VO Skewers and Other News

The product that launched Campagnolo was the quick release skewer. During a race in 1927 Tullio Campagnolo, then just another an Italian bicycle racer, flatted and found that he could not remove the wing nuts on his wheel and so could not fix the flat. The sudden cold had so numbed his hands that he couldn't loosen the nuts. Soon thereafter he invented the quick release skewer.

Signore Campagnolo got the design right the first time. His skewer had an internal cam that gripped well and was protected from dirt. But in the 1980s someone decided to "improve" his design by using an exposed cam. This made the skewers a few grams lighter and they looked more modern. But they required a larger cam that offered considerably less holding power when the same amount of force was used on the locking lever. Riders found that they sometimes slipped on bikes with horizontal dropouts or track ends. In addition the cam was exposed to road grime. Unfortunately exposed cam skewers have become the norm.

So we decided to make reasonably light, well made, and inexpensive internal cam quick release skewer. Here they are:This skewer is made in a very well regarded Taiwanese factory that makes only skewers (They are specialized). The acorn nut, the one without the lever, is alloy, but it has a chrome steel face pressed on for better grip and durability. It also has a nylon insert to prevent loosening. The other end also features an alloy housing, however the lever and cam are chromed steel so they won't break when you over-tighten them.

As for aesthetics, there is that red/orange plastic dot at the end. It levers right off with a knife tip if you don't like it. But we are thinking of having the Velo Orange logo laser engraved in it's place. Around $16-$18 a pair. Waddaya think?

We hope to have them in mid-March.

In other news:

• We have the fixie wheel sets in stock now.
• The new VO handlebar, croissant, and baguettes bags are almost finished at the factory. We will try to get one or two cases of each shipped by air, since many of you have been waiting for them, and the rest by ocean.
• We'll soon have the new Spanninga LED dynamo lights.
  

Planet Bike Blaze Dynamo Light

We've just started stocking the new Planet Bike Blaze Dynamo Light. This is a very well made 1-watt LED lamp and at $58 the price is right. It even has a stand light. The problem is that it comes with a handlebar clamp. It's a very nice handlebar clamp to be sure, with a cam and a quick release feature. But most of us prefer our lights mounted lower, on the front rack for example. There are a couple of ways to do this.

We removed the strap and cam on the mount; they simply unscrew. Then we used a spacer, washer, and a screw to mount the light to a VO Light Bracket. The spacer goes between the two sides of the mount; it'll be obvious when you remove the cam. This spacer can be some washers, or a nut, or best of all an old chain ring spacer.

Now the light can be mounted on your rack and it sits in an ideal position below the handlebar bag.

Another way to mount it is with a type-1 Low Down mount.

Belleville Bars Are Here! And More.

After a nice vacation cross country skiing in the White Mountains we returned to find some new Velo Orange Products had arrived.

The long awaited Belleville bars are nicer than we expected with lovely polishing and a smooth even bend. You may remember that these are our version of what is probably the most popular style of French city and utility bike bars ever. They are 43cm wide ( or 45mm outside-to outside) and have zero rise. That's fairly narrow for a city bar which is an advantage in traffic. They are made of road bar sized tubing. 23.8mm, and accept inverse brake levers or bar end shifters. The straight grip section is a generous 150mm. The VO logos are lazer etched under the grips.

We are so pleased with the quality from this little Taiwanese handlebar factory that we are asking them to make our upcoming VO Porteur bar. It will be much like the very popular Belleri porteur bar we used to sell (unfortunately those are no longer made).

We also have an improved version of our ever popular VO bell mount. This was the very first Velo Orange product, the mount that launched a company. The new version has longer threads and a few other minor improvements.

We also just got more VO 45mm stainless steel fenders, now pre-drilled. And we have a new shipment of VO 45mm anodized fenders.

Merry Holidays!

Great New Yorker cover!

The last orders are packed and Tom and I are the last ones at the shop today. Everyone else left early to start trips or go shopping. After a couple of holiday beers we'll lock up. Velo Orange will re-open on January 5.

We're having a traditional goose dinner with friends at our house, then heading north to see family and, perhaps, do a bit of skiing. Any one doing bike related stuff?

There will be news about hubs, new quick release skewers, new LED dynamo lights and other cool stuff when we get back.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season. Cheers!

Various Notes and Things

We will be closed for the Holidays, from December 24 through January 4.

If you need any components made in Japan you probably will want to buy them soon. The recent strengthening of the Yen may result in price increases of as much as 25% when when we get our January shipments. Ouch!

It was interesting that a comment on the previous post asked us to stock wheels with internal gears and interior brake hubs. Just yesterday I was asking Tom to get pricing on wheels with a Strumey Archer internal gear rear hub with brake and a front hub with dynamo and brake.

We are also ordering our cassette hub wheels, but I don't want to release details just yet.

The fixed/SS wheels just came in. We'll probably run out of this first shipment soon, but more are due in next week.

Wheels and Rims

I recently treated myself to a new set of fixie/single speed wheels.

They are hand-built in the USA on 36-hole flip-flop, sealed bearing, high flange, hubs. These are the well known and very nice hubs made in Taiwan for Formula, IRO, Velocity, etc. They are very smooth, look nice, and (I'm told) are very durable.

Of course I didn't want the narrow aero rims favored by the hip crowd. Instead I got my favorite Sun CR18 rims. The inexpensive CR18s are a super durable 22.5mm triple box section rim. At 484 grams they are lighter than some single wall rims. The spokes are DT 14g stainless.

My thinking was that these wheels will take wide tires and be super durable, yet reasonably light. The rear is spaced at 120mm, but there is room for a couple of 5mm spacers should I decide to use them on a road frame.

Tom and I were impressed enough by these wheels that I decided Velo Orange should stock them. And at about $160 I think they are a great bargain. Of course this means we'll be stocking track cogs and freewheels and related stuff too. We expect the first shipment of wheels in a couple of days.

We are still not decided about what sort of basic cassette wheel to stock. If anyone has ideas...

Speaking of wheels, we had been considered importing a retro-style rim from Taiwan. It's a single wall, pinned, 500gm rim with a highly polished finish, much like the old Super Champions. In the end I decided that with modern rims being stronger, lighter and with similar prices, the retro rims didn't make much sense. But I may have been wrong; apparently there are a number of folks who do want such rims. So we just asked for updated pricing and delivery times on 650b and 700c versions, about $40-45 and 2-3 months. Does anyone here think there would be significant demand for rims like that?

Minnehaha

Minnehaha bags are now in stock. They are made of 18oz cotton canvas with nicely thought out details. I want to complement the folks at Minnehaha for having the good taste to make black bags with tan leather so they will match the new Velo Orange bags (Actually our leather is darker, but close enough.) This should please the style conscious bag-matchers among us.

The medium saddle bag, which is pretty darn big, makes a nice alternative to handlebar bag. It's big enough for a fair load of extra clothes and food for a long day trip. I like that the interior is white for better visibility.

The Utility Panniers are my favorite of the Minnehaha bags for two reasons. The tall narrow shape solves heel clearance issues for many big-footed men who ride bikes with short chain stays. The other reason I like them is because they don't look like the VO pannier I've been planning ( VO's are more traditional).

The Minnehaha Grocery Pannier is a nice folding design that will be perfect for many city bikes. Anyone who goes grocery shopping on a bike should have one or two of these.

Bikes at Work

Ahren Rogers sent this photo of Leah, his partner, picking up supplies at the welding shop. Ahren builds our Pass Hunter and City bike frames and Leah welds our stainless steel racks. That's one big bike trailer.

Community Component Ideas

One of the great things about this blog is getting ideas for products. Thank you! Several of the products we've decided to start stocking or making are a direct result of comment on this blog and e-mails from customers. For example:

• We should have 17-degree VO stems in 2-3 months. I would not have guessed that so many folks wanted them. Quill stems are another matter and will take some serious research.
  
• Minnihaha bags will be in stock at VO next week. These are fairly inexpensive cotton panniers and saddle bags with leather trim.
  
• Tom has finished testing the economical dynamo hubs I wrote about some weeks ago and we have decided to put in an order for them. While they are not as nice as the more expensive SON and Shimano hubs, the VO community has convinced us that there is a need for a basic dynamo hub. We will have a quick release version in stock sometime this winter.
• It seems that the VO French thread bottom brackets will actually be made.

This listening to customers idea is working out pretty well. I wonder if the big American auto companies should start blogs?

VO Stems are Back

Just a short note to tell everyone who's e-mailed that VO stems just arrived and are back in stock. We have all sizes from 70 to 120mm now. I can hardly believe how popular these have been.

We also have Falcon thumb shifters again.

We are also looking into having VO brand cloth handlebar tape made here in the US. We sell a lot of Tressostar tape and VOI even distributes it to other stores, but we are disappointed that some colors have been discontinued (especially orange). I'm not at all sure that we can make this happen; the mills need big orders and re-rolling into short lengths is surpirisingly expensive. But what new colors would you like to see if we do manage to pull it off?

Tom, VO Imports, and Upsetting the Apple Cart

As some of you know, we have another company, called VO Imports (VOI). The purpose of this company is to sell to bike shops and distributors, rather than to retail customers. VOI has a warehouse and office next door to us, but it is a separate company. VOI sells some Velo Orange parts and it also starting to import and distribute components and accessories from other companies.

VOI's general manager is Tom Martin, who has many years experience in the bike distribution business. He is great at getting stuff made, keeping in almost constant touch with Taiwan. He is also known here for creating gigantic spreadsheets detailing an almost infinite number of cost and design variables for each of our products. In addition he maintains relations with all the shops that stock our products.

Tom probably doesn't have an easy time working with me. In Tom's world, which is the standard distribution model, a company designs a product and has a factory makes it. Then the agent who helped set it up us gets a small cut. Now the component company sells the part to a distributor and so makes its profit. The distributor sells the part to a bike shop and makes its profit. Finally the bike shop makes a profit selling the part to a customer. As you can see, there are a lot of folks taking a cut. And so the bike business world has always smoothly revolved.

But I am not from the bike or the distribution biz and I have a long history of building companies by breaking rules. I decide that some Velo Orange products, the stainless steel racks as an example, must be affordable and cut out all the middle men. The distributor and bike shop can't sell them and so don't get a cut. Velo Orange does not get those cuts either; the customer does. I've upset the apple cart and poor Tom has to hear the complaints.

Tom feels, and he is probably correct in this, that if we simply raise prices or concentrate only on items that can be sold through traditional distribution channels both VOI and Velo Orange will grow even faster. But I want to keep prices low. And so it goes.

Tom has started a VOI blog, as well as a Twitter and Face Book page. The blog is intended for shop owners and their employees, but many here may find it interesting too.

Porteur Racks and Offshore Bags

A lot of folks have been waiting for the next shipment of Porteur racks. They are here! Rails too. Last time they sold out in a week.

On another subject, I saw an interesting statement on another blog about canvas and leather bike bags. The author said that it was easy to get such bags made in China and that that was somehow bad. I don't know about China specifically, since Velo Orange does not have any bags made in China and has never even investigated it. But I imagine the design work involved and the material sourcing and the quality control is just as hard as in any other country.

What really bothered me about this is the implication that providing more economical cycling products is a bad thing. Not everyone can afford expensive gear, like our American-made VO Porteur rack. There is a great need for good quality classic cycling gear at affordable prices no matter where it's made. The elitist attitude that good quality gear can only be made in Western Europe or the US or, perhaps, Japan, has always bugged me. I often see products from Taiwan that are better made than their US or European counterparts. What is actually easier is getting stuff made when price is no object.

French Handlebars are Back

We just recieved another shipment of the VO/Nitto Montmarte and the Left Bank handlebars. They sold out very quickly last time we got some and it takes 4-6 months to have more made, so don't wait too long if you want a pair.

These are French style upright city bike handlebars. What's special is that they will accommodate bar end shifters and inverse brake levers because they are made from road bar-size tubing. But they won't work with MTB levers, grips, etc. Just to avoid confusion, here are some of the components that I recommend using with them:

• Tektro inverse levers
• Dia Compe inverse levers
• VO 23.8mm city bike brake levers
• Dia Compe bar-end shifters
• Falcon thumb shifters
• Elk hide city bar grips
  

I wrote more about them in this post.

Miscellaneous Bits

The photo on the left is of a prototype VO French thread bottom bracket. Back in the day, nations thought it obligatory to have their own standards for bike parts. There were French, Swiss, Italian, British, and even American standards for certain components. The British standard overtook the others and is what we see on almost all bikes today, but there are still many fine frames that require Italian (those are still made). French, or Swiss bottom brackets. So we're looking into having some made.

Please don't ask when you can order one. I don't yet know if they will be produced; we're still trying to make this project feasible. What that means is that we need to get some shops or other wholesalers to commit to buying part of the production. We would have them in 110mm, 116mm, and 122mm. There is a possibility of a Swiss version too.

We recieved the final fabric samples for the new VO handlebar, and other, bags yesterday. It is a thick finely woven cotton that appears to be amazingly waterproof. The manufacturer described it as waxed, but it does not feel overly waxy. The color is jet black. It exceeds my expectation. This was the last step before production. We still hope to see them in January.

The ring locks should be here next month.

Finally, Velo Orange will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. For our overseas friends, this is a holiday that celebrates America's bounty. Most Americans spend it with extended family preparing and eating a stuffed turkey that's only slightly smaller than a Hummer. The following day is traditionally spent waddling about and shopping.

At our house we'll be having family over for dinner, oysters (local, Chesapeake Bay) duck confit, pommes sarladaise, rum baba, etc. The following day may see a trip to the beach. Are any of you doing, or eating, anything exciting for the holidays?

Air and Space

We went to the National Air and Space Museum yesterday. While Alec, our 9-year old, wanted to see space ships and rockets, I was fascinated by the Wright brother's creation, their bicycles that is. As you probably know, prior to building the first flying machine, the Wright brothers built bicycles. The model on display seemed amazingly modern and ridable, though it might benefit from a VO saddle and seat post. Bikes certainly haven't changed as much as airplanes.

We also went inside the Skylab space station. I noticed the exercise bike used by the astronauts to stave off the muscles loss caused by a zero-gravity environment. It had handlebars that look surprisingly like the upcoming Velo Orange Belleville handlebars. Even NASA is influenced by the French constructeurs.

Samples Galore and The Guarding of Chains

Perhaps we're a bit obsessed with product samples. It gets pretty expensive having all this stuff FedExed from every corner of the world, but the idea is that we'll find great products that no one else imports, or great factories to make our products.

Here are a few sample chain guards from Europe that we recently ordered. Tom has been madly fitting these to various bikes. In this case, results have been less than promising.

The top model works with a 52t, or smaller, big chain ring and, at least in theory, a front derailleur. The lower one does too, but I don't like the slots. What we find with the upper model is that it doesn't work well with many modern cranks. These guards are designed for the sort of crank where the arm sits on the spider, not the modern type where the spider seems to flow out of the arm.


Here we have a chrome and an anodized model for single chain rings, but at $50 they may be a bit too dear. On the other hand, the full circle does a great job of protecting your cuff. What do you think of these?



These steel chain cases are neat. They must be painted and will fit only certain cranks on certain bikes. The thing that looks like a huge washer pops out for installation. And yes, they are closed on the back. I get a migraine just thinking about technical support for these.



The two models below offer the best hope. At around $25 they are priced right. The top model will work with a 46t big ring and a triple crank according to the manufacturer, but getting it lined up exactly right is difficult. The bottom version is for single speeds and internally geared hubs. It's actually shaped like half a tube, so it covers the chain on both sides. It's steel, but pretty light.


All of these are made for European city bikes with very long chain stays. We would have to have shorter versions to fit the sort of bikes Americans ride. I don't know yet what the costs and minimum quantities would be if we commissioned shorter versions.

Do any of these appeal to you?

Style

I came upon these two bike related photos while surfing aimlessly at 5:00am. They are from the highly regarded The Satorialist site.

Why are Parisians so elegant? Take this Lady, despite being strangled by a blond rat she just oozes style.

And this fellow from Milan is me in a few years (if only).

VO Saddle Bags

We've been considering making some larger VO saddlebags. We currently sell five models of saddle bags. The first two are the small Brooks Challenge a D-shaped bags, these are small bags for tools, keys, or other small items. We also sell the VO Croissant and Baguette bags which will soon be available in a new style in black and with more leather trim. These bags are the perfect size to leave on a bike all the time; there is room for tools, wallet, mini-pump, a banana, a rain shell. Finally we have the Ostrich bags which approaches the practical size limit for saddle bags. This size bag is useful for the commuter and for short inn-to-inn tours.

So what do we want in a VO saddle bag? We want a larger bag that matches the look of the upcoming VO handlebar bag and new versions of the Croissant and Baguette bags. That is it will be black waxed cotton with brown leather trim. We also want it to be sturdy and reasonably priced. Finally, Carradice bags are almost impossible to get these days and it's time someone filled that gap.

As for size, Both Tom and I own Carradice Longflap bags. I think that that model is simply too big; Tom uses his every day. We both agree that there is a practical weight limit for saddle bags that is too often exceeded. I think it's 5-6 pounds; Tom says about 10 pounds. In any case, we agree that an overloaded saddle bag severely and negatively effects a bikes handling. If your plan is to go grocery shopping, panniers, not a large saddle bag, are what you need. So something of about 8 to 10-liter capacity is what we're after.

As for shape, I prefer a more square shape like the Berthoud and Ostrich bags. A saddlebag this big really needs to be used with a support such as the ViVa support or the Bagman support (are those still made?) The square shape is better suited to use with a support and better suited to laptops, books, and other loads that are often carried in saddle bags. Tom argues that the round shape with expandable collar offers more capacity, perhaps too much capacity.

So we'll open the floor to discussion. What would you like a larger VO saddle bag to look like?

Speaking of bags, we just listed three interesting panniers on E-bay, still working to get rid of lots of samples and display items.

Happy Bottom Saddles

My old company sells an amazingly comfortable kayak seat that I'd named the "Happy Bottom Pad". I was so tickled by that name that when I sold the company I reserved the right to use it in future. But my plans for a VO Happy Bottom Saddle have come to naught. My staff thinks the name is too stupid and I've been talked out of it.

Nonetheless, these are very very comfortable saddles. At 205mm they are wide enough for even the most ample of bottoms and absolutely luxurious for the svelte behind. They are sprung so one's stately composure is not compromised by even the most potholed of lanes. Of course these are saddles for sitting upright on a proper city bike with high handlebars, not for racing about. As for their weight, well that's a bit like money, not something we talk about in polite society.

There are actually two different models. The black ones are Model 7 and have the skirts folded in and riveted to prevent splaying. The Model 8 saddles are brown and have an old-fashioned tie to rein in the skirts. We'll see which system our customers prefer. Otherwise they are identical.

As with our other saddles, they are made from the finest Australian cow hide with an anti-stretch layer laminated underneath. The frames are chrome plated steel. Bag loops are standard and tension adjustment is via the included Allen wrench. At $85 they are not an unreasonable indulgence.

Pretty Pedals

I ordered these as soon as I saw them at Eurobike. These are stunning pedals. By now you've noticed the chrome plated cages, reminiscent of very old Campy pedals. Pretty! But on second thought chrome cages must weigh ton. How about 267g per pair, and that's two entire pedals, not just the cages. The secret is that these are chrome plated aluminum alloy, not steel.

They are made by the clever folks at Wellgo in Taiwan. As usual we had a Velo Orange version created. First off we specified high quality sealed cartridge bearing for long life and no maintenance. They are very smooth. We also asked for alloy, not plastic, dust caps. The pedal bodies are polished, in the VO tradition. And the VO logo is discrete.

With a 96mm x 60mm cage they are a perfect size for most folks. And at $49 there is no reason to get a loose bearing road pedal.

In Stock Again!

We Just got a big shipment of VO components and accessories that we've been having difficulty keeping in stock.

We have more VO Grand Cru seat posts. We have gotten so many e-mails asking when these will be available again!

VO handlebar water bottle cage mounts are back.

We have all sizes of VO bottom brackets back in stock.

VO stem adapters are also available again.

And VO Model 6 saddles in brown and black came in.

Plus we have new VO city bike saddles and a really beautiful new pedal. I'll post about those after taking some photos.

A Couple of Ideas

We've had a couple of ideas.

The first is to import a stainless steel rack that's being made in Taiwan. This is not a Velo Orange design, in fact it looks similar to, and perhaps even nicer than, a certain Tubus model. It's made of stainless steel with a mat finish. The quality is pretty darn good and it's very sturdy. There are pump pegs for a short pump. And all the hardware is very very nice. The price would be under $100, perhaps under $90. I think that there are many folks who would like a stainless steel rear rack that's bigger than the VO Constructuer racks and suited to larger panniers and bigger loads. I'm just starting work on a larger VO rack design, but it won't be ready for 6-10 months. In the meantime do you think there's interest in this rack?

Another idea is importing ring locks. Ring locks are tremendously popular in Europe. They are bolted or clamped to the seat stays of a city bike and lock the rear wheel through the spokes. They provide an almost instant way to lock your bike. Of course they won't do much good in New York city, but in many towns they are all you need. What I like about them is that they stay on the bike. The key can even stay in the lock in some models. So when you run into a shop a simple flick of a locking lever prevents the casual thief from riding off on your bike. For longer stops you can run a cable around a fixed object and lock it in the ring lock.

There are dozens of ring locks made for the European and Asian markets, but they are almost impossible to find in the USA. Ring locks are available in both basic and high end models. We're thinking of importing of importing a mid range model, $20-$25, but not necessarily the model pictured. Any interest?

George's VO Rando Bike

George was kind enough to forward some photos of his brand new Velo Orange Rando bike. This is really a nice build. And very cool lights!

He writes:

I’m very happy with how it turned out and took it out for a little spin to Paris last Saturday. That’s Paris, TX, of course for a distance of 300 Km. The bike rode like a dream. Best ride on chip seal pavement I’ve ever had. Corners beautifully and good stable ride with the front bag installed. Much less soreness than my previous long distance bike – and that’s with the same Grand Bois tires.

The rest of the photos are here.

Pablo's VO City Gentleman Bike

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are a few photos of the latest VO Gentleman bike . The frame is fillet brazed and assembled by Ahren Rogers. The drive train uses a SA 5-speed hub and a Nervar 50.4mm BCD crank; Pablo found the pedals. The fenders, chain case, bars, etc, are all from Velo Orange. The front rack is custom. This is, in short, a true constructeur bicycle. I think Pablo will enjoy this elegant machine.