Porteur Rack Accessories

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

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

 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

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

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

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

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

 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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.
• Modern derailleurs with flat outer cages are hard to find, though, so I use a Tiagra front derailleur with the Grand Cru 50.4bcd crank, but mount it with around 8.5mm of clearance between the teeth and the outer cage, instead of the usual recommended 2-3mm
• With this kind of setup, you need to adjust the limit screws just right, but if you're careful with the setup it shifts well and runs fine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.