doug1e's bikes + a Flying Fish

you made someone a happy rider! great bike!
is there a trick to make the quill stem work? or is everything 1" ?

More

4 Attachments

@jBola Thanks I thought I would end up keeping it for some winter lanes as I was really enjoying riding it whilst rebuilding the Kona. But moving house and country so probably don’t need the 5th bike ! It’s got a slotted reducer shim inside the head tube that has a neat little shoulder cut on it to stop it slipping down. Rode it off-road on some very steep Welsh terrain and did some jumps and drops and didn’t move once so I reckon it earned my trust.

Looks very nice

That's great!

super solution ! looks clean!!

Kona looks super clean!

Updates from Mallorca. Upgraded to GP5000s w/tubes due to greasy, marbley roads and some hairy moments upon arrival. No punctures in 2 1/2 months. Cycled over 800km in January including a 3 day loop of the island, last weekend. Day 1 started in s'Arraco and covered the Serra De Tramuntana. Climbing up to Puig Major with dry roads and snow on the verge and mountains. The descent to Pollenca was spectacular. Day two, a shorter day up to Cap De Formentor on largely deserted roads and then leisurely roll to Cala Ratjada via Son Serra. Day 3 was a biggie with crosswinds all day on the east coast. Flew for the first two hours and had bonked by Palma. Pulled it together for final 45km back to the start by 5pm.

5 Attachments

more

5 Attachments

I did my first proper bikepacking trip back in the first week of april. It was an offroad route from London to Paris via Lyons-la-Foret and Versailles avoiding as much of the Avenue verte as possible. Just short of 220miles. Weather was perfect if not a bit frosty in the morning. 10/10 would recommend.

5 Attachments

continued

5 Attachments

and the rest

5 Attachments

A few updates to the Coppi, I had planned to take it on a recent trip to the Pyrenees but a very foreboding forecast made me wimp out for disc brakes. I'm glad I didn't take it because by the sound and feel of it the bottom bracket has given up on my first ride back. My strava reckons I've done 2700 miles on it which I guess isn't bad?

Anyway new tyres on sale and polished up a rough campag aero seatpost. Cant decide if I love it , probably looks better than the Thompson though. Also trying out a Selle aspide as it has a bit more curve than the SLR but still just as hard. New Velox hi grip 1.5mm bar tape and a bit of BDHU action. Also shimmed a superstar mount as it was one of the only ones I could find in silver (also on sale).

Will take some proper pictures at some point.

2 Attachments

Looks clean

A new project begins after a 4 hour round trip

1 Attachment

So I bought a 2005 Cervelo Soloist for cheap, as a fun racey project whilst another project has been put on hold. Maybe with the intention of doing a crit at some point. It has turned into a bit of a can of worms...

Did a load of research before I purchased and found out they've got a strong reputation for cracking on the seat tube clamp due to overtightening as the seatpost has a very poor fit. Luckily this one is crack free and in my head a slightly flexible carbon seatpost would maybe cause less stress on the seat tube than the insanely stiff proprietary alu seatpost. Turns out the tolerance is even worse and I cant over-torque it, so have been experimenting with various size beer can/deodorant can/ plastic sheet shims with carbon paste but not having much luck.

I then found out the forks came in carbon and steel steerer. The carbon steerer had a product recall for snapping, and the same seemed to happen to the steel version as its not stainless and very thin ,so known to corrode. Got some second hand Looks - sub 300g as a place holder for something straighter, not sure they're any safer!

Chinesium Aero bars - were bought thinking there were unbranded, came as fake vision metrons, their incredibly flexible in the drops probably due to internal routing holes in both sides of the bend... not sure I trust them, might need to swap out.

Equipped with mostly used ultegra parts all bought indivually - worked out pretty cheap. Can't decide on which crankset suits it better.

The wheels are off the Coppi , look quite good but ideally want some aero wheels. Need to address the other issues first, maybe be time to sell the Coppi for funds.

Weight is just under 8kg with pedals, 32t cassette, high spoke count wheels and the 10 speed ultegra crankset.

4 Attachments

Current form

1 Attachment

Some piccies from The Rat Run / The Woods Cyclery route.

It fortuitously landed on the weekend of the hottest September on record. 160 miles ish circular, starting in the New Forest, through Corfe Castle via Bournmouth, Isle of purbeck, some north dorset hills and up to near on Salisbury and back down again.

Camped from the thursday night to start on Friday morning after a delightful coffee at The Woods cyclery and some route tips from the owner Tom. Drove home on a sunny sunday evening. Amazing hospitality at The Cricketeers in Shroton after a savage climb up hambledon hill. Shooting stars and bioluminescent algae during a night swim on the Dorset coast. 10/10 route - hot though.

First time bike packing on the 29er. Fitted some ergon grips and squeezed in my frame bag, wore a Camelbak. Very thankful I took an MTB, 35mm tyres on the Kona would not have suficed. Although my thumbs hurt for weeks regardless.

5 Attachments

.

5 Attachments

This is brilliant

Looks v nice! Have you got a route??

Thanks, its crazy the frame is from 2005! I think I am going to split it though. 3 road bikes is too many and a custom one in the making.

Yes it was taken straight from here with a few diversions for food and camping https://bikepacking.com/routes/woods-rat-run/
Key spots; Southbourne beach before the chaos of Bournemouth. Anywhere on the coast south of Corfe Castle but theres a pretty lovely valley leading down the Chapmans pool, quite the climb back out though. Wareham on the River Frome for a dip. The Cricketers pub in Iwerne Courtney/Shroton. The New Forest Inn in Emery Down for a pint of ale.

Nice bikes, appealing straight to my frankenbiek bias. Ultegra 6600 groupset is one I am very fond of.

Quick q: Those 48cm Nitto B177s that you had on the Marin way back - what was the ctc measure on those? I’m thinking of some but don’t know if Nitto measure width in a different way. Cheers!

I used this for reference when ordering https://www.rivbike.com/products/nitto-noodle-handlebar they're measured from the hoods as they're wider at the drops. Slight flare meant that they didnt feel anywhere as wide as 48cm sounds though. The drop is a smidge larger than I normally ride and the ramps slope down marginally from the clamping portion so they did feel quite low to me. But it adds up to be a curvy very nice looking bar with sweet transition between ramps and hoods.