VO Warehouse Sale, April 16th

by Chris

We'll hold one of our very occasional VO warehouse sales from 9am to 12pm on April 16th.

What's for Sale:

We're selling sample parts that were sent for review or displayed in our showroom or at bike shows. There are some returns, some display frames, a few bikes, some discontinued parts, parts that have been used on test bikes, scratch-and-dent stuff, etc. All-in-all there are hundreds of items. We want to blow them all out in one day! So most will be priced at about half the regular web site price, many even lower. 

In case you can't find any garage sale stuff you like, we'll offer 20% off on any VO and Grand Cru parts, accessories, or frames (but not build kits) in stock. This reflects our savings in not having to process, pack and ship, so you must be here to get the discount.

When:

The VO Garage Sale will take place between 9am and 12pm on Saturday April 16th., rain or shine.

Where:

At Velo Orange of course, 1981 Moreland Parkway, Building 4, Annapolis, MD 21401

The Fine Print:

• Nothing can be pre-ordered.
• Cash or credit card only.
• the 20% discount is available only to those who buy in person, not on-line..
• As always, we'll serve donuts, coffee, and espresso.

Visiting Japan

By Clint

Serious business.

Far from NJS approved. 

After our visit to Taipei, I decided to take the Travel's Check to Tokyo to ride around, eat ramen, and visit shops.

Tori Paitan ramen at Kagari in Ginza.

The ramen master at Fu-unji in Shinjuku.

Many of these noodle shops were tucked away in alleys around the city, marked only with Kanji characters.  Knowing little to no Japanese, it was reasonably difficult to locate some of them.  The general strategy was to figure out what block the shop was on, walk around a few times, and look for the lines, often with a few white people who read the same food blogs I do.

Mountain (山) is one of the few characters I know.

The powerlines are kinda cool.

Preserve by the fishing town. 

This food is so pretty.

Mr Kentaro of M's Collection, one of our distributors in Japan, was nice enough to show me around the Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo.  We rode around one of his favorite routes, along the water, past a fishing town, then to a harbor where they'll be sailing in the 2020 Olympics.   We stopped at a cute little restaurant on the water for a great lunch.  The views were great along the water.  Fishing boats coming in and out, surfers on the beach.
Even the drive there and back was rather scenic.  It still amazes me how far the city extends, turning into warehouse districts, then back into high rises and sky scrapers.  On the way back, we drove past the Fuji TV building.  Didn't get a good photo, but I've wanted to see it (it was in a bunch of those cartoons I watched as a kid).

Naoto.

Original location in Hatagaya.

They let me help out in the shop. 

Rew10 and Cook Paint Works.

Okonomiyaki master.

Next, I had the opportunity to visit some of Blue Lug's shops.  Coolest shops I've ever been to.  If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping in.  They now have three locations and a coffee shop/bar.  They do some incredible custom builds.

One of their staff members, Naoto, was nice enough to show me around town. I had the opportunity to see some sides of town, I wouldn't have found as a tourist.   We met up at the Tsukiji fish market in the morning, grabbed some food, explored some hole-in-the-wall coffee shops, and rode around town.  We had a great lunch at Lug, Blue Lug's cafe & bar.  After that, we stopped by to see Rew10 workshop and Cook Paint Works next door.  They both do amazing work.  After a busy day riding around town, we went out for okonomiyaki, seafood pancakes and takoyaki, octopus balls.

Night ride, remember to ride on the left.  

Back in the states now.  I already miss the people, the food, and the heated toilet seats.  Can't wait to go back.  Special thanks to Mr. Kentaro and Blue Lug for hosting me!  I had such a good time!

Piolets Back in Stock

by Igor

Piolets are back in stock in all sizes! Ride over things, sleep outside, repeat.

Notes From Taiwan

By Chris

Frame testing

I just wanted to share a few notes from my recent trip to the Taipei Cycle Show and to a few of the factories that make parts for us.

We've arranged for lots of samples of new products. It's been years since we've had this much new stuff coming. We'll be testing new rims, a new line of bike-packing luggage, new crank, new wider fender model, grips, saddles, and lots more.

The final version of our 11-speed hubs will soon be ready for testing. We've been riding the first version, but decided to make some minor changes to make disassembly and cleaning easier. These are much like our current hubs, though we had to move the flanges in a bit to fit that 11th cog, which necessitated a whole new body. I'm personally not sure it's worth all the bother: 10-speed is more than enough for me, but customers keep asking for them.

At the frame factory we spoke about the next version of the Polyvalent. This is still in the design stage, but we hope to order prototypes in a few weeks.

We're also looking at a version of the Piolet made with rather special tubing, but it may be too expensive to produce; we'll see. This would be a limited production model, not a replacement, but we may make some very minor changes such as  moving or adding a couple of braze-ons.

We had a long meeting at our rack factory to work on details of a new line of VO racks. These require lots of special tooling and some fairly complicated manufacturing, so it may be some time before you see them. But we think they'll be nothing short of amazing.

We saw prototypes of a crazy new VO threadless stem that we'll soon introduce. And we ordered prototypes of a new quill stem that I've been thinking about for years. I'm really excited about both these stems, and I think you'll find them very useful.

Taiwan is really a great place to visit. It's fairly popular as a vacation destination. There are beaches, hot springs, mountains, great cycling and hiking, decent surfing, remote villages, and amazing museums. One of the highlights of any trip there is the food. The Taiwanese are a nation of foodies, and whether you want cuisine from Taiwan, Japan, China, France, or almost anywhere else you can think of, there are superb restaurants that serve it. But for me the best is the street food at the night markets. Stalls cook up fresh crabs, squid, oyster omelets, strawberries covered in sweet glaze; the list is endless. (A few more photos can be found on my new Instagram page.)

Dirt Wizards on smaller Piolets

by Scott

Having had emails about the largest tire size that will fit in the 29'r models of the Piolet, time came that we did the research into large tires on the extra small and small sizes. Since I have a small, I brought it in to be the test mule for this investigation.

For my off road riding, I have been using the Maxxis Ardent 26 x 2.4 tires. For the riding I do, mostly single track with a decent amount of roots and rocks but no huge drops or such, they work great. I keep the pressure low, so a ton of traction is the result. Mounted on a 26" Escapade rim (28 mm outside width) they measure out at 2.3" (58 mm) when inflated to 25 PSI at 82 ft above sea level.

Finding a tire that falls between 2.4" and 3" isn't easy, but we managed to snag a Surly Dirt Wizard for the experiment. We knew the 3" would not fit, but the 2.75 held out hope. It is labeled as a 26 x 2.75 " tire; when mounted to the Escapade rim, it came out to 2.63" (67 mm) when inflated to 25 PSI at 82 ft above sea level. So it's not a lot bigger than the Maxxis tire but enough so to be significant.

Looking at the frame, we figured it would fit. Installing it on the front of the bike, I found there was lots of room at the sides of the fork and around the fork crown. Success!!  I took it out for a quick spin around the parking lot and it felt fine. Now on to the rear.

Looking at the rear, Igor and I figured that the frame would fit it, but my triple would not. And we were proved right. The wheel and tire fit fine, but I could not shift down into my inner ring, as the inside of the front derailleur touches the tire. So it won't work with my current set up; but if I went to a different set up, a 1x or a wide double, I could make it work.

I'm not ready yet to ditch the triple, so in the meantime, I'll go back to the Maxxis tires for my off road usage, but this remains an interesting tire to try should the need for a really wide tire come up.

Cool and Weird Bikes from NAHBS

by Igor

First, big thank you to Joshua of Frances Cycles. He was kind enough to let us borrow a beautiful sportif-style frameset for the weekend. Here it is, all outfitted in VO components and accessories. In addition, his cargo bikes are extremely well thought out and can handle anything you throw at them.

#mixtehaul #nahbs2016 come find us in booth 310!

A photo posted by Joshua Muir (@francescycles) on Feb 26, 2016 at 12:36am PST

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCPjTcDNQSZ/

We had a great time at the show. We spoke to lots and lots of friendly people from all over the world who came to enjoy the craft and scene. This show is different from some other industry shows in that builders bring out their big guns and construct frames and bikes that exemplify not only their style but also their capabilities. 

Rob English puts out some stellar bikes that would not look out of place in an art gallery, but they are machines designed to get the snot ridden out of them. This stainless steel road bike with super lightweight components has every inch considered for weight savings and performance. This bike weighs something like 9.5 lbs (4.3kg) complete, which, if you haven't held a bike this light before, is an odd sensation. It almost feels like it could float away if you're not keeping an eye on it.

Chris Dekerf put together a fully titanium time trial bike with a custom titanium fork. Every tube is formed for aerodynamics and stiffness. The fork is custom to the bike and has formed tubes as well.

Calfee put together an alternative build for their Dragonfly model. 650b wheels, nicely mounted fenders, integrated front rack, and integrated seatpost-mounted bottle cages make it a lightweight randonneur. The contrast between the green lugs and matte tubes is very striking up close.

Wheel Fanatyk not only had super cool splined alloy nipples, but they were also showing off a clever sorter for quick nipple access while you're building wheels.

Bohemian Bicyles is a steel and carbon frame building school that puts out some really nice work. They had a few very nicely filed S&S couplers on display which will get brazed into a tube for a travel bike.

The Horton Collection has fantastic racing photographs from old magazines and newspapers. Every original is unique with markings on the back for placement in the page layout from editors and photographers. I have a few lovely mounted ones at my house, which I picked up at Cirque a number of years ago.

Abbey has amazing tools for the serious mechanic and enthusiast. Titanium, carbon, and wood are all used in the construction.

Sims Works from Japan were showing off a new touring frameset based around the 650b platform. The fork had a clever way to mount super wide fenders. They also released some cool mixed terrain tires inspired by those no longer produced.

Razik makes ridiculously cool frames that look fragile but can, in fact, take a serious beating. I have no idea how such a unique carbon weave rides, but they are definitely a head turner.

Steve Rex, a long time Sacramento frame builder, does beautiful work. Here is a road bike with a very unique striped pink and red paint job.

If you had a chance to go to NAHBS, what stood out to you? 

So, really, what do people say about our Piolet..

by Annette

How nice for our travel-weary staff to return (or arrive Taipei) to Bikepacking.com's thoughtful and comprehensive review of the Piolet. While we certainly do test-ride our frames for months before bringing them to market, none of us has done as extensive a six-month test that Lee Vilensky completed before he wrote this up.

Some choice words:

"Classic. From the segmented fork, to the clean lines, to the solid cerulean paint with brushed metal headbadge, Velo Orange’s Piolet harkens back to a time in mountain biking that predates suspension and indexed shifting."

"Sticking mainly to the mountains in the provinces of Boyaca and Santander, we pedalled mainly through dry, sweltering heat on dusty roads and trails. It was in this state – loaded with gear while covering large daily distances on poor surfaces – that the bike truly shined."

"I was particularly impressed with how well the fork performed. I didn’t perceive any pulsing or juddering under hard braking, even during steep descents 20 kilometers long."

"Given the opportunity to do another round-the-world journey by bike, there is no question that this is the one I would take."

Read the full review here. And yes, the re-stock of mid- to large-size Piolets are currently on the high seas and will arrive late March.

 

MD Bike Symposium

by Adrian

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to spend the day with my state and local government, a plethora of bicycle advocacy groups, and a bunch a really great bike people at the annual Bike Maryland Bike Symposium (yes, it is supposed to say bike twice). Held at the Maryland Senate Building in Downtown Annapolis, this day-long series of lectures and Q&As – and happy hour! – left me comically inspired and excited about the current and future advancement of bicycling in the state of Maryland. I rolled out of there really feeling like we can do anything!

In all seriousness, there were some really great topics covered, the foremost being the opening of the Hatem Bridge to cyclists starting July first. While they’re still trying to figure out just how to make the arrangement the safest possible (if anyone knows the bridge, it is extremely narrow) and are thinking about a light system that warns drivers when cyclists are on the bridge. I suppose something is better than nothing, and it is a very exciting opening because it means that cyclists can now bike across the state. You can read more about the opening here.

Also, another big deal for Maryland, a bike share program is coming to Baltimore! Soon Baltimorians won’t have to look on to DC through green eyes!

One of my favorite parts of the symposium was the talk held by Steve Carr from the Maryland DNR. In addition to promoting road cycling, he had a lot to say about expanding off-road riding. Maryland is also getting hip with technology, and he talked about using a GIS mapping system of on- and off-road bike routes, hosted through the DNR, that could be accessed on- or off-line through a GPS based navigational app. This would mean real-time “Google-like” navigation for all cyclists to utilize available routes and infrastructure.

Of course, one of my favorite parts was the Baltimore Youth Cycling, who are perhaps too awesome and cute for words.

On a related note, a lot was said for getting bikes into schools, and normalizing cycling through raising a generation of people that understand the importance of cycling, how to be safe (both as a cyclist and driver), and how cycling is reasonable option for both transportation and recreation.

If any Marylanders are interesting in attending Bike Maryland’s next meeting, which is open to the public, it’s going to be held at Toole’s HQ in Silver Spring, April 22 and will involve a group ride I believe. If you’re in Silver Spring, I suggest going to Quarry House for an amazing burger and beer!

Show Time

by Chris

It'll be a busy couple of weeks at VO.

Scott is off to man the VO exhibit at Frostbike, a trade show for shops held in sunny Minneapolis. This is a great little show and if you own or work at a bike shop I recommend attending.

Igor is headed to Sacramento to exhibit at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, where he'll be joined by John and Kate of Grand Cruz fame.

Clint and I are leaving for Taiwan where we'll attend, but not exhibit at, the Taipei International Cycle Show, one of the big-three international cycling trade shows. We'll have meetings with several of the factories that make VO products, and we'll be looking for new products, technologies, and trends. The following week we'll head down to Taichung and visit four factories to chat about new racks, frames, fenders, and other cool stuff. In between we'll be sampling lots of the street food at the famous Taipei night markets and fantastic Taiwanese eateries.

I'll head home while Clint continues on to Tokyo to visit some VO dealers and ride his fixie around that amazing city.

Since we'll be at all these shows and meeting with so many suppliers and factories, I thought I'd ask what new products would you like us to find or make. Please e-mail suggestions to ideas@velo-orange.com; I promise to read every one.

Eric's Bike

By Chris

Not much to write about today, so I thought I'd share this photo my friend Eric sent. This is his new Pass Hunter Disc. Eric is a designer, among other things, and he loves doing creative builds. Note the wood-grain rims and black powder-coated VO racks. He still needs to fit the chainguard. If you're ever in San Luis Obispo watch for this cool bike. I'm looking forward to riding it next time I visit.

The Thing About Goosenecks

by Igor

The purpose of a stem is to connect the handlebar to your fork's steerer. This can be accomplished by using either a quill or threadless type stem.

A quill type stem uses an internal expander to wedge the quill into the steerer. This is most common on bikes which use a 1" threaded steerer, like our Campeur, as well as most older bikes. All of our quill stems are designed for 22.2mm sizing, but they can be modified to fit the French 22.0mm size. Quills are easy to adjust vertically by loosening the bolt on top. Changing handlebars is more of a pain because the faceplate is most commonly fixed, but once your cockpit is tested and set up, there isn't much reason to change your stem. In addition, traveling with a quill style is easier due to the two-bolt removal and install procedure (one quill and one faceplate).

A threadless or not-anymore-so-commonly-referred-to "aheadset" type stem uses a clamp on both ends. One end clamps around the smooth, threadless steerer and the other end clamps around the handlebar. This makes handlebar and stem changes extremely easy due to the removable faceplate inherent in threadless stems. In addition, this style of stem is typically stiffer than their quill counterparts due to the wider cross-section, so this style is more popular with speedy bikes (Pass Hunter) and bikes meant to take beatings (Piolet). Our threadless stems come in a variety of sizes and rises, all based around the 1 1/8" steerer size. Traveling with this stem is a bit more involved as you need to take care not to lose spacers as well as the 7 screws (4 faceplate, 2 steerer clamp, 1 top cap) which hold your cockpit together.

All of our stems measure the same way, center to center - center of clamp/quill to center of handlebar clamp along the rise or drop angle. The stem pictured above is 90mm.

The VO quill stem gives a more upright position, perfect for tourists or those who just want a more heads-up position.

The Grand Cru Quill is a -17 degree position. Most traditional headtube angles hover around 73 degrees (give or take a degree or half), so when the stem is installed, the classic number 7 look is achieved.

For the best of both worlds, we also offer a quill threadless adaptor. This allows you to use a threadless stem for the convenience of a quill's quick adjustability and a threadless stem's easy handlebar and stem switches. Simply install the threadless stem on the adapter and proceed just as you were installing a quill stem.

The Tall-Stack Stem uses the -17 degree position to take up spacers as well as provide the number 7 look we know and love. This stem is available in only 31.8, but we offer reducing shims for 25.4 and 26.0 handlebar clamps. This stem is not compatible with the quill threadless adaptor since the steerer clamp is longer than the adaptor's.

Ok, so now that we have the technicals out of the way, the following is not a representation of VO or what any subsidiaries believe, and it is only the written and verbally expressed views of the author: quill stems are better and slamming your stem for the sake of looks is ridiculous.

Having ridden both extensively, quills are more comfortable and look nicer. They flex a bit over rough terrain, giving you an all-around smoother ride without sacrificing performance. Also, their slimmer profiles visually blend more nicely into the bike, giving a better, complete package aesthetic.

Slammed stems, ugh. If you have a steel, threadless steerer, raise your stem as high as you want. It's better to ride your bike and be comfortable than not ride your bike because you lean too far over. Break out from the conformity of wanna-be pelaton'ers and internet "experts". Embrace your comfort and reject those who bring you down.

Romancing the Piolet

Ultra Romance, a gentleman and a scholar.  

With valentines day around the corner, Benedict aka Ultra Romance has been wooing our Piolet frame whilst traveling across the desert.  Check out his review on Instagram!

after a month of desert rolling on the @velo_orange #piolet I'm ready to reflect, reexamine, and review:::::: I did this last trip on 29er @velocityusa duallies wrapped in 2.3 Rock Razors. I would have ran the 27.5+ set up that this frame is also optimized for, but mine didn't have a dynamo hub. Other build notes include 11-42 X 34 friction gearing, and WTB RM-2 dirt drops with custom clockwork stem. This frame replaces the LHT in what you want from a non fancy touring bike. All the braze ons and more braze ons, down tube routing, disc, multiple wheel sizes, cool design, steel, and wikked neutral handling. It's an easy bike that worked equally well with the tyres pumped up touring on the pavement-dirt-low pressure loaded single track. 🌀🌀🌀-trak::: That's where this set up really played an eloquent sax solo. Loaded with 5 days of food and 4-5 liters of water/urine at a time, we bounced over baby head boulder grave yards, and slithered through pristine twisty Sonoran 1-trak without even a hangnail. I was wishing at times for those 27.5x3" tyres I had at home, as that would have been the optimum all round set up, so don't skimp on that. The 29er is essentially dëd, IMO, but it was nice to give my original duallies a proper swan song. And if yer into freshly dëd tech, rumor has it this frame can also clear a 29x3! My only complaints would be getting the bars up higher without a custom stem. It's too low and PRO for a dirt drop tourer. You could get em up high enough, but if yer using more than 30 mm of stack washers, the 💅🏽 authorities will be notified. Also, a mid seat stay braze on would have alleviated my need for the P-clamps. A bike with so many smart braze ons, but no rear mid mount? for the price, I don't think you can find a more thoroughly thought out and aesthetically pleasing production touring bike. This bike with a 700x45 set and a 27.5x3" set would be the last touring bike you'd ever buy:::: if yer not into lugs that is.... 💅🏽💅🏽💅🏽

A photo posted by Bené Turbo Romance (@ultraromance) on Feb 9, 2016 at 4:22pm PST