Randonneuring Bikes Catching On

The Gentleman has been seeing more and more Randonneur-type bicycles popping up here and there. It seems to be a growing trend. We couldn't be happier! At the Gentleman's local San Francisco bike shop, Box Dog Bikes, one of the owners Gabe designed and built up this great model. As he says, it's "Basically something between my Ebisu Rando bike and my [Rivendell] Atlantis." So for those Gentleman out there not quite willing to spend a small fortune on a Rivendell, this prototype could be a solution to your long-distance riding needs. The Gentleman envies Gabe's bicycle collection.

Randonneuring is non-competitive long distance group bike riding. When the demand is there, the Gentleman will lead a Gentleman Randonneur Army.

Stupid Bike Lanes

This fellow has obviously never cycled in San Francisco. Market Street anyone?

Crazy Punks in San Francisco

The Gentleman remembers the days when he could be so wreckless. He enjoys the coastal descent at a more leisurely pace with the luxury of a freewheel.


http://www.vimeo.com/1015440

Thomas Vanderham

The Gentleman knows nothing about extreme sports but did enjoy this exciting video about Shimano's new mountain bike parts line. Spending a day shoveling dirt in the Moab desert doesn't appeal to the Gentleman.

Fast forward to around 3:30 to skip the poppycock.

Email and Cellular Phone Etiquette

The Gentleman is a firm believer in good manners and decent, gentlemanly behavior. The recent ubiquity of email and the cellular phone as primary forms of correspondence has challenged centuries of communications etiquette. The Gentleman sees a call for action.

Check your messages less frequently. Relax. Good things come to those who wait. Think before you act or speak.


Read Whatever Minutes from N+1 magazine, an excellent meditation on the subject.

"A letter is an unannounced visit, the postman the agent of rude surprises. One ought to reserve an hour a week for receiving letters and afterwards take a bath." - Friedrich Nietzche

Paul Frank City Bike

The Gentleman appreciates Paul Frank's attempt at an affordable city bike. How complicated can it be to produce a solid, dependable steel-framed bicycle with a relaxed non-racing geometry? The technology has been around for 100+ years! Paul Frank saw profitability of such a simple product and put together this City model with a wide sprung saddle, fenders, chain guard, rack and 3-speed coaster brake included! Hurrah Mr. Frank.

The Sartorialist on Bicycles

The Gentelman is an avid reader and subscribes to many quarterly publications.

Scott Schuman writes the Sartorialist column for Gentleman's Quarterly, RFK's favorite "fag rag" and one of the Gentleman's favorite magazines. He suggests that all Gentleman occasionally peruse its pages for information about the season's finest Italian shoes. (The Gentleman also recommends N+1 and The Baffler magazines presently.)

Schuman has compiled a nice collection of photographs featuring stylish ladies and gentlemen from around the globe. A simple search for the label Bicycles on his blog yields a delightful array including the two below. Enjoy!

Gentleman Spotted

Crazy old coot... but distinguished nonetheless. Lots more pictures here.

The Internet Can Satisfy a Gentleman's Every Desire

Copenhagen Cycle Chic features beautiful European women on beautiful European bicycles--a Gentleman's Dream.

The Bakfeits Cargobike

The Dutch know how to make beautiful bicycles. And Bakfeits Cargobike
knows Dutch bicycles.

Bikes? Rubbish!

The people of Bikes? Rubbish! ride some funky bicycles with long skateboards attached to the back, but the Gentleman appreciates their good photography, cycling philosophy and personal style. Stylish young couples like these look great in photographs and the Gentleman encourages other beautiful people to photograph themselves enjoying their bicycles without sweating.

These two are wedding photographers, and therefore appear to be living life in a permanent wedding-photo state, which is how life always appears through the freewheeling Gentleman's eyes. The pure elation of coasting down a country road with your love to buy a bottle of fine wine rivals the joy and excitement of few things in life, weddings coming close.

The Gentleman particularly loves "Sarah's Commuter Bike."

and this excerpt:

Why do you ride bikes?

1. There's no better way to feel like a kid again
2. It slows life way down
2. It's great exercise(easy or hard-you pick)
3. It's a romantic way to spend time with the one you love
4. It's better for the environment
5. We sail right on by the fuel pump
6. We don't sit in traffic

Brand New Gentleman's Bike On a Budget

Schwinn Coffee (Men's) & Cream (Women's)

This gorgeous new bike features a 3-speed coaster brake. It is quite possibly the best Gentleman's bicycle for the price. MSRP is $389.99 for the 3-speed but Performance Bicycle offers an alternative 1-speed coaster for $250.

What a beauty!

Gentleman's Bike Contest

Raleigh is giving away a Raleigh Coasting Bike! Gentlemen enjoy the childlike reverie of coaster brakes. And this bike comes with a front rack specifically designed for six-packs complete with a built-in bottle opener that sets the Gentleman's heart aflutter.

Enter the contest here.

Vintage Cycling Posters

http://sellwoodcycle.com/posters/pages/northampton.htm

The Gentleman's Heart Flutters

The picnic baskets and the red balloon tires are to die for on this Rivendell Wilbury.

The Gentleman is comfortable riding a Mixte. He has no qualms with lesser minds who consider the versatile style to be a solely feminine beast. Many an older Gentleman could benefit from the step-through frame. The Gentleman wishes this Mixte was his.

Saddles

The Gentleman rides a Brooks.

There are many imitators but only one true original. The B72 was standard issue during the Golden Age of Gentleman's Bikes. A truly lovely seat that will never wear out.
The Gentleman has a tough time ordering B72s since most local bicycle shops do not carry them as normal stock. They should, because a Gentleman does not like ordering things online. Definitely DO NOT order a B72 through "BikeSomeWhere.com." They rip a Gentleman off.

My fat Gentlemen friends swear by the triple sprung models.

Only the best for the Gentleman's jewels.

Lady's Bike

The Gentleman believes that a woman should know her place.

On a lady's bike!

Speaking of ladies. Annie Londonderry rode around the world on a unisex fixed gear bike with wooden wheels and no brakes! Take that you condescending messenger-wannabes who speak down to women at bike shops. We don't see you riding around the world on your fixed gear!

A Gentleman's Challenge

The Gentleman challenges all cycle manufacturers to develop a new bicycle design for his specific needs:

A bicycle that can carry golfbags.

One Speed, Three Speed, Ten Speed?

People often ask me how many speeds a true Gentleman's Bicycle should have. The answer is three. And the speeds should be inside the hub to compliment the bicycle's beauty. Derailers are garish.

A 1962 Raleigh Superbe. The Ultimate bicycle of its day. Three-speed internal hub.

Arguments can be made for more or less speeds depending on circumstances. If you live in a place with no hills, a single speed bicycle is fine. If you travel great distances, travel on trails, or frequently encounter hills, more speeds are acceptable.

For more on the great three-speeds of yore, visit Retro Raleighs.

Gentleman Spotted

Every Gentleman Has His Fix

Every cycling Gentleman enjoys going to the Velodrome to watch the races. The speed, the competition, the cigars, the gambling, the women in their Sunday best--a lovely day of cycling.


But a Gentleman observes the spectacle from the finest seats in the house. He does not race himself. The Gentleman never breaks a sweat.

But the Gentleman also lusts after the racing bike. The Gentleman has a libido. The Gentleman is a human being. And some track bikes are undeniably beautiful. The Gentleman is a steward of beautiful things, a collector of art.


The Gentleman is not a codger. Sometimes he can take off his tie and take a little beauty like this one for a spin around the block. The Gentleman is a sporting man, who appreciates life's finer pleasures. He enjoys exercise and stretching his muscles.

A Gentleman admires the fixed gear racing bike for its simplicity, its speed, and its beauty. Like a gazelle that the Gentleman has hunted, he hangs the racer on his wall and can always remember his younger, faster days. Anyone can tell you that a track bike is meant to be admired, not ridden.

The Gentleman has nothing against fixed gears bicycles per se, and in fact he loves them for their silent grace. He knows that the Gentleman of yore rode on fixed gear models before the advent of the freewheel. A Gentleman embraces simple technological luxuries like the freewheel.

Fine example of an early fixed-gear Gentleman's Bike. Notice the triple sprung leather saddle, the double top tube, the long swept-back bars, the toolbag, the pump and the headlight. All it needs is a chain case!

The fixed gear racer is a thing of beauty, but is not practical for the Gentleman's every day needs. The Gentleman does not like his bottom in the air and his face to the pavement. The Gentleman cannot have his legs spinning out of control as he descends a hill. It is uncouth. The Gentleman leaves the gymnastics to the gymnasts.

The Gentleman NEVER rolls on Deep Vs. The Gentleman knows that flashy colored rims, top tube pads, mismatched wheels and spoke cards are in poor taste, the stuff of loud-mouthed punks.

A particularly dreadful bicycle.

The Gentleman's fixed gear bicycle has class.

A gorgeous fixed gear cargo cycle from FastBoy.

Unhand My Bicycle You Commie Scum!

A Berlin woman resists the confiscation of her beloved bicycle by a Red Army Soldier.

A Gentleman Never Sweats

Sometimes even the most distinguished gentleman finds himself wearing a polyester shirt on his way to the office. It is imperative in these situations that the gentleman never sweat. Polyester body odor does not become the gentleman.