jambon's Walvale porteur

Dare I ask about Mudguards?

Speaking of which, since it's a porteur, why not go for 650b?

bigger tyres, more clearance and mudguard (tyres up to 35mm can fit with mudguard).

Mudguards would be great but not enough clearance. Wider wheels and more clearance sounds great, would I need long reach brake callipers?

looks great! favourite current project atm. stitching looks good (and sufficiently solid)

Since you're currency using short reach brakes, a Tektro long reach is ample enough (and powerful enough with Swissstop pads).

I convert a 700c bike with medium reach brakes (47-57mm drop and 32mm max) to 650b (53-73mm drop and 42mm) a while ago, work perfectly well and have a slightly more nimble handling which will also help with the front load.

700c;

Converted to 650b;

Plus you can get away with hammered mudguard to get that French porteur look going (abet smaller);

@frankohara Thanking you! Pleasantly surprised how easy (and cheap) it was doing the leather grips. They do feel solid, although interested to see how they hold up over time.

@edscoble Very tempted by 650b, although something inside me wants the calipers to match the Chorus group. Do you know if a caliper adapter/extension exists or is even sensible? I've seen the below but guess it won't give you the clearance for wider tyres/guards.

And yep hammered silver mudguards all the way.

Do you know if a caliper adapter/extension exists or is even sensible?

Your problem is not the drop of your current calipers, but the width to allow a normal sized mudguard to fit (we're talking 45mm mudguard).

If you want it to match, you can always get the Mafac Racer centerpull, they were common in race bicycles at the time due to the lacklustre straight of the side pull brakes.

like this 650b conversion.

Personally, it's one of those deal where decent performance outweight the look of a full gruppo.

I might be tempted to sell you some wheels ..

Vince has some mafac centr pulls cheap too

Thanks for all the info. Realistically I know the bike will just be ridden around town in good weather, so maybe not worth the 650b mods - but then will I regret it afterwards being the tart I am? One to think about, or potentially going full Frenchie as a stage 2.

Cheapest solution is to simply carry on with what you're doing, having said that, you won't regret it since it'll be very comfortable, less likely to cause a lots of vibration on the front rack, and easy to just go on a straight line and not worry about potholes.

The 650b conversion is reversible anyway, so it can be changed in future if you want to extend the bike's usability further.

All good points, will have a think and see what parts pop up. Admittedly i love the idea of 650b wheels, silver hammered guards and TA cyclotourist.

but then will I regret it afterwards being the tart I am? One to think about, or potentially going full Frenchie as a stage 2

It looks amazing. Just enjoy it and then have a think about 650b down the line. There's a fair bit of work and cost involved in a conversion.

Center pulls are a sensible idea regardless.

Wuld the PDW guards fit now?

There's a fair bit of work and cost involved in a conversion.

No work involved, just more components.

Are there obvious pros and cons of long reach callipers Vs centre pulls? @edscoble I started reading your Oak project thread from the start today, so lovely.

Modern long reach calipers are very good nowadays like normal reach one, they're the easiest and most straightforward to fit.

Centerpull have the best combination of feel and power, mafac even proudly stated that it only required a single digit to perform an emergency stop (at the time).

The pro is everything, the only con is that it's not as good as disc brakes.

Better with direct mount tho.

Well it depends how you define work. You need to check the BB height, clearance, brake drop, buy/build new wheels, install brakes, possibly recable.

I'm not saying it's the most arduous set of tasks, but it sounds like a bit of a mish when you've just finished building a bike.

Thanks guys for all the 650b advice, after a think I'm going to carry on down the 700c route for now and enjoy the bike. Then after some time probably convert to 650b, mudguards & centre pull brakes. With all of that work done, dare I say it a randonneur wouldn't be far off. For now though here's some awful photos while the DSLR is out of the flat.

That is looking soooo good!

Love what you did with the fake tyre-wheels there :)

H PLUS SON TB14 rims acquired and managed to get a NOS front hub... Just need that rear (& those golden locks)...

Needs a pic of Berzin nowadays.