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Re: integrated pannier: I would seriously consider it if you knew it was for you though. Work bikes have racks properly integrated into the frame, and it looks A1 to me.
I just started to daydream about a horizontal rack fixed somewhere around the bridge/cluster (a bit like those seatpost-only rear racks), with side pieces of rack which attatch on down to some regular eyes, so you could have just a rack top bag if you wanted to lighten up on luggage. All In the same enamel as the frame, natch!
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Re: integrated pannier: I would seriously consider it if you knew it was for you though. Work bikes have racks properly integrated into the frame, and it looks A1 to me.
I just started to daydream about a horizontal rack fixed somewhere around the bridge/cluster (a bit like those seatpost-only rear racks), with side pieces of rack which attatch on down to some regular eyes, so you could have just a rack top bag if you wanted to lighten up on luggage. All In the same enamel as the frame, natch!
Exactly - fillet-brazed to the stays/dropouts, and the whole lot painted together. My main worry was bending it, as it won't have the rigidity of the other frame tubes and would deform first. But if it was beyond saving, I guess you could just cut if off and patch the paintwork...
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mmmm. For me Mather, Vanilla and Jonny Cycles are the top 3. Or a Gregory Townsend.
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http://www.ifbikes.com/frames2/953.shtml
if money was no object for a 'leisure' bike
and
a Cervelo R3 SL with SRAM Red and Lightweight wheels for going a little faster... -
OK this has got me dreaming and lusting again - how about the Gios Compact Pro with a chrome fork (C1)...
http://www.gios.it/2005/eng/prima.php?page=pro-frame
I think you have pretty much gotta like blue...
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if you were building your dream geared bike, how would you spec it, and what kit would you put on? Do you have some mad idea for a custom feature? (I thought maybe a rack brazed directly onto the stays?) What do you consider to be the very best kit - should I have Campag throughout, or go off-piste with Phils, Pauls or even Rohloff?
I've done this, pics of my Robin Mather are elsewhere on the site. I’m glad the waiting list was quite long as it took me time to get some ideas sorted in my head.
I went in knowing I wanted something like an all-round Audax bike – lighter tubing and more responsive geometry than the ubiquitous Dawes Galaxy or suchlike, and with some touches that made it ‘my own’.
The bike was intended for use commuting daily, doing longer audax / sportive / fun rides at the weekend, a bit of towpath riding occasionally, and for practical stuff like getting groceries or DIY supplies (though I did stipulate I wasn’t going to be carrying really heavy loads).
I’d considered a Rohloff originally, but I brought and rode one for a while and It just wasn’t for me – I didn’t like the twist-shift, it was heavy and felt quite sluggish, and other than a potential lack of maintenance I didn’t see any upside. I really like Campagnolo and was happy with 9spd so purchased a mongrel 9s triple groupset. I’m using the Campagnolo BB on the basis it was better to replace it with a Phil Wood if it ever failed rather than splashing out the extra for the Phil straight off. I’m also using a standard Chorus rear hub because it looks nice and the Phil was about 4x the cost and a fair bit heavier.
I’d also considered 26” wheels, but as a taller rider (6ft 4in) things looked more in proportion with 700c.
I went to Robin with an idea of fit (my Merckx MXL had been dialled in through trial and error to the point where it was comfortable for as long as I could ride) and rough geometry from a standpoint of what I’d ridden before. I didn’t get a professional fitting as they can be hit-and-miss, my position worked for me so I felt no compulsion to change it. Robin chose the exact geometry (to specifically ensure there was no overlap between my feet and the front wheel or panniers). I think it’s fairly standard, there’s nothing too funky going on. Straight out of the box it felt familiar, and there’s room to adjust my Brooks forward and aft, which is an improvement on the Merckx where it was right back on the rails.
Originally I wanted disc brakes – coming from an MTB background they made sense, and a custom build could get around the rack / brake interference issue. However, lots of reading and a bit of riding convinced me that the Pauls Racer braze-on worked just as well for similar money, but looked better and was more robust (no discs to bend, pads available most about anywhere).
I wanted a frame-mounted pump peg (Robin put a mount for a size 2 Zefal HPX right behind the seattube – this works better than under the top tube, doesn’t rattle, and allows me to shoulder the bike if I need to). I also wanted a custom stem (because being honest when you’re riding that’s the bit of the bike you see the most) with a braze-on for a bell (in the Japanese pass hunter tradition). Robin also ended up putting an expander-wedge clamp on there for instead of the usual allen bolts to tighten the stem, and a hanger / adjuster for the front brake.
I also asked if he could curve the seatstays a little – I used to lust after the Ritchey Plexus when I was younger, and am also a fan of the Kirk DKS system. I asked about integrated racks but Robin wasn’t that keen. I do recall seeing a bike made like that by one of the US builders many years ago for a professional photographer who rode it across Africa. Robin did make a very nice stainless steel rack, which the Audax crown seem to admire more than the rest of the bike.
Finally, I wanted dynamo lights (Schmidt SON hub, Supernova lights), mudguards (Hammered Honjos) and the rack – this is above all a practical bike, even if there’s an element of vanity project about it. The routing for the rear light cable goes inside the downtube, which is a nice touch.
Things Robin decided to add were stainless dropout faces, and he chose the lug design (which I’m very pleased with).I’m still ostensibly viewing this as a very long-term purchase. Whilst I recognise that technology moves on, tastes change, etc… the bike is built to a high standard with very good kit on it, but there’s nothing proprietary (with the potential exception of the brakes) that couldn’t be replaced a decade down the line – no-one is going to stop selling 130mm rear hubs, 700c wheels, standard bottom brackets etc.
Having ridden it for about six weeks I’d say it’s achieved everything I asked for. The geometry is stable enough to cope with panniers of shopping or riding hands-off at speed, and yet unladen and giving it some stick it’s great fun. It does the practicality thing – I stay dry when it rains, never have to worry about charging batteries for the lights, can carry an immense amount of stuff (too frequently!) and the bell works wonders at moving pedestrians. At heart it’s just a bicycle, and something at 20% of the cost could probably match it for functionality, but more than that it makes me smile when I ride it, and I get immense pride of ownership.
The list of things I might change is fairly small, as you might expect;
Braze-ons for a mini-front rack (plus possibly a custom rack to match). I don’t need it right now, but in hindsight it might be useful to have the functionality.
A slightly wider rear rack. Robin built a lovely slim thing, but I got a new Arkel rack pack and it’s too wide to fit properly so it rocks side-to-side
The front dynamo cable running through the fork blade rather than through a tube – Robin chose this and there may be a good reason, but my option looks neaterIt sounds from your previous posts like you’ve got a fair idea of what you’re looking for. In honesty I’d probably use a US builder now, as none of the UK builders will do all the custom touches the Mather has. If I had to pick someone for a similar bike it would be J P Weigle, but I think he’s closed his waiting list as well. Sacha White / Vanilla is lovely but the waiting list is painfully long, so other options include ANT (Mike Flanigan), Pereira, Curt Goodrich or Ira Ryan. Rick Hunter does some nice stuff too, but more MTB-focussed.
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"No soul".. what toss. It's where you ride with a bike that makes it special.
Whilst I respect what you're saying, some of us are a bit 'special' and want something no-one else has, that is aesthetically acceptable to the fashion police of whatever type of riding we're into. Otherwise we'd all be on Flying Pigeons like the Chinese.
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Something lightweight and Italian
a touring bike for me would be like spending the rest of my life with a girl with big hips
Platini
illy
Skülly
villa-ru
hurricane_run
_Zed_
Shannonball
SimonC
hippy
the-smiling-buddha
Moose
rpm-
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Dream Geared bike (spend my money for me...)
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@fatbloke
s works tarmac sl2 with cosmic carbon wheels, full dura ace
:p