By Chris
There's a lot going on here at VO World Headquarters.
These new 58mm fenders showed up. We might stock these in both alloy and stainless, or maybe just in alloy. Waddya think?
I've has been trying to turn a fishing creel into a handlebar bag. That's it with my tenkara rod-case underneath. I'll be bringin' home supper with this rig!
My recent bike fishing trip went well.
Clint has just finished the drawings for the next generation Polyvalent. Once we finalize a few tooling details we'll have the first six prototypes made for testing and riding. Now comes the hard part: choosing the color. I'm thinking about trying contrasting panels for a change.
Igor is heading up a raw finish frame building project, partly as research, partly as art, and partly because it'll look really cool. It'll be our shop bike for awhile.
Clint built up his new Chumba frame, with a few VO bits:
0 Setback Seatpost,
Sabot Pedals,
31.8 Stem,
Rustines Gum Grips, and 2 special prototype items. I guess he got tired of single-tracking his Pass Hunter. Igor has a full album
here.
Scott is checking over a new shipment of Rustines goods, including some cool new
red caps. And we have
Campy-style gum brake hoods again.
Clint and I made black burgers, black buns, black cheese, and purple potatoes for the VO staff last night. The color, and extra flavor, comes from squid ink.
Are you going to stock those burgers in high polish silver?
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find that creel?
ReplyDeleteThe creel is from Angler's Roost, a very cool little online shop. http://theanglersroost.com/
ReplyDeleteI'be in for the fenders in alloy. And also a 60-64mm wide model.
ReplyDeletewill the burgers be offered in a size run? do they plane?
ReplyDeleteWhile your new fenders pictured are not quite what I suggested when you asked for feedback on new items back in February, i.e. Black, Hammered, 700C, >=60mm wide fenders, I'd probably buy them, if they were in alloy and long enough, at least 1200mm on the rear and >900mm on the front.
ReplyDeletePlease make the Polyvent with a threaded fork
ReplyDeleteI've bought several/many of your stainless fenders because I feel more confident about using them to forward/backward stabilize racks. If there's something about the new fender profile and width that makes it suitable to do this well in alloy, I'd think about it. Otherwise, I'll always prefer stainless.
ReplyDeleteWhy not keep the color of the new Polyvanents the same lovely blue that the MK3s had? Maybe add some contrasting highlights?
ReplyDeleteWhat model is the frame that Igor is doing his raw-finish experiment with or is that a custom/one-off frame? I'm not familiar with a V.O. that has the cable stops on top of the top-tube. Also, I'm curious which items on the Chumba are the two prototype items!
ReplyDeleteI agree with peddal head on the blue.
ReplyDeleteThe raw frame is a leftover Camargue prototype that's pretty beat up from single track testing. It's too worn to sell, so we might as well have fun with it.
ReplyDeleteThe saddle is one prototype item on the Chumba.
"Clint and I made black burgers, black buns, black cheese, and purple potatoes for the VO staff last night…" You guys are so METAL!!!
ReplyDelete\m/
Owen
Please make the polyvalent with a threadless fork.
ReplyDeleteDon't lose sight of what's important on the Polyvent with worries of colors and threaded or not fork. I'd say most important is getting one to market soon, and one that's better than SOMA's GR. Keep your top tube tunnels 'cause they've got side splits...make your marketing info and published specs correct. (thier's aren't) ...and take a chance: Maby use brazed-on center-pulls. You're current Dia Comps have a kit for that as you know. Might just guarantee a braketset with every frame...something that isn't guranteed now. In short, just beat SOMA.
ReplyDeleteI'll second the just beat soma part. You can do it by using appropriately sized tubesets, appropriate geometry, canti brakes (though disc brakes would be cool, might be too much cost, and the pass hunter works fine with 650b up to about 42mm), and for the love of all that is holy, try going to the mid-fork brazeon 14mm below the fork crown hole, like SOMA, Riv, Elephant, Rawland, and just about anyone else building front racks for bikes.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see another 58mm 650b aluminum fender. Right now there choice is between your stainless model and the ridiculously expensive Honjos. Every bike I've built in recent memory has used 650b 42s. I'd really like to see a true Zepplin pattern fender. Some years ago I saw photos an olive green Saluki with the rare true Zepplin Honjos (looked like Sapporo can) and I've wanted some ever since. If anyone knows the bike I'm talking about and knows where the photos are please post it here. I think it was on cyclofiend. I can't find the photos anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited about the new Polyvalent, and will probably upgrade to it from my MKIII--- the top tube is just way too long for drop bars, and the bike looks silly with a 50mm offset stem to fit comfy bars on there. Hopefully you'll have a 62 cm frame size for us larger riders, right? Can't wait to see it! Can't wait for the opportunity to buy it...
ReplyDeleteC'mon you know there'll be no 62 cm MK4. I guess you're riding the 60 cm MK3 with its' 10mm longer top tube? Compared to most common geometries that's short relative to the seat tube. I'll bet you'd be better off with a smaller frame. Many say top tube length is more important than seat tube length. I think I agree after experimenting with different sizes over the many years and 6 or 8 bikes. Check it out.
ReplyDeleteA disc Polyvalent screams Pacific North West porteur to me. Please let it happen... I don't see canti bosses on the drawing.
ReplyDeleteNo one currently makes a bike even remotely similar to that.
Brian Walberg...what drawing? Am I missing the drawing?
ReplyDelete