I am guessing is you have followed my story you may be looking to get a bike that bridges transportation and sport, i.e transportation does not have to be a mini van. You like bikes that have a traditional look and styling. Possibly a preference for traditional french styling from the 40’s and 50’s, with your daily load up front where you can keep an eye on it and get to it without climbing off the bike. Your previous attempts at this with the commonly available bikes may have left you with a less than optimal handling experience. Either a bike that was heavier than it needed to be, if it was a light weight had no provisions to carry the load on the bike or if it did the handling was compromised when loaded.
With years of personal research and design study I have addressed these issues with a bike steeped in the lineage of the traditional french touring bikes. Using modern production techniques and partnering with a U.S. fabrication team to deliver the look and function you are after with a few bells and whistles thrown in. The ride will be light and sporty, yet stable with loads for you commute, day rides or the occasional quick load of groceries up front. It goes without saying there will be provisions for full coverage fenders to keep you and the bike clean during year round riding. This is the bike you will want for rambles through the countryside, distance rides and randonees, and still able to be your daily steed. All of this at a price that is competitive in the current market.
The sport touring frame set project is moving along as planned. The Design spec and engineering is settled in at to 95% point and I am comfortable releasing my Geometry and Tubing Spec:
The line has a range of even sizes from 50 through 62 measures Center of bottom bracket to the center of the intersection with the top tube. When comparing this to traditional road frames or the size you may ride in your regular bike, consider that the size in the chart will be about 1 to 2 cm smaller due to the distance from the center of the top tube to the top and the generous bottom bracket drop. For example I ride a 63 or 64 on my Roadeo and Eisentraut, but the 62 above is designed around my needs.
Other things to consider with the spec:
- Clearance for42mm tires and fenders on all sizes
- These are designed with the provision for Paul Racer brakes mounted with Brazed on bosses. These provide ample clearance while retaining outstanding performance. The bridges and brake holes will be located such that a 68-70mm reach brake could be used if the brake bosses were omitted by customer choice.
- Frame construction will be Tig welded double butted 4130 steel.
- The fork will have an investment cast crown and braze-on provisions for small upper and low rider racks as well as lighting wires.
- Down tube shifter bosses
- Double water bottle with reenforcing star mounts on all sizes
- Columbine Quickchainger brazed on for clean and easy rear wheel changes.
- Brazed on fender mounting points placed such that installation will be easy and result in even fender line.
- 130mm rear spacing to work easily with modern road bike components.
- Color options of American flag blue and red. (and possibly a sunflower yellow or orange still up in the air).
Production samples will be complete in a few weeks, the pre-orders system will be available by the end of February and a final availability date projected for early Spring 2012. Pricing will be settled in the coming week as we move through our final production costing and design. As always I appreciate you continued readership and support. Project news will be updated here as soon as it is available.
Oh, and the name is still leaning towards “Rambler”, although I like fish names
I usually just look around when at the swap meet or local thrift stores, and kind of mentally capture the ideas, but this bag has so much going on there was no way to take it all in at a glance, so it came home. The amount of leather work alone would be hard to do at a reasonable price, not to mention the steel frame and other detailing. The leather is soft as a lamb’s ear. I threw it on with a small load and it is quite a comfortable bag. A quick weigh in on the scale at just under 5 lbs, not bad at all considering the amount of steel and leather. I am still working it all out, but am developing a saddle and porteur bag that would easily attach to the bike and work with rucksack harness like the one above. While looking at more military surplus bags than I would like to admit, this is one of the nicest assemblies I have seen.
