jgedwa

Not every bike, but I have a handful that have single chainrings and a handful that use the first generation Origin8 Gary dirtdrop bars. They are perfect for me and I love them.

Jim

Velognome 

Like not pointing out road debris?

iab

FB hubs and cranks whenever I can

1953 Bianchi Selvino 023 by iabisdb, on Flickr

1953 Bianchi Selvino 016 by iabisdb, on Flickr

FB_Hubs007 by iabisdb, on Flickr

FB 3-Piece Hubs 2 by iabisdb, on Flickr

FB Crank 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Marked Campagnoo, made by FB
Campagnolo Gran Sport Hubs by iabisdb, on Flickr

FB Cranks 1 by iabisdb, on Flickr

seypat

Barcons and triples.

qclabrat

I now have somewhere to put my Rush pin from my first concert

qclabrat

not a signature part, but I like to tuck/close the rear wheel levers into the rear triangle for road bikes


though for mtb always pointing backwards

southpawboston

I sorta kinda have some signature giveaways on my bikes, for example TA cranks on most of them due to their light weight, narrow Q, and exceptional chainring versatility:



My other signature move is a triangle on the back of whatever bike I'm currently riding, for safety:


And I do like having a few buttons on my bike baggage, which first started on the insistence of my kids (you can see a white button on the Carradice bag in the photo above).

And most of my bikes have fenders with a front mudflap, since I find that fenders and a front mudflap together really help keep the bike cleaner than just fenders alone:

The Golden Boy 

I was watching this thing on Steve Jones and he was talking about how embarrassing it was to see footage of how he copied this Johnny Thunders 'head flip' kind of move.

My "signature" move was this stupid Jimmy Page stumble. I always thought it was cool how Jimmy Page did all of his goofy moves, and despite being in a band that was NOTHING like Zeppelin- I'm sure my attempts of emulating him were more than stupid. Watching old footage, I'm struck mostly by the stupid stumble. That and the kind of spastic jerkey movement- I guess that's just the way I move.


Oh, BIKE STUFF... Umm... early 90s components on mid 80s bikes. And finish handlebar wrap with yellow electrical tape.

tarwheel 

Most of my bikes have closely matching saddles and bar tape. I've got Fizik saddles on all of my bikes, and most of them have been recovered with a nice vinyl material that matches well with Fizik bar tapes. For random reasons, I've ended up with several green bikes, and tan goes well with that color, so I have several bikes with tan/brown saddles and matching tape. One bike has a red saddle with matching tape.

I also have been transitioning all of my bikes to bar-end shifters because I like the way they function, and they are durable and less expensive than STIs. About half of my riding is commuting these days, and bar-ends are easier to operate with thick gloves than other types of shifters.

peter_d

I'm with sloar on this. The bikes I enjoy are structurally sound but cosmetically challenged to say the least. Apart from a couple that have leather bar tape I use Fizik microtex exclusively, it's durable, easy to wrap and unlike thick gel or foam looks good on vintage handlebars. The bikes I ride most and furthest all have Crank Brothers Candy clipless pedals cause they work well with commuter style shoes that can be walked in.

jeirvine 

My signature bike is a high end steel bike in original paint, but with a lot of wear, dings, etc. Something I have no fear of riding. And nothing more than 8-speed, with HG cogs and a modern chain. Oh, and increasingly I'm moving to using Shimano A520 SPD Pedals.

sloar 

And I always use shimano 105 spdl pedals. Cheap and durable.

bumbles

Yup, I'm with you on everything you said.

Simplicity soothes the soul

oddjob2

Stainless steel replacement cables or new ball bearings? Not highly visible.

Do whitewalls on Mixtes count as a signature?

Phil_gretz

@oddjob2,
Admittedly, up front, I am not worthy to offer criticism on anything you do in refurbishing bicycles. Really.

White tires are great, if: (a) the bike is a flip, (b) the bike won't be ridden, and/or (c) I'll never have to see it again. If a flip, and it brings potential buyers to your door at full asking price, then great.

The problem, as you're well aware, is that white tires discolor with use. There's no practical way to keep them looking fresh. The tread area becomes brownish, and road grime stains the sidewalls. I tried white tires on an '89 Fuji Club (the teal one, not the red/white) because of the pearlescent white anodized Exage Sport derailleurs. It looked okay, and rode well enough, but the shabby tires subtracted from the overall look.

Just one fellow's opinion.

Did I mention that you belong among the pantheon of C&V restorers/refurbishers? I mean that. Phil

OldsCOOL

How about my frameset? '88 Cannondale Criterium Series with the Sakae Litage Fx aluminum fork. It lives and breathes '80s road racing.

nlerner

My signature move is that I don't have a signature move.

79pmooney

Long stems, longer stems and seriously long stems. All -17 degrees or less. Down to -23. My customs were designed to keep stem lengths reasonable. Didn't quite get ti right on my Mooney and it now sports a 155. Custom ti was designed around a 120 so that bike is "normal". The custom fixie sports two 130s. My "new" bike has a 135 (for a position rotated back to gravel riding). My workhorse fix gear sports a 175 and my now retired geared workhorse a 180 (that will surely see another bike. I also have a retired 180 that was replaced by the 175. (No, it wasn't too long, just physically tired. I achieved the same effective reach with the 175 by angling it down a few degrees.)

Ben

Matariki

I always use red electrical tape on my HB grips when they crack. It's part of my anti-theft strategy: look uglier than the other bikes on the rack.

Cynikal 

When I run STI's or Barcons I alway cross the cables running along the downtube and reverse the where the housing meets the stops. Makes a nicer arc that way.

JohnDThompson 

Most of the frames I build get this type of treatment on the seatstays:

mooncountry

Can you, um, tell me a little more about these cranks? ("FB" is really hard to google--thanks, Facebook.) They're BEAUTIFUL! I assume they're lightyears beyond my pricerange (because that's $0 at this point), but it would be good to know where to find them for the future..

Dfrost 

All of the bikes in our household, including my wife's, have steel lugged frames, Campagnolo 8-spd Ergo shifters, polished Shimano cassette hubs (with spacers to make that work), Planet Bike wired computers, brass stem-mounted bells, and my three cockpits all look very similar, even if the bars are different:



My saddles are all twisted to the left a few degrees, while the leather ones show why with asymmetric break-in contours. Three of the four bikes have crossed shifter cables as Cynikal described (doesn't work on the fourth). I love Crank Brothers Candy pedals, King stainless bottle cages, Ritchey Logic triple cranks and Sachs New Success medium cage RD's. And they all have Contour fittings on the seatposts for click-mounted bags so I can quickly move two sizes of them between bikes.

I've been asked why such similar bikes, and the frame feel differences are one explanation. These days, the green Rambouillet is the designated fender-bike, the red Marinoni is the one I choose for any dry ride and find every excuse to ride, and the black Miyata that I've had since it was new in 1979 was the vacation-home-bike last year. This year I've offered it to my similarly leggy son if he wants it.

PeregrineA1 

SPD pedals (the reason for not doing Eroica...) on every bike. Generally a Brooks on road bikes, though I do vary here a bit. Cinelli cork tape, a Garmin quick connect, Pasela's, QR levers as described above, that's about it.

gaucho777 

On most of my bikes, I put a drop of super glue on the end of the cable and then add a drop of paint that ties in to frame paint. On my Park Pre I went with two paint colors on the cable ends.