On March nineteenth, 2008, I collected 21 well-known quotes about biking:
A few of the quotes have been actual, and a few I merely made up–like this one:
Give me good books, good conversations, and my Trek Y-Foil, and I shall need for nothing else. –George Plimpton
My intent was to not mislead anybody as I figured it was apparent which of them have been faux. Nonetheless, I inadvertently fooled the then-editor of The Paris Evaluate, who in 2012 talked about that George Plimpton used to journey across the metropolis on a Y-Foil as if it have been frequent data:
I used to be concurrently amused and alarmed by the just about Orwellian method wherein I’d endlessly reshaped actuality and our collective reminiscence just by pulling a totally fabricated quote out of my chamois for a foolish bike weblog publish. And like a damaged Winston Smith, now I can also now not separate actuality from the ever-changing fiction I personally helped to create. Maybe Oceania had all the time been at conflict with Eurasia, and maybe Plimpton had owned that Y-Foil in spite of everything:
That is the be aware that accompanied the newest check topic from Basic Cycle, of which I simply took supply yesterday. “It couldn’t be,” I muttered to myself. “I made all of it up…didn’t I?”
And but there it was, that eerie free-floating seat collar poking by the cardboard just like the dorsal fin of a carbon fiber shark:
As I withdrew the bike from the field, I felt as if I’d slipped by an invisible membrane and right into a world wherein fiction was reality, two plus two equaled 5, and full-length seat tubes had by no means even existed:
Sure, it was George Plimpton’s Y-Foil all proper. It mentioned so, proper there on the…
…on the what? The seat keep? That’s not a seat keep. Y-Foils don’t have seat stays. There isn’t a such factor as a “seat keep.” The diamond body by no means existed. To say they ever did is doubleplus ungood thoughtcrime. Chances are you’ll assume you as soon as ran your fingers alongside the dusty tubes of a lugged metal body at an vintage store as soon as, however you by no means did:
I ought to add that till this second I had by no means been this near any Y-Foil, not to mention George Plimpton’s, and I used to be oddly captivated by its sculpted body and scintillating golden hue. What wheels might presumably do justice to this factor, I questioned to myself?
Then I opened the wheel baggage and discovered:
By no means in my wildest goals and/or night time terrors would I ever have imagined that someday I’d discover myself in possession of not solely a pair of Spinergy Rev-Xes, but additionally a pair of (Specialised…? HED…?) Tri Spokes:
Like the Softride (and the Spinergy Rev-X for that matter), the Y-Foil (say “WIFE-oil”) disappeared from {the marketplace} as a result of it was banned by the UCI, which is ironic as a result of the overwhelming majority of the individuals shopping for bikes like this can by no means, ever have to fret about whether or not their bike is UCI authorized or not. However in 1998, the Y-Foil was a cutting-edge machine on the pointy finish of Trek’s line-up, and Plimpton’s seems to be the “metalized yellow” bike from that 12 months:
Although that description hardly does Plimpton’s bike justice, particularly with the orange and pink accents:
And if something I’d name it “pumpkin spice latte:”
Or possibly “sweet corn:”
As somebody who’s presently driving a 1982 Nishiki Cervino and owns a number of Rivendae it in all probability gained’t shock you that at no level have I ever coveted a Trek Y-Foil. One thing about them has all the time screamed “Furry legs and aero helmets” to me, and I’ve all the time discovered the thought of anybody driving one to be amusing, not to mention the late George Plimpton, which is why I made up the quote within the first place. And but, additionally just like the Softride, once you’re really in its presence it’s exhausting to not be charmed by the audacity of this elaborate evolutionary detour. The water bottle sits atop a carbon fiber (I’m assuming) pedestal like a museum artifact:
The seat publish coupled with the shortage of a seat tube makes the bike seem to be some kind of futuristic hole-boring machine:
Actually legend has it that on group rides Plimpton would cease and put together a fruit and cheese plate by putting cantaloupe and gouda within the seat tube void, loosening the seat collar, and punching pleasant cylindrical morsels out of them with the seatpost after which wrapping them in prosciutto. Scrumptious.
If solely Plimpton had had entry to a dropper publish he might have ready his fruit and cheese plates in solely a fraction of the time:
The bracket that holds the entrance derailleur can be oddly fascinating, and in a pinch can be utilized to pop the highest off a bottle of cuvée:
Talking of the entrance derailleur, the cable stops on the Y-Foil’s fuselage lack barrel adjusters, so Plimpton has made do by becoming one to his STI lever:
The drivetrain is Dura-Ace 9-speed, although Plimpton made some departures, such because the Zero Gravity brakes:
And naturally these wheels, which reduce by the air like a witty comment at a soirée:
He additionally used Campagnolo pedals for a contact of Euro aptitude (although like their Shimano equivalents of that period they’re principally simply Appears to be like):
And a Cinelli Frog stem for a splash of caprice:
By the best way, if you happen to nonetheless doubt the bike’s authenticity, check out the top badge:
Now what do it’s important to say to that?
Sure, the bike cuts a putting determine from any angle:
And I solely want this child had arrived earlier than the 5 Boro Bike Tour as a result of I might have completely destroyed it on this factor:
Up to now, I’ve solely ridden the bike across the neighborhood on a quick shakedown journey, however in that quick period of time somebody known as to me from his driveway: “A Trek Y-Foil! Haven’t seen a kind of in awhile!” I ended so he might test it out, and he famous the elements with approbation, although he noticed the decals and remarked with amusement that there was no approach the bike might have belonged to George Plimpton:
Actually? I urge to vary. And I even have the letter of authenticity to show it.
