Varonha Frameworks winter bike / FW Evans 650b conversion rat bike fun

I'm merely following the trail of your previous anodizing antics ;)
If you go for the ergotec, you should definitely keep the clamping mechanism black to keep in line with the overall colour scheme.

Of course!
I'm all about keeping it stealthy.

So I now have 38mm tyres on the Dawes. They actually only measure about 32mm so I think I could even bigger if I want to (the 32mm GKs came up as 28mm on these rims), but I'm not sure about clearances for off road riding.... what do people think - Can I go a couple of mm bigger or this already close enough?

I've heard 40mm is enough for almost anything.

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That looks about right. I wouldn't want to go bigger than that.

Cheers @MisterMikkel - was doing a bit of reading about it yesterday and someone very reasonably pointed out the advantage of having enough room to get home on a slightly buckled wheel.

Which is a shame as it would be nice to go up to 40mm... but also a blessing as it means I don't have to buy another set of tyres!

Gonna head out later and see how they cope.

I wouldn't be too fuzzed about the last couple of mm. I'm a 100 kg+ rider and I am quite content on my 35 mm Conti Grand Prix Urban on most gravel.
If you're looking to improve comfort, you might be able to improve it by lowering the pressure in your current tyres.

Finally managed to get out for a spin on the Dawes with its chunky new tyres. No punctures this time so I'm calling that a success. It's a lot of fun knowing you can go (almost) anywhere, and it's a real education after years of cycling the same lanes to see how things join up with these little paths and bridleways.

The tyres are surprisingly fast on tarmac and seem plenty good enough for paths like this one (so far so good anyway).

I also put a new saddle on it to replicate the set-up on the Varonha.

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Here's a not very instructional picture of how the Varonha turned out with it's new seatpost... pleased to say the Carradice thing fits nicely. One day I might paint the seatpost glossy black to match the stem but tbh it doesn't bother me that much so I probably won't.

What bothers me more is turning orange and not having a face anymore.

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you're looking hench .gaz.

Thanks!
Must be all the vitamin c I've been taking.

hahaha - bike looks great btw

Dawes update:

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not a crash btw... I think a lorry reversed into it while it was locked up?!

Oh no! Terrible luck.

any cctv in the area? Sure winston could sort that out :)

Had a good look around for cameras but none that I could see.
Not sure what I'd be able to do about it even if there were?

That'll buff out

Sorry btw, that sucks

Ah bollocks! If you could find footage you could get the reg, inform the police and contact whomever was responsible (presuming a company, if a lorry).

maybe write to council - data protection act and all that. I am not sure.

Yeah I guess it might be worth looking into.

It's gonna cost about £400-500 to sort out a new frame, rims, saddle, rack, bars etc, so if I can get money from anywhere that would be great. It's not insured unfortunately - I've been procrastinating about that for months.

The real fucker is time though, I have a lot on atm and really can't arsed with ANOTHER project!

That said, maybe this is a good chance to mix things up.
I wouldn't mind being able to run bigger tyres / have disc brakes, etc.

What are my options for:

• cheapish / pub level, steel frame, preferably secondhand.
  
• enough room for 40mm tyres plus guards
  
• front and rear rack mounts
  
• disc brakes (I would quite like to be able to run 650b with fatter tyres as and when)
  
• will take most of what I have left from the wreckage.... is there even a 1" threaded option, or is that a dream too far?!
  
  

Basically a beater / rando / gravel bike thing for leaving outside the pub, going on touring holidays, and exploring a bit of off-road.

Throw suggestions at me, I'm all ears.

Bloody hell mate I'm so sorry for that, it was such a banger...

Thanks man.... yeah, it had a lot sentimental value too. Had it for years, been on so many adventures with it.

this not too bad but a little pricey IMO: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/367676/#comment16170887