“Bike building is a lot like the Internet. They both involve a series of tubes.” Elliott McFadden,Violet Crown Cycles
Earlier this month, I wrote about the randonneur bicycle, a French style light touring bike, I designed and built for Marcus. It came back from powder coating a few weeks ago, and I built it up but have been too busy to get photos up until now.
As I mentioned in the earlier article, this bike was inspired by the touring bikes built by the French constructeurs of the post WWII era. In keeping with that style, my build choices balanced classic looks with modern components. Current builders have been very fortunate to have vendors like Velo Orange who have resurrected many of the great designs of this era in new, off the shelf components and accessories you can use to restore old bikes or give new ones a great look. You’ll notice this bike is a virtual VO catalogue.
Not only will this bike be used for touring, but Marcus also wants to use it as a practical around town bike and commuter. First on the agenda was fenders and racks. I used deco looking aluminum VO fenders and took the constructeurs cue by attaching the fenders in as many ways possible to avoid the dreaded fender rattle. This means no fewer than four connections on the each fender with double stays on the front. No matter what sort of bumps you hit, those things aren’t going anywhere. I also added a leather mud flap on the front which aids water in streaming to the ground and prevents edge spray. These will eventually be powder coated brown, but the powder coat color was not is stock at the time so that will come later. I think that will make the white tires pop a bit more.
To fit these fenders and 35mm tires, we went with cantilever brakes using the VO Grenouille brakes. These modern copies of the classic Mafac Criterium brakes give the bike the proper look while providing plenty of clearance and braking power.
Rear rack integrated to fenders and internal hub below.
For racks, I chose the VO Constructeur Rear and Randonneur Front racks for that classic look. The front rack is designed as a stable platform for a small handle bar bag. The rear interfaces with the rear fenders for stability which looks really nice but does limit how much can be put on the rack to around 50 pounds. This limitation and the lighter tubing I used on the frame are really what makes this a light touring bike. I have a full touring bike currently in the works in my workshop that will allow heavy camping gear and the like. Sometimes style and function are a trade off.
This bike is designed to be ridden at night as well in the best brevet traditions. Rather than go with battery operated lights, Marcus chose a dynamo hub paired with the Busch and Muller Retro light. The rear light is also wired for the dynamo, and I made internal cabling ports for this so rear wiring would remain mostly hidden. We went with a basic dynamo hub, but if you were looking at really long distance touring, I would recommend a Schmidt hub for lighter weight and lower resistance.
The most unique feature of the bike is the internal gear hub with road shifters. Marcus is not much of a mechanic and really like the internal hubs for their low maintenance. After testing and reviewing the Versa shifter for Shimano Nexus and Alfine 8 speed hubs, we decided to equip the bike with a pair of these shifters and a Nexus hub. A lot of people have been talking up the Alfine hub, but unless you want disc brakes I think the Nexus is equally good at about half the price. Though the bike was built up for the internal hub, I did leave the option for a traditional external gearing later with the rear derailleur hanger and down tube shifter/barrel adjuster boss for a front derailleur.
Internal brake cabling & wrap around seat stays.
I’m please with the way this bike turned out, and I think it will be a big step up from Marcus’ current entry level Schwinn road bike. I’ve been showing the bike off at events but have asked Marcus to get out and ride it for an upcoming ride review.
on Sep 29th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
What a fantastic build! I love the stylized holes for the cables. That is something I don’t think I’ve seen before. So beautiful.
on Sep 30th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Beautiful work!
on Oct 8th, 2009 at 11:02 am
I think you did a great job on this bicycle. I would like to know the wheelbase and also the chainstay length. What size bike is this? The dimensions are hard to read on the drawing. I would like to build a somewhat similar bicycle also. Thank you
on Oct 8th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Paul,
Wheelbase was 1049mm and chainstays were 450mm. If you really want to go heavy touring with full bags, I’d look at a 465 mm chain stay for heel clearance on the bags (also makes the bike super stable.) That’s what I do on the city bikes I make so you can put really big pannier bags on the back.
Also, keep in mind I built in a 65mm rake on the fork with a 73 degree heat tube. This yields a fairly short fork trail of 37mm. This is the traditional French approach and assumes a load on the front. If you are building without a front rack that will normally be loaded, I’d build with a more standard trail of 50-65 mm otherwise the steering can get a bit jittery.
on Nov 13th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Even the humble Motobecane Mirage Sport ’83 has brake cables going through the top tube. Motobecanes rock though we aren’t talking about the pinnacle of
French bike making.
on Nov 13th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Motobecanes Rock,
The Asian made Motobecane of today is a ghost of the French made Motobecanes you are referencing. Having said that, French Motobecanes were also nowhere near the level of Rene Herse or Alex Singer bikes. Internal cabling is not new, just forgotten in most of today’s mass produced bikes. My choice of the internal cabling is part of the tribute the great constructeurs (plus it looks pretty cool.)
on Nov 13th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Elliot, thank you for your response. I saw your name over in the VO blog and from there went to read about your bikes of which the LaSalle especially appealed to me.
on Feb 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Well, let’s see one of the violet crowns in the TdF before we put them down!