Custom Oak Cycles 650B French Randonneur Project.

what fender are you using? is alloy ?

any one knows which is the longer 650b alloy fender? (especially the front one)

By alloy I assumed you meant alu, but no it's GB steel, it's not that long, AFAIK the Honjo is the longest you can get.

GB come in long and short, I assume you have the longs? Been looking at their options when I swap forks and will need something wider than the SKS ones I have at the moment

I have the longs, but it's only just a bit longer than the SKS Chromoplastic.

Ok, good to know. Looks like I'll end up with DIY mudflaps whatever I go for!

Wait so if you've got the rene herse cranks, what's happened to the WI ones?

In the bin hopefully

^ :o

It'll be transferred to the Elephant NFE rather than on your Pass Hunter.

Gad dammit! :(

Ed I STILL have your saddlebag, and me and Joel owe you money for that travelodge room before the poor student!

It been one year since it's first appearance in Bespoked Bristol, and this is how it is now;

I... FUCKING LOVE IT.

1 Attachment

Why did you change the front light? What was the matter with the edelux?

I never used it, it was on display at Bespoked, but was never properly installed due to conflict with the rear taillight.

The Supernova was designed with the taillight in mind.

Beam a tad narrow with the Supernova, but still perfectly usable, I just use a head torch to check signpost rather than jerking the handlebar at it for a few second to have a glance.

home come your bag doesnt sit flush on your rack?

Rode this today. So plush.

any bike would feel plush with 4psi in the tyres

Seen this locked up, not usually my kinda bike but really lovely. Makes me tempted to pull a JB and get something more practical.

How are you liking the selle anatomica? I've got a team pro on my ploping around bike and really like it but it took a while to wear in. I've heard many good things about it including it's super comfy out of the box. what are your opinions on it?

home come your bag doesnt sit flush on your rack?

Cause of the handlebar height, which is a little high from the rack, not a problem as the stem is going to get replaced with the new Grand Bois one with a different decaleur mount that allow me to set the bag lower.

I need a new handlebar as well as this one is bent to fuckery, creak a bit due to the 25.4 to 26mm shim on it.

How are you liking the selle anatomica? I've got a team pro on my ploping around bike and really like it but it took a while to wear in. I've heard many good things about it including it's super comfy out of the box. what are your opinions on it?

Can you see how flat it is in the picture? this is why I love the Selle Anatomica, I can actually shift my weight forward, back a bit or plop in the middle for that hammocky feel.

I can't do that with the Brooks, they're damn comfy out of the box ironically enough, but over time it start to create a hammock shape, whether the Selle Anatomica doesn't, I don't like having to stay in one position all. the. fucking. time, the cut out of the Selle Anatomica is massively useful as I'm the kind of person who benefit more from it.

Would have ridden with a C17, but the lack of cut out is why I don't, I can actually feel the blood being cut off.

the cut out of the Selle Anatomica is massively useful as I'm the kind of person who benefit more from it.

Boast post.

Much prefer the current state of the build to the original :) which in itself was awesome

And was wondering about the wonky bag as well but has already been answered

I just happened to see this whole story of the build, that's a very nice bike you got there! I'm a die hard fan of box tubing!

From page one I've been trying to understand why your frame builder picked a super short top tube and mated it with a super long stem. You could get the exact reach wi a longer TT and shorter stem.

Are you experiencing any toe overlap and/or handling problems when the bag is loaded?

100mm is hardly super long.

It turn out that the reach is actually 352mm and not 370mm as previously though, the super short reach were for the classic drop handlebar which have a very long reach.

I prefer a better weight distribution with a normal handlebar reach (for the bike size), it's lovely not having the back end too heavy like my previous bike with super short bar and 90mm stem.

Low trails = super nimble steering quicker than road bike but fine with front load.

I had to edit this...

Oh, I thought you used 120mm, must have missed the part where you picked 100mm.

The handling issue I pointed out was because I thought you had a 120mm stem. Even with a low trail geometry, you don't want to move the handlebar too far ahead. Both your body weight and the bag's weight shift to the wrong end of the axle. 100mm seems like a much better choice.

Are you 184 cm tall as stated in the notes of the builder at the first page? I guess I'm shorter than you (176cm), with a slightly longer inseam (87.7cm). My frame is a 60 x 56 with a 85mm stem. Your arms don't look short in the photos, is that the issue? Couldn't figure it out the reason for 53mm top tube...

Well nevermind, as long as you love it, numbers don't really matter. I bet it rides as good as it looks!

I was looking at the bike this evening. It is utterly lovely, and is getting a patina of wear. It is lovely to see such a personal build, loads of things I would not want (down tube shifters, centre pull brakes) but so perfect for Ed and well thought out.