There are countless miles of gravel and dirt roads in America. Even here, on the east coast, you can find them once you get out of town. Of course they are great for touring, but Igor enjoys blasting down them. Here are a few photos of him putting a
Campeur gravel racer through it's paces.
 |
| Here's Igor's build. |
 |
| 1940's style bottle cage mounting. |
 |
| 42mm tires |
Very nice. Have a question though, wouldn't barend shifters or kelly takeoffs (bonus points if you remember those) be a bit better for a gravelly environment (hey, I love dowtube shifters too, just sometimes it is easier having the controls closer at hand).
ReplyDeleteSean -
ReplyDeleteI chose downtube shifters as a hommage to the 40's and 50's style racers. In addition, they look awesome.
Bar ends are nice for easy access, but my daily rider is downtube friction and I am very used to it, so no problems there.
Love a good homage! And yes, awesome looking too. Whenever I have tried changing location on shifters I find that in moments of thoughtless reaction I end up reaching to the downtube.
ReplyDeleteI think one of those would be magnificent for ripping down Arizona fire roads. I happen to love that particular color.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
ReplyDeleteThe most impressive point in the photos is the lack of fenders. I'm working on a similiar build on an older bike and,although I want larger tires for rough roads, I feel compelled by the popular opinion to install fenders. It's hard to beat the beauty of those hammered things, but I honestly don't want or need fenders in this situation. I predict great things with this Campeur. Thanks for "freeing me".
Best regards
Monstrous skid! Are you finding a comfortable tire pressure on gravel?
ReplyDelete-nicholas
Fenders keep rocks from hitting your downtube. I ride a bike with them on bad gravel roads and one without, and the one with out takes a pretty good beating when the rocks fly up and smack it. For Maryland and NOVA residents, the dirt road database might be interesting. A bunch of local riders contributed to its creation and it is open to edits. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/93cjd6n
ReplyDeleteHi Nick,
ReplyDeleteHaven't experimented too much with air pressure on these tires. They're rated for about 75 psi, I found 55-60 to be comfy/grippy on local gravel roads.
Muy sexy bike, me want.
ReplyDeleteWhat tires are these?
ReplyDeleteAnyone found any 42mm tires under 700 grams? I'd like to outfit my Salsa Vaya like this.
ReplyDeleteThe tires are 42mm Michelin Transworld Sprint.
ReplyDeleteI have the 35 mm Transworld Sprints and I like them quite a bit. Better than similar sized WTB AllTerrainasaurus. And they were cheap!
ReplyDeleteWhat model is the seat on the bike, it looks different than the models I see in the online catalog?
ReplyDeleteThat's the old model 1
ReplyDelete