Annette has a new Velo Orange randonneuse. The build is pretty modern with Campy 9-speed, Tektro brakes, and Velocity rims. There are lots more photos here. It'll get a rack, Belleri bars, and elk hide bar covers in a few days. We are also waiting for new pedals, but we had to rush to get it ready for her to ride in the "Ride for Shelter" redux. When I asked what she though of it after the ride she said, "God it's wonderful. It feels like it was made for me."
BTW, this is more like what the blue color really looks like. Also, we will be building the first mixte rando frame in a few months. 
23 April, 2007
AN's Blue VO
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31 comments:
I just saw this bike in person this weekend, and it is absolutely beautiful.
Uh, new bars? News to me...;-D
Annette
Annette, But you said the reach might be a bit long. Okay no new bars. Whatever you want. Sheesh, the life of a constructuer.....
Just out of curiosity, are those fenders the new, extra long Honjos?
Sweet... and is that a triple - the middle and inner rings look very close in tooth count, I'm curious to know why. What did you use for a BB? And is that a Centaur triple FD?
To: Anonyme 8:06pm
Yes, they are the xtra long Honjos.
AN
Lovely!
Chris, I was looking at Johnny's site the other day and noticed a picture in the gallery I hadn't seen there before. It's the last picture here, scroll down:
http://tinyurl.com/33w6lb
This appears to be a combination of concave caps with traditional French semi-wrapped stays. Is this a VO frame? Looks superb...
nv
I had Chris put on a granny ring b/c I've always had one. I consider it cheap insurance against the ignomity of dismounting and walking up a big hill while riding with the kid.
The BB is a 121mm Edco. The FD is a Centaur compact.
Very nice. I imagine Annette enjoys riding even more than we enjoy looking at it.
Beautiful bike - the best detail? The HORIZONTAL top tube.
Downtube shifters continue to be ignored for the heavier, costlier, race-oriented integrated shifters that have long been adopted as the norm these days. I'm sticking with my $35.00, 75 gram downtube shifters with indexing a-n-d friction shifting.
Brian,
I had a friend who was in the bicycle business for 35 years. He said the only real improvement he had seen was shifting on the hoods. I guess what is important for some isn't for others. Incidently, I have a bunch of bikes; only one, a tandom, has shifting on the hoods.
Lovely bike!
The saddle looks wierd shoved forward like that. Because of their short rails, it's rare to see a Brooks that's not shoved all the way BACK!
The blue is just right. Not too dark, not too light. You did well to spec a frame that can take vintage and modern components equally well.
Interesting comment from Annette "it feels like it was made for me!"
uh, it was made for you, wasn't it?
;)
I find it odd that the brake pads are quite high in the slots, Is the bike made for short reach brakes?
Those are extra-long reach Tektro brakes. Regular long-reach would look better. The problem is that with the brakes set so the pads are mid slot there is too much fender gap to look good. We wanted to try the Tektro on a 700c bike, but I think they will only be used on 650b bikes from now on.
I agree with the guy who said it's unusual to see a Brooks saddle shoved all the way forward on the rails. I've NEVER seen a bike with a Brooks saddle pushed forward like that. Was there a measurement problem in the design phase?
Mike Barry of Mariposa fame probably knows more about constructuer bikes than anyone in North America. In an interview he said he liked integrated shifters and has them on his own bike. I have them on exactly 50% of my bikes. There are some advantages to them and some folks do prefer them.
Very nice. I can hardly wait to see Sara's version in black. Do the ta cranks come in smaller crankarm lengths--like 160s or 155s?
LL
We started with the saddle forward and are pushing it back until we get it perfect. Most men have long torsos and need the saddle way back, but many long legged women prefer it "mid-rail".
TA cranks come as small as 150mm. I might even be able to get some shorter ones.
Brian's comment got me thinking a little more about what's right on a traditional frame. We'll never know, but I've always suspected the French constructeurs, who more or less invented the bikes we love, would have embraced some of our modern "advancements". For instance there was a Peter Mooney at the Handbuilt Show that had a reworked Campy rear derailleur with twin cables rather than a return spring. I think somewhere Rene Herse was smiling.
"There are some advantages to them and some folks do prefer them."
Yes, I know. Sometimes it nice to have both hands on the bar for more control. I favor barends & downtube shifters, but indexing is a plus - no doubt.
"I had a friend who was in the bicycle business for 35 years. He said the only real improvement he had seen was shifting on the hoods."
I'd say index shifting in general is biggest road bike improvement.
Annette, what kind of handelbars are curently on the bike? Are those the Nitto Classic bars that you sell?
The handlebars are indeed the Nitto classics.
Shweeeeett
Whoa Nellie . . .
What rear light is that?
Looks like the Weigle, but bigger.
I love friction on the downtube the best, but use brifters on my fast bike. cause I ain't no fool. . .
very nice bike, nice blue and all.
The link to more pictures is broken. Have a current link? I need photo proof that she was running a Chorus front der on the TA triple, my mechanic claims it won't work!
@ ebeep
You can see another photo of it at this blog post
http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-staff-bikes.html
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