New Exterior Column! [Warning: May Contain Y-Foils.]

Right here, in the end, is my Exterior column in regards to the Spouse Oil:

After receiving the bike from Basic Cycle again in July, I took to these Internets to study as a lot about Foil historical past as attainable. Nothing is harder in 2024 than sifting the details from all of the opinions and myths and half-truths, however after years of simply assuming this was a motorcycle designed for aero-dweebs and tri-freaks I used to be shocked to unearth historic discussion board posts claiming the bike had been designed to not be ridden in a mankini however quite to simply accept a suspension fork and to be ridden by the professionals within the Spring Classics.

So I turned to Trek. They had been form sufficient to attach me with engineer Jim Colegrove, who labored on the Y-Foil and gave me the complete backstory:

Anyway, there’s extra within the column, however on one hand the bike is a solution to a query no one was actually asking apart from Trek (that being “How will we make a Y-shaped highway bike”) and however it’s an actual success story in that they did find yourself making a brand new (or new-ish) sort of highway bike that performs fairly properly and has some precise quantifiable benefits (even when these include one or two comparatively minor disadvantages). Additionally, right here we’re virtually 30 years later, and should you’d purchased a Y-Foil again you then’d actually don’t have any downside preserving it going at this time since regardless of its radical body design it takes normal parts which can be nonetheless kind of available at this time.

Whether or not you’d nonetheless have the ability to attain the bars of your Y-Foil 30 years later is one other story, however due to the magic of quill stems you may at all times get an extended one and trip it that manner till you lastly come to your senses and purchase a Rivendell.

After all, I have already got a number of Rivendae, so I don’t thoughts contorting myself on a race bike sometimes for some low-cost thrills, and as a classic sizzling rod the Ferl has actually grown on me:

Right here’s that pinched suspension-corrected entrance finish that makes the bike appear like it’s carrying a corset:

After I requested the engineer if there’s something he would have finished otherwise looking back, he stated he wouldn’t have gone with the suspension correction. Apparently it was a matter of some debate on the time, however as I point out within the column they actually did suppose highway bike suspension was going to be the following massive factor and so they didn’t need to miss out on it.

One other factor he talked about is that Trek was intelligent about utilizing the identical body parts throughout completely different fashions, and the “seatstays” (similar to they’re) and I consider the chainstays are the identical ones which can be on the 5500 (you understand, the US Postal bike), solely bonded to a rear dropout with a extra acute angle:

Now that I do know that I can’t unsee the bike as a squashed 5500.

As for the components ~~Paul from Basic Cycle~~ George Plimpton selected for the bike, the Zero Gravity brakes are finicky to regulate and have awful tire clearance, however they appear cool and so they draw the attention away from the overly tall fork crown:

Sure, that’s nonetheless the dust from my gravel trip in Vermont again in August.

The wheels will not be Plimpton spec–these are the Rolfs that got here with the LeMond–however they’re significantly better suited to day-to-day driving than the Tri Spokes he favored, and had I been utilizing these on this explicit blustery day I’d have been blown clear throughout the Hudson:

The saddle occurs to be one which was lengthy favored by a sure Trek-sponsored rider, and I discover it fairly snug. The mechanical look of the Salsa seatpost’s clamp additionally enhances the brakes:

The superlative efficiency of the 9-speed Dura-Ace hardly warrants mentioning, although surprisingly one among my favourite issues in regards to the bike is the bars:

I bear in mind when these bars had been sizzling shit, although I by no means truly had a pair as a result of it at all times appeared loopy to me to pay further for carbon bars of all issues. As you may see, the form of them is a bit uncommon, and whereas I are usually leery of unusually formed bars on this case I discover them fairly snug. I used to be additionally fearful about bar slippage, however Paul included some carbon meeting paste and it hasn’t been a difficulty:

I additionally actually just like the rubbery tape, which I consider is these items:

It’s rubbery, however in a great way.

As for the bike’s Plimptonian provenance, I’ve been noticing that this running a blog platform now provides an AI picture generator, and whereas really feel about that type of factor in the identical manner I do about e-bikes and digital shifting, I figured I’d as properly give it a whirl by asking it to make me a picture of George Plimpton driving a Y-Foil: