29 August, 2007

You Asked...


We now have, or are soon getting, a number of items our faithful customers have asked for:

We just received Honjo 43mm smooth and hammered fenders. These work well for tires up to 32mm wide, though some use them with 35mm tires.

The special extra long fenders in smooth and hammered are finally on a ship and steaming East. We also have extra long fenders in new sizes, 650B hammered, 35mm smooth and hammered, and 45mm hammered. This shipment also includes lots of extra stays and hardware that will be available separately.

I'll soon be adding some prototype racks and decaleurs to the specials page.

We've ordered rubber slap guards in muted red and in blue since many frame builders have asked for them.

Several of you have asked us to stock the new Tektro CR720 cantilever brakes. they'll be here Monday and will sell for $27 per pair. They feature forged aluminum arms, linear spring design, and dual micro tension adjusters. These are a cool retro design and the geometry should make for a very powerful brake. Kudos to Tektro; they are launching one great product after another.

Velo Orange silver inverse brake levers are soon to be in production. They are not as elegant as we had hoped. The cost and logistics of having the molds made proved to be too much. But these new levers will be nicer and less expensive than any available now.

We'll soon have some nice ViVa bag supports. The cost should be around $40. A nice seatpost mounted bag support is something I've always wanted. It should be easy to remove and be perfect for any larger saddle bag. And it won't mar the bike's paint. It's just the thing for those of us who like inn-to-inn tours, but don't usually need a rear rack. Getting these support has been like pulling teeth; George (our agent for Japan) is surely sick of my constant e-mails and calls about them. So I'm very curious to know what you think of this support. Will it be worth the effort? And let me know if you want to reserve one.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

carradice used to make a bag support like that, and park made one similar, that attached to the stays. they work well for my baggins hoss, with 25lbs or so of gear.

is 27 dollars for those tektros = one bikes worth or one wheel's worth? either way they are a good deal, just wanted clairification.

Velo Orange said...

Johnson, The brakes are for a wheel's worth.

The Carradice supports are often unavailable which is one reason we want these. I've never seen the Park version. Anyone have a photo?

Felkerino said...

The bag support is a home run. It should, hopefully, address one of the failings of the Bagman, and that is the hoop working out of the mounting block. Chris please hold one for me!

Ed Felker

Anonymous said...

Hi...Rivendell has the park model- the "silver hupe" I believe. Yes to the brakes, yes to the rack!

Velo Orange said...

More bag support details from Japan:

# CP
# Pillar adaptation size: 25.4-31.8mm
# Weight: 250g
# Japan make
# It does not choose pillar size and does not remove the pillar from the bicycle and removes possibility. Saddle back support

And there you have it ;<)

Anonymous said...

the park one is nice because there is no clamp to fail. elegance is a tie i guess: the clamp doesnt look great, but nor does the hupe mount.

Anonymous said...

Chris,
Do you have any recent photos of new VO frames? There's been a lull...

Doug said...

Chris, is there any reason (or is it even possible) to pre-order a pair of the long Honjos in 43mm hammered? I will need a set, but would be happiest just waiting if there will be plenty of them. Thanks, Doug

Velo Orange said...

We'll try to get some new VO frame photos up soon.

There will be enough extra long fenders to go around, no need to pre-order.

Anonymous said...

The Tektro's you show appear to be 'logo-less' (unlike all the other CR720's I've seen). Were you able to procure these without the 'Tektro' logo?

Anonymous said...

The bag support is a home run

+1

Velo Orange said...

Annon, I actually don't know if the brakes will have logos. We can ask Tektro to make most of their products without logos if we order enough, but we ordered a relatively small quantity this time since it's a new item.

mpetry912 said...

Chris - some excellent new stuff there! Hey do you have any prediction on when the roller brake bridges will be available ? I am just getting ready to order some of the TOEI ones - but will wait for yours if they are immenent.

thanks, markp

db said...

i'm intrigued by the bag support in combination with the ostrich saddle bag you sell. you mentioned previously that the bag had a pouch that fit perfectly over the bagman rack. will it work as well with this one?

Velo Orange said...

Markp, I should get sample roller hangers in a couple of weeks. Then it will be a month or two to get the rest. This stuff takes forever.

Fasc...., I think the ViVa supports will also be perfect with the Ostrich bags.