Ideale Saddles

As 2017 draws to a close today, I’m a little intrigued by the promising revival of a few storied makers. A few years ago, Compass and Boulder revived the Rene Herse name. And while some may grouse that these are mirrors of the original product, I’d argue that they’ve done right by the name and continued to innovate.

Although they’ve played their cards close to the vest, Chater-Lea is staging some kind of revival as well. What exactly that means is still anyone’s guess, but in 2017 their Instagram account and newsletter has been a constant and merciless tease of things to come that kind of excites me.

For those of us who continue to torture our souls with French bike-ness, 2017 served up an intriguing revival, that of French saddle maker Ideale. Like Chater-Lea, it was difficult to discover anything concrete about them until recently. Their website is under construction and the links don’t work at all, but once again Instagram came to my rescue: their account page has a message link. Katia, one of the two people working on the Ideale revival, promptly responded back to my query with some interesting information:

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your message and your interest. Sorry our website is still
under construction. We are only two people, my husband and I on this
project.

My husband, Fred, found the former team of Ideale, they are retired old
people who accepted to help us and show us their know-how because they
regretted the disappearance of this prestigious brand.

They worked hard together for 5 years to recreate all the tools needed
to make the saddle.

The Idéale 90 is a traditionally-made product manufactured in the purest
traditional method.
As for the original saddles, we use high-quality leather. It is a
12-months oak bark tanned leather. Only 3 tanneries in Europe, and only
one in France are still able to manufacture this quality of leather.

As at the time, the Idéale 90 will be offered either in black color
(tinted according to a very old process that reacts metallic salts with
the tannins of the leather, this color will acquire a dark brown patina
like natural leather) or in natural. Both are full grain leather, not
corrected. Each piece of the chassis is handmade with the highest
possible quality.
It will be a very small production because we are only 2 on this
project.

The gauge is not cut staggered in the croup, but respecting the leather
fibers and the different thicknesses. This makes it possible to adapt a
thickness of leather to a cyclist weight and thus makes it possible to
have a saddle that is the most adapted to the morphology. The cyclists
below 75Kg who tested our saddles find a real comfort on the less thick
ones.

The price is 210 euros + shipping cost, Paypal is currently the only way
currently for international payments.

A Weeklong Cornucopia of Bikes

Last weekend was my first ride on my baby since doing an endo a few days earlier. I’d been terrified to get back on my favorite bike because I didn’t want to discover some catastrophic problem. Hell, let’s be honest – I didn’t even want to face up to a scratch. So imagine my relief to get back on the bike and find there are no issues. Even my own bruises have healed up. Life is fine!

(OK, turns out there is a small bite out of my Cambium C-17, and a scratch on my front rim. I’ll ignore the bite, and I’ve polished out the rough spot on the braking surface. It’s all about the patina, right?)

This is a great time of year. I couldn’t care any less about tight jerseys and logo wear. Give me a sweatshirt and a wool cap!

I am sensing a location trend in photo opps this week. My Raleigh International was feeling a little lonely, so I took her out for a spin late one afternoon and found myself stopping for a “water bottle shot” with my iPhone at the exact same spot as I did with the Boulder in the photos above.

I’d been swapping around some components on bikes, so this was an opportunity to dial in the saddle position of the Brooks Pro that was finding its way back onto the Raleigh. I needed the Cambium C17 to better fit the saddle set back on my L’Avecaise, and the Brooks Pro set back is a little closer to my ideal on the Raleigh. Regardless of how precise my measurements are, I still have to finagle the positioning of things so they feel “right” to me on any particular bike. This was no different – I’d ride for a mile, get off and adjust. Repeat. I don’t think I ever even broke a sweat.

Last Sunday started out cold and windless, but by the time I arrived at the downtown airport with my 1966 Paramount – where there are absolutely no windbreaks, incidentally – there was a cold, stiff wind coming up out of the southwest. The airport loop is almost entirely flat, with only two tiny hills. Flags were furiously flapping from poles, nearly straight out, and as I pedaled in a generally northward direction I was flying. Coming into the two hills that mark a turn to the east, and then to the south, I found myself immediately reminded that my bike is outfitted with a 52/42 crank. (And, by golly, that’s the “old man” set of rings I replaced the original 53/48 rings with!)

The white Paramount is a pretty sharp bike and it rides very nicely. Even though it’s a racing bike, the geometry is much more generous when compared to today’s standards of design. Limping into the parking lot, I encountered this wonderful old TWA jet and set up my white and red-trimmed Paramount for a photograph in front of the red with white-trimmed aircraft. Pretty cool visual, I think.

Living near the Missouri River means the geography isn’t especially flat. The roads are replete with undulating hills the closer one gets to the river and the river bluffs. My legs are feeling pretty good as the summer and fall riding draws to a close and riding my fixed gear Hobbs along country roads, particularly on still days, isn’t as challenging as it will be a couple months from now.

This being the case, I am enjoying these rare, nice December days to ride my 70 year old bike. I discovered that fixed gear actually works pretty well on loose gravel, where a rider will pretty much be pedaling the entire time anyway. I don’t know about anyone else, but I seldom find myself coasting along on the freewheel in such conditions.

Three-speed derelict

We pull up to a roadside antique store and – as always – I scan the perimeter for old bikes. Spotting one leaning up against a tree I wander over for a gander, and my wife heads for the front door of the place. I am a bit obsessed with finding something cool and unusual and while the vast majority of bikes I come across at antique stores are rusting hulks, I did spot a Masi Gran Criterium hanging from the ceiling at one such place last month. At $3,000, it was more than a little out of my price range, but I felt vindicated that such things could still be found.

The bike I scope out on this particular morning is unusual. It appears to be fully chromed, though the chrome is flaking off, a victim of exposure. The drive is an unidentified three-speed and the saddle has long since lost everything except for the skeleton. There’s a badly faded head badge and as I tilt my head back and forth I can barely make out letters and what appears to be some sort of larger round symbol. After a few minutes of study, I decide the text says “Flying O.” Never heard of it. Looking it up on the internet later, I discover that brand was made by Otasco, a hardware chain out of Oklahoma. Since I’m in Northwest Arkansas, only a few miles from the border line, that kind of makes sense.

The bottom bracket seems to be frozen – not surprising if the bike has been leaning against the tree for a few years. Still, it’s not in terrible condition so I lift it up. It weighs a ton!

Oh well, even thought it’s only thirty bucks, it would be too small for me, and anyway, there’s really no room in my car. I leave the chrome bike leaning against the tree to continue its slow dissolution.

Tweed Ride

I look forward to our annual “Tweed Ride” every year. First off, I get to combine two of my passions – sketching and vintage bicycles. But more to the point, it’s just a cool, genteel event. Kindred souls get gussied up in their best thrift store version of 1930s and 40s era attire. We ride bicycles, slowly and leisurely. It’s a celebration of quieter, bygone time, a day when the bicycle was a very important mode of transportation and two thousand pounds of steel didn’t rule every paved road.

Our local Tweed Ride begins and ends in the old Northeast section of the city, adjacent to the Kansas City Museum. The neighborhood is a rich subject by itself – the museum, the houses… someone could spend months documenting the great architecture. Our gathering place is a park next to Cliff Drive, with some interesting architectural follies that provide a great spot for milling about in tweedy high fashion, lean vintage bicycles against tall stone columns, and socialize in well-mannered, courteous, and decidedly polite company. After the ride, we picnic and perhaps enjoy a cup of tea (or a glass of wine from a wicker basket that – in our case – also housed a luncheon of goodies from a local gourmet eatery.)

Turns out that I’ve sketched several of the musicians providing entertainment at previous events. I started with pencil and quickly decided those drawing had already been done and didn’t really interest me to do again, so I focused on the one guy I’d not seen before – the accordion player.

(Also published on my sketcher’s blog, Just Sketching.)

Be Invisible.

This is my Sunday morning plea. I won’t call it a “rant” – I haven’t gone on one of those in a while, and frankly they do little other than to make me even more hyper-aware of whatever obscure topic happens to be bothering me at that moment.

So, a plea it is. Cyclists, if your riding is primarily JRA outings (Just Ridin’ Around, please consider wearing comfortable, every day looking clothing. Unless you are a BASC (Bad Ass Serious Cyclist) – and really, unless you’re actually a racer out racing, or at least training for a race, you’re probably on a JRA ride.

Where I live, nearly every cyclist I encounter is garbed in skin tight Lycra, covered in logos or eye-melting colors and patterns, or both. (Well, not my friend Bob. I don’t see him often, but when I do he’s comfortably sporting shorts and sneakers. Thumbs up to you, Bob!) But here’s the thing: If you’re riding around the block or doing a two mile stretch through the park on your “townie,” do you really need $75 padded cycling shorts and an equally pricey wet suit-like microfiber jersey that weighs less than a quarter ounce just because it has a couple of pockets aft?

Please understand I’m not arguing against common sense cycling gear. A good quality shoe that meets my needs is something I personally value, especially if I’m riding for distance. In yesterday’s cool 40 degree weather, a decent base layer was the right call. Sometimes I wear a pair of purpose-made cycling knickers with knee socks; yesterday it was Levi 501’s. In the wind, a good shell makes sense… mine is a windbreaker I picked up on the cheap at an Eddie Bauer outlet. Even cheaper still is the black wool cardigan I got from a thrift store (three or four bucks, if I recall correctly.) A wool cap from Walz. A Dollar Store bandana purchase.

I ride a lot, but not everything I do is riding. I get off the bike to sketch. (A lot.) Or on my return ride, stop on the square at the pub. (Actually, I do that a lot too.) I feel oddly conspicuous clacking across the floor of the pub in skin hugging super hero tights. And let’s face it, I’m no longer built like Ryan Reynolds. (Don’t you like how I implied that I once was? Fact checker: I never was.)

I think it’s just plain weird that cyclists feel the need to go through an entire ritual of dressing in special clothing just to ride a bike. (Weird? Yes. Also the result of great marketing.) So my plea: Go for a ride today. Need to change your shoes or put on a windbreaker? OK. But beyond that, just hop on your bike and take off. Go ride. Enjoy the day. Turn on your blinky. In all other ways be invisible.

Day Touring on a 1946 Hobbs

The plan was a weekend of cyclo-touring along Northwest Arkansas’ Razorback trail. Until very recently, I’d been entirely unaware of this miles-long multipurpose trail that connects various cities, including Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and Bella Vista. Once discovered though, I was anxious to explore – and thrilled to discover an entrance to the trail only a few hundred feet from the apartment we use part-time in Rogers.

My initial rides left me with the impression that the trail was an octopus-like system, and without a map I found it difficult to navigate. Turns out that the signage along the trail provides excellent directions and navigational assistance; one should probably take time to read them. I know once I did it became appallingly clear how idiot-proof they’d made this trail system. Trust an idiot to put it to the test!

The other take away from my early explorations was that the trail seemed so flat that I could easily imagine how one could bike commute with abandon in these communities.  For my weekend of cyclo-touring, the plan was for slow, leisurely riding so that my wife could comfortably keep pace. Flat and slow seemed like a recipe for fixed gear touring, so I brought my 1946 Hobbs of Barbican Superbe along for the next visit.

Following the signage, we discovered a few miles down the trail where I’d been missing the turn to leave Rogers for Bentonville. (We also discovered that the entire trail isn’t flat!) My wife, who is spending more time in the area than I for her job, had already driven to the Bentonville square. I went with her on my previous visit, quickly decided I liked it there, and was anticipating an immediate return via bicycle.

The trail, which never seems to be far away from the main highways, is nevertheless quite sheltered and meanders through neighborhoods, parks, and a surprising number of wooded greenways. “Surprising,” because this area has exploded. My childhood memories of the place rely on words like “small” and “quaint.” While the “quaint” is still in evidence, what was once a few small towns every ten miles along US71 has become one single continuous and unnervingly (in a good way) cosmopolitan cityscape. The trail is a series of very well designed and thought out arteries that stitch together what was once discreetly different communities.

Yes, nearly every upper end restaurant, mercantile, fashion outlet, and bar can be found here – but travel a block or two and you find that at the core that “quaint,” hometown flavor is still evident in great abundance. The Bentonville Square, for instance, is a terrific destination for a cool mixture of throwback architecture, warm and friendly locals and gawking visitors, hip eateries and food trucks, and easy access to the Crystal Bridges art museum. In fact, the Razorback Trail has a spur that takes you right to the museum; we were able to ride through the forested museum grounds and park our rides right next to the main building.

As of this writing, there is an outdoor exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s glasswork. My bike seemed to appreciate taking in his work as much as I did!

This was by far the longest I’ve spent in the saddle on my ’46 Hobbs. Usually, I’ll get in a fast-paced 20 mile ride, so slow paced touring was a different sort of testing ground. How did this work out? Well, it’s important to share a few changes I’ve recently made.

First off, after pining for Lauterwasser bars I bought a pair of Soma reproduction bars a year and a half ago. I love the way they look but could never get myself comfortable for riding more than a few miles: Getting the stem/height/reach optimized never happened for me. I pulled them off and replaced them with drop bars and a different stem. If I’d had on hand another set of randonneur bars, I’d likely have used them but the new combination was immediately lightyears more comfortable. While I was at it, I replaced the Weinmann center pulls and levers with dual pivot side pull calipers and a much more modern set of levers. I think they look fine, stop even better, and feel good to my hands. I left the Campy pedals, but after five nearly continuous hours of touring I’ve decided to replace them with a pair of MKS Sylvan touring pedals. They look the part, and just work better for riding without toe cages.

Back to the point: How’d the Hobbs do? I was quite happy riding it on these paths. I did have to muscle my way up a couple of hills, but nothing I will complain about. I’ve come to enjoy pushing myself on fixed gear and look forward to riding a little faster on my own the next time I’m in Arkansas. But I will definitely be bringing this bike with me for my visits.

Obsessive Compulsive Bike Nerd

OK, I’m a nerd. I obsessively ponder and analyze the personal fit of my bicycles. Having settled upon my Boulder as the analysis “control” because it meets my personal fit criteria better than any other bike ever has, I’ve set up a controlled visual comparison of the geometry. Using a static, controlled camera position and a controlled location for each subject, I’ve photographed several of the bikes I ride on a regular basis. In a digital imaging application I’ve traced the primary lines of geometry, points of contact, and spacing from my Boulder. That drawing has been layered on top of each bike for comparison, and then each bike repositioned to align with the bottom bracket of the Boulder. At a glance, there isn’t a lot of difference in points of contact. Reach is not exact, but similar. Saddle position, the same story. Spacing is significantly different, as is trail. Once again, it’s startling how very small differences can make for a completely different cockpit and ride experience over distance, road conditions, and time in the saddle.

In this analysis, we’re looking at a 1966 Paramount. This is a particularly comfortable riding bike for me, although it feels a bit more aggressive than my Boulder. The comparison indicates a great deal of similarity between the set up of the two bikes, which explains to me, in large part, why I enjoy riding this one as much as I do. The comparison also suggests that if I were to raise the stem about the width of the stem, and to use rando bars to achieve the difference in rise I might better replicate the riding experience of the Boulder. The Brooks Pro is well known for an inability to achieve greater set back than many other saddles, my Cambium C17 saddles included. Still, I like the way they fit and am willing to make the compromise.

Here we are comparing to a 1989 Paramount. The wheelbase is shorter and the overall frame more compact, and obviously racier. Both this and my Boulder are Waterford built frames and both have a difficult-to-define ride quality that I enjoy. I find myself having to settle into a different ride position on this bike, which is unsettling at first – it takes me a while to get used to the different balance and stretch if I’ve been primarily riding the Boulder.

In considering this 70’s (?) era Bernard Carre frame and arrangement, I run into a curiosity. One might think the steeper steerer would result in a completely different ride experience than on the Boulder. And while that’s not inconsistent with my own riding experience, the curious thing is that it’s not so different as to be noticeable when I switch riding between the two bikes. In other words, I can easily jump off one and onto the other without my body rebelling. The leverage of the MAFAC levers requires a grip of steel and I will likely swap them out for something that provides greater ease of pull from the hoods – perhaps a pair of 105’s?

The International is a comfy, all-day-long kind of rider, so it’s a little unsettling to notice how much difference there is in the trail between it and my Boulder.

The Lyon continues to be a bit of an enigma for me. Despite an almost identical configuration to my Boulder in terms of spacing and contact points, I’ve yet to feel like I’ve “nailed” the set up. First off, there is a nagging “ting ting ting” that sounds like it’s coming from the brand spanking new bottom bracket. This is far from my first rodeo, and I know that weird sounds are almost never actually coming from that location. I’m exhausting all the possibilities first: saddle, seat pin, pedals, crank, crank bolts, headset, and so on. But sometimes, a duck really is a duck, and after a weekend of riding on smooth paths so I could test all the options, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have a bad bottom bracket. Spinning up to speed is a chore, so maybe it’s binding under load. My wheel set might also need to have the hubs serviced. Long story short: This bike should feel a lot racier than it does. In my mind it’s an issue with something in the set up that I haven’t yet identified. It’s frustrating, to be honest, and that frustration means I cannot yet make a fair comparison to my Boulder.

 

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Speaking of obsessing, I’ve been agonizing over the Lauterwasser bars I put on my 1946 Hobbs of Barbican last year. Agonizing over what? They look cool as hell, and they are certainly the right look for this time period. There’s a great example on the Classic Lightweights site with Lauterwasser bars.
But jeez, I just can’t get comfortable riding with them. They always feel awkward for any distance greater than a couple of miles. So I changed them out for drop bars, a little longer stem – and while I was at it, I swapped out the Weinmann center pulls for dual pivot side pulls.

Gonna have to use your imagination here. The fields of soybeans yesterday were dusty yellows and browns, with a brilliant blue sky framing far off hills of caramel, olive, and bits of sunset orange. The 1946 Hobbs is blue with red accents, and is a blast to ride fixed wheel over miles of pretty flat river bottom highway surrounded by miles of those hues.
And that is the bottom line. Despite my obsessive compulsive tendencies, at the end of the day the ride is really all that matters to me.

Whimsical evil

Out on my 1989 Waterford-built Schwinn Paramount this early Sunday morning, I managed to stay just ahead of the incoming thunderstorm. After a hilly second half of yesterday’s BikeMo 2017 I woke this morning feeling a little stiff, but not at all sore. In fact, I felt chipper enough that a spirited ride seemed in order, so I pulled out of the drive way atop the Paramount.

Most of my riding is done on brevet-style bikes, sometimes for long distance comfort, but mostly for the “any distance” comfort. Fat tires, drop bars, stretched out position, granny gears for the hills – it’s all part of my daily bread and butter. My speedier bikes, quite frankly, don’t get nearly as much ride time.

When I refer to “speedier” bikes, by the way, it’s relative to me and my small collection. Notice that the Paramount sports a triple with a wider range cassette, and it really shouldn’t be confused with an actual competition racing bike. But it’s a fast bike for me. See? It’s all about context.

And I’m always happily surprised at how responsive and quick this bike seems to be when I’ve jumped off my regulars to give it a spin.

In a couple of days we celebrate the Paramount’s 29th birthday. For as long as I’ve owned it, this bike has always been fully dressed out in an evil looking black kit, offset only by the silvery graphics. For its birthday, I’ve replaced the black handlebar wrap with a much happier and decidedly more whimsical lime green. This one change is jarringly different to my eye, but I think I rather like it.

A couple of other mods have taken place as well. I swapped out the 3ttt racing bars for a Nitto B135 randonneur handlebar. A lengthier 3ttt stem allowed me to inch the saddle forward a little bit, which more accurately mimics the fit of my brevet bikes. As I get older, I find a stretched out and longer cockpit to be more and more comfortable. My bikes have been correspondingly refitted.

The other mod was pedals: Much as I used to like SpeedPlay, I’ve grown to appreciate a larger and more stable platform. Sometimes I’d experience hotspots on the flat of my foot if I rode with SpeedPlay pedals for more than an hour or two. I’ve had excellent experience with VP-001 Vice pedals, and with an extra set already on hand I reasoned that these might better encourage more ride time on this terrific bike.

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Now, as the thunderstorm has caught up with me and I sit in my studio typing this missive and staring out the window as fat drops of rain smack against the glass, I ponder a shower as well as the various projects I’ve set aside until the winter months arrive. September will be here in just a couple of days and I grow antsy, knowing that daylight is already growing shorter. I glance over by the wall of books and see the Paramount leaning against the shelves. I smile at the whimsically evil bike.

I love June.

I love this first week of June. I love pausing at the edge of town before heading out into the hills. I love pedaling up those hills in a gear perfectly matched to my cadence. The mulberries are ripe and plump and sweet, not to mention plentiful. I love stopping under a tree to pluck handfuls of the berries that I stuff into my mouth, and I love how my fingers are so sticky and Burgundy-stained that I am compelled to lick them as clean as is possible.

Dirty Kanza took place a couple days ago and I periodically ask myself if I feel up to that sort of challenge. Do I feel a real pull toward gravel? The answer is: Occasionally. But more to the point, I feel drawn to old roads, those country lanes that are often crumbling and bandaged together (or not much at all), those paths that meander past farmland and boxy farmhouses and barns, through woods and over hills. I love stopping to sketch when the muse visits or when I simply feel like taking a break for water, a snack, or another handful of mulberries.

I realized yesterday that I’ve neglected my 1946 Hobbs of Barbican Superbe these past few months. I love this bike for completely different reasons than the reason I love my Boulder. I love heading out into the flats, the fixed gear compelling me to pedal without stop, unless, in fact, I’m actually stopped. I love the feeling of being pulled along, and I realized I missed experiencing that feeling from time to time. So this was my bike choice yesterday morning, running ten-mile “time trial” loops, and loving the tug on my leg muscles that comes from these rides. I also realized that the installation of Lauterwasser bars aligned with the time that I stopped riding the Hobbs regularly. I wonder if that has anything to do with it? I love the look of these bars, but I’m not sure they are the most comfortable ride choice for me and my hands. Perhaps I will return to traditional drop or rando bars, which meet my riding and position needs better. I’m sure I’ll love the change, because, after all, it’s June and what’s not to love?

Shakedown Ride.

This is the finished build following my initial shakedown ride this morning. Panaracer Pasella tires sure “look the part” but I will probably go with something a little less stodgy feeling once I’ve rebuilt 700c wheels around the high flange Campy hubs still waiting in the queue.

I found that the saddle needed a slight adjustment, and the front brake required a tiny bit of fiddling with the tension. I must be getting pretty good at eyeballing my builds, because otherwise this build came together quite effortlessly.

A few years ago I wound up getting a screaming good swap meet bargain on a box of Brooks leather bar wrap. The funny thing is that the box specifies the color as “honey,” which this is decidedly not. I bought the bar wrap about the same time that the notion of white tubing began to bounce around in my head, so in one sense the misidentified tape seems to have been paired up with the Paramount from the start. I’ve wrapped it over a coat of cotton wrap to give the bar diameter just a little greater heft.

Taking the bike out for the first ride this morning I was a tiny bit nervous. Had I forgotten anything? Was everything tightened down? Going down the first hill I hoped I had adequately snugged down the handlebars. I glanced down to check the quick release levers on both wheels were as they should be. I wiggled my foot to see if the crank set wobbled. The saddle, as I mentioned before, needed adjustment so I stopped for a moment to lower it slightly and to play with the front brake cable. Mark Twain stood there watching – fat load of help he was.

I’ve a pretty standard route I follow on each inaugural ride that involves downhills, curves, flats, and climbs. Since it’s the first time out the gate, everything seems new and I’m generally hypersensitive to noises, clicks, wobbles, sways, and literally anything a bike might do. This first ride is really important for identifying problems and dialing in things. Aside from the sluggish nature of the Panaracer Pasela tires, I’m very happy to acknowledge that everything seems to be clicking for me.

Speaking of tires, I’m also very happy to note there were no flats because I completely forgot to mount a frame pump this morning!