sloe bicycles raleigh randonneur

Had an excellent ride here yesterday, still buzzing about it. Really felt great to be out on the bike after nearly four months of living out of a suitcase and storage unit. First proper ride since moving to France, just over 70km - the first half in forests and country lanes, then back along the Ardour river on a cycle path home. The lanes were delightfully quiet, surrounded by beautiful farm houses, some nice gravel farm tracks too. The sun was shining for the first time in two weeks and I wore only a t-shirt. Found some nice single track in the forest, the trails are pretty sandy but the panaracer ext front tyre provided ample grip. The racks were solid and that rear Nitto one is too cute, although somewhat superfluous. Had a good conversation with a French man who suggested I head South and explore the Pyrenees.

The Randonneur was a delight, super comfortable, good handling, gearing is perfect and felt surprisingly punchy when I put down some power. I love it. Still need to tape the bars in front of the brake levers and switch to SPDs though. I didn't expect to stay out that long. One forest track was not rideable so I walked it, the amount of rain here over the last two weeks has been crazy and that path was basically a river blocked by many fallen trees. Nice to be alone among the pine trees, it's stunning and very peaceful. However, I did get chased by a big dog at one point which I guess was good for the adrenaline levels. Was very glad to have a flat riverside section for the second half as my legs are not what they once were.

Got dark and cold super quickly, but I had packed a gilet and a jacket in the front bag. Despite the lack of street lighting and being on the wrong side of the road, I really enjoyed punching a hole through the darkness. Overall, I'm super stoked with the bike and where I will be able to ride it over the coming months. Here's a few photos.

2 Attachments

Bravo! Great write up and made me wish I was in France too . Happy moments to grab whenever you can👌

The bike looks super cool with a bit of mud on it. Definitely saving this to steal some of your ideas in the future!

Yeah the sounds like a dream. You've inspired me, I'm on the lookout for a Raleigh Randonneur of my own

Bikes looking great, any more recent adventures?

Just checking, are you clearing 35 GK slicks at the rear as well as the front?

Thanks man! yeah, I've done a few short rides but been pretty busy with work and moving into a new flat. Managed to get in a quick blast in the forest today which was great. there's a photo below.

I am indeed running a 35 GK slick at the rear. It's certainly a squeeze but seems fine to me. I did spread the rear end to around 132mm to run a 130mm road hub so that may have helped a bit tbh. I think I'll crimp the chain stays at some point but it's not a priority. I reckon the sandy trails around here will slowly wear down the chain stays where it rubs a bit and give me a few extra mm's over time anyway haha. The front tyre is a 35mm Panaracer GK EXT.

You thinking of building up something similar?

1 Attachment

Looks like a lovely forest to ride!

I'm lucky enough to already own one, but I have been wondering whether a 35 would fit as I do sometimes get pinch flats with the 32 I currently use. Some of the tracks around there go rocky and fast.

1 Attachment

Great photo. Lifting a rando to that height means you don't have to do gym training!

Great pic! Your build looks lovely, and the scenery is delightful. The hill in the background looks very inviting. Where are you based?

This reverse moustache cockpit setup is very tempting...

It's a little south of Granada near the sierra nevada, lovely riding down there.

@greytyke the royals are actually quite light!

FYI, I just measured my rear tyre and it comes up as 35.5mm. that's on an h plus son archetype rim which is 23mm.

I think this is done. Just waiting for my camping gear to arrive from the UK and then I'll do an overnighter up the coast to Bordeaux to see how it handles fully loaded.
The rear bag support is great! We rode to the beach on the weekend, I ran a very full Carradice Camper Longflap with zero issues.

1 Attachment

Lovely build.

Have you got a pic with the rear bag on while the support is there?

Thanks! I sure do, see below! It's the Nitto NR-21 Rear Bag Support and a Nitto M12 up front.

1 Attachment

I really love this. It's got me wanting a rando bike now. Though it would need drops for me

Great build

Cheers!

Found this photo of my Muddy Fox Courier Comp. This was my commuter for about a year and quickly became my favourite bike. It had mudguards in winter and the cavernous 139 wald basket was always useful. I took a fair few of the parts for the Randonneur build and stripped it down for transport. But now I'm thinking about building it up again. It was so good. And the paint is sick. It'll probably be a mix of all my fave parts from my various builds over the years for a more shred vibe. I've got an XTR M-950 group and ceramic wheelset and the outrageous paint matched stem. Nitto x Crumbworks KT bars.

I just got word that my stuff will be delivered from the UK this week so hopefully everything has survived. I didn't do a great job of packing my frames which was really stupid in hindsight. However, it's an absolute tank of a frame - so fingers crossed it will be fine.

1 Attachment

You have great bikes!

That sounds outrageously good. Please make it happen!

Been a while since I posted on this thread. I built up the Muddy Fox and it's even better than before. Very happy indeed. Quick teaser photo for you all below

1 Attachment

Another strong build!

Muddy 🦊 unite!

@Tijs your Muddy Fox build on bikepacking.com was probably my number one read webpage for about a year when I bought that frame!