see this one yet?
 

its got it all.

http://www.visi.com/~seng/vanilla/

Those dropouts make me want to cry

seriously. but did you happen to notice the ss couplings???
that bike..... oi oi oi ..... akkguuuuuhhhh i cant take it.

this is the 'if you were on a desert island' bike.

Yeah. Really, the whole bike makes me want to cry.

Bike porn!

Two of the pics make it look like it has a lugged stem... droooool

like the wood mudguards...

apart from that... something.

fssb
sparky
eo: bjork - it's in our hands [grayarea remix]

It is a lugged stem. Frame supplier Long Shen sells the needed stuff. You can choose from two different lug styles, that one is the more standard version.

The dropouts are without rival. Never seen anything like em. In fact, that shot has been my desktop since I saw it. <drooooool>

Dave

Sexilicious.

And all for a low, low price, I am sure.

How about some disc mounts, too?

So, if you don't mind an ignorant question, are these unpainted steel
thingies decoration, or do they have some function? If the latter, what is
it? I imagine taking the frame in half -- but could that really still
be strong?

http://www.visi.com/~seng/vanilla/top-coupling.jpg

Idiot question. Can you explain what ss couplings are? I'm assuming they're the steel rings on the top and down tubes...

Those are the couplings...

That bike is freaking sweet, love the placement of the fender/rack eyelets too... Mmmmm, vanilla...

Those little connections hold a very rare mineral, coitionium. It is purported to make you a better lover.

our little battle continues ;) We'll let you slide today in light of your recent injuries. May the gods strike down every beige sedan in your area and send you 72 virgins to speed your recovery. I also hope the coitionium in the Pista is undamaged.

Aye, they couple the frame together... (word?)... you can take the frame apart...

Do you like sex...
'Scuse me?
Sex. The physical act of love. Coitus. Do you like it?
I was talking about my rug.
You're not interested in sex?
You mean coitus?
No, I mean S&S couplings.

Yeah, they look sexy. and they could be convenient for travel....

BUT, i once asked a contractor friend of mine why he didn't put a widow's walk on his beach house. He said "why do you want one more thing in your roof that can leak?" I'd live in fear of ****ing up those couplings, and the frame is beautiful enough on its own. I'm seriously considering putting a down payment on one so that i can give it to my self as a graduation present after i pass the bar next summer. Instead of getting a car, that is.

Those have to be the nicest looking bikes I have ever seen. Crazy...

now if only he had a nice TTT quill stem instead of that ugly black thing with all the riser discs.... :D

Ok, so "ss couplings" allow you to take the frame apart. I would
imagine that would profoundly weaken the frame, or change the
dynamics of the ride.

No? How not?

What does "ss" stand for?

not "ss", but S&S... that's the name of the company that makes 'em: http://www.sandsmachine.com/

I just spent some time at the Vanilla bicycle web site. I have to say,
those are some incredibly beautiful bikes. I'm not sure I would want
to own one: those are works of art; but I like to ride my bike. How
could I bear to get one of those beautiful things wet? or dirty? or
greasy? or scratched? It would be like using Michaelangelo's David for
target practice.

acutally, from what I have read.. the S&S coupling actually make the bike stiffer feeling...

jeff

I have a Cinelli Super Corsa that I put a set of S&S couplings on and they indeed do stiffen up the frame. The couplings have a toothed interface that is compressed by a threaded collet that insures that they never come undone until you use the wrench to do so. I have had the bike up and running for over a year and can feel no difference in handling and it adds on the equivalent weight of an extra water bottle to the bike. The couplings are made out of stainless steel and are a very finely made piece of equipment. They allow the bike to be taken apart and I place the 2 halves in a bag along with the wheels and they transport to anywhere on public transportation where you just reassemble the bike and ride away with the bag over your shoulder. An elegant solution to traveling with your bike without going to the small wheeled folding bikes that are available.

Fixedgearhead

if i might ask, how much did that cost including the bag? did you install the couplins yourself or did you have to pay someone to do that too... seems like a great option, like you said.

I had Jack, at Franklin frames, http://home.alltel.net/franklinframe/ do the torch work. I was having a lot of work done on the frame at the same time and I honestly don't remember how much the installation of the couplings cost. He added stainless steel track ends and brazed up a track fork and repainted the whole bike at that time. I think he charged 100 bucks to install them plus the cost of the S&S couplings. That would include paint touch up. The bag I made myself from a bunch of Blue Denim Fabric and padding that I got from a fabric store that was going out of business. I quilted the fabric and made wheel bags which fit into the larger bag and shoulder strap. the whole pkg is about 6-8 inches thick and 2' x 3' in size. Not exactly tiny, but manageable. Any competent bike builder could do the work of installation. The only thing is that the tubes on the bike have to be round. No oval or elliptical or other shapes, and of course steel or maybe ti would be ok. No aluminum or carbon fiber. It really does add a dimension to traveling with your bike that doesn't involve the usual hard case that most people use. There is always the question of what do you do with the hard case when you arrive? Anybody with access to a sewing machine could work up the case with a little practice I am sure. If not maybe a girlfriend could probably take on the job for some compensation. Hope that gives you some ideas.

fixedgearhead

neat. got pictures? (maybe you already posted them somewheres i havent noticed)

those fenders are rad, id like to get a pair or find something similar for my beater.

I posted the pics earlier but here are 2 recent ones. Unfortunately I need some batteries for my digital cam so the bag pics will have to wait. The full bike picture shows the extra track fork leaning against the front wheel. The bike is currently set up with the road fork and front brake. the other shot is of the coupling areas. I sometimes switch between the two forks when a whim overtakes me. I probably ride the bike with the road fork most often. I am thinking of having another frame that I own redone, and if I do, I may use the track fork on that frame as the frame in question has an (ugly) unicrown style fork.


fixedgearhead

yeah i remember that bike now. damn nice looking. :)