Rob Roy group buy

[TimJ]

I'm sorry if this has been discussed, but this thread is already difficult to read, but is there any take of a 50cm? 52s usually run too large.

The first 3 pages are all about sizing- go check the numbers at iro, a 52 isn't a 52, it's a 48.

[bonechilling]

Oh, good deal. Sorry for my lack-of-research.

[Chuckie J.]

Sizing for me is generally pretty easy--- I get the biggest frame they make--- but I'm curious if the 60cm will be big enough for me. I'm 6'3". Anyone know?

[rocks in head]

extra long seatpost / longer stem? you could make it work! (actually, I have no idea how these things are, and I think it'd probably depend on your personal preferences)

I'm going to make this into my commuter - basically take all the parts off the Volpe and turn that into a geared cyclocross. Of course, I'd be able to run the Rob Roy as a SS cyclocross if I ever want a change of pace!

[Chuckie J.]

That's interesting-- I too have a Volpe (as well as a Crosscheck). The Volpe is too small (58cm) so my girlfriend is using it as a singlespeed but its a little too big for her. She's using a real stubby stem and flatbars. I think we might BOTH have Rob Roys coming....

[rocks in head]

yeah, I'm running the volpe (also 58) as fixed/free, and use a long stem and bullhorns to stretch me out enough. Here's hoping that the RR 60 is going to be long enough!

[rocks in head]

Size S/T c-c T/T Length H/T Angle S/T Angle H/T Length Wheel Base B/B Drop C/S Length Stand Over
60cm 56 cm 57 cm 73.0 73.0 17 cm 105 cm 6.5 cm 42.5 cm 32.5

[Retem]

Which is to assume everyone's going to be racing these things? I kind of doubt that.

If you don't want to run 44s, you don't have to. What's wrong with having the option? It can only stand to make the frame more versatile. What, if any, are the disadvantages?




Thanks for the, er, suggestion, but I'd rather not.

well in some case not all when you make room for more tire you make the frame more flexy thats all
I'm a clyde so the stiffer the better

[petro55]

I just emailed I want a 58cm Orange

[Blais]

I'm really excited about this! I was going to buy a track frame but the Rob Roy caught my eye. You guys think a cyclocross frame will be able to handle street riding, curbs, potholes etc. a little better than say a Kilo TT? Bad comparison, I know, but that was the other bike I looked at.

[Ken Wind]

It won't necessarily be any better because your wheels will be the ones taking the beating. Although a fatter tire at a lower PSI should give a smoother (and slower) ride. A frame with cantilever studs would probably look stupid brakeless too. The Rob Roy should make an excellent street steed.

[LLGlcNAc]

I'm really excited about this! I was going to buy a track frame but the Rob Roy caught my eye. You guys think a cyclocross frame will be able to handle street riding, curbs, potholes etc. a little better than say a Kilo TT? Bad comparison, I know, but that was the other bike I looked at.

A wheel built on a 135mm hub should be stronger than the same wheel on a 120mm hub.

[Ronsonic]

A wheel built on a 135mm hub should be stronger than the same wheel on a 120mm hub.

Not necessarily. A lot of that 135mm is taken up by the freehub so doesn't have so much width between flanges. The 120 will be more symmetrical and give better balance to drive and nondrive spokes. If you've got a 135mm single or flip flop hub that would indeed be awesome.

Ron

[LLGlcNAc]

Yeah, I was thinking of using the Surly 135mm fixed/free hub. But there aren't many hubs at that width that can be built symmetrical.

[Ronsonic]

I didn't know about that one. I'm going to be building this bike up with some old 8s DuraAce I've got collecting dust, but it's good to know about that Surly hub for down the road. THat'd be excellent.

Ron

[Psydotek]

Couldn't you use a Formula/IRO flip flop hub normally used for 120mm frames? The axle is pretty wide. I'm not sure if it's wide enough but if it is all you should need to do is add spacers...

[rocks in head]

Couldn't you use a Formula/IRO flip flop hub normally used for 120mm frames? The axle is pretty wide. I'm not sure if it's wide enough but if it is all you should need to do is add spacers...

That'sa waht I'll be doing! I've got some of the bicyclewheels.com DP-18s with formula flip-flops... just need to get them spacers!

[levity]

i sent Adam an email for an orange 54cm... pretty sure 54cm should suit me, as i'm 5'8" with somewhat short legs.

[Psydotek]

That'sa waht I'll be doing! I've got some of the bicyclewheels.com DP-18s with formula flip-flops... just need to get them spacers!

Ok, I just checked the formula website (www.formulahubs.com (http://www.formulahubs.com)). They have a 160mm axle. So 132.5mm spacing + 5mm on each side for the trackends leaves 17.5mm for the tracknuts (8.75mm on each side).

Will that be enough?

(i guess i could measure when i get home...)

Edit: well i just realized that IRO has their hubs avaliable in a 130mm spacing which i'm guessing would probably work fine. I can use some MKS chain tugs to take up that extra 2.5mm.

[rocks in head]

"I can use some MKS chain tugs to take up that extra 2.5mm." ??



You mean hold the hub in place while you crank down on the track nuts until the frame deflects those 2.5 mm? (it's what I do with my 126 spaced bike and 120 rear hub, minus the MKS tensioners - works fine)

[exfreewheeler]

if you want hubs for the IRO Rob Roy GB, just ask Tony. He builds up(or has them built up) wheels for the spacing of all his frames.

[climbhoser]

Which is to assume everyone's going to be racing these things? I kind of doubt that.

If you don't want to run 44s, you don't have to. What's wrong with having the option? It can only stand to make the frame more versatile. What, if any, are the disadvantages?




Thanks for the, er, suggestion, but I'd rather not.


I plan on racing mine, BTW. I have no problems suggesting mods, but then we're opening up a whole world of trouble. This started because I wanted a Rob Roy, have for months and was looking in the forum for reviews and I came across a thread proposing a RR group buy. It didn't seem to have steam (as of months ago, actually) so I got proactive (damn us type As). I wanted a group buy, and everyone I reached out to had the impression that's what they were getting. At first I thought Tony would just be clearing his stock, but it turned out he was making a run on the factory. Anyways, group mods seemed possible, but so far it seems like the minority wants them and the majority was in for the standard Rob Roy.

So far I have one person looking for each, specific mod. For instance, brake bosses on the rear gone like a true fixie, space for 44s, disc mounts...etc...To me it's a pain in the ass and I'm really after the Rob Roy in it's standard flavor.

I ride fixed alot, but I ride single speed, too. When I pull my daughter in the trailer I like brakes and a freewheel. When I ride trails I do, too, and when I race I especially do. I'm not partial to discs, yet, and am happy with cantis. So, if you want to do a modified frame feel free to contact Tony with a concept. I bet if you had a good amount of interest in a specific setup he would work with you.

As for color, I'm open to ideas on how to decide. I thought e-mailing me would cut down on confusion and keep it simple. I'm sure it will be like a multiple vote kind of thing.

As for how it'll be setup, well...I think I might get two. One will be the build on Tony's site with all black gear and will be my commuter rig. It'll have fenders and a rack and a black brooks.

Another I want set up as more of my touring bike with light but strong parts and an internally geared hub. I'm getting a Nexus Red Band at Xmas (promises my wife) and I want to eventually get a Rohloff (it's worth it to me). I'll rack that sucker, too, and fender it. This one will have chrome kit and a honey brooks and honey bartape. That's kind of why I'm rooting for british racing green!

So, I'm pretty stoked on having color choices because I can get two bikes different colored!

[bonechilling]

The idea of removing the rear brake bosses is ridiculous. f you want a rode bike, buy the Angus. I hope I speak for most of us when I say that I want a cross bike, with all the accoutrement of a cross bike.

As for the color choices, I already put this in email, but it's probably better to share it in the open: If we're going to have choices, one of them should be black. Thinking back to the first group buy, quite a few people were in the "black or nothing" camp, as in they weren't interested if it didn't come in black. As unimaginative as this may be, it'll probably help the group buy sell a whole lot more frames.

I'm glad to see that orange is in the lead. Fortunately, it appears to be a stock color which appears of occasional IRO runs, so it shouldn't be hard to get. Here's a photo of the orange Angus for reference:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/468962673_dc20db18eb.jpg

[Elisdad]

I've voice my desire for wide tire clearance as well. I think it'd be great to have the option to run something as big as a 44mm tire. Discs brakes would be sweet as well, at least on a commuter, I'm not expecting that to happen. I said this earlier, a hanger for a rear mech would be nice as well. I like the option of tunning cheap parts and getting a 1x9.

I'm in favor of asking for custom mods. The worst we can hear back is no.

[efficiency]

I'm in favor of asking for custom mods. The worst we can hear back is no.

I think you're kind of missing it. The problem isn't asking for the custom mods, it's sorting out all the mods different people want that may conflict with each other. Not everyone may want the extra tire clearance (for whatever reason). Saying that it is for the standard Rob Roy is easiest.

Personally, I want a single speed cyclocross bike. So things like removing rear brake bosses is a definite NO for me.

[hubcap]

I'm going to use this as my winter/rain commuter for the first leg of my bike-train-bike commute. I already have a fixed gear that gets alot of use as well as a San Jose ss (that I love), so I'm leaning towards going the internal geared hub route with this bike. I'm also thinking about changing out the fork to accomodate a disc up front. Come late November, I'll slap some Nokian studs on it and yell "bring on the snow!"

Oh yea...my San Jose is green and beautiful, so I'll take an orange Rob Roy please. But I could live with another green bike.

[climbhoser]

Elisidad, yeah, basically what I said was that mods are out for now. If everyone got together and asked for a specific mod I would probably put that in, but Tony's talking to the factory about the RR standard and planning on setting up the deposit page with the price he gets on that frame. It would be a major pain to go back to him now and have things changed.

I think out of the 60 preliminary people I only had one request for mods, and that was you, Elisidad, but I had a resounding number of folks saying they would like the standard Rob Roy. Like I said, if you want something different just ask Tony. I'm sure he would appreciate the customer feedback, anyways. He's a really nice guy, and all it takes is a simple phone call. Yeah, he's busy, but we all are and he would be fine with hearing from a loyal fan.

How about colors? Can you guys think of a better way of choosing colors? I was thinking about just Cc'ing everybody instead of Bcc'ing and have an open e-mail debate. I only worry about people abusing e-mail addys and everyone's inbox getting ridiculously full.

Let me know what would be a good idea.

I know it hasn't been long, either, but the responses since my color update are still the same. In fact, everybody who has written me back is either in for orange or some form of green (between BRG and lime).

Last thing: I would HATE for some people to skip out on this because of a color. We're all adults and we know when we go to the bike shop to get our next ride that we don't choose the color. Having input on this is a luxury, not a privelege. I know there's a very little chance that my favorite color will get picked, but it's no big deal! How cool is it to get a custom color at all?!?! I guess what I'm saying is we should be happy with whatever we get.

Hey, why doesn't anybody want yellow?

[exfreewheeler]

I stated this before, the whole color issue is going to be controlled by what is available.

I'm sure Tony is going to come up with a nice choice for us to choose from. As in the first GB, we all basically were happy with the fact that we were given a choice of three colors.

The flat-black was a hit. I'm sure if he intro's another flat-something, it would also be a hit ( ok, Tony?!;) :D )

[cradduck]

Is it too late to have people added to the list? I was telling a couple friend about the group buy on BF and they would like to be a part of it.

Just do flat black for everyone and they can take the frame to their local powdercoating shop if they don't like...j/k. I am glad to hear that green is a top request. Lime green would be sweet. Flat black would make for a pretty sweet fixie too.

[Ken Wind]

Have your friends email Adam to get in on the group buy. If you can't find his email, then you can pm me for it.

I don't think anybody suggested removing the canti studs. I simply pointed out that it would look stupid having a brakeless bike with studs.

[climbhoser]

Have your friends email Adam to get in on the group buy. If you can't find his email, then you can pm me for it.

I don't think anybody suggested removing the canti studs. I simply pointed out that it would look stupid having a brakeless bike with studs.

Oh, no, it was suggested in e-mailings.

All I know about color is that Tony told me to get a box of crayons and pick a favorite. I took that to mean he had some leeway with the colors instead of just going from what's available. I don't think we'd be able to get exactly Molteni Orange, for instance, but we could get something close. That's my impression.

Just from hearing this I'm leaning towards having an option that is either green or orange and an option that is either black or white.

So, if you don't like the bright color you can get a black/white bike.

I know it's tough for those of you that are adamant about orange or green and are scared you'll get stuck with the "other" color but I have to say again that this is a damned luxury. You coulda been stuck with blue!

[exfreewheeler]

I want to understand... it's only going to be "a favorite", as in only one color?

Or are we going to have a choice?

Did you post the actual email Tony sent you as a quote? I may have missed it. Can we see it?

White and black would be a great choice.

Flat or Matte ( are they the same thing? ) would be great! ( as if my preference mattered :D)

[efficiency]

I think for the colors, you can pick 4-6 "nominees", like orange, lime green, black, white, and then have people rank the colors.

Do this over email. The color ranked the lowest by the most people eliminate. Then, look at the remaining rankings and eliminate the color ranked the lowest out of that set. Repeat until there is only one color left.

If you don't want it so complicated, pick two "nominees", and have a straight vote.

[Elisdad]

Elisidad, yeah, basically what I said was that mods are out for now. If everyone got together and asked for a specific mod I would probably put that in, but Tony's talking to the factory about the RR standard and planning on setting up the deposit page with the price he gets on that frame. It would be a major pain to go back to him now and have things changed.

I think out of the 60 preliminary people I only had one request for mods, and that was you, Elisidad, but I had a resounding number of folks saying they would like the standard Rob Roy. Like I said, if you want something different just ask Tony. I'm sure he would appreciate the customer feedback, anyways. He's a really nice guy, and all it takes is a simple phone call. Yeah, he's busy, but we all are and he would be fine with hearing from a loyal fan.
No worries, I wouldn't have signed on if I wouldn't happy with a stock frame. I was just repeating ideas I'd seen in the thread or email. I'd like any of those options, but rolling on a stock frame is fine with me.

[furiousG]

I'm really excited about this group buy. I'm sure it's been a ton of work for Adam and I'm glad he's doing it.

I'm wondering how many people are just interested in a darker color. I for one don't really care whether it's dark blue, dark green, dark brown, etc but I would like a darker color.
I do plan on commuting with this bike, and as much as I love orange and Lime Green I don't think I'd feel right locking such a bright bike up outside.

So that we don't spread our votes out (assuming other people feel like I do), I'd like to propose anyone interested in a dark color vote for British Racing Green. I think it would be nice if Adam got his color since he is putting so much work into this.

[climbhoser]

I'm really excited about this group buy. I'm sure it's been a ton of work for Adam and I'm glad he's doing it.

I'm wondering how many people are just interested in a darker color. I for one don't really care whether it's dark blue, dark green, dark brown, etc but I would like a darker color.
I do plan on commuting with this bike, and as much as I love orange and Lime Green I don't think I'd feel right locking such a bright bike up outside.

So that we don't spread our votes out (assuming other people feel like I do), I'd like to propose anyone interested in a dark color vote for British Racing Green. I think it would be nice if Adam got his color since he is putting so much work into this.

Hey, thanks for the consideration! However, I'm a pretty amiable guy and I'd be happy with just about anything.

Exfreewheeler-What is happening is that Tony is offering us a chance to get bikes built in one of two colors...so you'll have a choice through IRO. Think of it as though you walked into your LBS and they had one red and one blue...you would get to pick. We just have to decide what the two offerings will be. I said send me your fave just so we could get an idea of what's on the table.

Some people are pretty insistent on a specific color...others, like me, are more unconcerned. So, I thought if people could hear the stats on picks maybe we could come together on a compromise or maybe eliminate some colors.

Already I think we can eliminate colors like Tan, Sky blue, Olive green, and maroon. I did have some folks that were pretty stoked on a maroon bike, and that would be pretty phatty, but they were by far fewer than others.

I'll say it again, as the responses keep rolling in Orange and some form of Green are making waves, BRG slowly climbing the ranks. The other top pick is black.

[dmotoguy]

what date could we have these by? too late for cyclocross season??

[TimJ]

So orange and lime green are the top two colors, right? Then if we're lucky enough to get 3 color choices make it lime green, orange, and black (or white).

If it's only 2 choices then it does make sense to go w/ one color and one black or white, but to pick the color it should just be a straight runoff vote between lime green and orange.

But- here's the most important part- to keep it honest, if we're only doing 1 color and black (or white), people who are planning on doing black shouldn't vote for the color. What we're trying to acheive is a color that pleases the most people who are going to go with the color, if someone isn't going to go with the color they shouldn't vote because it will skew the results. Personally I want lime green and although it'd be cool if the vote got skewed in lime's favor by people taking the black frame, I know I'd hate it if the opposite happened- orange got picked because a bunch of people who aren't going to buy the orange frame like orange better. Make sense?

So that's my big beef w/ the determining of the color- people who just want a black (or white) frame shouldn't participate in the choosing of the other color, only people who want a color should.

Regarding mods just as a logistical thing it seems pretty pointless. A mod would be the same for every frame so it would have to be something either everyone wanted (impossible) or something the majority wanted and everyone else could live with (probably unlikely). I think it'd be cool to have the same track fork ends but with a hanger, like on-one's "slot dropout", but I doubt enough people care or that it could even be available.

And now let me pimp limeish green some more:

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/5093/15603846800e1a74e60se6.th.jpg (http://img184.imageshack.us/my.php?image=15603846800e1a74e60se6.jpg)http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/8536/366348653b47704a1cab8.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=366348653b47704a1cab8.jpg)http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/1936/1830142095cdeaaab19ty0.th.jpg (http://img476.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1830142095cdeaaab19ty0.jpg)
http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/6212/381659165344a570ce1yh9.th.jpg (http://img476.imageshack.us/my.php?image=381659165344a570ce1yh9.jpg)http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9393/45485973551d0d633d9fl1.th.jpg (http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=45485973551d0d633d9fl1.jpg)http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4265/18762066541422b0705tf0.th.jpg (http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=18762066541422b0705tf0.jpg)
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4263/293208182426d2141a5es3.th.jpg (http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=293208182426d2141a5es3.jpg)

[TimJ]

what date could we have these by? too late for cyclocross season??

It's gonna take a few months.

[climbhoser]

More propoganda for y'all:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:58_Aston_Martin_DBR9.jpg

And, if you're into greens go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_racing_green and scroll to the bottom of the page where the whole range of greens is available for your dreaming pleasure.

Orange, too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_orange

[TimJ]

Can you get Tony to show you what greens and what oranges are available?



Lime green: The color of puppies and rainbows.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/5999/istockphoto250412limegrhw7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7540/istockphoto686176limegrdm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2982/limegreeney1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7619/limegreenseaglasspendaneo9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Ronsonic]

This is not only a beautiful example of BRG, but of exactly the sort of car that should be so painted.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/1955_Jaguar_XKD_34_left.jpg

Ron

[invisible]

glow in the dark!!!!!

[j-lie]

if there was one add on i could have it would be a deraileur hanger... just in case

[exfreewheeler]

hey, that lime green is suh'm like the mercier kilo tt? I hope that if anyone mentions neon that it gets voted out quickly. but that lime green is nice!

[period3]

Yeah I agree - internally geared hubs are so expensive... I'm planning to build it up single-speed anyway, but it'd be really nice to have the derailleur option...


if there was one add on i could have it would be a deraileur hanger... just in case

[climbhoser]

Yeah I agree - internally geared hubs are so expensive... I'm planning to build it up single-speed anyway, but it'd be really nice to have the derailleur option...

$150 for a shimano redband and $25-50 for the shifter is expensive? 105 goes for $70 rear derailleur and then a $130 bump for the shifter. I think we're looking at a remarkably similar price there, with the derailleur costing you more.

Ok, so you pay for a wheel and a build...you didn't have to. What I mean is, you have to buy a wheel with a derailleur-ed bike, too, so why not just have that wheel built with a Nexus Redband? Same price for wheel and build, there goes the cost on that one.

So the Nexus is heavier? If you count front and rear derailleur and STI shifters the Nexus Redband still has it beat at 1500grams. Plus you get a virtually waterproof hub that needs no maintenance, rarely skips and is extremely clean.

I think an IGH is ideal on a commuter.

Mods are out.

[Chuckie J.]

And now let me pimp limeish green some more:



That's some good pimp'n. I'm leaning towards orange-- that kind of faded orange posted earlier is NICE but the greens are starting to look good too. I'm just glad its not the blue. I don't know why but I just can't stand blue on a bike... with the only exception being the Soma Groove blue.

I've got one of the dark green Crosscheck's so if it's a dark green (British Racing Green), I'll go for some other color choice.

Chuckie

[jhota]

well, as i've said before, i prefer black. but i could be convinced on an electric lime.

no white! it shows dirt and grime way too much.

and orange? i'm not eddie. will never be eddie. so no orange.

but lime is growing on me.

[The LT]

i'd be down with the lime green