Midnight faran and purple harum

My green faran has also ended up with dark camo bags. I didn't mean to, it's just what came up second hand.

Would like to hear how you find 700c. One advantage of 650 is that it's easier to get lower gears...

This is looking great. Pics look like how all my riding feels. What you doing with the old smp?

Nice bike. Did you crash and road/rash your face off?

A few updates

Got some used Hope wheels, and some Teravail tyres off here which I think had only been used with tubes. Tried setting them up having patched a few holes from the inside. I think they need a load more sealant pouring in.

The 650b wheels and tyres I have are comfortable, but I (think I can) feel the width of the tyre contact patch like it’s tough to turn that 1.5 inch diameter patch of rubber on the tarmac. It’s been 2 years since I had 700c wheels. I’d like to get some really nice 650x47 road tyres and compare to some really nice 700x30-32 tyres.

I also changed the bolts on the fork for aesthetics - and I much prefer. The OEM ones made me think of a mug tree.

… And on the seat stays as my thighs were rubbing on the thick boy ones. So that’s solved.

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I had one last long ride while I was in Ireland. It’s so beautiful taking only 5 minutes to get out into lanes and countryside, was a beautiful day. My previous ride had included 2 hours being rained on so this was a 180. I got props from another cyclist for clearing some cones and a sand bag that someone had left in a cycle lane which felt nice. And I had a locely slice of carrot cake at Coole Park and bought some car toys (online) for my kids that helped the long drive back. The drive was still awful (we departed at peak heatwave and came back in another one) but they helped.

I saw some cool houses and some cows and stuff. All drivers behaved nicely towards me though there really weren’t many about at all.

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@yoshy I’m undecided. I probably won’t go back but I may try something in between. You want me to give you a shout if I sell?

@d_mars I’m quite conscious about it thank you, please don’t bring it up again

@Belagerent I find the colour a bit difficult. Not bright enough nor dark and moody enough. Camo works well. Im still thinking about a frame bag to replace the saddle bag and front bag, still thinking a vermillion colour.

Yes please! I'm tight and/or skint but always keen to grow the smp collection

Been a while, so dumping some pent-up posts. I’ve not done a lot of riding beyond commuting.

This is today, a few changes

• rotor sub-compact
  
• Cowbells
  
• Nitto ui-25 stem
  
• Went for some coloured hose and cable outers. I’m not sure about these yet. Moore Large went out of business just as I’d decided some jagwire colours, I don’t even know what brand these are.
  
  

Cowbells feel really good now I have them in 38s, I got out for a 60k today and enjoyed the sub-compact rings, and overall looking forward to some more riding this year. Twins are a proper handful now they are 18m, sleeping less and running, climbing, breaking stuff, but if I get my shit together and go early before breakfast it feels a lot more possible. Riding in the drizzle today was actually brilliant. LFGSS aquajacket was perfect.

In a couple weeks I’ll take for the mudguards and finally put on some 700 wheels on. I bought a genesis with 700x28s to keep in Ireland, and that wheel setup felt quite different.

I’m sad that Clever Mike closed, the loveliest people and they did great work. I went to butternut bikes this time and they’ve done a nice job. Front shifting with the rotor crankset is really nice.

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On sub-compacts

• I don’t love the look of the rotor direct mount ring, it growing on me but not that much yet
  
• I bought a 6603 in 165mm and the rings for it from Spa, I should have just tried that first for a lot less
  
• I’ve been concerned with Q factor as I am quite a narrow person, but I still think this Middleburn set up would be the most aesthetic option and not that much wider than shimano/ rotor (153mm vs 146)
  
• I also like the idea of the IRD defiant but replacing the rings with black TA ones
  
  

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On Ireland

• it’s absolutely unreal being able to cycle 5 minutes and be out in quiet lanes
  
• Just have to live in a small market town where everyone knows one another and it’s 2 hours to the capital
  
• Drivers in Galway >>>>>> London and the Home Counties
  
• Hoping to go over 4-8 times this year so the grandparents can see more of the kids so glad to have a bike there
  
• Pretty sure we will move in the next couple years
  
• Some lovely gaffs out of town, but I don’t think I could hack not being able to walk to a shop on a pavement.
  

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Rotor cranks look tasty imo.

Great stuff

Agreed. The only thing I would change about this bike is making the chain stays 0.1mm thinner and heat treating them to compensate.

There's also this rotor 46/30 crankset which I got for my gravel project.

It's kinda OEM and was put on canyon grizl here in Germany during the great part shortage of '21-'22.
They pop up regularly now here on classifieds because people want full Shimano grx.
It's more agricultural, but I like that more than the Aldhu spider aero thing.
P.S.: it's normal 24mm axle with a pre load adjuster (on the NDS iirc)

The crankarms and spider are more of slate/dark grey though, not black

thanks @Hulsroy @Belagerent (they are growing on me and approval from my peers is everything to me)

@Tijmen you've ruined it for me i can't stop looking at them now. I would quite like the darker green though

@Rodolfo - havent seen any come up in 165 (wouldn't imagine Canyon spec'd any) but i had seen them (outraged posts on reddit IIRC). I like them way more then GRX, a crankset i find pretty ugly. I wonder if they are just vegasts in disguise? Also, I wonder why they dont sell that spider separately

Post north London dirt (I’ll post about that later) have put the 700 wheelset on ahead of ride London. Feels a lot different. Maybe horizons aren’t a good tyre to compare to but they (the horizons) felt like they resisted leaning/ turning, they resisted roll and were much more stable. These feel more fun, feel quicker. They’re the narrowest tyre (rampart 32s measure up more like 30) I’ve been on in 5+ years, and the slickest.

It took 4 goes to get them to stay up, lots of rotating the wheels to get the sealant in all the places needed.

I also am gonna get a new stem - these cnc type stems are too bulky round the steerer clamp for 1 1/8 head tubes, it looks like a bloated bulbous fist holding the top of the steerer. Ritchey c220 is on the way.

I’ve been thinking a lot about getting something light for summer. Rim brakes, alloy, narrow wheelbase. I have a distant faint memory of Jobs or someone at Apple saying the Mac is heavy so the iPad can be light, the Faran is ‘heavy*’ - it’s does everything - so the other bike can be light and just brap around on a nice day when I have a few hours to get out.

*I mean it’s all steel but it’s not that heavy, and I bought it over a midnight special in part becuase of how slender the top tube looks, ‘the appearance of lightness’ was almost what I named this thread.

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It took 4 goes to get them to stay up, lots of rotating the wheels to get the sealant in all the places needed.

Most of my TL issues are on the same wheelset, do think it's those Hope rims.

It'd probably be cheaper to get a light rim brake bike but what about the somewhat illogical thing of getting some lighter wheels for this, something ~40mm deep with a more modern internal width (than the Hopes) from LB or similar.

It'd probably be cheaper

I dunno these things have a way of spiralling!

But yes, I am thinking putting the money and effort into the faran instead - would solve the problem of storage. Theres the LB group buy so may a pair of these https://www.lightbicycle.com/700C-road-bicycle-rims-32mm-wide-38mm-deep-symmetric-clincher-road-disc-brake-available.html

The appeal of something else is i've never had a proper road bike so I'm curious

I dunno these things have a way of spiralling!

Very true. A fast bike is nice, nicer than a nice set of wheels for the Farran.

Steel bikes always 'feel' heavy (and they are heavy as well). Esp with hydro disc. Nothing you can do about it.

Buy a top end alu or mid level carbon bike for summer/road riding :)

If one likes steel, a decently priced genesis volare or cinelli can be a nice rim brake choice roo

Yeah I have a saved search for Volare but if i go for it might as well go extreme - stiff alloy frame, I’d spend up to a grand.

I don’t know that I like steel either, it’s just what I’ve always ridden.

This is the encouragement I need. So Caad, I assume you’d say Emonda, what else to look at?

CAAD10 would be amazing, Emondas go cheaper for some reason, there is a disc version in 54 for sale 'on here'