Building a Bike From the Frame Up - Drop Handlebar Selection

by Igor

In the last installment, we talked about how to install a bottom bracket into your new VO frame. This time, we'll discuss selecting a drop handlebar for your new ride.

First, we need to get some terminology straight.

• Drop Handlebar - the most common type of handlebar for road riding, touring, and randonneuring, typically allowing a more aerodynamic riding position than upright city-style bars. Lots of hand positions.

• Stem Clamp diameter - The measurement outside to outside of the area that clamps to the stem. 
• 26.0mm - standard road handlebars
• 25.4mm - standard city, upright, and MTB bars (although many have gone to 31.8mm).

• Brake Lever Clamp diameter - The measurement outside to outside of the bar to which your brake levers and shifters clamp.
• 23.8mm - standard road components: think bar-end shifters, integrated brake/shift levers sometimes referred to as "brifters," road brake levers (aero and non-aero), interruptor or "cross" brake levers, and Guidonnet levers.
• 22.2mm - standard city and mountain components: trigger shifters, grip shifters, and some inverse brake levers.

• Width - Measured center to center of the end of the handlebar.

• Reach - The measurement from the center of the stem clamp to the center to the farthest portion of the forward extension.

• Drop - Measurement from the center of the stem clamp to center of the lowest portion of the handlebar.

• Tops - Portion of the handlebar to the left and right of the stem clamp. 

• Ramps - Forward extension of a drop bar from the stem clamp.

• Hoods - Position on the hoods.

• Hooks - Portion of the handlebar that transitions into the drops.

• Drops - Portion of the drop handlebar that gets you lower and more aerodynamic.

• Flare - Difference between width of drops and center to center width of ramps. Taking half the difference gives you the flare for each side of a drop handlebar.

I'll start off with my favorite. The Grand Cru Course Handlebar is our traditional road drop handlebar. The biggest thing that has me using this bar on so many builds is the long ramps leading up to the hoods. You spend the vast majority of your time here, so why not make it as comfortable as possible? If you're coming from a short reach drop handlebar, you'll want to get at least a 10mm shorter stem to have a similar position on the hoods.

Having a long ramp section means your hands can roam freely forwards and backwards, which is invaluable during a long ride or tour. This handlebar has a medium length drop for improved aerodynamics and handling through corners. Flare is a modest 30mm (15mm on each side).

Our Rando handlebar has similar features to the Course, but it has a slight upward sweep by the stem clamp. This is a very traditional randonneur-style bar that can be seen on loads of French bikes of yesteryear. The sweep means a slightly more upright position in the hoods as well as the drops! Ramps are the same measurement as the Course handlebar. Flare measures 60mm. Remember, drop bars are measured from center to center of the drop. If you want 42cm (center-to-center) hood-to-hood, get the 48cm model (480mm - 60mm flare = 420mm).

The last offering in our drop bar selection is the Dajia Shallow Drop (Adrian's favorite, which she used on her C&O trip). The ramp section is shorter for a lower reach to the hoods and the drops are shallower so you don't need to lean over quite as much to find an aerodynamic position. The bar has 0 flare, which allows you snake through the peloton or around parked cars without worry of snagging. This bar is very popular for modern style builds as well as for people wanting a shorter reach bar.

What should the next installment of the series be?

Building a Bike From the Frame up - Bottom Bracket

by Igor

We've done a bunch of write-ups in the past that were mainly oriented towards accessories (fenders, rear racks, and chainguard), but with the increased number of frames going out the door everyday, we've had home mechanics asking questions about assembly and component selection for their new bike. Perhaps it's your first frame/fork build or you just need a refresher of the basics. To help out, we're going to start a small post series devoted to installing our components on our frames. Today, we'll tackle installing a bottom bracket.

Most of our frames use a 68mm English/ISO threaded bottom bracket shells (the Piolet uses a 73mm shell). This measurement is from flange to flange and is the most standard bottom bracket shell currently used for steel road, city, and touring bikes. You can find parts and tools in any bike shop around the world (a real plus for touring/rando folks) with pricing and quality ranging from basic loose ball bearing to custom high end ceramic bearing. All of our bottom brackets use sealed cartridge bearings for durability, water resistance, and installation simplicity.

Many road and mountain bike manufacturers have gone to a "press fit" or "drop in" style bearing for their carbon or aluminum frames for various reasons including perceived stiffness (pie charts and line graphs), proprietary design (to keep you using one crankset), and cost savings in manufacturing (no need for thread tooling!). The two most common issues associated with this "new" style is creaking and shell sleeves delaminating from the frame (this ruins the frame). The last thing I want on a tour is to hear a creak going through my mind when I'm trying to get 40 winks after a several days worth of riding.

To install a bottom bracket in your new VO frame, all you need is a bottom bracket tool, wrench (adjustable or ratchet), grease (Park waterproof in a tube is my favorite), and a phillips screwdriver.

As mentioned in a previous post, all of our frames come prepped from the factory. The bottom bracket shell has been faced (flanges are on parallel planes) and the threads have minimal (if any) overspray. Run your finger along both flanges of the shell to confirm that there is no dust or contaminants. If you find something, a bit of fine sandpaper can knock it off.

Our frames use a cable guide under the shell that is secured by a screw. It is usually flush with the inside of the shell, but it's good habit to back it out a bit to make sure the screw doesn't gouge your new bottom bracket during installation.

Put a good sized dab of lube on both the drive and non-drive side threads of the shell and spread it on. Do the same for both bottom bracket cups.

Non-drive side is right hand threaded

Drive side is left hand threaded

For normal English threaded bottom brackets, (when looking at the flange from their respective sides) the drive side screws in counter clockwise (left threaded) and the non-drive side screws in clockwise (right threaded). I install the non-drive side a couple turns first then install the drive side.

Note: If you have something besides English threading, check Sheldon Brown's cribsheet for your threading and compatibility: http://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-bottombrackets.html

Installing the non-drive first makes lining up and installing of the drive side cup easier. Now that the drive side is threading, tighten it down all the way. Torque wrenches can be surprisingly imprecise so I go to one barely audible grunt (~60Nm). Install the non-drive in a similar fashion. Clean up any excess grease and screw the cable guide back in. You're done!

What do you want to see next? Brake lever selection? Gear ratios for touring? Handlebar nuances? Let us know in the comments.

We also have a Bottom Bracket Basics tech info page: http://support.velo-orange.com/#bbarticle.html

Scott's Favourite Things

by Scott

Here are a few of my favourite VO products. My list reflects the kind of riding my wife Melissa and I have been doing more of in the past few years. We have loved to tour for years, my touring times go back to the mid 80's, touring down the Oregon coast and later touring in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden on small back roads as much as possible.

My number one favourite VO thing is the Camargue. It is such a versatile frame. You can use it to ride in all sorts of places. Melissa used hers in Iceland this past year, we've been riding them through out the fall and winter here in Maryland, doing loops combining the C & O canal, gravel roads and paved roads in Montgomery county and Fredrick county. This year we'll hopefully use them for a tour of southern Vancouver Island.

Number 2 on my list is an Opinel #8 carbone knife. It comes on every tour and day trip and resides in our knife drawer at home otherwise. It's my go to knife at home for kitchen chores that I do. (Melissa does most of the cooking at home. I'm the sous chef for the most part)

Number 3 is the Stein mini cassette lockring driver. As I mentioned when we first got these in a few years back, I saw these years back and thought "what a great idea for the touring cyclist" .  Weighs practically nothing- 35 gr in the bag with instructions and a zip loc bag.

Number 4 is saddle loops. These are one of those little items that you put on and never notice again. But if some how your saddle doesn't have them, you quickly realize how much you need them. I instantly threw a pair on the micro fibre saddles when we first got the saddles to test.

Finally, the last of my top five favourite items is the Dajia shallow drop bars
Both Melissa and I used them on our Iceland trip and we loved them. The length of the ramp combined with the tektro levers we use is very comfortable and the drop is perfect I think. A bar that you put on and don't fiddle with.

Merry Holidays

We want to wish all of our customers, dealers, distributors, and suppliers a very merry holiday and a prosperous new year. Today is the last day of the year for VO. We'll be closed until Jan. 5th.

We've had another great year with modest growth and all signs pointing to a bright future. We're especially delighted at the growing popularity of our products in Europe, where this whole constructeur business started. Next year will bring two new frames, new hubs, and a bunch of other new components and accessories.

An earlier prototype of our new adventure frame.

News, Updates, and a New Frame

• We'll be closed for the holidays, from December 24th to Jan 5th, so our hard working staff can recharge for the new year. You can still order during the holiday period, but we won't be able to ship anything until we reopen.
• Thanks for all the orders you placed during our non-annual sale. It was busier than we expected and now we're out of or low on some key items, including many frame sizes. But we'll be getting two big shipments of frames and parts in mid- to late-January, and most things will be restocked then.
• Both UPS and Fed Ex have announced major shipping rate hikes for the new year (though we're sure it's just a coincidence that both companies raised their rates at the same time). We're still analyzing what this will mean for us, but our calculation is that the non-Postal Service ground rates VO pays will go up 15% to 25%.  The hikes primarily affect large light boxes (think wheels, handlebars, racks, fenders). You might save a few dollars by ordering sooner rather than later, as our shipping and handling will definitely increase first week of January. We'll have more specific info then.
• We have this new frame that will be available in the spring. After many prototypes and much testing it's ready for production. I don't want to reveal too much too early, but here are a few photos of the final version.

Non-Annual Sale Ends Sunday

Just a reminder that our non-annual 20% off sale ends at 11:59pm (Eastern time) on Sunday the 14th. We're starting to run out of some of the most popular stuff, including frames in certain sizes. So if you need anything order soon.

Holiday Gifts

This is the time of year that many, myself included, struggle to think of things to give as holiday gifts. Fortunately, our family isn't really into elaborate gift giving; there's no giant pile of boxes under a Christmas tree. But we do have a tradition of exchanging a few small items to help celebrate the season. Anyway, here are a few suggestions for small gifts, some for cyclists and some for anyone. Our non-annual 20% off sale ends on Sunday, so this might be a good time to get those last few presents.

If you know anyone who has fenders on their bike you might consider the Grand Cru reflector. It really is lovely, a little jewel on the rear fender. The body is CNC cut from an aluminum billet and polished to a near-mirror finish.

The Velo Orange waxed canvas Croissant saddle bag is still my favorite piece of bike luggage. It's about the perfect size for a long day's ride with room for a tool kit and spare tube, a rain jacket, a wool cap, a small camera, a cell phone, and snacks.

Bells are a great gift and stocking stuffer. They are pretty, have a lovely tone, and offer a more pleasant way to say "on your left!" Our Temple bells are solid brass and we have models to mount on handlebar or stem.

Here's a great gift for anyone who loves good food. Fleur de Sel de Camargue is traditional French sea salt. that's harvested by hand from the salt plains of the Camargue region of France. Fleur de Sel has a higher mineral content then traditional table salt. Its shape is more crystalline than the coarse shape of Kosher salt.

Opinel pocket knives are a great gift for cyclist and non-cyclist alike. I've used one since I was a kid. They are, inexpensive, lightweight, and made from superb steel. They are are the standard knife of French farmers, hikers, foragers and cyclo-tourists. In fact, almost everyone who spends time in the countryside seems to have one. They've been made since 1890 in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in the Rhône-Alpes.

By the way, if you're getting an Opinel knife for an oenophile, the #10  model with corkscrew is a great choice. I keep one in my handlebar bag.

Digital calipers are a must if you work on bikes, or most any other machines.

The Soto Helix coffee maker is lightweight and folds flat. It's made in Japan from stainless steel and uses a standard filter. Great for bike touring or backpacking.

 T-shirts are great for showing your love of VO products off the bike and around town.  These are organic cotton tee's that we wear around the shop and at shows. Available in small to XL.

Finally, if you can't decide, there is always the option of a VO gift certificate.

Fleur de Sel

You may have noticed that we've been having fun adding some non-bike stuff to our Camp and Cabin section. We have Opinel knives, French soap, the cool Soto coffee maker, a workman-like hatchet, and more. I pick these items because I actually use them and like them.

Our latest addition is Fleur de Sel de Camargue, French sea salt. "Fleur de sel" actually means flower of salt; so named because it smells very faintly of violets. Fleur de Sel de Camargue is harvested in the Camargue region of France by hand from evaporating sea water. Only the fine top layer of salt is skimmed off before it sinks. The result is a mineral rich and slightly moist salt prized for it's taste.

Fleur de Sel is used as a "finishing salt": it's sprinkled on really good food just before eating. I love it on one of my favorite appetizers, grilled artichokes with garlic,olive oil, and salt. I also sprinkle it on hard, or soft, boiled eggs, sauteed shrimp, salads, raw vegetables, etc. Our salt comes in a cool little glass jar and might make a nice gift on any upcoming holiday. Or keep some in your Camargue's handlebar bag.

We're Having a Sale! 20% Off Everything!*

We're having a holiday sale. We don't do this every year, but this year we are. So here's the deal: you can get 20% off your order starting right now and ending December 14th, 2014 (at exactly 11:59pm Eastern Time). But you have to use the not-so-secret coupon code, as detailed below. This sale applies to both retail customers and to shops!

Just to be clear, you get 20% off on all in-stock frames, wheels, parts, accessories - *everything except Gift Certificates,* but only if you follow the steps below:

• Add all of the products you want to your cart, just as you normally would.
• Don't check out yet! Instead click on "My Cart" to review your products.

• Enter the coupon code - SALE2014 - in the little "discount codes" box in the shopping card page, as in the screenshot below.
• Click on "Apply Coupon".

• Check out as you normally would and enjoy your savings! That's all there is to it!