Bicycle Quarterly Reviews the Love #3

[John Mansell]

I am not a bike expert or tester but a bike geek that enjoys racing, I have owned over 30 different highend race oriented bikes in the last 3 years from both the big companies and small one man shops. If Someone asked me which bike handles and accelerates the best, the Love #3 would be the first thing out of my mouth. The Love #3 is one incredible bike and I don't see how anyone doesn't get it...

[DOOFUS]

i think you misunderstood me. Singer and the rest did not just make Audax bikes. They also made racing bikes and still do;

Cycles Alex Singer - Competition

they were not set up like the Audax bikes at all, but they did have lower trail (48-50) then is common today.

that's a pretty bike

have fun actually racing with your bars that high

it's called "competition," but that's no modern race bike

now, it's a gorgeous piece of work and a hell of a bike from a one of the best handbuilders in the world, no doubt. that would be awesome for going out and riding with your buds and would give a lifetime of pleasure.

it's not a tool for a crit

have fun, man

[JohnHemlock]

i'd have to agree with this and add that most of the so-called rando models, especially from the contemporary f'builders who
are all copying each others styles and details vis-a-vis (that's french, by the way...) flickr pages and blogs - these are hardly
ever near a rando event atmo, much less made for or purchased by folks that would ever compete in one. there's a whole lotta
i wanna be a constructeur stuff going but the era in which truly integrated bicycles had a regular arena in which to compete
has long since passed. now what we see is the bicycle equal to civil war reenactments atmo. and i'll leave it here for now - the
pegoretti at issue is as fine a bicycle as anyone would ever need for PBP or any brevet AS LONG AS IT FITS THE RIDER.

Gold Jerry, Gold!

[davids]

I am not a bike expert or tester but a bike geek that enjoys racing, I have owned over 30 different highend race oriented bikes in the last 3 years from both the big companies and small one man shops. If Someone asked me which bike handles and accelerates the best, the Love #3 would be the first thing out of my mouth. The Love #3 is one incredible bike and I don't see how anyone doesn't get it...

Over 30 bikes in three years? I thought only money launderers bought that many bikes. How have you had time to form anything more than a first impression about any of them?

[josh]

that's a pretty bike

have fun actually racing with your bars that high

it's called "competition," but that's no modern race bike

now, it's a gorgeous piece of work and a hell of a bike from a one of the best handbuilders in the world, no doubt. that would be awesome for going out and riding with your buds and would give a lifetime of pleasure.

it's not a tool for a crit

have fun, man

Are you serious? Those bars aren't that high, in fact they're about as high or even lower than the headtube on the Love #3 in question. And while we're on the subject of Big Mig, you should tell him he needs to lower his bars too, since they're at least as high as the Singer in question.

[Disturbed]

AC's bike from this decade.

[boots2000]

What group buys the most Pegoretti frames?
1.) Racers or racer wanna-be types
2.) Crazy bike enthusiasts that get a bike to ride the shit out of it- they ride all their gear into the ground before replacing
3.) Punters who buy every bike out there that is either hard to get or supposed to have a magical ride

[crumpton]

last PBP pics i saw, most were on modern race bikes. in fact just about all. just an observation.

[e-RICHIE]

last PBP pics i saw, most were on modern race bikes. in fact just about all. just an observation.

mebbe the pic was of the first 200 finishers atmo.

[henry g.]

mebbe the pic was of the first 200 finishers atmo.

Made me curious:
PBP 2007 Time Results

Of the first 20 fastest finishers whose bikes appear in their pictures all appear to be on modern racing bikes -one was on a Specialized and 2 others on Look CF racing bikes. Others were not identifiable but no bags and skinny tires with center-mount side pull brakes on all.

[timto]

mebbe the pic was of the first 200 finishers atmo.

awesome

[e-RICHIE]

Made me curious:
PBP 2007 Time Results

Of the first 20 fastest finishers whose bikes appear in their pictures all appear to be on modern racing bikes -one was on a Specialized and 2 others on Look CF racing bikes. Others were not identifiable but no bags and skinny tires with center-mount side pull brakes on all.

that's a great resource there henry atmo.
i clicked about 15 images and saw no fenders, handlebar bags, or lugs with brass filler in the crutch.
quel dommage (french for what cheese...)
here is a typical top ten at PBP atmo -

[zakk]

check out the picture of the last guy on the list.

crashed out.

hookah in the background.

just going for it!

[jscottyk]

...what we see is the bicycle equal to civil war reenactments atmo.

WORD

I see a t-shirt coming out of this quote.

[EricKeller]

i think you misunderstood me. Singer and the rest did not just make Audax bikes. They also made racing bikes and still do;

Cycles Alex Singer - Competition

they were not set up like the Audax bikes at all, but they did have lower trail (48-50) then is common today.

I would like to note for the jury that the link points to a bicycle with a high trail racing geometry that would get a horrible review from BQ if the decals were covered over.

Jan Heine was 30th on a bike that was built under DeGaulle's dictatorship. The picture of him riding his bike in PBP is easy to find on the innernet. His accomplishment there is not to be diminished. I'd guess there were not many people in the first 200 that had full fenders on their bike. In fact, the fast riders almost all have support, so they wouldn't need a bag on the bike.

[mschol17]

Those fast guys at PBP have support crews for the most part, thus no need to carry luggage. I'd say most of the randonneurs around here ride modern race bikes that have been adopted for lights and bags.

That's kind of a diversion though. Which of the custom builders here would be willing to submit a bike for review if the reviewer wasn't going to care about fit?

[John M]

Guys who are riding PBP in under 48 hrs are racing, thus I have no surprise in seeing the top guys riding racing bikes.

[Peter B]

Made me curious:
PBP 2007 Time Results

Of the first 20 fastest finishers whose bikes appear in their pictures all appear to be on modern racing bikes -one was on a Specialized and 2 others on Look CF racing bikes. Others were not identifiable but no bags and skinny tires with center-mount side pull brakes on all.

And all 20 had full crew support at the controles. Roll in, crew hands you food while you shoot off and get your card stamped, meanwhile they butter your bread and your next pair of shorts. Water's full, calories in hand, bike's in order, off you go. No need for gear on the bike because it rolls in the bus.

Contrast that with the next wave of fast riders. Most still on 'modern' race bikes, but perhaps a few not a Madone 6 or Tarmac Pro SL. Might have a small bag on the bars and/or something on the saddle. Likely a few more fenders in '07, and maybe 25s or 28s. Many of them are capable of the same speeds, but give up the differentiating time through self-support (such as it is at staffed controles using a drop bag).

And keep watching. You'll indeed see all manner of bikes out there, often simply 'because they can' (or at least hope to) but I still say the majority are 'race' or 'race-derived' bikes tweaked for the demands of ultra-distance riding. The kind of thing I see Curt G. or Carl Strong and others sometimes building over in the gallery.

Yes, plenty of successful randonneurs are out there finishing on your modern carbon/ti/steel/mixed race bike with skinny tires, no fenders and some small odd framebag or saddlepack or a camelback for any attendant gear.

[coylifut]

the first handful of those guys sure look like crusty buggers. In their 30s at the start and near 70 at the finish.

[e-RICHIE]

And all 20 had full crew support at the controles. Roll in, crew hands you food while you shoot off and get your card stamped, meanwhile they butter your bread and your next pair of shorts. Water's full, calories in hand, bike's in order, off you go. No need for gear on the bike because it rolls in the bus.

Contrast that with the next wave of fast riders. Most still on 'modern' race bikes, but perhaps a few not a Madone 6 or Tarmac Pro SL. Might have a small bag on the bars and/or something on the saddle. Likely a few more fenders in '07, and maybe 25s or 28s. Many of them are capable of the same speeds, but give up the differentiating time through self-support (such as it is at staffed controles using a drop bag).

And keep watching. You'll indeed see all manner of bikes out there, often simply 'because they can' (or at least hope to) but I still say the majority are 'race' or 'race-derived' bikes tweaked for the demands of ultra-distance riding. The kind of thing I see Curt G. or Carl Strong and others sometimes building over in the gallery.

Yes, plenty of successful randonneurs are out there finishing on your modern carbon/ti/steel/mixed race bike with skinny tires, no fenders and some small odd framebag or saddlepack or a camelback for any attendant gear.

based on your observation (and henry's link w pics) there's not alotta that low trail thing goin' on atmo.
how does the rank and file reader juxtapose all the science chat about trail and planing and wide tires
with the race results (going waaaaaaaaaaaaay past the first 20 at least) and understand the noise that's
being made about these much propped and said-to-be-oh-so-necessary details?