You are reading a single comment by @Polygon and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Polygon
I didn't really realise there was any interest in this at the time, so never bothered to update. The bike's still in use, been through a few changes though. I'm taking it on a 2 week tour through Spain and France in a fortnight. How it performs on that will either strengthen my resolve to keep it, or to swap the frame for a LHT or a Thorn Sherpa.
Here she is on her maiden voyage along the Kennet and Avon last summer, shortly after being built. It performs great on those kind of fast gravel paths you get along there.
I didn't get along with those moustache bars though - put the pressure in the wrong places on my palm and ended up causing severe nerve twinges on cold days. I've swapped them out for the VO rando bar but unfortunately that means I have to use a really choady stem. The downside of using this frame out of its original intended purpose I suppose. The wheelbase is long but pretty much exactly the same as a LHT. The oddest bit is that the trail is fairly low, (about 50mm) so the steering can be quite twitchy. As such I'm planning to use just front panniers for the tour, a bar bag and maybe a carradice for light things. The tent poles will strap to the top-tube.
(sorry for the shitty pic)
Also swapped changed:
Copper rivet B17
Inline Thompson (to allow rails for carradice support)
Lower gearing
Mudflaps
Cheap Shimano dynohub with B&M IQ Cyo light and a Super-I-cable (I have yet to hook this up properly)
Tempted to dye the flaps black and stick some bright cloth tape on the bars. The black/tan look lost its appeal.