Bob Jackson (Vigorelli, etc)

In case you ever feel that you could use a tiny bit more vertical space, these are good.

How about wooden mudguards?

^ no, because
-cost
-thickness
-no compound curve throws lots of water around and defeats the purpose
-yeah, I know, you can get compound curved ones now, but check the first point

wooden mudguard are a lots thicker than the SKS despite being a piece of piss to fit.

There's an e(d)cho in here.

In talks with Bob Jackson about getting a Vigorelli track built up. Asked for oversize tubing because I gather it is slightly stronger than standard gauge 631.
They have said that it is a big no no to hop curbs/potholes etc and doing so will void the warranty.
Are they just covering themselves?
I do the same with my alu/carbon roadbike, did the same with my old mercian track and path and they've always been perfectly fine.
I would've thought a 631 oversize frame should be more than ok with small bunnyhops etc.
They've put me off slightly now.

THe bike'll be fine doing all that shit, but they're just covering themselves.

People have fucked their bikes up doing all sorts of stupid shit then blamed Jackson's for a poor build. They know people are doing tricks on their bikes, but if you do anything extreme on a road bike you risk knacking it in.

Oversize won't be any stronger or weaker than regular 631 but it'll make a stiffer frame, especially at larger sizes (as a 6+ footer, I'd always take oversize where possible). If the frame's going to fail from a heavy vertical impact, it'll be at the joins, particularly the seatstay / seat lug junction. Mine's always felt fine with bunnyhopping/riding off kerbs, but I do it quite carefully. Guess you never know until it goes crack...

Sounds like BJ just have a better idea of what hipsters are getting up to on their bikes than most.

Its possible the bigger wield junctions of over-sized tubes make for stronger joins. Mainly they're just stiffer though.

they built the alleycat out of os 631 and implied it was for tricks by making it barspinnable, so I'm sure an OS 631 Vigorelli could take at least a few bunnyhops, just don't tell them you're doing them haha. I rode an Alleycat for a while and it felt very stiff (ooh er missus), definitely could take a little beating

Thanks, I think I'll put my order in.

Looked into a Bob Jackson a few times over the past few months, very tempted!

Confused a bit about the OS tubing thing, it says only the 23" frames and above have OS tubing? but i sure would like OS on mine but i would get a smaller 20.5" frame, would of thought it would be something you request, but it doesn't say that

could do with knowing the TT sizes to, might give them an email.

Can any one clear that up for me?

Stronger tubing recommended for lager frames and bigger riders.
I'm sure you could ask them for smaller one with OS tubing.

Yeah i hope so, question is now, should i buy one?

I have a Dolan now and i'm about to build up a Steamroller, then later on a Pompino, so ill be in all the cool bike crews with a Bob! :P

Unless you have the legs of Chris Hoy, there's little reason to go OS on such small frame.

Just worried it will feel like a noodle after riding my Pre-cursa...

it will have some flex naturally compared to the rather stiff Precursa, but I'd says the right kind of flex that make the bike felt very comfortable to ride.

Just how much do you weight? I'm around 75kg and I can barely notice the flex on my steel bicycle, just the stiffness of the alu bicycle.

Don't weigh much more, maybe 80-85kg

Well the flex of my steel gazelle road bike feels fine, but that dose have gears, the stress of pushing and pulling on 75 gear inches would make it more noticeable i would of thought

I assume decent handle bars, stem, crankset and wheels would help the hole bike feel stiffer

If absolute stiffness is a priority, don't get a Bob - it'll probably feel a bit soft compared to the Pre Cursa. However, if you just don't want something that's noodly, you don't need to worry. It's a lot stiffer than your average '80s steel road bike.

I actually don't mind a bit less stiffness sometimes - if I ride my 853 Feather day in day out, I can start to feel it in my joints and neck after a week or so (even though it doesn't feel harsh to ride, quite the opposite). The Bob has the lumpier ride but it doesn't take as much of a toll on my ageing body.

Stiff cranks and strong wheels and you'll be absolutely fine.

And then sell three of your fixed bikes and get a custom. ;)

Thanks Regal, very helpful, you may of just convinced me!

It actually took me a while to get used to the stiffness of my Dolan, it felt oddly twitchy when i was sprinting out the saddle, i guess its probably unnecessarily stiff for my needs.

The Bob is the sort of bike i plan to use on my days off, id like to kind of match my road bike with similar parts, same pedals ect, so i can chose either of them to ride depending on the distance and how i feel.

I've yet to find a geometry chart for the BJ Vigos so if someone can point me to one that would be great. Alternatively I'm only really interested in what the SO of a 52cm/20.5" Vigorelli would be.

I swear I've seen one of these....

I'll check.

I couldn't get a geo chart out of them (didn't try hard tbh) but if you email BJ they will give you standover heights, top tube length etc. for the sizes you're interested in.

Thanks Regal, will give it a try! But if anyone knows I'll gladly still take an answer here as I am the impatient sort :)

I think the top tube length will be 20.5" as well, i may of remembered that wrong though