

Campy 50th groups are getting harder to find so this appears to have been a good buy (even if the hubs were plain SR rather than having the privilege of Tullio's signature)

Gold-plated Pinarello with gold-plated ICS-modified 1984 Super Record groupset. Sold USD $6,100 (26 Sep)

This and the C35 and were sold by benotto69, who like speedbicycles, hails from Switzerland. How fabulously desirable road bikes cluster in a country renowned for its snow and precipitous alps is completely beyond the troll’s understanding.

Colnago Master Piu 35th anniversary Gold Edition, NOS. Reserve not met USD $7,300 (30 Sep).

Colnago Master with gold highlights and gold plated C Record group. Ad posted by radmatrose (haliling from Germany) who also sold the Master with 50th group.

The Troll understands that Mr Campagnolo never really liked Mr Granzotto of ICS (Italcicli Cycle Systems based in Zurich) modifying his components then chrome-plating or gold-plating them. If anyone has seen an ICS groupset (or, even better, adorning an ICS-made Magni Exclusiv) then they will understand the meaning of an immaculate "bright finish" (the Troll did once look upon an ICS group but scampered back into his burrow to rest his eyes - for a week). Maybe this was Mr Campagnolo's counter-attack, teaming up with his good mate Ernesto?

Clearly, in this current economic climate, many collectors, like their investor brethren (they may indeed be one and the same given the level of the playing field) are looking to the security of gold in place of the flagging American dollar. Screams style and money. Like putting a Mercedes-Benz emblem on your forehead.

Then there are those relatively rare bikes that never really made any sense to the Troll.

1983 Colnago Master "Equilateral" with Super Record groupset. Sold USD $3,500 (1 Oct)

Something appears to have been lost in the translation as there isn’t anything "equilateral" about this frame design. And if it was I suspect that anything written in the Paterek manual would have to be thrown out in the search of geometric accuracy. The Troll has heard various reports that such a design is meant to stiffen the rear triangle (by virtue of a smaller rear triangle) and soften the ride (by virtue of a longer unsupported seat tube). Even if this were true an Italian bike should never sport an industrial look at the expense of aesthetics. That is simply not the Italian way.

However, if it is made by GT, called a “triple triangle”, and looks likes this...

GT Zasker LE. Brash American with a shiny ball-burnished aluminium frame

... then the Troll will probably try and dry hump it.

Besides anything made of Italian steel should really look more like this:

Colnago Master Olympic frameset in good used condition. Sold USD $1,277 (16 Oct)

Preferably with a 53-54cm cc TT because that size just looks right with 700c wheels (and and just happens to be the Troll’s ideal size).

And not to forget C Record track componentry which continues to command high prices especially since fixed-gear riding hipsters have started to place them on their alter (read retro or retro-look track bike) for adulation and worship.

Campagnolo "sheriff star" pista hubset, NOS NIB. Sold USD $950 (5 Oct)

We all needs shiny iconography.

And for those that want brakes there is, of course, the delta brakeset.

Campagnolo C Record Delta brakset, NOS NIB. Sold USD $835 (18 Oct)

Yep, 4th generation delta’s still in the box. Not a bad price given what the Troll has seen over the past few of years. Especially since the 4th gens are probably the pinnacle of the delta brake evolution when Campagnolo was still in denial and thought they could make the concept work. By the 5th generation Campy accepted their failure to sell this beautiful but frightfully expensive bicycle decoration and focussed instead on their dual pivot brakeset.

And (with a sigh of finality) if you must have the ultimate in hand-stitched cow skin stretched over titanium rails there was this:

Brooks Swallow Limited Edition, NOS NIB. Sold GBP 330 (16 Oct)

There can be only one king.

(All photos and details taken directly off the ebay postings)