hard

My bikes

Ivan Smirnoff

Ivan Smirnoff

— 3 min read
My bikes

How to fight the empty-sheet-problem when you kinda want to share but you are not sure what to share? Write a post about steel horses in your stable!

Silverback

Silverback bike in it's natural habitat
Silverback bike in it's natural habitat

Characteristics:

  • silberback stride 27.5
  • hardtail with some cheap amortization on the front
  • hidraulic disk brakes
  • some cheap shimano transmission
  • Schwalbe tyres and pedals that cost more than the bike itself

Overview:

What a great bike it is (well, was) 3000 km mileage recorded on Strava, so I guess around 5000 of a real mileage. With a set of winter tyres it was annually used not only for 3 months of Russian summer but also for 9 months of Russian winter

tyre change
Putting the winter tyres on was a mess. The spikes pierce through skin when you hold them, "pushing" the tyre on the wheel

Currently:

waiting for it's second life whenever I come back to Russia. I am not sure it's really suitable for long (50km+) rides I fancy doing but there can't be a better choice to navigate the bumpy streets of Moscow

Legnano (zanazzi)

After moving to Italy and becoming Giovanni da Milano my first "big" purchase was a bycicle. After going to the bike shop and undestanding that I can't afford a new one yet I decided to try facebook marketplace – the thing we don't have in mother Russia.

Characteristics:

  • a really vintage legnano model that I don't know the name of
  • road bike
  • mechanical rim brakes
  • Shimano Dura-Ace 9000, I haven't shifted this smoothly ever in my life
  • A crack on the frame that ended up being the "weak spot" during the hit that ended the bike's life
  • Custom paint after Renzo Zanazzi who won stage 10 of the 1946 Giro d'Italia.
legnano bike and bags
Isn't it beautiful? The amount of "che bella bici" I got was over the top

Overview:

What a great bike it is (well, was). My first ever 100km+ ride, my first "road" bike, my first "stuck in the tram lines" fall, my first bike bought in Italy. Everything starting with the purchase (from a suspicious philippino guy who stole it), to the custom paint and the actual usage was perfect to the last minute details

Currently:

dead in an unfair fight with a concrete road barrier, disassembled to pieces. RIP

it's bwoken
I tried repairing it but there's no way to fix this. The frame is fucked.

Honestly, this bike is something I'll remember until my last day. The amount of memories I have including it just won't let me forget it.

Giant

It's not mine, I used it between Zanazzi and this next one.

Scott

After an unsuccessful attempt to fix my zanazzi bent/broken frame I listened to my heart, walked into a shop and asked for the cheapest expensive bike they have. That's pretty much how I ended up with a negative 500 euros on my bank account and a brand new Scott Speedster 20 without pedals (apparently that's a cool way to buy a bike: you get out of the shop with a vehicle you can't really ride). Thankfully the shop was only 3-4km from my place so I "cycled" reaching the pedestrian path with my right foot while driving the "motor" part of the street. It was +3 and raining. 10/10 would do it again

brand new, dark-green, cold and wet bike
brand new, dark-green, cold and wet bike

It's not carbon, couldn't afford that, but still quite lightweight and fast.

Characteristics:

  • Speedster 20
  • road bike
  • mechanical disk brakes
  • Shimano 105
  • Aluminum

Overview:

So far so good! I even tried commuting with it to work all the way from my suburbs (30k one way), no complaints apart from those about the rude Italian drivers. Too early to tell for sure though: the season has only started and we have many adventures ahead I hope.

Currently:

Resting by my side (I literally sleep with it because I can't afford it getting stolen)

That's just an overview but if you were thinking about getting a bike or fixing yours and going for a ride – go for it

Read more