Robin Mather

i have an EBB it's a piece of piss to use and gives no bother at all. but make sure you get a phil wood one as the other bushnell units are a pain in the arse with all the moving parts inside that need covering in copperslip to stop creaking.
if you are that picky about position changes all you would need to do is move the saddle and seatpost back/forward and up/down to compensate when tensioning the chain, but once set you are hardly likely to move it far and probably the same distance as a change in the thickness of your shorts or the sole of a shoe.
i have seen some of the phill ebb's installed with the bolts pointing upwards which is easier to get to. independent fabrication use phil EBB's maybe ask them if they recommend them for fixed use.

the EBB shell on my mtb was made by independent fabrication as this was the only place at the time to get a shell made for a phil EBB. the frame is a protoype that a mate was having built (in taiwan) for me to test. it's the only I.F. bike part i'm likely to own :-)

I saw Robin when I was in Bath yesterday - he's a really top guy and we spent ages talking about Witcomb, Richard Sachs, the NAHBS and a bunch of other things. Really, if you're thinking about getting a bike from him go ahead and do it - the waiting list is ~1 year and will only get longer.....

I've had a few EBBs - chain tensioning is fine, not sure I've ever noticed the changes in the BB positioning, and if they're strong enough for off-road and tandems they'll be fine for a fix. I'd second the comments on the Phil Wood units though - a lot easier to use, and you can have neatly-mounted grub screws to adjust it (Jeff Jones puts them on the top of the BB shell just behind the seat-tube junction)

Would it not be easier to have (semi-)horizontal drop-outs, rather than vertical or track ends? You wouldn't be able to have such a tight clearance against the seat-tube, but if you're having mudguards, no biggie.

velocity boy It would make ... and flip flopping so incredibly quick.

Only if you have the same tooth cog/freewheel on each side. It would make flip flopping a bit of pain in the arse otherwise cos you'd have to adjust the EBB as well as flipping the wheel around.

Why not use long Campy horizontals, as suggested above? Makes fixing punctures and flip flopping very quick and is much simpler than an EBB. Not hi tech enough? :)

Mind you an EBB would be pretty cool.

Oooh:
Campagnolo 1010

Damn nice.

For some reason I didn't think they were still made!

Are they still made? Clones on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Campagnolo-Design-1010-b-Dropouts-Fork-Ends-Pads-NOS_W0QQitemZ200162034529QQihZ010QQcategoryZ56197QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

sks do some quick realse mudgard clap things usually used in the front for safty (stick jamming in mudgard causeing endo!!) but can be used in the rear as well for easy fixed wheel removal. Just a thought. For a selection of dropouts check out http://www.framebuilding.com/Frame%20Ends.htm three pages of them.

scott not scot are you getting custom made panniers david.....meaning nice ones to match the bike?

Yup. At least, that's the intent.

also google henry james and nova cycles. both supply lugs and dropout e.t.c this would give you an idea of the drop outs avalible although there clearly may be others.

velocity boy [quote]scott not scot are you getting custom made panniers david.....meaning nice ones to match the bike?

Yup. At least, that's the intent.[/quote]

Surely you've got enough work on already scott? ;-)

scott not scot i'm looking forward to seeing this bike....gonna be nice me think...:)

It will be a very long wait.

Simon's will come way before mine.

scott not scot haaa......yeah,me stay away from panniers i think....backpack is next on the 'to do' list....if i ever get a chance....:)

I have an Ortlieb that is possibly the most comfortable backpack I've ever owned. Do you want to see it sometime to examine their work? The interesting thing is the zip down the full length, right in the middle. Very accessible, no dark corners to burrow for.

Those Paul dropouts are really designed for mountain bikes, so they don't look right with the shallower angles of road bike chainstays.

Went for the fitting this afternoon with Cycle Fit.

Just got my numbers back, and a custom geometry for a cyclocross bike that will see considerable road use as a tourer/all-weather bike too.

The good news from 2 years ago... I now pedal smooth and not elliptical. With an average cadence of 95 > 105 on the road bike. My fit has barely changed at all, which means my Serotta remains my perfect road bike already and no physical changes in 2 years have had any effect on the fit of the bike.

Seat Tube Length: 60.70cm
Seat Tube Angle: 73.9'
Horizontal Top Tube Length: 57.40cm
Head Tube Angle: 72.5'
Chainstay Length: 41.50cm (minimum for the sliding drops... up to 2.5cm can be added by the sliding drops)
Rear Drop: 7.50cm
Setback: 16.83cm
Bottom Bracket Height: 26.50cm
Wheelbase: 101.92cm
Trail: 6.21cm
Front Centre Distance: 61.56cm
Bottom Bracket to Toe: 26.70cm
Toe/Pedal Clearance: 3.04cm
Head Tube Diameter: 3.33cm
Head Tube Extension: 1.50cm
Headset Stack Height: 1.77cm
Spacers: 3.0cm
Max Quill Height: 11cm
Stem Angle: 8'
Stem Reach: 10.0cm
Fork Rake: 4.30cm
Fork Span: 39.50cm
Head Tube Length: 18.16cm
Saddle Height: 80cm

The SizeCycle target:
Handlebar Centre from Bottom Bracket Horizontal (X): 47.1cm
Handlebar Centre from Bottom Bracket Vertical (Y): 70.5cm
Total Reach: 47.12cm

Shit loads of numbers... now to find BikeCad and see what it looks like. Ooh, just like the Serotta it seems... who'd have guessed.

Some of the componentry in mind:

• Avid BB7 Disc Brakes
  
• Deda Newton Anatomic Handlebars
  
• Possible Wound-up fork, custom 753 forks if not
  
• Campagnolo Record Brake levers
  
• Campagnolo Record Seat post
  
• Custom stem
  
• Custom 853 frame with S&S couplers
  
• Paragon Machine Works sliding drops
  
• Royce BB
  
• Campagnolo Record Carbon cranks
  
• Zipp 505 Clincher Rims
  
• Chris King ISO Single-speed hubs
  
• Spare wheel to have Rohloff SpeedHub (the new light one)
  
• Fizik Aliante saddle
  
• Time Atac Carbon pedals
  
• Lighting system from lumicycle.co.uk
  
  

Some of that it still in flux but I thought I'd write it down as a reminder to myself and to see how it changes over time.

so this is traditional geometry or modern?

Traditional. Gives more room for shouldering the bike over obstacles. I won't put any cage bolts on the seat tube either for this reason. And what cabling there is (singlespeed in main configuration) will go over the top tube.

i never get why people run cables over the top of the top tube, always messy and scratches the shit out the paint!

Under the downtube, cables are more exposed to mudd, water, etc.

i never get why people run cables over the top of the top tube, always messy and scratches the shit out the paint!

It's crazy isn't it... I just don't get why all bikes aren't racers or track bikes either!

Under the downtube, cables are more exposed to mudd, water, etc.
c'mon dude, mud getting under your top tube with a 60cm seat tube!? pull the other one it plays jingle bells!

Under the toptube, is where vb wants to shoulder the bike. Under the downtube is where mud get. Over the downtube is where the bottle cage goes. Over the toptube is where the cables go.
do I need to google an image of a geared bike for you? :-P

as if dave will pick it up, thats why he has servants :p

I wish. Can't afford them. The money that used to go on servants goes on bikes. Isn't that what we all do?

Clearance for knobbly tyres too ;)

Hehe! I think you may regret that - VB said he is gonna start charging (you) for commercial use of this site.. :-O ;-)