Raleigh Royal Audax / Randonneur

I was going to get a 34 but crc only had a 36 in stock and i couldn't be bothered to order from two places, ha!

almost done

Gilles Berthoud made his mud guards fucking fiddly to fit.

It is, but they're darn strong.

Once you fixed it in place, it'll be hard to get it out of shape.

I have to let the back wheel down to get it out which is a bit irritating

Full shots please.

all will be relieved when its finished

I have to let the back wheel down to get it out which is a bit irritating

Well if you have a puncture then its perfect, in fact sounds like good design ;)

needs a rack and the bar position needs tweeking, but otherwise...

That look awesome.

Reckon this Camper rack should finish it off nicely;

I'd have to get some kind of adaptor though, I don't have bosses near the seat cluster.
Also here's a photo of me with the bike looking distinctly peeved for some reason:

Awesome looking bike. Think I want to have a go at building a similar bike next.

Absolutely lovely build. How do you find the GBs so far? The rear of my VO alu ones have rattled itself to pieces on the admittedly brutal cobblestones in Leipsuck, first in half under the brake bridge (mostly my own fault due to sloppy hole drilling), but now also (after a successful repair) lengthwise further back. The front has been trouble free though, and I still like the imitated hammered look.

On that point is there any way to stop rattling mudgaurds?

The only silent ones I've used are raceblades.

leather washer and steel mudguard.

Lookingg good!

And that rack is really nice ed, I've never seen one of those before

very common in french bike, and recently in american bike.

Also, for a bracket for the pannier rack you just need p clips to bolt onto the seat stay.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=p+clip&hl=en&client=safari&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1024&bih=672&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3519568108459370802&sa=X&ei=g0_2T8Z9zMHyA---lMIH&ved=0CJIBEPICMAY

Get the ones like that, sized right and with the rubber inner and it won't damage your paint.

Best thread on LFGSS. Great job spotter. As I own a sport-touring bike myself, I've been lurking round this build thread since the beginning - looking for inspiration. The bike has looked good with each incarnation... but this last is really phenomenal. Sportive in the best sense. With a 36t rear and 32c tires you can really go anywhere on that thing!

Two quick questions: How are you finding the clearance between the GBs and the 32c pasela? Coz it looks a tight squeeze at the front. I'm presuming the GBs are 40mm. And do the paselas measure a true 32mm?

As regards racks, unless you are planning on heavy duty touring, I find those large camper racks (and other large tubing racks like tubus) a bit out of place on an everyday rando bike. If you can find something like the old Jim Blackburns they look a lot more subtle when unloaded:

I know soma do a similar (bargainous) mini front rack... not sure about the rear:
http://store.somafab.com/somialfrra.html

I'd have to get some kind of adaptor though, I don't have bosses near the seat cluster.

Don't people use P clips for this?

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/public/ttZN4KYNjYFYXxRo1-XQsmdnej1xeEBu4QKYoTRkGimxFd9-YhArczhXcPLD4gtKfGI2Ds_slkZAF0W_ded6-4n4mJhjJwulAaXp-aD3bzU92dmREIwD7NwvyYoOBvfhUkJIsP_j-zxPRl8cIYoYO9Lt3WC1DtwG1p1NvU-LxrCweW4ip8JbmaBntkrYhbxDEkTJVSp7PPY

And do the paselas measure a true 32mm?

They do, quite accurately so, as most tyres manufacturer is always either too small or too big.

Schwalbe is too big, their 28c is more like 32c, and Conti's 28c is more like 25c.

Tyres that claim to have puncture resistant may end up being a touch bigger than usual due to the extra rubber.

I know soma do a similar (bargainous) mini front rack... not sure about the rear:
http://store.somafab.com/somialfrra.html

I used to have a rack like this (and Porteur one), but the problem I found is that it stiffen up the front end meaning I felt a little more road vibration than usual.

Rack whose mount is on the middle of the fork is usually the best bet as it allowed the fork blade to flex while riding.

I used to have a rack like this (and Porteur one), but the problem I found is that it stiffen up the front end meaning I felt a little more road vibration than usual.

Rack whose mount is on the middle of the fork is usually the best bet as it allowed the fork blade to flex while riding.

Useful info Ed... thanks! The only problem with mid-fork racks is that if you have no braze-ons you have to use p-clips (which I think look a bit crap).

Oh and you mentioned somewhere else on here about using wider rims in order to get a more supple feel from your tires. I'm thinking about replacing my front rim in the next month or two. It would be a big help if I could slightly lower the tire height by a few mm... What rim width were you suggesting? (I believe my open pros are 15mm or thereabouts.) And is there any particular rim you use that's both lightish and widish?

Rims of same quality, weight and price: velocity A23.

Otherwise mavic a317 touring rims will do.