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Wheels of Desire

Susie Cushner The one-piece molded frame of the Fondriest Top Carbon bicyle weighs a shade over two pounds. Only 200 were produced last year.

Dick Cashin gets his exercise sitting down. At Harvard in the mid-1970s, he rowed six—the power seat—in the legendary “Rude and Smooth” crew. He raced in the 1976 Olympics. Then he moved on to Wall Street for some competition. He currently heads the $5 billion One Equity Partners group, which funds management buyouts.

He still pushes himself—on a bike. Cashin’s bicycle is a hand-made Italian wonder called a Fondriest. “It’s all carbon fiber, made in the Ferrari factory in Modena,” he says. “Carbon is stiffer and lighter than aluminum and softer to ride than steel—it’s just magic. Closer to jewelry than sports equipment, and it costs a ridiculous amount.” Around $10,000.

Riding every day in Central Park and 30 to 50 miles on the weekends, Cashin has had to face the prospect of wear and tear on the machinery. So he did the logical thing: He bought two bikes. He keeps them in separate places, he admits sheepishly, so his wife, Lisa, “won’t be on me for such an indulgence.”