Varonha custom frame... And other ongoing stuff

Thanks!

Turns out a shop called cyclefit in Covent Garden sell them too. Out of stock (as is Sven) of the one I want, but that's good cos I can start saving now.

Caught up with the last few pages just now, that Varonha is such a nice bike

Also try Woods Cyclery?

Yeah pretty sure woods is a good bet

I’m lucky in Sweden nice local bike shop that imports them and seems to be able to keep prices down - still £75 a tyre…

But they are lovely- great gravel/mud grip but roll great on the road with a nice hum

Thanks for the tips all... And @russmeyer for the kind comment.

@Skülly sadly the WTB horizon doesn't come in the size I need...
@knowthejo good thing RH don't do the size I need either because you could have tempted me to spend more that I had initially thought, like with the MKS pedals! (Coming from you I'd always assume it is money well spent)

These WTBs I was contemplating on previous page seem to be meant for tubeless install, unfortunately.

So paselas... Never been disappointed by them and if they size large, probably my best bet...

Paselas never a bad bet!
Plus most of the ££££ tyres are made by and in the Panaracer factory… compass/ultradynamico/Rene herse etc.

What about WTB Exposure?

No firsthand experience of those btw.

sadly the WTB horizon doesn't come in the size I need

These WTBs I was contemplating on previous page seem to be meant for tubeless install, unfortunately.

Yeah I was just saying the WTBS seem good, maybe there’s a tyre by them in your size.

Because a tyre says ‘tubeless’ that doesn’t mean you can’t run it with tubes.

WTB Byway in 38mm.

Felt faster than it look.

Because a tyre says ‘tubeless’ that doesn’t mean you can’t run it with tubes.

Didn't know that, had read somewhere that tubeless tyres had stiffer side walls and didn't work well with tubes

Hadn’t really considered that. Perhaps it’s not ideal.

WTB Byway

That was the one I was probably thinking of

Hadn’t really considered that

The tyres I bought in the end (Bontrager GR1) are described by the manufacturer as "tubeless ready", which I assumed meant they were considered ok with tubes. No idea. Chose them because, although probably the most expensive tyres I've ever bought, they were comparatively not too pricey, I liked their look, they were in stock, fast delivery, bla bla...
So far, after a short test ride today, all good...

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such a lovely bike, new tyres are very fitting

I agree with Maj. Such a stunner.

Thank you both, now I need to find time too ride it (further than the local woods), and figure out where to go...

Finished this today, as I enjoy a couple of days off...

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What a magnificent build, very well done!

Just seen that Look - what a build! I know nothing about mountain bikes but it all like serious business to my untrained eye.

Thanks! I love it... I did about 25 miles on it yesterday, to work and back: it was faster than I expected, and really really nice (ok, it was on road, but still...)
As a teenager, at the end of one year of high school, which I'd barely passed because I wasn't working hard enough, my mum bought me my first mountain bike... A cheap supermarket one (still, they were better than today's equivalent). Full Shimano 200GS groupset, oh yeah! It was totally undeserved; she said she wanted to encourage me to do better the next year. One of my happiest memory from these times. It was stolen few years later when I was at uni. That Look, because of the early 90s geometry I guess (though it's much lighter, the supermarket one was hi-ten / gas pipes), totally reminds me of it, and brings back nice memories (the little Normandy VTT club, summer evening rides through little countryside local paths, the absolute pain to clean the bike because off road in Normandy is well muddy... All very modest mountain biking, but for me it as awesome)

Just googled them... That club still exists!
http://www.bekanabou.fr

: )

I have similar happy memories of childhood mountain biking.... slipping off from my parent's house to sludge my way down the local forest paths, and coming home completely covered in shit with a huge smile on my face.... I've been rediscovering a little bit of this feeling recently on my cheaply-converted Dawes. So much fun.

Just won this on eBay, for a good price, 531ST, and will be picking up Wednesday. As far as I can figure out, this is a mixte version of the Galaxy, no?
I will be refurbishing it for my mum and take it to France whenever we manage to go there. It may involve a Mario respray depending on condition. It needs to be comfy (my mum no longer feels confident on her road bike since a cardiac incident couple of years ago, though she really wants to cycle again - she has a home trainer but meh).
So comfy and relaxed is the idea. Bars for an upright position, suggestions welcome. I have a brand new wheelset for this, I'll probably put 28cs on (she used to run 19c, and 23c when she was still cycling again!) Mudguards will be necessary, because... Normandie.
I'll avoid down tube shifting (again for comfort, ease of use): I have nice vintage suntour thumb shifters, but they probably are for small diameter bars (22mm I think) I guess that restricts me in bar choice.
I've got a Carradice super C handle bar bag for snacks and repair kit which I'm sure she'll like, just need to buy a new click thingy clamp for it.
Otherwise I guess I'll dig out much of what's needed from part bin.
If I go with a respray, I'll try to give the thing a modern look, not so much trad British touring style. Wheelset is (annoyingly) black so this would help integrate it.

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ars for an upright position, suggestions welcome.

Look at humbert on SJS the Ladytown are nice

I'll avoid down tube shifting

You could also go stem mounted

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tiALqr2Vhfo

Moiate!