The Velo ORANGE Blog

More Special Stuff

2012-01-30T14:00:00.003-05:00

We just added more products to the Velo Orange specials page. Some great components and accessories at great prices can be found there. Certain items will be on sale only until stock levels normalize, others will be discontinued. Get em' while you can.

That's all.

North American Handbuilt Bike Show

2012-01-27T13:30:00.003-05:00

We were looking at the NAHBS web site and noticed that many of the exhibitors are Velo Orange customers. NAHBS showcases some of the worlds best custom builders and bikes. So it's really gratifying to know that these guys sometimes use our parts.

Here's a list of some noteworthy exhibitors (and VO customers.) Click on the links to check out some gorgeous bikes.

Unfortunately we won't be exhibiting NAHBS as an exhibitor this year, though we have a couple of times in the past. The location is on the opposite coast this year and its too close to Frostbike, where we will be exhibiting. I may, however, fly out just to walk the show and meet with some of our wholesale customers. If you can get to Sacramento it's absolutely worth attending.

Sign Up For The VO Newsletter

2012-01-24T10:51:00.003-05:00

Recently Annette wrote a guest post about a VO e-mailing promo offers. The response was very positive with 92% of folks saying they would like to have them. So we've decided to try a monthly newsletter. It will contain new product announcements and single-use coupon codes. You can sign up for it at this link. You can also opt-in when placing an order as shown below. If enough folks sign up we'll continue the newsletters and coupon codes, if not we'll drop them in a few months. Of course you can unsubscribe at any time and we won't share your info with anyone.

Alternative Saddle Bag Support

2012-01-24T10:16:00.006-05:00

I've noticed more and more Pass Hunter style front rack being used as saddle bag supports or small rear racks. I just saw another one on a Japanese site and was reminded that Nick used one on his bike. These photos are of his 26"-wheeled on/off road touring bike. I'm not sure that I like the looks of this installation as the rack is not level, but it is certainly practical and very strong.

I wonder if we should design a version especially for rear mounting? There are some small rear racks/bag supports already available, but ours would be stainless steel and have a few nice refinements. Another project to think about.

No Paint or Plastic

2012-01-17T16:40:00.002-05:00

The Reflect - polished (left) and brushed (right)

We've got these new bottles in from Klean Kanteen: the Reflect. We thought they'd be neat to try out, so we got just a couple to see how you guys like them.

You can get them here.

These remind me a lot more of the original Klean Kanteen (remember the stainless top?) they're a neat alternative to the newer ones with plastic tops and sippy mouths and all different colors.

New cap!

The new cap also has a bamboo top. The loop on the top swivels around so it gets out of the way when you don't need it.

We think you'll really like the high-polish version as well. Looks good on a bike!

Everywhere you want to go

2012-01-12T12:49:00.001-05:00

Post by Alec B.

You can get there on a Rando bike.

I've been riding mine for a bit more than a year now, and it's taken me to a few places.

Photo by Mary Gersema

It's probably no coincidence that during that time, I've met three other people riding VO Rando frames in Maryland and Virginia. Hi Bob, Mark, and Steve!

last years' rides. This view: 170mi x 110mi

The snapshots in this post are my GPS tracks from those rides, all layered one on top of the other.

When you zoom way out, it's just a big ball of spaghetti, covering almost all of Maryland and Northern Virginia, with some stray strands in Southern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and one reaching offscreen to North Carolina...

Catoctin Mountain. This view: 5mi x 8 mi

If you look closer, though, some order emerges. The Rando has taken me across Catoctin Mountain (right) every way you can go! It's a good climber, and you can be sure that it's seen more than a few "gut busters" in the last year...

The rando has also passed through Gettysburg, PA (below) several ways, but it looks like we missed a few. We'll have to fix that!

Gettysburg, PA. This view: 2mi x 3mi

We also seem to really like the area around Frederick (below, left), scouring the quiet country roads on ride after ride....

Patuxent river, MD. This View: 25mi x 14mi

Frederick, MD. This View: 35mi x 24mi

I've also taken the Rando to explore the Patuxent river (above, right), and even Washington, DC (below).

Washington, DC. This View 3mi x 1.5 mi

Photo by Mary Gersema

PS: If any of you collect routes, you can download the ones shown here from my ridewithgps page.

Curious about how to make your own tracks? I use motionX; some of my buddies use Garmin, and there seems to be an option for Andriod users too.

Thanks for reading! Happy riding, everyone!

Specials

2012-01-06T11:44:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year that things slow down at most bike businesses, VO included. It's not an unwelcome rest period. Winter gives us time to do things like work on new designs and to analyze our inventory. We want to see which items are overstocked, which are selling slower or faster than expected, and which we might consider dropping in the future.

Despite 2011 being our best year ever, we did find quite a few things that are overstocked. So we're adding items to our specials page. Check the page every so often and you might find a few real deals. In some cases the special items will be discounted until stock levels are back to normal, in other cases we'll simply drop the item when we run out.

You might note that the Rando frame is on sale; we over-ordered on the large sizes and need to make room for the 700c Polyvalents and the, eventual, Pass Hunters.

Blogs We Read

2012-01-04T15:00:00.010-05:00

We were chatting about bike blogs and I asked some of the VO staffers which ones they read. Here are a few that we find interesting:

gypsy by trade, A neat blog by a former VO staffer and now in Alaska
Wheel Fanatyk, Igor, the new guy here, found this cool blog that's mostly about wheels.
Bike Shop Girl, From Annette
Bikeville, Old bikes from our friends at Bikeville, several of us read this.
Cycling Tips, Racy stuff.
Mercx Mondays, The Cannibal!
Vintage Bicycle, Great old bikes described, nice photos too.
Chasing mailboxes, Rando friends
While Out Riding, UK cyclist touring North and South America
The Lazy Randonneur, A cool blog about bikes, kite surfing, SUPing, etc.
Jill Outside, Another great blog from Alaska; thanks Scott.
Velo News, More racy stuff.
Lovely Bicycle, Just lovely.
The Daily Randonneur, More rando friends.

And a few non-bike blogs that we like:

Archival Clothing, A great blog about quality stuff from a VO customer.
bunnie's blog. Robert recommends this. I'm not really sure what it's about.
Log Cabineer, Out in the woods.
Lloyds Blog, About tiny houses and other fun stuff.
The Cleanest Line, Patagonia's blog, one of my favorites
Hops, Fig, and a Duck, recommended by Alec
Surfrider Foundation, Recommended by me.
FX Cuisine, This blog is dead, but I still keep going back to it.
Carl Safina, Wonderful writer and oceanographer.

If you have any suggestions for non-commercial blogs, please mention them in the comments. We need new stuff to read in the new year.

Merry Holidays and Many Thanks

2011-12-22T14:27:00.001-05:00

All of us at Velo Orange want to thank our customers for another great year and wish you HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Year End Deals

2011-12-16T20:34:00.001-05:00

We've lowered the threshold for free shipping to $25 from midnight tonight through Thursday. The usual rules apply, orders must ship to the lower 48 states, frames and wheels not included (due to their size).

We're also offering 20% off on everything picked up at the VO showroom Monday through Thursday of next week. But, remember, our little showroom is only open from 10am to 4pm. It's at 1819 George Avenue Annapolis MD, 21401.

Also, we'll be closed the week between Christmas and New Years. You're welcome to place orders through the store site, but they won't ship until Jan 2nd. And there will be no one here to answer phones or e-mail that week.

Applying Decals

2011-12-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

The Polyvalent comes with minimalist decals. A lot of folks like this simple look, but others prefer more traditional contrasting-color decals. So when you order a Polyvalent frame or build kit we give you the option of getting a set of white decals. Here's a video that'll show you how to apply them. The same technique works for most other modern bike decals. You can even get get custom made decals (just Google bike decals) for restorations or to personalize your frame.

Applying decals from Velo Orange on Vimeo.

Fun with Freehub Bodies

2011-12-09T10:30:00.005-05:00

Back in the day, when we rode 5 or 6-speed freewheels, we would change freewheels to suit the terrain. A flat criterium meant fitting a "straight block", 13-14-15-16-17-18. On a mountain ride we'd fit a wide range freewheel, maybe 14-32. We serious riders also had a couple of in between freewheels, or even loose cogs to build our own custom freewheels.

These days we have 9 or 10 or 11-speed cassettes that cover such a wide range that a single cassette will probably do for everything short of touring in the mountains. But wouldn't it be neat to have exactly the right cassette for every ride, or at least one for the flats and one for the mountains, and be able to switch them in a few seconds. Here's a video that shows you how to do just that with a VO hub:

Fun with Freehub bodies from Velo Orange on Vimeo.

All you need is a spare freehub body and another cassette. You can even switch cassettes between a 130mm spaced hub and a 135mm spaced one. Or pull the cassette off to replace a broken spoke.

Project Update

2011-12-07T13:14:00.002-05:00

I thought some of you might like updates on the various VO projects I'd mentioned previously.

We've been testing different forks for the Polyvalent 700c/Camper frame. We even figured out how to re-rake our own forks. I think we've nailed down the geometry and we'll approve production very soon.
The Pass Hunter 700c performance frame is up next for development. We hope to be testing prototypes in a couple of months.
We're awaiting new prototype camping racks. I know these have been in the works for a long time, but we do want them as close to perfect as we can manage. Since the prototypes are all bent, welded, and finished by hand it takes 2-3 months to get each new generation.
We've rethought our luggage projects and are designing a new line of premium bike luggage using the best fabrics we can find. I think we've found the right material and come up with a pretty darn nice handlebar bag design to get the line rolling. Now we'll enter the long prototyping stage. These will probably be called Grand Cru bags.
Our first round of short reach/drop bar samples was disappointing. We have to make new tooling and try again. I'm really particular about bars and am finding that getting the hand positions right is much harder on these than on medium or long reach models.
We hope to introduce complete, ready to ride, bikes this winter.

As for future projects that we're thinking about:

We're kicking around the idea of a 26" expedition bike, something halfway between a mountain bike and a traditional camper.
A larger porteur rack is possible, but how big? Need to haul cases of beer, pizzas, large paintings, sheets of plywood?

Campy-Compatible Hubs

2011-12-06T13:39:00.001-05:00

The Campy versions of our Grand Cru touring and VO high-low hubs have arrived. Many Campy fans, myself included, have been waiting for these. They are available on all our hubs and on all VO rear wheels. And yes, they will work with 11-speed.

We also have the freehub bodies available separately so you can slip them onto your existing wheel. It only takes about 5 seconds, and no tools, to switch from Shimano to Campy compatibility.

I know that some of you don't get the appeal of Campy products. And I have to admit that I don't notice much diffidence in performance between Campy, Shimano, and Sram. But many of us really love the Campy brifters, still the best ever in my opinion. I also like that many little internal parts for Campy derailleurs and brifters are available. I can rebuild stuff instead of replacing it, or convert 9-speed brifters to 10-speed. Finally, I like that front shifting is non-index.

Just a note about one other compatibility issue. All of our cranks work with 5 to 10-speed, be it Campy, Shimano, or Sram. They should also work with 11-speed, but we have not tested that since none of us ride 11-speed yet.

Complete Rando Special

2011-11-30T12:09:00.001-05:00

We have a new offering in our Prototype and Specials section. It's a complete 57cm VO Rando with a Shimano 105 10-speed derailleurs and brifters. This bike was used for testing and a magazine review and has very very few miles on it. It's $2000 including the rack and front bag; considering that the maxi build kit $1220, that's a pretty great deal. It would make a wonderful fast randonneur or credit card tourer.

Go Tour

2011-11-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Alec Burney

It’s been a bit more than a year, the calendar says, but it seems like just the other day that I shoved off from home with gear on my bike and dreams in my head.

I just got my photos back, and that brings it all into focus again. I’m reminded that I wouldn’t have seen these sights or met the folks I did if I hadn’t been inching my way a few thousand miles down the coast.

Relaxing in the shade

What I’m left with is a confirmation of what the bicycle is and can be. It’s a tool for going from “A” to “B,” some will tell you. Or it’s a toy for zipping around on the weekend. Or a piece of exercise equipment. Or maybe it’s a different way of thinking.

The Pine Creek Gorge

You can hop on and head towards “B,” but all along the way you’ll get to do something magical - you’ll get to bump around through life and experience all of its little joys. The bicycle is a tool - a tool of discovery. And it’s a toy, a magical thing that makes adults into children again. Exercise equipment? An exercise in life.

You can head out for a weekend or a week, and stick to the dirt roads, state forests, and country lanes where it’s quiet and there’s little traffic. Maybe you’ll find yourself on an unpaved track in the backcountry where you can go at your own speed and be contented with your own thoughts.

A sensible bike will let you put on some bigger tires, for comfort, racks for your stuff, but then the rest is up to you - go have fun! When you're out rambling, you don't need much to stay happy.

Tioga State Forest

My "navigation device"

As I made my way I learned about what I needed and what I didn’t. Cue sheets don’t help much when you’re going almost 3,000 miles and like to follow wrong turns and ride down bike paths. Each gas station in each state you go through has a huge folding road map for only a few dollars. These helped me get lost a little bit more, and ride up big hills I didn’t need to, and encouraged me to go West when I wanted to go East, and visit parks I might have missed otherwise.

Swimming in Pennsylvania

A turtle in the Genesee Valey

The bike paths were some of my favorite riding. It seems that deer and hawks and turtles come from all around to enjoy the little bit of woods in the suburban sprawl. Bike paths connected me to friendly folks, swimming holes, icecream stands, and great camping spots.

Life on the bike really was life without a schedule, where I could nap and read under a shade tree in the heat of the day.

Jersey Mills Post Office

I crossed Western New York from North to South, and wondered how towns like “Cuba” and “Nunda” extracted their names from the nearly-Canadian so-far-north, glaciatic terrain of Upstate. Soon I crossed into Pennsylvania, got a new state map, and tried my best to get lost in a maze of forest roads. Susquehannock, Tioga, State Game Lands this and that, and the Pine Creek Gorge. The trail is a strange mix of old and new, and I drew my water for the day from springs alongside while tourists in enormous traditional covered wagons rolled past joggers and mountain bikers. The town of Jersey Mills added to the charm - its post office was connected to what was almost certainly someone's house. The post office was closed, but I dropped my letters in the box and kept going.

Pine Creek covered wagon

And along the way I learned to ask for directions. “Anyone seen Williamsburg? It’s over there somewhere, right?” It’s fun to let on that you’re completely lost, especially when you are.

My "trail guide"

This guy showed me to the trail that would be my secret highway into Philadelphia. Some of the prettiest secret entrances to huge cities are via bike paths that follow big rivers. Way better than sitting in traffic. I can’t recall his name, but he was a spirited rider and had been enjoying his bike so long that the toptube was rusted through in one spot, from sweaty summer afternoons. I hope he’s gotten a new bike by now.

The NCR trail

Zigzagging to Philadelphia brought me to a weekend of reconnecting with friends while the Flyers missed the Cup by just a hair. Philadelphia was not happy about that, and I escaped up the Schuykill River trail and then across to York, and followed the NCR trail through the towns of Railroad, New Freedom, and Freeland.

Schuykill River Trail

Before I knew it I was on the Jones Falls trail, an amazing part of Baltimore that could be anywhere, a serious part in the middle of a busy city.

Gary joined me for the New York section

Virginia is a blur of long rollers, but then the flat, calm Outer Banks of North Carolina leave a lasting memory. I’ve been back to ride this section a couple more times. It’s very strange to find yourself so surrounded by water, but riding a bike.

There’s parts of Hatteras less than 500 feet across, and it’s all sand dunes. Just a long flat road all to yourself, and a nice campground at the end of it. There’s few bad places to ride a bike, but this might be one of my favorite, if I had to choose.

After landing in southern North Carolina, and attending my sister’s beautiful wedding, I set off on another adventure. Maybe we can talk about it next time.

Until then, who’s got stories to share? Been somewhere neat? Want to go somewhere soon?

Free Shipping Deal on Orders Over $100

2011-11-17T09:40:00.003-05:00

As we've done in past years, we're offering a free shipping deal during the holiday season. This offer started today and runs through January 1, 2012.

Here's the fine print:

The free shipping is offered only on orders shipped to the continental USA.
The order must be over $100.
Frames and wheels are excluded due to their large size and, thus, higher shipping cost.

Prototypes for Sale

2011-11-15T14:22:00.002-05:00

We have a new section in our site called Prototypes and Specials. We'll use it to list some of the frames and bikes we've previously sold at our garage sales. These may be prototypes or display bikes or bikes sent to magazines for reviews. We may also have the occasional new frame with scratched paint or some other small flaw.

There are two rather nice bikes in the category now. Both are bikes are prototypes that I rode for awhile, but no longer use. The burden of this job is that I can have more great bikes than I possibly need, and at the same time I'm trying to own less stuff.

The first bike is the prototype of the VO Rando frame. This was a bike I rode for about a year, but no longer do. The ride is absolutely terrific and very similar to the Pass Hunter I now ride, but I prefer the pass hunter. Johnny Coast did a really fine job on this frame (He was trying to win our semi-custom frame business, which he did.) The Rando has a great selection of new-old-stock French components. It even has Maxi-Car hubs.

The second bike is the prototype VO Gentleman. This was a semi-custom frame we offered in our early years. It was built by Ahren Rogers. The frame is fillet brazed, has bosses for a chain-guard and a single down tube shifter. The build is a mix of classic and new components. This would make a great commuter or classy around-town bike.

Update: The rando is sold. Also, the derailleur on the Gentleman is a Simplex SX610, much nicer than the model 404 I'd incorrectly listed.

Miscellany

2011-11-11T10:42:00.004-05:00

The Grand Cru 50.4bcd cranks are back in stock. We'd been out of them for a few months due to a production problem, but we have plenty now

We also have 50.4bcd bare crank arms which many of you have asked for. They come with BB-bolts and dust caps, but no rings. I only announced them on my own (not VO's) Twitter feed yesterday and they have been flying out the door since. An impressive number is going to shops in Japan.

We also have single ring hardware kits for 50.4bcd cranks.

Here is a very impressive transformation of a 1985 Trek 620 into a lovely city/all-arounder bike. Of course a lot of VO parts were involved. You don't need to buy a brand new frame to build a great bike, (yes I know we sell frames). Good job, Justin. The one thing that's typically missing on these sorts of transformations is low-trail geometry. But it is possible for a frame builder to re-rake a steel fork, sometimes without even damaging the paint, should you really want low trail.

We were talking about flashlight mounts recently and I just noticed this on Robert's bike. P-clamps do make fine flashlight mounts.

I really like this Rene Andre porteur profiled on the Bikeville blog. What a cool bike! (It was also mentioned on the official VO Twitter feed.)

One Man's Spam...

2011-11-04T12:34:00.004-04:00

A guest post by Annette Najjar

I remember well when we announced that our first business, Chesapeake Light Craft, would be taking credit cards in addition to the checks we'd always accepted. We immediately received a hand-written letter decrying our defection to the dark side; we could just see the writer tsk tsk-ing, shaking his head sorrowfully.

A tiny boat design business accepting credit cards back then was a pretty major step. Twenty years later, running another niche business, we maintain a powerful e-commerce platform (except when it isn't) and don't even accept checks anymore. Despite all the program features and the data that we command – excluding credit card info, to which we have no access – there are just some things that we never considered doing, simply because we don't want it done to us. We're the types who e-shop only when we need something, most likely yesterday. We expect a confirmation and a tracking number, but any other communication from the vendor is spam to us. And local businesses usually don't get our e-mail addresses or our phone numbers.

In a recent relaxing of the guard, however, I joined the email list for a local specialty food shop. If I hadn't then I wouldn't have received an e-coupon for a free crusty baguette or known of the line of soups that the shop prepares daily. I didn't need either, but I'll remember them when I do (well, OK, I rushed out to get the baguette).

Hence our questions. Would you appreciate receiving e-mailed promo offers and single-use coupon codes? Or would they become spam and keep you from ever shopping with us again? And before you ask: yes, you could opt out, and no, we don't divulge any of your information to anyone.

What would you do with VO coupon codes and special offers sent by email?

New Bike Builds

2011-11-02T14:22:00.001-04:00

Sam built this lovely rando-style Polyvalent. Note the VO stem, crank, saddle, seatpost...

Ari has neat place to store a bike lock on his Polyvalent, as well as good taste in beverages.

Debra's Polyvalent looks like a very comfortable all-arounder and has lots of VO parts. Those Polyvalent wide-range cranks are also getting popular.

Robert is VO's buyer and resident cyclo cross racer. This is his new race bike. Not much VO-style stuff on this one, save our hi-low rear hub.

Have a new build? Leave a link in the comments.

Designing New Pedals

2011-10-28T14:14:00.002-04:00

We've been thinking about the possibility of making Grand Cru pedals these past few weeks. Our idea is for two versions. The first is a double sided pedal with a large platform almost like a BMX pedal, but with great bearings. The second is a single sided version with a flip tab intended primarily for use with toe clips, but designed for street shoes rather than stiff-soled bike shoes.

We want them to be reasonably light, not desperately expensive, and with very long-lasting bearings. We've explored the idea of a spindle with three sealed bearings and another with a combination of needle bearings and sealed bearings. A grease port is another feature we're looking at. Maybe something like a super-premium version of the VO touring pedal.

What would your ideal pedal be like? Single sided or double? Is it worth paying more for a super-durable bearing system or is it better to just keep re-building cheaper loose bearing pedals. And do you find quill-style pedals uncomfortable with street shoes?

Also, please see the update to the last post for the winner of the brake name contest.

New Brakes, Name Needed

2011-10-26T10:32:00.005-04:00

These are our new low profile brakes. They have a really long lever arms for amazing stopping power. Remember the old Mafac tandem brakes, these are like a low profile version with a lot more adjustment. The same basic design is being used on some European pro-racer's cross bikes. We think they are perfect for loaded touring, tandems, or for really big riders.

Unlike V-brakes, they use regular brake levers. So you can use your favorite classic levers or non-classic brifters. They have tension adjustment screws and a straddle wire adjuster. They even have slots so you can move the pads up-and-down about 15mm. And they come with toe-in adjustable pads.

About the only feature they lack is a good name. If you come up with the name we use we'll offer you a $100 VO gift certificate. Put your suggestion in a comment, but remember to use your name so we can identify the winner.

BTW, the high profile Grand Cru MK2 brakes are not being discontinued. In fact, they've been selling so well that we ran out again.

Update: Thanks for all the great suggestions. It took a lot of time and more than a few laughs to make a choice. Eventually we picked "Zeste" as in "Velo Orange Zeste". Greg, please send us an e-mail so we can issue your gift certificate.

A Clever Light Mount

2011-10-20T11:16:00.000-04:00

Calvert sent us this photo of a rather clever use for a VO handlebar to bottle cage mount. The photo explains it perfectly. I might add that with a VO or Nitto rack you could screw it to the light boss and eliminate the p-clamp. LED flashlights seem to be getting better and better and also cheaper. It might be time to finally resurrect the long discontinued VO flashlight mounts.

Anyone else have clever hacks to share?

27" Wheels and Measuring Brake Reach

2011-10-18T13:03:00.006-04:00

We get occasional requests for 27" rims or wheels. It wouldn't be hard for us to make 27" rims, but I don't think it's a good idea. Converting old 27" bikes to 700c is simple and almost always my preference.

A bit of background; 27" wheels were used mostly on American market mid and lower-range production bikes. There are some exceptions, but top-end frames with 27" wheels are relatively rare. The popularity of 27" wheels waned in the late '70s or early '80s when 700c became the near-universal road bike size. Today there are few choices of good quality 27" rims or tires and I don't know of a single new bike that still uses that size. The main reason to switch to 700c is to gain access to many more high quality tires and rims in more widths. 700c rims and tires are available in almost any bike shop anywhere in the world. You'll also gain a bit of extra tire or fender clearance.

These two wheel sizes are actually very close. 27" wheels have a bead seat diameter of 630mm, while 700c wheels are 622mm. That's only a 8mm difference in diameter or a 4mm difference in brake reach. This makes conversions simple.

A 27" wheel hiding behind a 700c rim

First check to see that your brake pad slots, both front and rear, have 4mm of room for downward adjustment. On many bikes conversions are simply a matter of installing wheels with 700c rims and adjusting the brake pads. But if the frame/brake combination does not allow sufficient downward adjustment you'll need brakes with longer reach. Since the brakes on most 27"-wheeled bikes are marginal, it would be wise to replace them in any case. Old single-pivot side-pulls are pretty weak in comparison to modern dual-pivot brakes. Even the famed Campy Record calipers can't compare to modern brakes such as the modestly priced Tektros.

If your brakes don't have sufficient adjustment the first thing to do is determine how much reach is required. Brake reach is simply the distance from the center of the brake bolt to the center of the brake pad. Since the pads can be adjusted up and down the reach for the brake is given as a range. Short reach brakes typically have a reach of 39-49mm, long reach is 47-57mm, and extra long is 55-73mm; always go by the actual reach specs, not by the nomenclature.

Brake reach

It's easy to determine the required brake reach. Simply measure the distance from the brake bolt hole to the center of the rim's brake surface as shown below

Determining required brake reach

So far I've written about caliper brakes, but there are some 27" touring bikes with cantilever brakes which typically don't have much adjustment. You can usually switch to Tektro CR720 brakes, which have about 12mm of adjustment, for conversions. I say "usually" because some bike companies were rather casual about correct canti-boss placement.

When converting you can either buy rims and lace them to your existing hubs or buy new wheels. With the availability of VO Raid and PBP rims you can retain the classic look of polished rims. We also offer a 126mm spaced freewheel rear wheel and a matching front that are perfect replacements for many bikes.

I'm sure that there are some who will want to keep their bikes as original as possible. For a high-end production or custom frame that you view as more of a collectible than a user, this makes sense. Otherwise I would get a second set of 700c wheels for riding and keep the originals for display.

A Few Things

2011-10-11T11:00:00.003-04:00

VO sells a lot of fenders and gets a lot of questions about installing them. We've updated the fender instructions, both the paper and on-line versions.

It's pumpkin season again. Get one that fits in your porteur rack.

We'll have these great looking new Dia Compe ENE micro-ratchet shifters in stock in a few months. They will be available in both bar-end and downtube version. We think they are the nicest shifters produced today.

I ran into Chuck from Velo-Retro at Interbike. His company offers reprints of old bike catalogs as well as some cool t-shirts, and musettes. Worth a visit.

Maxi Kits, Wheels, and Pepe

2011-10-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

The Polyvalent maxi build kits are back in stock and have been selling fast. The maxi kit includes:

A Polyvalent frame set
Grand Cru seat post
Tektro CR-720 brakes
Cable hangers for the brakes
Grand Cru sealed bearing headset
Grand Cru Touring Wheels
Zeppelin 58mm fenders
Porteur Handlebars or course handlebars. Your choice.
VO quill stem
Polyvalent crankset
Grand Cru bottom bracket
Headset & bottom bracket installation, if you want
Any other components ordered at the same time are 10% off.

Rando maxi build kits are also back.

We have 650b wheels again. They are built with the Grand Cru touring hubs and Diagonale rims. Front and rear (in both 130mm and 135mm spacing) are available.

Most other wheels are back in stock, including our fixed and touring 700c wheels.

This is a photo of Robert unloading the wheel truck with our new pallet-stacker. It's like a muscle powered forklift. We call him Pepe, our little mule (the pallet-stacker, not Robert). We'd been borrowing a forklift from Chesapeake Light Craft, but felt we finally needed our own. Instead of getting a carbon spewing LPG powered forklift we got Pepe. It's actually a pretty good quad workout pumping that pedal to raise the forks. So Robert may still spew a fair bit of carbon.

Polyvalent Print Ads

2011-10-06T13:20:00.003-04:00

We're working on a print ad for the Polyvalent. Here are our top three versions. Which one do you like best? Or do you have a better idea?

Come to think of it, should we even bother with this? Some of us think that VO should only advertise online. Ten years ago I read about 20 magazines and two newspapers. Today I read all periodicals on line (but still prefer paper books). Is print advertising still worthwhile or are we just wasting trees?

"The Book of Touring Bicycle" and Velocraft

2011-10-06T10:23:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pages from the Japanese publication "The Book of Touring Bicycle". Many thanks to Kentaro Tsuchihashi of M's Bicyclette for arranging this and sending us a copy. Kentaro-san writes:

In this magazine, the publisher introduced Mr.Otsuki. Mr.Otsuki is the store manager of 'Velocraft'.The 'Velocraft' is one of the famous touring bike shop in Japan and Mr.Otsuki is the technical adviser and business partner for my company 'M's Collection'. He is very enthusiastic to Velo Orange products.

The Specials Page

2011-09-30T13:51:00.002-04:00

Going through our inventory in preparation for our next big order we're finding some items that we're overstocked on and a few that are not selling as well as we had hoped. So we added them to our specials page. Have a look for some super deals.

Ordering the right quantities is a skill that still sometimes eludes us. Usually we run out, but occasionally we order too many. Some of these deals will last only until the stock levels return to where they should be, in other cases we'll simply discontinue the item.

Carbon Fiber and Boat Happenings

2011-09-27T14:08:00.004-04:00

The cable hanger above may be the first VO carbon fiber component. The idea is that the carbon fiber absorbs vibration that contributes to brake squealing and shuddering. Does it really work? We'll let you know in a few weeks, but it was developed by the same bike racer/engineer who designs our brakes and he has a pretty good track record. This guy is also designing and making components for at least one major European professional bike team. So when he says we should try something, we do.

On another subject, the boat above is not made from carbon fiber (it's wood-epoxy-fiberglass composite), but the mast is CF. It was just built at Chesapeake Light Craft, the company I started 15 years ago and later sold, just a few doors down from Velo Orange. It's a modern Pacific proa named "Madness" designed by John Harris, my old shop manager and now owner of CLC. There's a section about Madness on their site. Watch the video if you're into sailing. There's more on their Facebook page. Madness is a radical and potentially super-fast sailing craft, yet it's based on an ancient Polynesian concept. John will have lots of fun with Madness.

I've been fascinated by proas since boyhood. In fact I recently joined a local club and started paddling in a six-man outrigger racing canoe, an OC-6, which is a little like a proa. OC-6 paddling is a great complement to cycling and it's fun to do a team sport again.

Polyvalent MK2s are Available

2011-09-22T12:09:00.000-04:00

The Polyvalent frames and mini build kits are now in the store. We are waiting for more 650b wheels so we can again offer the maxi build kits; we hope to have them in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of Polyvalents here is a lovely build by Hoopdriver.

Now for something really bizarre: VO will be testing a new carbon fiber component this fall. If all goes well we'll have it available in spring.

A Couple of New Items

2011-09-21T15:17:00.003-04:00

We have two cool new products. The first is our 25.4mm-to-26.0mm handlebar shim. Maybe you don't think handlebar shims are sexy, but wait till you see these. First off, they were a bear to have made. The tooling was very expensive and took forever to create. But it was worth it; the advantage of our shims is that they come in two widths, 35mm and 45mm, so they fit most quill stems and most threadless stems. They are beautifully made from stainless steel and then bead-blasted to give them a no-slip textured finish. They even come in our neat glassine envelopes.

The other new item is the Postino bar, which is currently my favorite city bar. I've owned a much-loved ancient Italian city bike handlebar for many years. It's a little like our Milan bar, but with zero rise. We've long wanted a similar bar, but with slightly longer grips. The Postino bar is ideal for those who like a slightly forward position and those who like to ride fast. Like the Milan bar it's ideal for converting old racing bikes for urban use. 22.2mm diameter accepts standard mountain bike and city bike controls. 57cm wide, zero rise. 25.4mm stem clamp area.

Also, all seatposts, in all sizes (from 25.0mm to 27.2mm) are back in stock. And almost all stems. So are Porteur, and other, handlebars. Not to mention Model 8 saddles, cargo nets, VO city levers, metallic brake and derailleur cable kits, mirror-finish bells, many fenders...

Unloading

2011-09-20T14:29:00.001-04:00

Another ocean shipment arrived today. It's a big job unloading one of these containers. It's surprising how much stuff fits in a 40 x 8 x 8-foot space. Eight of us needed almost an hour to get everything into the warehouse. It'll take two days or so to get everything sorted, checked, counted, put away, and entered into inventory. But you'll soon see those items that have been out-of-stock reappearing.

Among the boxes are the new green Polyvalent MK2 frames. They, and the build kits, will be available on the site tomorrow. So many folks at Interbike asked us when the Polyvalents would be available again that I'm worried we didn't order nearly enough. Get them while you can.

We also have thousands of seatposts, both Grand Cru and Uno. More hubs are here too; the first batch of those sure sold fast. There are also racks, fenders, handlebars, and a lot more stuff out there in the warehouse.

Off to Interbike

2011-09-13T08:25:00.000-04:00

With a third of our staff at Interbike for the rest of the week, there will be delays in answering technical questions and publishing blog comments. Orders, however, will go out as fast as ever.

The next big ocean shipment should arrive next week so most items that have been out of stock will soon reappear. That includes the new 650b Polyvalent frames.

Polyvalent 700c

2011-09-12T13:33:00.001-04:00

Here are a few more photos of the Polyvalent 700c frame that we'll be showing at Interbike. The show bike is built up as shown in the previous post.

This is not simply the same frame as the 650b Polyvalent, but with larger wheels. It is still very much an all-purpose frame, but the 700c version is geared more toward touring. That's not to say you couldn't build it up as a great city bike or use it for brevets or club rides. It's just that we wanted to make it strong enough and comfortable enough for those very long rides.

So what are the differences between the 700c and 650b versions? The 700c frame has longer chainstays and a slightly shorter top tube. There is the low bottom bracket height. There are also some aesthetic niceties such as the head tube collars and a rear cable stop with adjuster. 35mm tires fit with fenders and 50mm without. And there is that cool grey, with just a touch of blue, paint color.

We've really taken pains to nail the geometry and so far this frame has preformed beyond expectation. Robert has been riding the bike recently and testing it with various loads, very heavy front loads, very heavy rear loads, front and rear loads, no loads, etc. Alec will put a few thousand miles on it next. With luck no significant changes will be necessary and we'll have the first shipment in spring.

Racks

2011-09-09T13:14:00.003-04:00

We've seen a lot of interest in the VO camping racks so I thought I'd post a couple of more photos. These are prototypes and the attachment points will be shifted a bit on the production versions. The rear rack will also be a little taller. Note that the front rack has an integrated decaleur.

I'd also like to answer a few oft asked questions about our racks.

Why don't you make aluminum racks?

That's easy. They break suddenly due to metal fatigue if you use them long enough. Aluminum might be okay on a city bike where the rack is used only occasionally, but a broken rack is the last thing you want on your loaded touring bike when 300 miles from home. By the time you make an aluminum rack that's beefy enough it weighs about as much as a tubular steel rack and looks like construction scaffolding.

Why doesn't VO offer painted or powder-coated racks (or fenders)?

Painted racks may look nice when new, but it only takes a couple of months for the paint to get scraped and worn and look awful. After all, you're hanging panniers on your racks and strapping all kinds of stuff on top. Powder coating is tougher than paint, but it still scratches and wears off. Our stainless steel racks are hard to scratch and any scratches are easy to polish out.

Is stainless steel better than chrome plated steel?

Chrome plated 4130 steel is a little lighter for the same strength, but every well used chrome plated rack I've seen has some chrome worn off and ugly rust spots. Look at those classic touring bikes from Europe. Most have chrome plated racks that need to be re-chromed. And re-chroming is now ultra expensive. So we prefer stainless.

Why does the rear constructeur rack bolt to the rear fender?

Because that's the way the Constructeurs did it. Also, it makes for a really clean attachment and prevents any rattling between the fender and rack while getting the rack as low as possible. Our new rack also attaches to the seat stay bosses or canti-studs.

Interbike and Price Increases

2011-09-06T11:34:00.001-04:00

Next week we'll be at Interbike, one of the big three bike industry trade shows (the other two are Eurobike and Taipei). We'll be meeting with dealers and distributors, and introducing a few new products. Please drop by our booth if you're there.

We'll also have new price lists. This is the time of year when most bike companies adjust their prices. In our case there are few really big increases, but there are many smaller adjustments due to increased production and material costs. Of course that means that you can save a few dollars by ordering before the show. This applies to shops as well.

Another important part of the show is meeting with folks from the factories that make our products. They don't all attend, but several of the larger factories have booths or at least send a small team. So we'll be discussing all sorts of new projects.

Free Shipping Extended and Other News

2011-08-30T13:20:00.001-04:00

With so many folks on our coast still without power or internet, we decided to extend the free shipping deal until noon Thursday. Details in the post below.

We have two new wheels in stock:

We also now have these funny pedals. We noticed that a couple of VO staffers had these and loved them. One has some 20,000 miles on his pair (bearings were replaced). They are very comfortable with sandals or soft shoes and great for casual riding. Folks with large feet are especially fond of them!

Below are a couple of pics showing some things we're still working on. Details to follow.

Yet Another Polyvalent Build

2011-08-25T13:37:00.001-04:00

I know you guys are probably tired of Polyvalent build pics, but here is how we built up the third of our demo frames. I think this would make a great commuter and fast city bike, or delivery bike.

Free Shipping Deal

2011-08-23T10:11:00.004-04:00

We have a lot of stuff arriving in Septemeber: frames, an extra-large container of VO parts, wheels, etc. The warehouse will be bursting at the seams. So we've decided to make a little room by offering a free shipping deal for the next week. We won't charge shipping on any order to a continental-USA address. But only if you enter the coupon code. Here are the specifics:

The coupon code is "freeshipping". Click on "My Cart" (not "Checkout") on the top right of the screen to enter a coupon code. This deal runs from noon today (8-23-11) to noon next Tuesday (8-30-11) Eastern US time.
The code will work for any order shipped to any address in the lower 48 US states.
Frames and wheels and rims and sale items and anything else that's currently in stock is included.
Items on the specials page or that have a "special price" are not returnable unless obviously defective.

Our super efficient packing staff is standing by.

Another Polyvalent 650b Build

2011-08-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

Here are a few photos of another new Polyvalent 650b build. This one is set up as an all-around road bike. This is the sort of bike I'd have if I could own only one bike. It's fast enough for club rides and can carry enough to make it useful for shopping, commuting, or even weekend tours. With our upcoming camping racks a similar build would make a nice long-distance tourer.

VO Porteur

2011-08-19T09:45:00.001-04:00

Here are a few photos of a brand new VO Polyvalent built up as a Parisian-style porteur. Porteurs were the bikes of newspaper delivery riders. These guys would haul massive stacks of papers (up to 50kg) to news stands around the city. The papers had to get from the printing plant to the stands quickly, so they had to be fast and strong riders. Some engaged is porteur races on weekends. The better routes paid very well and those who rode them often had custom-built bikes by the best Constructeurs. Some images of classic porteurs can be found here.

Note the bell mounted on the shifter boss. This is a nice way to use the other boss on a bike with an an internal-gear hub.

The New Polyvalent 650b Frame

2011-08-16T14:43:00.000-04:00

We just received a couple of new versions of our very popular Polyvalent 650b frames. The rest are enjoying a leisurely ocean cruise and should reach us in about four weeks. These first few are for demos and display at Interbike.

The Polyvalent is an all-around frame, an urban ride that's equally at home on a loaded tour. Outside magazine said it was, "Easily the most versatile bike out of dozens tested, the chromoly Polyvalent handles like a dream on long city voyages with as much as 40 pounds on the front rack"

You'll notice that they are a nice shiny green color.

The decals are rather subtle, but we'll also offer white decals with a brown outline for those who desire bolder graphics.

A couple of the frames will be built up later this week. I'll post photos.

Customer's Bikes

2011-08-11T15:38:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since we posted some of the photos of great bikes that we see in e-mails; here are a few.

Bob B. sent a photo of his VO Rando which he'll be riding in the 1200K Paris-Brest-Paris. He comments:

Let me tell you a bit about your bike since it left home. I bought it within days of you first listing it on your website. It is 57cm. Has many VO parts, seatpost (awesome for the Brooks Flyer), headset, bottom bracket, wheels, two types of pedals, decaleur on an early acorn bag in the photo.

It has many rando miles on it. It has been ridden in snow, rain, and gravel. This is my second year with this bike. I have completed 5 Super Randonneur Series on it so far. I intend to add PBP and another SR to the list this year.

It may not climb like a monkey, but it carves a wonderful line downhill. For brevet riding it rides straight and true, absorbs road shock, and truly takes care of a tired rider. Great job guys!

I'm very excited to be riding the VO Randonneur in Paris Brest Paris.

Jo W. built this lovely LHT with many VO parts:

I wanted to take a minute to thank you for your great service and share my winter project with you. It a LHT that features wheels, stem,bell,spacers, pedals, clips, cages, seatpost, cranks, rack, and fenders purchased from you. This bike is an absolute blast to ride and the quality of the VO/ grand cru parts is amazing.

Harry W. did a fantastic job on his new custom tourer:

Hello to velo orange,

enclosed you will find some pictures from my homemade touring bike.

Some parts from your shop, rims, fenders,stem,pedals, handlebar and others.
I also built the frame myself .
On Friday i will start my first journey from London to Edinburgh.

Guy B sent this photo of his Mikado, a brand I hadn't seen in many years.

I send you a picture of my Mikado Cyclotoureur bike updated with some Velo Orange parts. Mikado was a french canadian bicycle brand bought by Procycle in mid 90's. The bike is a traditional mid 80's touring bike but after several years as a single speed bike (Phil Wood fix/free hub) i decided to update the frame. The rear fork end are new (no more derailler tab). Mafac Racer brake on brazed posts. A lots of other tiny frame change + brand new black powder coat paint job. The framebuilding job was done by Giuseppe Marinoni in Montreal and myself (small braze-on only).

Then what about Velo Orange fluted aluminum fender, bottle cage, stem and Ostrich handlebar bag? It's now a classical bike.

You can see more of it at: http://guybouchard.wordpress.com/velosbikes/mikado/

Note the bulge downtube on this picture: http://guybouchard.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/img_0016.jpg . The called this Mikado Low-flex downtube. I never saw another like mine.

Francisco did a nice job on his Polyvalent. What are those bars?

More VO Cinema

2011-08-09T14:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a video about installing our new chain ring guards. We also have some of the hardware separately, should you want it use it on another chain ring guard.

VO Chainring Guard from Velo Orange on Vimeo.

And, in case you missed it, there is a video about installing a Rackaleur.

the Rackaleur from Velo Orange on Vimeo.

Bonne Route!

2011-07-26T16:46:00.000-04:00

guest post by Alec Burney

Over the past few weeks, we've been hearing from more and more customers that are excited about their upcoming trips to PBP. I know of two new VO Rando frames that will be rambling around the French countryside this year, and maybe there will be more. This year we've also chatted with a couple folks looking for new handlebar bags for the ride.

Are any blog readers heading to France next month? What are your goals for the ride? What kind of bike will carry you across the finish line? Would you care to share your bike number with us so that we can watch your progress on the PBP website?

Ed & Mary (check out the cool fenders and mudflap!)

I'd like to take the chance to wish a public "Bonne Route" to folks from our local club who are headed to Paris, and to some of our dealers who are taking time off to join the ride.

After the spring brevet season slowed down, most people around here who plan to head to PBP transitioned into a different kind of training.

I've joined these folks for some short weekend tours - getting up early, riding hard, eating well, and having a few laughs is the best "training" I can imagine.

Riding PBP is not an easy task, but all of these folks are ready!

Charlie, Gary, Maile

So, best wishes to the amazing tandem couple, Ed & Mary.

And all the other DC Randonneurs going to PBP: Carol, Charlie, Cindy, Gary, George, John, Kelly, Maile, and Nick.

Kelly

Maxi, Maxi, Maxi!

2011-07-19T14:54:00.015-04:00

guest post by Alec Burney

Because of the positive reception to our freshly updated Rando Build Kit, we've tried to put together an even better deal for you folks. The Rando Maxi Build Kit is available now. It sports almost everything you need for a great new road bike, including wheels, seatpost, saddle, bars, stem, brakes, a front rack...

We're also trying something new. For $40, we'll chase the bottom bracket threads, face the head tube, and install the bottom bracket and headset cups for you. You won't find a deal that good at any bike shop, and it will save do-it-yourselfers even more in expensive specialized tools. In most cases, you won't need any special tools for the rest of the assembly. Home mechanics, rejoice!

If this is an idea that interests you, please speak up! We're in love with the idea of building machines whose parts all work together in harmony. I think we're getting close with the parts that come in this kit. Most of the ingredients needed for a commuter, club-rider, or sport tourer are all in the Maxi Build Kit.

Our next project may involve a complete bike, designed around our Polyvalent frameset. It's a big step for us, so we're going to see how things go with the Maxi Build Kit. Are all of the pre-chosen parts restrictive or do they liberate you from the burden of choosing minor details? How do you folks feel about having the heavy wrenching taken care of for you?

Dealers: these are available to you, too.

Just a few things

2011-07-15T13:23:00.002-04:00

guest post by Alec Burney

Although Chris has stepped out for a few weeks, we still have lots of news.

There's a new video online, and more will be up in the next few weeks. What would you like to see on our Vimeo channel? We're working on some more instructionals and fun things, but are interested to know what people would like to see most.

Robert's cyclocross bike - Challenge tubulars, VO stem, VO cable housing..

Scott's Gunnar - speedy randonneur bike.

Kristin's Chicago Schwinn Commuter.

Kyle's touring bike - VO Polyvalent.

You've probably noticed that we've got a lot of VO parts and frames. This isn't because we get a great deal on them (it helps), but because we're serious about our products. We make the stuff we like and want, and test parts thoroughly by strapping them to our own bikes to discover what works and fix what doesn't.

Wishing you all a good weekend,

Incoming and More Miscellany

2011-07-12T12:32:00.002-04:00

We've been out of some items after our spring rush. It's just really hard to predict future demand. Here is an update on a few of these:

The Tall Stack Stems, that many of you have e-mailed about, should arrive next week.
650b wheels and GC touring hub wheels should be here within a few weeks.
The new Polyvalent frames are almost finished and we should have a ship date soon
Contructeur front racks have been out of stock for month, but we should have more in 3-5 weeks.
Metallic brake and derailleur cable kits are on the way, 3-5 weeks.
Copenhagen kickstands are in the same shipment.
All sizes of Uno sp-248 seat posts are also on the way.
50.4bcd cranks have been delayed for at least a couple of months, no ship date yet. Sorry about this.
Another container is due around the end of the month and most other items we're out of will arrive then.

As for miscellany:

Bike shops in Canada can soon order VO and Grand Cru products from our new distributor, Fourth Floor Distribution.
We are working on a Maxi Frame Build Kit which will include most of the parts required to build up a Rando or Polyvalent kit. We'll have details in a few days.
Peter likes our fenders.
I'll be traveling for the next three weeks, but the VO staff will maintain the blog.

Miscellany

2011-07-06T11:00:00.005-04:00

The Cycloculture blog has been well regarded for their collection of interviews with bike designers, builders, and others in our industry. Unfortunately their standards may have have fallen recently, as they even published an interview with me.

The Lazy Randonneur has some nice things to say about our bars and stems. He also likes our headsets. The build is a 26" LHT. I've always like this blog, and not only for the bike content.

We just received a big shipment from our wheel building company. We'll do a little QC and photograph them today. The new wheels should be on the site soon.

This blog started out as, mostly, my blog and has evolved into an, almost, official company blog. We've recently been publishing more posts by other staff members, and I hope that trend continues. As part of the transition we're switching the Twitter feed from my tweets to the official VO account. I hope you follow both.

VO Garage Sale!

2011-07-01T12:17:00.007-04:00

Once again we've accumulated a big pile of odds and ends, literally hundreds of items. Rather than put them on the site we'll offer them all at the second VO garage sale.

What's for Sale:

Prototypes, items we've used on display bikes, items from test bikes, seconds, overstock, returns, and even a few personal items from our employees are for sale. There are wheels, racks, fenders, cranks, a couple of frames, bike luggage, handlebars, stems, etc.

Most everything is priced at about half the retail price. We'll also offer any regular in-stock items at 15% off; this reflects our savings in not having to pack and ship the orders.

When:

The sale will be held from 9am to 1pm on Saturday July 9th, rain or shine. The last sale was big hit, so get here early for the best stuff.

Where:

The Garage sale will be at the VO warehouses and office, 1819 George Avenue, Annapolis MD, 21401.

The Fine Print:

Nothing can be pre-ordered.
Cash or credit card only.
The 15% discount is available to those who buy in person, not on-line.
Items on sale not included.
If you ride your bike to the sale you'll get a free VO Poster.
Garage sale stuff is non-returnable.

Why I Race and Why You Should, Too

2011-06-30T13:29:00.002-04:00

A guest post by Robert George

“Most cyclist don't race...” The unofficial slogan of Velo Orange, and one of our founding principles. It still holds true today that most cyclists don't race, but some of us do. One of the great things about a company like Velo Orange is that it attracts a talented and passionate staff that all love cycling. Even so, everyone is different and we all get something different from cycling. My main focus is racing and I see it both as a way to compete in the sport I love and an outlet to relieve stress and put myself to the test.

I started racing in 2003 when I learned about about local mountain bike races from a friend. I stripped the failing derailleurs off of my Schwinn mountain bike, turned it into a singlespeed and raced a local Wednesday night race. Instantly I was hooked! Racing let me push myself until I thought my heart might leap out of my chest and my legs might give out and yet still had a great time doing it. It was suffering like I had never experienced; it was fantastic.

If racing is so much suffering and so at odds with the stated aim of Velo Orange, then why race? For me, it's the excitement and adrenaline of competition. Toeing the start line with butterflies in your stomach before riding all-out as hard as you can for an hour (or two, or four, or many more) is about as fun as it can get. Racing pushes me to levels I didn't know I could go; legs and lungs burning I forget all the stress in my life and think only about how this is the hardest race yet and how I can push just a little bit harder to overtake the next rider. Today I race road, mountain and cyclocross to keep the calendar full for most of the year.

Of course that's my answer; when the question is “Why race?” the answer is different for everyone. As a cyclist, racing can give you a new channel to explore the sport you love. Racing is also a great way to get out and meet other cyclists and find new routes and places to ride. If you are like me, racing will also push you harder and give you more motivation to stay in shape and work on your fitness year round.

If you want to give racing a try there are lots of different disciplines within the sport. Probably best known are mountain and road racing, but you shouldn't overlook cyclocross or track racing. Once you dive into the world of racing you will find that there are additional subcategories within each discipline. Here is a quick rundown:

Mountain biking (MTB): Popular, fun and technically challenging, MTB encompasses lots of different types of riding and racing including the cross country, various downhill disciplines and the currently popular endurance events.

Road racing: If you like skinny tires and high speeds then road racing is for you. Seemingly less technical than mountain biking, it really isn't. Road racing isn't just raw speed either; strategy and tactics are the name of the game, having a great team to race with helps a lot too.

Cyclocross: My personal favorite, cyclocross combines many of the best aspects of road and mountain biking into a fun and spectator friendly sport. Cyclocross is characterized by mud, nasty fall weather and truly enthusiastic fans ringing cowbells. With such a welcoming crowd 'cross is a great place to start racing, not to mention that crashing in the mud doesn't hurt as much as asphalt.

Track: The discipline I have the least personal experience with is track racing. This is due to sad fact that there are not many velodromes in the United States, which is a shame as track racing is fast and and fun for both participants and spectators. A variety of race formats keep things interesting as well, from short sprints to six day races.

The majority of road, cyclocross and track racing in the United States is governed by the sanctioning body USA Cycling, with other similar organizations in other countries. USA Cycling handles the rulebook, race officials, rankings, licensing and other details. If you want to race road, 'cross or track in the United States it will benefit you to get a license from the USAC. For an extra fee many events allow one day license purchases, but registration for popular events often fills before race day. Additionally, you don't have sign up for many races in a season before you break even on the $60 annual license fee from USAC, and you won't be able to advance through race categories without a license.

One important exception for race licensing is mountain biking. Professional mountain bike racing in the United States is governed by NORBA (National Off-Road Bicycle Association, a division of USAC) and requires a NORBA license. However, here in the Mid-Atlantic nearly all mountain bike races are unsanctioned grassroots events and you will have a difficult time finding NORBA events. Opinions may vary, but for mountain biking I prefer small, fun grassroots events and I don't miss the licensing requirements. The relationship between NORBA and mountain bike racing may vary by region as well.

If you decide you want to get your feet wet and race, there are lots of places to find out about races, but I would start with bikereg.com. Bikereg is by far the easiest way to find and register for all types of cycling events. If you need further race recommendations you can ask your local bike shop, local teams and any friends that race.

Velo Orange is not about racing so it may seem like an oxymoron for us to post about racing and why you should do it, but we don't think so. Racing certainly isn't for everyone, but it isn't mutually exclusive to the relaxed touring, rando and city riding we stand for. I'm thrilled to race one weekend and go bike camping the next. Two VO staff members race and it is simply another aspect of the sport of cycling that we love. If you love something then why not involve yourself in as many ways as possible, have some fun, and maybe meet some new friends? That is why we cycle: fun and friends.

Photo 1 by JoeMallis.com, photo 2 by Jen Linko

Frame Plans

2011-06-24T14:25:00.004-04:00

I've been pondering the Rando frame and its possible successor. Before I go on, let me say that we still have plenty of Rando frames available and plan to continue to offer them. They get great reviews and the folks who bought them seem to love them. Check out the nice article on the Chasing Mailboxes blog about Mark B's VO rando. Nonetheless, after the new VO 650b Polyvalent (due in late summer) and the 700c Polyvalent tourer (due in early 2012) we'll need a new frame project to work on.

The next model may be a TIG welded VO Pass Hunter based on my own bike. Here are a few of my thoughts and ideas:

It will be a low-trail design with geometry much like a Rando's.
Ideal tire size would be 32mm, though 35mm would fit.
It will have canti brakes since a pass hunter is meant to be ridden up and down mountains.
Being TIG welded, it'll be a little lighter than the Rando. As much as I love lugs it's hard to get over the fact that they add $200-$400 to the price of a frame while offering only aesthetic benefits.
We may use a lighter, and more expensive, tube set. This is a bit of a trade-off since thinner wall tubing is also easier to dent. We've even talked about using Reynolds 953. Still not sure if this is really worthwhile.
Vertical dropouts, of course.

A Nice Porteur

2011-06-20T11:28:00.003-04:00

This lovely Lee Cooper Porteur by Alex Hatfield won the Best Utility Bike category at the Bespoke Bristol show. Note all the VO parts, racks, bar, chain case, fenders, etc. Alex says, "Without Velo Orange it would have been a very difficult project to complete". The frame is designed to carry serious loads and handle properly while doing so.

Bespoked Bristol, The UK Handbuilt & Boutique Bicycle Show

2011-06-15T10:08:00.001-04:00

Jamie of Freshtripe (our UK distributor) sent along some photos and links from the Bespoked Bristol, The UK Handbuilt & Boutique Bicycle Show. It looked to be a great show with some amazing bikes.

Jamie writes:

The show was a great success, I think everybody including the organisers were taken aback by the turnout - we were swamped all weekend with customers (new and old) who were pleased to be able to meet us and get their hands on the VO parts up close. The Rando build went down a storm and was great at illustrating the range of parts, a few people declared it their favourite bike of the show, quite a compliment given the competition! The stand was also a favourite as we'd gone for a traditional butchers theme (playing on the Freshtripe name) with the parts tagged and layed out on platters..

Also you'll be pleased to know that the Best Bicycle of Show by Donhou Bicycles (called Pimento Stuffed) featured VO items such as mudguards, seatpost etc and the Best Utility bike by Lee Cooper/Alex Hatfield Concepts (called Porteur) also featured some choice VO items such as the Porteur Rack, chainguard, muduards, bottle cages etc (as did his other creations) - both supplied by us. Paulus Quiros Desins wowed everybody as newcomers to the frame building fraternity with a stunning set of builds including a tandem, singlespeed and a polished Reynolds 853 road build which between them sported leather bar covers, bottle cages, mudguards, stems, seatposts, handlebars, GC Cantis etc also supplied by us - a situation which helped all involved to direct people to each others stands to see examples of the VO parts either available to buy or fitted to a bicycle..

If you're "across the pond" and need VO parts check out their site. They also distribute our part to other UK shops.

Here are links to more photos:

http://www.hardtailnation.co.uk/2011/06/bespokedbristol-handmade-bike-show-2011/

http://www.thefootdown.co.uk/2011/06/12/bespoked-bristol-2011-photos/

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=153362

http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/article/bespoked-bristol-handmade-bike-show-massive-gallery-30538

https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29754457/2/BESPOKED%20BRISTOL%20Photos/LO%20RES?h=1bafaf

Alec's 1200k Ride

2011-06-13T15:44:00.002-04:00

We want to congratulate Alec Burney who just completed the 1200 kilometer Shenandoah Brevet in a time of 84-hours and 50-minutes.

Not only did Alec complete the very mountainous ride and endure searing heat and torrential thunderstorms, but he rode the 60-miles to the start. Then he rode 60-miles back and, instead of going home, he came directly to the VO office to catch up on e-mails and answer tech questions!

By the way, he rode his VO Rando with Grand Gru 50.4bcd cranks, dynamo, Ti Saddle, PBP rims, prototype rack, etc.

Grand Cru Touring Hub are Here

2011-06-09T15:13:00.001-04:00

The first batch of production Grand Cru Touring Hubs just arrived. Even though we examined and tested six prototypes, I'm always nervous about new products until I see the ones that are production made. So it's really great to see that the quality and finish is every bit as nice as the hand-assembled prototypes.

The Grand Cru Touring Hub is designed for long distance riding and heavy loads. The sturdy hub shell is our own design. Being a large-flange hub there is room for four identical and rather large cartridge bearings. We use very high quality Japanese bearings. The bearings we chose are a common size and relatively easy to replace if they ever do wear out.

The axle is hollow and oversized. The free-hub body is steel for durability. There are three pawls with sturdy springs. The touring hubs accept 8/9/10 speed Shimano-type cassettes. You can fit a 7 speed cassette by adding a 4.5mm spacer. The VO enclosed-cam quick release skewer is included.

They are available in 130mm and 135mm spacing in 32h and 36h drilling. Matching front hubs are also available.

The video we posted a few weeks ago showing how to disassemble the Grand Cru hub for field servicing without tools can be found here.

They have been selling very well since we added them to the site late yesterday. I expect we'll run out before the second batch arrives later this summer. As soon as we have sufficient stock we'll have some built up with Raid rims and with Diagonale rims. The very first set of 36h is going on my bike.

More Staff Bikes

2011-06-08T10:47:00.001-04:00

You may remember that back in February we posted photos of some of our staff's personal bikes. Here are a few more:

Katie's new Univega commuter.

Nick's Schwinn High Sierra touring bike as ridden from Tacoma to Baja to Central Mexico to New Mexico and so on.

Chris's VO Pass Hunter (prototype). This will probably be production bike eventually.

Annette's Gitane mixte city bike with 7-speed hub.

Christopher's Di Blasi R6 folding bike, purchased and ridden when he was living in Amsterdam.

Annette's custom VO rando.

Christoper's Peugeot all-arounder.

50.4bcd Rings and Other New Bits

2011-06-01T13:18:00.002-04:00

What a busy week we're having, not much time to write blog posts. But I did want to mention a few items that just arrived.

The 50.4bcd inner rings and 50.4bcd outer rings are here. We also have single speed rings. They are fully compatible with TA, Sugino, Nervar, Grand Cru, Stronglight, and most other 50.4bcd cranks and they work with 6-10 speed chains.

The VO compact double crank is back in stock. But a production problem has delayed the next shipment of 50.4bcd Grand Cru cranks by a couple of months.

We have a few other small new bits: VO pedal replacement bearings, Grand Cru headset replacement bearings, and alloy crank dust caps. VO chain ring guards and fixing hardware will be on the site soon.

VO Closed Monday, Memorial Day

2011-05-28T12:38:00.001-04:00

We'll be closed on Monday, Memorial day. Our hard-working staff sure could use the extra day off; this past week has been brutally busy. We'll try to get all the orders that come in over the weekend out on Tuesday. We hope you enjoy your long weekend.

BTW, if your mean boss doesn't give you holidays off, you might drop us an e-mail. We're looking for another order packer/prototype tester/warehouse worker. It's an entry level job, but the benefits are good, the atmosphere is fun, and we always promote from within.

Fixed and High-Low Hubs Arrive

2011-05-26T15:30:00.004-04:00

The Grand Cru fixed gear hubs have high quality Japanese sealed bearings. The axles are chrome plated for durability and hollow to save a little weight. Proper track nuts are included. The rear hubs are "fixed" threaded on both sides. You can use a cog and lock ring or a freewheel on either or both sides. The rear hubs come spaced at 120mm, but include spacers to make them 126mm, 130mm, or 136mm. The front hubs are spaced at the standard 100mm.

The Velo Orange high/low rear hub is a four bearing design with the same quality of Japanese bearings as the Grand Cru hubs. I just can't see how saving $20 by using cheap hub bearings makes any sense. The alloy cassette body has three large pawls and is well sealed. As with the Grand Cru high flange touring hubs, they can be disassembled without tools for cleaning or service. VO internal-cam quick releases are included. This is a great hub for those who want a lighter and slightly less expensive hub than the Grand Cru Touring hub, yet with bearings typically speced in hubs that cost twice as much. they would be great on a fast rando build, classic race bike, or pass hunter.

The Velo Orange low flange front hub is a good match for the high/low. It also has Japanese bearings and includes a VO internal-cam quick release.

The VO hubs are also available as a set, which saves you a few dollars.

The Grand Cru high flange touring hubs have been delayed by a few days, but will be here soon.

We'll be building wheels based on these hubs and our rims soon. Are there any particular combinations you'd like to see?

Quill Stems Arrive

2011-05-24T15:29:00.008-04:00

The choices of high quality quill stems has been getting a little thin these past few years. We received three new models today. More choice is good?

The Grand Cru Stem

It may look like a $450 fillet brazed stem from a custom frame builder, but the Grand Cru stems are actually made using a custom one piece steel quill and extension. The clamp is welded onto the extension and the weld is hand filed smooth on top. This results in a strong, yet relatively light, stem with a classic shape. This stem took a tremendous amount of time and energy to develop, but I think it was worth the effort.

Quill length is 180mm, or 120mm above the min. insert line. 26.0mm clamp. Alloy wedge. Weight is 385g (for 100mm size)

The VO Chrome Stem

Here is a less expensive chrome stem with positive rise. The VO Quill Stem is a smooth welded chrome plated 1" quill stem. It has a 17-degree positive rise.

Total quill length is 190mm or 120mm above the min. insert line. (Interestingly, it will get your bars as high as a Technomic stem, yet it weighs a little less.) 26mm clamp. Alloy wedge. Weight is 367g for the 100mm size.

The Grand Compe ENE Stem

The ENE traditional alloy quill stem is another high quality addition Dia Compe's growing line of ENE classic components. It's nicely polished and displays small logos. A good choice for those who like an alloy stem, but don't need the extra quill length and extra weight of a Technomic. They are currently only made in 80mm amd 100mm extensions, but we will stock more sizes as they become available.

180mm total height, 115mm above the min. insert line. 26.0mm clamp. Alloy wedge. Weight is 340g for the100mm size.

Converting From 26" to 650b

2011-05-20T10:24:00.004-04:00

By Nicholas Carman

Less than a week working at VO and I already wanted to taste the 650b nectar. I have been riding larger tires for quite some time, but while touring the tires I ride weigh more than some modern racing frames and I have come to realize that at some point in tire size, bigger is not necessarily better. Having settled into town, I opted for a lighter, faster tire; something that would race around town a bit, then take me out to the country with greater ease and enjoyment. The list is short for quality, medium volume tires that would fit my 1985 Schwinn High Sierra or my girlfriend‘s Surly LHT; both are 26” bikes with drops and touring equipment. I saddled up on a pair of 38mm Panaracer T-Serv tires, and was immediately underwhelmed by the ride of small wheels and smaller tires.

The workshop at VO is full of treasures, and I found a pair of space-age cantilever brakes (the next version of the Grand Cru) that I wanted to test. Upon mounting them, I realized that they had a lot of vertical adjustment…some quick calculations and a few minutes later there was a 650b wheel mounted in my frame with the brakes adjusted at the top of their range. The thought of finally riding high-quality, larger volume tires seemed heaven-sent. Road bikes have many high quality tires to choose from, although they are mostly too narrow for my needs. My mountain bike frame is happy with many tough, long-wearing road touring/commuting tires, but the ride quality of even the best options is a bit uninspired. The magic of 650b, I realized was the option to ride lightweight, high-quality tires with reasonable air volume like the Pacenti Neo-Moto without undersized or oversized wheel dimensions. In short, I didn’t have to choose anymore-- I could ride nice, big tires. I mounted a pair of Pacenti Pari-Moto tires and was immediately hooked. The volume of the tire, the supple casing, and lightweight (less than 300g) made for the most lively ride I’ve ever experienced. With the 650b Pari-Moto, my wheel is the same size as my previous touring wheel, thus, the bike handled in a more familiar way than it did with the undersized Panaracer T-serv tires.

In an effort to deshroud the mystery of wheel/tire size, I calculated that the 26 x 1.75 (653mm…650!) wheel I had been riding had nearly the same nominal outside diameter as the most common 650b tire sizes (38/650b results in a 660mm wheel). I had been riding this wheel size all along, only the details of rim and tire size had changed. This approximate dimension is also shared by narrow high pressure road tires, whose outside dimension with 700c/23mm tires is 668mm.. The discussion of ideal wheel sizes is overstated I discovered, as they are all nearly the same. It is by selection of a tire size to suit your riding needs that a specific rim dimension becomes relevant.

If you wish to ride tires under 32mm, 700c works well as there as more than a few tires to choose from. For tires over 42mm, 26” is a good place to be. But if you want the dreamy, quick and comfortable ride on high quality, larger volume tires between 32-42mm, 650b is where it’s at.

26“ to 650b conversion details: Most classic mountain bikes and some popular modern offerings such as the Surly LHT (26”) have adequate clearance for all of the smooth tread 650b tires. A 650b/38mm wheel actually suits the dimensions of the LHT better than a narrow 26”/32-38mm wheel, which leaves gaping clearances and unfamiliar handling. Conversion simply relies on a brake with 12.5 mm of vertical adjustability (half the 25mm difference between 559 and 584). We have already identified that Tektro CR720 brakes work at the top of their range, as did a prototype Grand Cru brake hanging out in our shop. Of course there are a few v-brake designs that have been around since the 90’s with loads of vertical adjustment as well.

A little about Nicholas,

Since diving into bike touring three years ago, Lael and I have toured around much of the US, including trips on both coasts (three times on the west coast). Three months in France early last spring allowed us ample time to travel the countryside, from our home in St. Malo, Brittany to Chamonix-Mt. Blanc and back, among many shorter regional trips. This past winter we biked south from Seattle and down the Baja Peninsula, then sailed to the mainland and rode into the Sierra Madre to the Copper Canyon. We have lived and worked seasonally in St. Malo, FR, Denali, AK and finally in Key West, FL where we worked as pedicab drivers for several months to escape the northern winter.

The 50-Order Club

2011-05-19T13:22:00.000-04:00

A short post by Annette:

Back in October 2009, I wrote of a customer who had just gained free shipping forever from Velo Orange:

"Today's feat, however, can't go unacknowledged, as the weird convergence of customer loyalty and warehouse accuracy will likely never be repeated. One of our customers has placed his 50th order. Amazingly, we have never messed up a single order of his..."

One and half years later, a second customer has gained membership in the VO Free Shipping Forever club, despite our messing up at least one of those orders.

Strangely, the relationship between us and the first club member continues to be defined by weird convergence: his latest order was number 100010000.

Thanks to both for sticking with us through thick, thin, and 100010000.

How to Disassemble the Grand Cru Touring Hub Without Tools

2011-05-17T11:35:00.003-04:00

Kyle shows us how to disassemble the Grand Cru Touring Hub, a VO Cinema Presentation, photographed and directed by Alec Burney.

Grand Cru 4 Bearing Hub from Alec Burney on Vimeo.

Consider how easy it will be to service the hubs or change spokes while on the road. These hubs should arrive in about two weeks.

In Japan

2011-05-16T11:18:00.005-04:00

Here is another nice bit of press about VO. It's a two page spread in a lovely Japanese magazine called Cyclo Tourist. Thanks to Kentaro-san of M's Bicyclette for sending this along. This past year we've seen a lot of growth in the Japanese market.

I'm always surprised by the really nice selection of bike magazines available in Japan. They feature fantastic photography, substantial and informative articles (I'm told), and at least a couple of them devote a lot of coverage to the sort of equiptment and riding we're interested in. I wish I could actually read them. Check out a few sample pages from Cyclo Tourist:

Even the ads are cool:

Outside Magazine on the Polyvalent

2011-05-13T17:28:00.001-04:00

We finally got a copy of the Outside Magazine Summer Buyers Guide. There is a short, but very positive, review of the VO Polyvalent:

"Easily the most versatile bike out of dozens tested, the chromoly Polyvalent handles like a dream on long city voyages with as much as 40 pounds on the front rack"

Unfortunately we are currently out of the very popular Polyvalents. Our work on the redesigned fork delayed production by almost 4 months and we ran out of frames. I'm pressing the factory for an accurate delivery date and will post it as soon as we know. We are also looking into a pre-ordering system, but I'm not sure this is a good idea since frames seem never to arrive on schedule. We'll offer the mini-build kits again when the new frames arrive, but we are also considering offering full-build kits, maybe even complete bikes.

Here' a summery of the changes for the next batch:

Larger diameter down tube to make the frame a little stiffer because lots of folks are carrying really big loads on Polyvalents.
Down tube shifter bosses.
Nicer fork bend.
Added low-rider bosses.
Shiny dark green paint.

Note: Due to a Blogger glitch last night the comments to this post (and to posts on thousands of other blogs) seem to have been lost. I can't recover them, so please leave your comment again, if you like. Up to now Blogger has been 100% reliable and maybe they can recover the comments.

Interviews

2011-05-10T16:11:00.002-04:00

In case you missed the tweet, Thomas Armstrong of the 70.8% blog posted an interview with some guy who's been in the boat and bike biz. 70.8% is actually a great blog that I've been reading for awhile. The interview with Steve Roberts, a couple of posts down is also worth reading. Check out the photo of his bike, named Behemoth.

Miscellany

2011-05-06T12:08:00.006-04:00

There is a Twitter feed on the right side of this blog. I use it to occasionally post miscellaneous bits of information and links. I only mention this because a few folks have told me that they don't see it in their browsers, and a couple just didn't notice it was there. So they missed fascinating bits of news such as an article that explains studies showing that UV light can make you faster and stronger. Here is the direct link. There is also an official VO twitter.

We are starting work on a Mark 3 version of the Grand Cru Canti brakes. They will have an lengthened lever arm for more stopping power. Additionally, there is enough up-and-down pad adjustment to convert 26" mountain and touring bikes to 650b. With them you could use 650b wheels on your LHT or classic Stump Jumper and have access to all those wide soft tires, like the great Pari-Motos, with minimal rolling resistance.

The Mark 3 brakes were not designed with conversions in mind; we simply discovered an added benefit to the longer adjusting slots. I expect that taking an old mountain bike and having the fork re-raked might make an acceptable low-trail 650b touring bike. Re-raking is fast and easy and can be done without damaging the paint. Anyone have more experience with this? BTW, these brakes will be an additional model, not a replacement for the Mark 2.

Speaking of touring bikes, the 700c Polyvalent will officially be in the prototype stage next week. That means that we will be waiting for prototypes instead of just second-guessing all the details we put on paper (actually CAD). The main changes from the 650b Polyvalent are, vertical dropouts, slightly shorter top tube, longer chain stays, 3 sets of bottle cage bosses, and more rack mounts. Now we need to pick a color. Blue-gray? Dark gray? Custard?

We often get asked if the Porteur rack will accept panniers. Yes; the rack works perfectly with most panniers. I like to hook panniers on the inner rails, as in the photo. They can also be attached to the outer rail, but then they lean outward which looks odd to me.

Porteur Rack Accessories

2011-05-03T11:43:00.003-04:00

Bjorn made a neat adapter to mount a Porteur Rack on his 1948 bicycle. Check out the post about it on his blog, The Accidental Hermit. The rest of his blog is pretty interesting too.

Chris makes slats for VO Porteur racks. They really look nice. He also has a lovely old Atala.

We get a lot of e-mails from folks saying they really like the Porteur Rack, probably more than about any other product. I wonder if we should also make a bigger version?

Folding Kayaks

2011-05-02T13:59:00.014-04:00

We went kayaking yesterday in our folding kayaks. What does this have to do with bikes? Nothing except that I've notice that people who use, and travel with, folding kayaks are a lot like bike tourists, and many do both. And I though at least a few readers might like to know about them.

We've owned two folding kayaks for about 15 years. And in that time we've used them in British Colombia, the San Juan Islands, Lake Powell, along the Maine coast, in Nova Scotia, in the Florida Everglades, and in dozens of other lovely spots. Some times we camp, carrying all our gear. Other times we stay at inns and take day trips. And because the kayaks fold into a few neat canvas bags, we check them as airline baggage and transport them in a rental car. Once on the beach the wooden frame and canvas/hypalon skin can be assembled in about 15 minutes.

Sea kayak touring has a lot in common with bike touring. You move along at a moderate pace with minimal of effort and enjoy the scenery. You can carry more than you would on a bike. And, so long as you are careful of weather and surf landings (avoid them) it's very safe.

The brand of kayaks I like are Kleppers, which are made in Germany and known for their ruggedness and quality. They are the choice of many expeditions to remote regions. At least one has sailed across the Atlantic; yes, they can be rigged with small sails. They are also used by many military "commando teams", assembled on the deck of a submarine and paddled in under cover of darkness. There are several other good brands that are less expensive, lighter, and maybe a better choice for casual use. I've used and liked Feathercraft, Folboat, and Pouch folding kayaks. The French Nautiraid kayaks also have an excellent reputation.

Sadly, Sunday was probably our last paddle in the Kleppers. Our son wants a sit-on-top kayak for fishing and snorkeling and one that's small enough that he can wheel it down to the launch point a few blocks from our house (using a kayak cart). And with VO taking so much time we don't use the Kleppers often. So we decided to sell them and get smaller roto-molded plastic boats. When he is older I hope he wants a folder.

Next post will be about bike stuff. But meanwhile do any readers sea kayak?

The No-Rivet Leather Saddle

2011-04-29T13:41:00.005-04:00

We were chatting with our saddle manufacturer a couple of years ago about alternate methods of attaching saddle tops. And I was just thinking aloud about the possibility of a replaceable top and a way to have a top that didn't have rivets sticking up. I'd more-or-less forgotten the conversation when we received the saddle above. It uses machine screws and washers to attach the leather top to the frame, otherwise it's a VO Model 3.

I'm putting this prototype on my bike to see how well it works and lasts. It would be more expensive to make saddles this way, mostly from welding threaded bosses to the frame to accept the screws. And they are a little heavier. On the other hand, the top could be easily replaced and there are no rivets that stick up. If we made a titanium-framed version it might be truly great, and truly expensive. Wadda you think?

On Fenders and Perceived Quality and the Blog

2011-04-28T13:48:00.005-04:00

Regarding fender installation, we still get a lot of questions about this and will soon have a video that should help. One of the most common errors in assembly that we see is folks putting the cup shaped washer on the eyelet draw bolt upside down, which allows the fender to rattle. This applies to Honjo and to VO fenders. Here is a photo of how everything fits together; notice that the bolt-head with the hole fits inside the cup:

As we get new production runs of fenders we are switching to two eyelet bolts per stay (except on the narrowest models since they won't fit). This is being done for a rather odd reason. Honjo fenders use two eyelets because they occasionally crack at the eyelet with only one. VO fenders have never had this problem, but so many customers equate two eyelets with better quality that we are adding a second. For what it's worth, if a fender cracks it's almost always at the seat stay or at the fork crown and usually because there is some built in tension.

This reminds me of those little diamond-shaped reinforcements plates you see at the seat stay bridge on some bikes. No one here has ever seen a seat stay bridge fail on a well-built frame, except for one that had those little plates (the brazer probably cooked the joint). Maybe they were needed for some super thin tubing or some frame builders added them for looks. Now many cyclist seem to think they are a hallmark of a quality frame. Perceived quality.

On another subject, The comments on the VO blog are surprisingly civil, at least compared to a few other blogs I read. We do very occasionally reject comments for the following reasons:

Obvious spam or less obvious spam, like linking to another store or blog without it adding value to the conversation.
General rude tone in a comment.
Repeating an answer or explanation that has already been posted in another comment. It's simply polite to read the existing comments before posting so future readers won't have to read the same thing over-and-over.
Containing information or advice that I know to be totally wrong or dangerous, doesn't happen often.

Overall, though, I'm really pleased with how nice most folks who reads this blog seem to be. I also wanted to mention that I meet, or at least have e-mail correspondence, with some really neat individuals who read the blog. I'm always surprised when I find out that a writer or entrepreneur or artist who's work I admire reads my ramblings.

Forks and Shirts

2011-04-25T14:20:00.003-04:00

It took four prototypes and an in-person meeting with the president of the frame factory, but we finally have Polyvalent forks just as we wanted them. The new forks have a great bend and even include low-rider bosses. The color is a nice shade of dark green. We'll put in an order for the next production run of 650b Polyvalents right away.

We also have some new Grand Cru t-shirts. They are made from organic cotton. I'm a big advocate of organic cotton. Did you know that non-organic cotton uses approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and more than 10% of the pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants)?

BTW, check out the outtakes from the t-shirt photo shoot.

A Few Updates

2011-04-22T10:32:00.001-04:00

Here are a few updates on projects. We've received a bunch of e-mails asking about these.

Camping Racks- After much testing, fitting, measuring, and pondering the first prototypes, we sent off revised drawing for the camping racks. We hope to have second generation prototypes in about 6 weeks. I really want to get these right and am not pushing to have them done quickly. So there is no ETA; we'll do another round or two of prototypes if needed.

The new Polyvalent 650b- The final (I hope) upgraded fork is complete and should arrive here next week. If it is right we'll schedule production. The factory says they can complete the frames in about 3 months (add another for shipping) but there are always delays, always.

VO and Grand Cru cassette hubs- The high-low VO hubs are steaming toward us even as I write this, so late May. The high flange Grand Cru Touring hubs should be air-freighted around mid-May. We'll offer some on the site and have some built up into wheels.

The Freewheel- After about 1500 miles of testing the first one started making a clicking noise. We took it apart to find lot of wear, grit inside, and a bad ball bearing. If this is the best freewheel made in Taiwan, as I was told, then we're very disappointed. It's no better than any of the current offering. To make it right it would need proper seals, better bearings, larger pawls, etc. On the bright side, the cogs still looked great. Next time I'm in Taiwan I'll see how much it would cost to make the needed improvements, but I'm pretty sure that the tooling costs will be prohibitive.

Below is our new magazine ad. I guess we're finally going to start paying more attention to print advertising, something we've neglected up to now.

Slow Sellers

2011-04-20T13:03:00.003-04:00

Lots of VO components and accessories sell well beyond our expectations, but I thought I'd write about a few that don't. I really like these and don't understand why they are not more popular. Maybe if I explain why I like them?

Rackaleurs should be a lot more popular. I used one of these in my youth and loved it. As a poor student, I could only afford one bike and that was my race bike. But even then I liked long rides in the country and being able to carry a few luxuries such as a jacket and camera. So I'd slip the Rackaleur over my bars, strap on my TA handlebar bag, and set off on an all-day ride. There is more info on how it works in this post. Based on manufacturing cost, they should be about $45, but we lowered the price to $30 in hopes that enough folks would try them and spread the word.

VO Deep Half Clips are actually pretty popular and sell well enough, but I think they should be one of our top products. They are just so nice on city and utility bikes. Of course you can't pull up, as with toe straps, but being able to spin fast without slipping off the pedals is a big deal to me.

Finally, we put our sprung saddles, the Model 5 and Model 8, on sale. These are great saddles not only on city bikes, but also on touring bikes. They really help smooth out potholed roads. The only downside is the added weight of the springs and frame, a small price to pay for comfort if you're not in a hurry.

What's your favorite non-mainstream bike bit?

On Randonneuring

2011-04-15T10:02:00.006-04:00

A guest post by Alec Burney

Spring has finally come to the Mid Atlantic, and Spring for us means that the local cycling clubs are getting into the real swing of things once again. There are clubs out there for all kinds of riders, but randonneuring groups hold a special place in our hearts here at Velo Orange.

Randonneuring is centered around endurance cycling - riding comparatively long distances. The events are timed, and in order to qualify, a rider has to prove that they completed the ride (brevet) within the time allotted. Riders are seriously interested in qualifying, because the rides are preliminaries to a Grand Randonée, and this year Paris-Brest-Paris overshadows all others. Americans seeking to participate in a 1200k ride like PBP will need to complete a 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k brevet within the time limits.

These rides are the original form of “credit-card” touring. Riders pack light to travel as easily and quickly as they can, allowing them to see far away places with relative ease, and requiring that they stop periodically to sample local food and spend the night at an inn.

Like most randonneuring clubs, our local group, the DC Randonneurs, is a cycling club that emphasizes the social aspect of group riding. Even though events are timed, the reason people keep coming back is to see their buddies, sit down and chat over a mid-ride lunch, and laugh about the last time someone took a nap in a ditch.

Even though many folks in the club try to push themselves to faster times and farther distances, the rides that enjoy the heaviest attendance are those with the best scenery. The sport for many is more like bike touring than it is like a stage race. Camaraderie, exploration, and the experience of a day spent riding are the dominant priorities and no one feels the need to ride harder than they want to, or to “beat” anyone else. There’s no “A” group or “B” group, only various social groups. Civility is absolutely required, collaboration is encouraged, and everyone is looking for a pleasant day.

Our next ride will be the 24-hour Flèche; though the rules are very complicated, the spirit of the event is rooted in camaraderie. The Flèche is a very social team ride, with a common goal - to get every member of the team to the finish, together. Teams will start in different locations, design their own routes, and on Saturday morning they’ll head towards Washington DC to meet over breakfast at the finish. Most teams select easy routes and take advantage of the 24 hours as social time to chat, get to know one another, and celebrate the shared challenge. It’s also a good time to sample restaurants, with plenty of time to sit and eat. Each team will see the sunrise and sunset before their ride is over, and the time in between the start and finish will prove to be a memorable one for all.

In case you're interested, here is the link to RUSA (Randonneurs USA) which has more information and links to local groups around the country.

Freewheel Testing and Last Mixte

2011-04-08T10:36:00.005-04:00

We get a lot of requests for freewheels. Many of you are unhappy with the current offering. So I asked around in Taiwan about the best freewheels made there. We just received some samples for testing. They come from a company you've probably not heard of and they look OK, not great, but OK. The real test will be in how long they last. We'll try to put a few thousand miles on them in the coming months, then report back.

You can give us a little help by telling us how long various freewheels you've used have lasted. And do you have thoughts about how/why they failed.

Also, we find that we have one 54cm VO Mixte frame left. It was used as a display and has a headset and BB installed, but is unridden. Update: it's sold.

Nuts!

2011-04-05T16:02:00.005-04:00

VO Wing nuts, actually. A few years ago we had a small stock of new-old-stock wing nuts that sold out very quickly. We still get e-mails asking if we can get more; we can't. So when we heard that a small factory in Taiwan was considering making wing nuts again we encouraged them by immediately placing an order.

They are finally here and look really cool on our new track hub prototypes. They are forged from stainless steel, then CNC finished and polished. And check out the alloy keyed washers.

But the factory neglected to chase the threads so they don't spin on as smoothly as they should. Our staff has been opening the packages and chasing the threads by hand, but we can't do them all, too time consuming, and will send most back. We are only selling the ones that have been chased.

It really bugs me when this sort of thing happens. I suppose it's inevitable since VO introduces more new products than most companies five times our size. And new products inevitably have problems (just ask Apple). Still, it's not like we rushed these to market; the prototypes were absolutely 100% perfect. Nuts!

UPDATE: The factory has rethreaded all the wing nuts we sent back and air-freighted them back to us. We have wing nuts again and they work as they should.

Polyvalent 700

2011-04-01T10:50:00.005-04:00

These past few days we've been tweaking the plans for the 700c version of the Polyvalent that we hope to introduce next year. A second prototype should be in the works soon with some small improvements and one rather major change.

First the easy stuff, this new frame has geometry that's a bit more touring oriented than the 650b version. That means slightly longer chain stays, a slightly shorter top tube, and full rack braze-ons front and rear. It will also probably have vertical drop-outs We are still discussing the final geometry and little details such as behind-the-seat-tube pump pegs and a kickstand plate.

The bigger change is one I've wanted to experiment with for many years. As you know, our designs are inspired by the French constructeur bikes, which I believe were the pinnacle of classic bicycle design. What you may not know is that there were several great constructeurs who worked not in steel but in Dural (or aluminum alloy). Perhaps the most famous of these was Pierre Caminade, who created fantastic touring, rando, and city bikes from lugged aluminum tubing. His bikes have a reputation for a silky smooth ride. Joel Metz's Blackbird site has a great section on Caminade's bikes and components.

Since the Polyvalent is supposed to be an economical frame, we won't try to duplicate the alloy lugs. It will be TIG welded frame like the 650b version. But we have found a source for the traditional octagonal Dural tubing which should look fantastic when polished. We may also do matching octagonal seat posts and head sets.

A Few New Items

2011-03-31T12:00:00.005-04:00

We received a few new items in the latest container: Here are some of them:

If you've broken as many tire levers as I have, you might appreciate these new Dajia Steel-Core tire levers. The insides are steel for strength while the outer body is plastic to help prevent rim scratches. At $6 they are also a pretty good deal.

The VO Thumb Shifter Mounts allow you to mount Shimano, Dia Compe, and many other shifters on your handlebars. This is an ideal setup for city bikes, porteurs, or even drop bars. They put the shifters within easy reach and avoid the complexity of brifters. The finish is polished alloy and they fit standard road, MTB, and city handlebars (22.2mm and 23.8mm grip area) .Unlike other bar mounts they are hinged for easy installation.

We also have the new Tektro FL-750 brake levers.

And we have a silver polished version of our Temple Bell. It's still made of brass so the sound is really nice.

Report From the Beautiful Island

2011-03-25T12:00:00.007-04:00

Formosa is Portuguese for beautiful island, and it's the old name for Taiwan. While the flat coastal plain studded with the factories that make our parts may not be particularly beautiful, the mountains just to the east and north certainly are, as are the beaches, and especially the people. In my travels to dozens of countries, I've rarely met locals as friendly and hospitable as the Taiwanese. And it never ceases to amaze me that it's far easier to get along speaking English in Taipei than in Paris.

We visited several factories that make our parts and met with many more suppliers at the Taipei Cycle Show. The longest meeting was with our rack manufacturer where we went over the myriad details required to make our new touring racks. I don't think these will be ready before fall. There is really a lot involved in getting them just right. We're also working on a new saddle bag support.

At our handlebar factory we approved the prototype stainless steel VO 25.4mm-26.0mm shims. These will be priced lower price than the only existing type and we'll have a wider version for use with threadless stems. We also discussed our new short reach drop bar and arranged to have all the logos on our city bars changed from laser etching to the engraved or stamped version.

Dia Compe has some new Campy-look shifters that we'll be stocking in down tube and bar end versions. There are a few other surprises from the folks at DC, including a new version of their touring frame that looks very nice.

We're still exploring the possibility of making very high quality roller-bearing bottom brackets, but what's stopped us is the high cost. Maybe, just maybe, there has been some progress in bringing the cost down. If we could manage to sell them for between $75 and $85, would you be interested? They would be aimed at long distance touring cyclists and others that ride extreme mileage in difficult conditions and need a bomb-proof BB. The photo is of VO BBs at the factory.

Our brake manufacturer showed us some prototype cantilevers reputed to be more powerful than existing models. We'll be testing them soon and may develop a Grand Cru version.

The new Grand Cru stem has been in development for a long time. It's amazing how many issues can crop up on such a simple project. It's almost ready for production, really!

Many of you had asked us to look for a high-end frame pump. I'm afraid that I found nothing that I thought was particularly better than models already on the market. We talked about opening tooling for a Grand Cru pump, but I doubt that sales could cover the costs. The simple fact is that mini-pumps and mini-floor pumps are now so good that most cyclists, myself included, don't bother with a frame pump. The only advantage of a frame pump is inflation speed, and I'm not in that much of a hurry.

We also scoured the show for retro-style lights. There is only one possibility so far and it would be expensive, but we'll explore it further. With so much going on I'm unwilling and unable to devote the time it would take to develop our own lights from scratch. We can't make everything and keep what little sanity remains.

One project that's been behind is the next production run of the Polyvalent frames. We're making a few small refinements including improving the bend of the fork blade; that's caused the holdup. With luck we'll have the final version of the new fork in two weeks and production can proceed. We're also working on a 700c version of the Polyvalent that will be more of a touring bike.

There's a lot more, but those are the highlights. I'll leave you to ponder, and comment on, the following photos.

VO's 5th Anniversary, with Sale

2011-03-11T14:30:00.003-05:00

Next week will be VO's 5th anniversary. Hard to believe. We had an informal staff meeting this morning and several of us suggested a 5th anniversary sale. That's OK with me since I'll be in Asia. So our dedicated staff will offer one-fifth, or 20%, off all VO and Grand Cru brand products next week. That's Sunday through Saturday (March 13-19). Items on the specials page are excluded, but shops and wholesale accounts are included. Only applies to items that are in-stock (we can't do backorders). No coupon code needed.

Also, with travel and back-to-back meetings for the next week I won't be able to respond to question on the blog, but you can e-mail the VO staff.

Grand Cru Hubs Arrive, Including Dyno Hub

2011-03-11T14:04:00.001-05:00

We just received an air shipment of VO Grand Cru hubs. We have the high flange freewheel hubs in 126mm and 130mm spacing and in 32 and 36-hole. We also have matching front hubs. The long awaited switchable dyno hubs are also in the shipment. We'll try to get them all onto the website very soon with full details. The fixed and cassette hubs should be in the next shipment. BTW, they do come with quick releases. Here are a few photos:

Product Ideas

2011-03-08T10:36:00.004-05:00

I'll be back in Taiwan for the Taipei Cycle Show next week. This is the most important bike show of the year and one where almost every major supplier and factory exhibits. In addition to meeting with the factories we already work with, I'll be looking for new products and manufacturers. And, as in past years, I'm asking readers for ideas.

What new stuff should I look for? Pretend that you're the buyer for VO and want to source new items. But remember that any new products must fit with our overall theme; no BMX or carbon or MTB stuff. And new products must sell in sufficient quantity. We can't stock something we'll likely only sell a few hundred of a year. The comments are open.

Front Derailleurs

2011-03-03T10:39:00.001-05:00

We've recently seen a number of questions regarding the choice of front derailleur for 50.4bcd and compact double cranks. As one of my college professors quipped before explaining some obscure point, "I cannot stress strongly enough how unimportant this is."

What I mean is that front derailleurs were perfected decades ago and there has been virtually no significant progress since. Front derailleurs just work and there is no point in agonizing over which to use. I've seen ancient Campy Nuevo Records shift modern triple cranks on touring bikes without issue and MTB derailleurs on compact doubles. Remember that the only significant difference between a double and triple front derailleur is that the inner cage plate on the triple is deeper to better pick up the chain on the granny ring. In short, getting the ideal derailleur may improve shifting, but probably not by enough for most to notice.

So in choosing a front derailleur for a compact double or wide range double I'd consider the following, in order of importance:

Make sure the clamp fits the frame.
If you use index shifting be sure it's compatible
A front derailleur designed for a compact double is nice because the curve of the plate better matches the outer chainring, but I can't feel much performance difference. If I already owned a regular double or triple front derailleur I'd just use it.
On 50.4bcd cranks there can be an issue with derailleurs that have a "sculpted" outer cage, as in the photo on the right. These cages can brush the crank arm. It's safer to stick with derailleurs with flat outer plates.

So what new front derailleur would I buy for my own bike, any Campy double, or a Shimano 105, or one of the Micro Shift compact doubles that have been imported by FSA, IRD, and Forte (Performance). We may import our own version of the latter; it's well made, shifts nicely, and is cheap.

Gauntlets and Things

2011-03-02T13:30:00.004-05:00

VO is not a bad place to work. We offer all the usual benefits like a health insurance plan and a 401k plan (with employer matching). And salaries are well above average bike shop levels. Then there is access to bike stuff such as free prototypes to test and sub-wholesale pricing for all employees. But one of our benefits may be unique. Annette knit gauntlets for all the staff members; it can get chilly in the warehouse during winter.

So, if you're interested in working for VO send us a resume. We'll add one or two entry level positions when the spring season gets rolling.

On a different subject, this ad is from a Japanese magazine and was placed by a wonderful shop called M's Bicyclette. They also have a cool blog. And, unlike many Japanese shops, M's accepts international orders.

VO Posters Arrive

2011-02-28T11:26:00.003-05:00

The first two VO posters, "Enjoy Life" and "Orange Bike", are now available. Both poster were created by graphic artist Dylan Hale. They are printed on 80-pound Cougar Natural paper using the spot color process. (Note, the black border is the background, not part of the poster) The size is 18 x 24-inches. Posters are shipped rolled in a mailing tube.

The posters are $12.50. But, this week, if you add a poster to an order totaling over $150, the poster will be free. The free poster deal ends midnight on Sunday, March 6.

VO dealers and shops can get a free set of posters with wholesale orders, just ask.

BTW, would either of these images look good on a t-shirt?

Sugino Weekend Coupon Code

2011-02-25T12:42:00.001-05:00

It's time for another coupon code sale. We still have a lot more Sugino cranks than we should. We simply didn't anticipate how many of you would choose the new VO and Grand Cru cranks instead. So we're offering 30% off on any Sugino cranks in stock. We need the warehouse space for the hundreds of VO cranks due in soon.

The coupon code is "cranky". Click on "My Cart" (not "Checkout") on the top right of the screen to enter a coupon or a gift certificate. The sale runs from midnight tonight (2-25-11) to midnight Sunday (2-27-11) Eastern US time.

Also, check out the items on our specials page.

1x10 Experiment

2011-02-24T11:19:00.004-05:00

I've been riding bikes with 2x10 or 2x9 drive trains for many years. They are set up with a 46t/30t crank and a cassette with small cog with 11t or 12t and a large with 27t or 28t. I find that I can ride in the 46t ring more than 90% of the time. Only on steeper hills do I need the 30t, which I regard sort of like a Jeep's "low-range". Of course this won't work for every terrain, but in the flats and rolling hills around here it's perfect. It's even fine for occasional trips to mountainous Western Maryland or West Virginia.

For shifting I've set up most of my road bikes with 9 or 10-speed Campy brifters. I know there is still some resistance to index-shifting among the retro crowd, but I've been using it since the 1990's without issue. I've also had no issues with 10-speed drive trains.

So what's the experiment? Well, I've noticed that 1x10 drive trains are starting to appear on more and more mountain bikes. Shimano is making wide range 10-speed cassettes, 11t-36t. I wonder how a 1x10 drive train would work on a rando or touring bike? I think I'll build something along those lines later this year. Anyone have any experience with 1x10 on the road, or any thoughts?

Seat Post Clamp Check

2011-02-23T12:11:00.001-05:00

How are the various parts of a bicycle component assembled at the factory, say the parts of a brake, or headset, or a seat post head? In my experience they are often assembled at a large table by a group of jolly women. I'm not kidding, more often than not there is a huge table with bins of parts in the middle and a half dozen women, often middle aged, screwing together all those little pieces. And they are almost always chatting and laughing and having a great time, maybe cracking jokes about the funny visitors.

Usually these assemblers do a great job, but not always. Which brings us to the point. We've noticed that on a few of our seat post in the last shipment the clamp on the top is assembled front-to-back. The clamp is almost symmetrical so it's a very easy mistake to make. Having it backwards limits the seatpost's range of tilt and it might not clamp as tightly as it should. So have a look at your seatpost and if the clamp doesn't line-up, as in the photo, switch it front-to-back. It only takes a couple of minutes to do.

Miscellany

2011-02-16T12:31:00.007-05:00

We've been pursuing a project to make really high quality crochet-back cycling gloves for a couple of years now. After examining at least a dozen prototypes we're giving up for a while. We simply have not been able to get the quality we want at anything close to a reasonable price. We may eventually find some little factory in a less obvious place that can do what we want, but for now we'll give the project a rest.

We have also delayed our pannier project, too many quality issues with hardware. The sewing and materials are not as nice as we'd like and we need to re-think the attachment hardware. I'd like to really bump up the quality of these and may need to visit sewing shops in Vietnam or Central America to find one that can do what we want in the smaller volumes we need. I'd love to have them made in the USA, but from what I've seen it would double the cost. If any US shops are interested I'd be happy to talk.

More and more custom frame builders are using VO and Grand Cru components. We got this really nice e-mail from Greg at Milholland Bicycle who builds some spectacular bikes (check out the flicker page too):

I have been using more and more of your parts for my custom builds, and would like to say thanks for putting out great products at a nice price. As you know these parts have been unobtainable and just plain expensive for the past 30 years. I now can offer a custom lugged "constructuer" bike complete for under $3500 and that includes your Grand Cru parts. This is unheard of in the custom market.... Keep those Grand Cru parts coming!

I don't want to start another long paleo diet/health discussion, but for those interested, here are a few of the blogs I follow: DrBriffa (smart MD) PaNu, Marks Daily Apple, Hunter-Gatherer, The Heart Scan Blog (highly recommended), Health Correlator, and the best of the bunch is Whole Health Source. I actually follow many more. Using Google Reader makes it very simple; there are typically get only 5-10 new posts each morning.

It's really nice in Maryland. For the first time this year temperatures are above normal; we're getting sunshine and highs in the 50s and 60s. But we have to go to Minnesota for a weekend of snow and rain! Tom, Robert, and I are representing VO at FrostBike. Please drop by our booth if you're attending. And bring us something warm to drink.

More of our Grand Cru products will be getting stamped logos instead of laser-etched. We think it looks nicer. The photo is of the first production Grand Cru fixed hub. They should be in a container arriving in March.

Rando Impressions

2011-02-10T10:57:00.004-05:00

It occurred to me that I should ask Alec to write up his impressions of his new VO Rando. Alec is a good person to ask about this since he is a very very experienced long distance cyclists. He's put about 25k on his Cross-Check, including a circumnavigation of Iceland. I thought this might help those considering a new frame:

I wasn't certain at first, since I've grown so used to my Cross-Check over its 25k or so miles, but the Rando proved itself to be a different bike immediately.

It's lighter and more comfortable. Part of that feeling is the long chainstays and traditional-diameter tubing, I think. It seems to soak up bumps and float over sketchy patches instead of transmitting the shocks straight to my body and wearing me out. The Rando has lower-volume tires but still feels very cushy. I've only done two centuries on it so far, but I haven't felt beaten up after any of them.

The allure of the Rando is that it just goes, without complaining. It climbs well and responds when you hammer. Strangest, though is that it feels sluggish on the descents. I thought at first that I was descending slowly, but I nearly broke 40mph. What feels like sluggishness isn't at all - it's stability. The Rando doesn't bounce and twitch at high speeds and doesn't lock into a line; it feels slower, but you can safely go faster. It's a very nice feeling to not be locked into a line; the Rando doesn't wander or twitch, but it doesn't feel like its on rails either.

It also doesn't complain about my handlebar bag. I like to carry a lot of food and clothes with me because I ride to the ride starts, so I usually have 10 or so pounds up front.

Picture Day

2011-02-08T13:45:00.004-05:00

We had our little photo studio going, so I asked Alec to shoot some of the staff bikes currently on site:

Alec's VO Rando

Robert's custom 650b Rando, built by Robert.

Trygve's brand new Polyvalent, just finishing up the build.

Kyle's Motobecane Le Champion fixie. Kyle also has a Polyvalent at home.

Colin's Raleigh Portage, a rare 650b production bike from an English company.

Colin's VO Mixte, a brand new project.

Alec's Crosscheck all-arounder.

This reminds me that VO is not a bad place to work. Staff members get parts and frames at cost, as well as lots of free prototypes and samples to test. So there are always a few cool builds in progress here.

Have any new builds? Add a link in the comments.

Fender Coupon Code

2011-02-04T11:04:00.005-05:00

It's time for another one of our occasional flash sales. This one runs this weekend and is for 20% off on all in-stock fenders. Yes, both Honjo and VO models are included, even the ones on special.

Just in time for spring showers, and mud. In case you didn't see it, the new Bicycle Times review of VO Hammered Fenders is two posts down.

The coupon code is "flashyfenders". Click on "My Cart" (not "Checkout") on the top right of the screen to enter a coupon or a gift certificate. The sale runs from midnight tonight (2-4-11) to midnight Sunday (2-6-11) Eastern US time.

BTW, here are answers to two very common fender questions:

700c fenders do fit 27" wheels with no problem at all. The difference in radius between the two size wheels is only about 1/4-inch.
650b fenders fit 26" wheels and vice-versa. The fit is close enough that no one will ever notice. If you flex the fender a few mm it can be easily made perfect. Look at the photo below of a 650b and a 26" fender.

Paleo Rambling

2011-02-02T18:45:00.004-05:00

I just returned from 10 days on the left coast. I visited Vancouver BC, San Francisco, and San Luis Obispo. Also stopped for lunch in Santa Cruz. They are all great places, but San Luis Obispo, the one city I hadn't previously visited, was my favorite. This may be partially because SLO is smaller, less crowded and seems to have a slower pace. If VO opens a west coast location, a distinct possibility, SLO is at the top of my list.

In addition to visiting potential distributors and being a tourist, I spent a couple of hours at Rivendell's headquarters in Walnut Creek. Grant Peterson was a great host, gave me the full tour, and showed me some beautiful frames. We even talked about a few areas where Riv and VO might cooperate.

Every time Grant and I meet I'm struck by how much we have in common. One of our mutual interests is paleo diet and exercise. Paleo diet is based on the fact that paleolithic and pre-industrial peoples have incredibly low rates of most of the "diseases of civilization". These include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers, and many of the other maladies we consider common. Though they have a higher chance of dying at a young age, and so a lower average lifespan, once out of those dangerous years pre-industrial humans remain amazingly healthy and live almost as long as we do.

Grant gave me a copy of Gary Taubes' new book, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It (which Riv also sell). I'd read Taubes' groundbreaking first book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, an exhaustively researched and somewhat dense review of diet and nutrition. Taubes was instrumental in showing a startling disconnect between current mainstream nutritional advice and what is actually based on science. He read hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and extensive historical data only to find that most of what mainstream doctors and the government experts tell us about nutrition is simply wrong. His findings also go a long ways toward explaining why the pre-industrial, or paleo, diet may be far healthier than what we eat today.

In any case, I wasn't sure it was worth reading what's basically a simplified version of Taubes earlier book, but there was that long flight home so I did. I found the new book brilliant; thanks Grant. If you're not going to look up references in PubMed, it's a lot easier and faster read while imparting all the basics of his earlier book. Buy it (from Riv, not Amazon) and you'll learn a lot; guaranteed. Just to be clear, I don't think Taubes interpretation is 100 percent perfect, but it's darn close. I'd also recommend reading the Whole Health Source, a blog by neurobiologist Stephan Guyenet.

I know I'm rambling, but if you're interested in this stuff I'll do another post with a lot of other great sources, books, and blogs about Paleo diet and exercise.

An amusing aside, Grant and I are both interested in soap. Grant gave me a bar of the pine tar soap he sells. I can't say I was taken by the scent, reminiscent of a forest fire, though it's very very effective and definitely manly. I sent Grant a chunk of Savon de Marseille, an artisanal and traditional French olive oil based soap. We use it not only as soap, but also as shampoo, and shaving cream. Annette says it eliminates the need for moisturizing cream; amazing stuff. As with bicycles, most of the really good stuff was developed long ago.

Bicycle Times Review of VO Fenders

2011-02-02T11:10:00.002-05:00

Karl from Bicycle Times Magazine was kind enough to forward the following review of VO fenders. It's from issue #9 which should be in stores and mailboxes by now. The review is pretty positive, but the part I found most interesting is that they installed the fenders on a bike with disc brakes, something we have not done. (Click on the image to enlarge)

Miscellany

2011-01-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

The winner of our handlebar naming contest is Postino, submitted by Jeremy (1/21/11, 3:47pm). If you could e-mail annette@velo-orange.com, we'll send the handlebar to you. We're all totally amazed at the number of really good suggestions submitted.

I'll be traveling for the next week, so no blog posts. I also try to get away from e-mail when I travel, but VO's staff will be answering tech and shipping questions as always.

Below is a shot of the Grand Cru cassette hub. I'll post more about it when I return, but here is one interesting point. This hub has four identical and rather large Japanese cartridge bearings. Most hubs with low flanges don't have room for four bearings this big, so we went with a large flange design. It's also nice that they are a common size and relatively easy to replace if they ever do wear out.

New Handlebar Name?

2011-01-21T11:18:00.004-05:00

I've had this old Italian handlebar for many years; it's the one on top. I really like it for a fast city bike and thought that VO should make something similar, the one on the bottom. It's much like our Milan bar, but with zero rise. It's actually designed from scratch, not based on the Milan, but the similarity is evident. We just ordered the first production run and hope to have them here sometime this spring.

All we're missing is a name for our new creation, which is were you come in. Whoever comes up with the name we like best gets a free VO or Grand Cru handlebar, any model you like. Please post your suggestions in the comments. (Don't forget to use a name in the comments so we can credit the right person.)

Update: Thanks for all the great name suggestions. The VO staff is considering them all and we'll pick the name today.

Update II: Congratulations to Jeremy, who submitted the winning "Postino."