MZilliox

Given the thread from earlier, I think this qualifies as "Classic"
It finally arrived today! This semi unknown Gilles Berthoud Randonneuse from France via Ireland. I will be trying to get a hold of Mr. Berthoud to find out more about build date and style. It would have been a custom build as I understand.


Stats as it came to me: Not sure of steel material, Deda uno or something else??? maybe I find out
Centre of Bottom Bracket to where Seatpost enters frame = 55cm
Top Tube - Centre to Centre = 54cm
Stem- 70mm (I have a replacement with 110mm reach I will put on soon. need to decide on bars first)
Crankset TA Specialites 26-38-46 (may look into a 30-40-50)
Crank Length 162.5mm - I will be looking first at a longer crank
Gears Sachs Cranks 7 Speed Triple - 14-24 or thereabouts.
Rear Mech - Sachs New Success
Front Mech - Suntour Superbe Pro (will consider changing to New Success to complete the group)
Shifters - New Success
Wheels = Rear Sachs New Success on Mavic Sup Ceramic. Front is a Mavic 571 Hub on the same rim.
Seatpost - A Mavic 26.4mm seatpost
Headset - Stronglight
Fenders/front rack - Gilles Berthoud
saddle - Reydel GTI
23mm Hutchinson tires



it came with wheels off, rear D removed & bubble wrapped, post/seat pulled, stem and bars removed, no pedals.




Really nice paint, clean fillet brazing, classically French...sexy!
More on the ride and potential changes on the next post

USAZorro

I'm happy and excited for you.

MZilliox

This thing rides really great! the campy/new success brifters are amazing, maybe the finest piece of cycling equipment i have experienced. Shape is perfect, and the shifting concept is awesome when you get it dialed in. I'm in love!
The hubs spin really freely, seem to just go and go. that seemed to translate to really easy riding on the pavement. The geometry is different than what i am used to, obviously built for a front load. That being said, it was easy to adjust to. It doesn't steer as quickly or responsively as the Serotta Rapid Tour, but that may be in part the really short stem reach, and probably part design to keep front loads stable i suppose. It handled well, even downhill on gravel. The 23mm tires were a bit slick on the gravel, but were fantastic on the road. its a stable bike, just wants to go straight and fast. I had a blast riding and went much farther than i assumed given our 100 degree weather.

The bike just wants to go, both uphill and down. its easy to sprint with it because to the forward loads design. the 26-38-46 is a bit too undergunned for my taste, as i found myself at the top of the middle or just staying in the big ring, even for climbing. Part of that may be the short crank arms (162.5) But I think something like a 30-40-50 would be better. any feedback here would be welcome.

I plan to change to a 170mm crank arm.

Not sure on the saddle yet, its okay so far and i like the white. I may opt for something different in the future.

the brakes may or may not stay.

I have a decent 110mm French Stem but need to figure out my bars, may keep these, they seem comfy.

Not sure what else there is to talk about, so one last photo:

cb400bill

Fillet brazed?

Oops. I just re-read your text.

Lovely bike.

Sir_Name 

Me gusta.

In case you've yet to find it, this site might help in selecting gearing:

Mike Sherman's Bicycle Gear Calculator

Trick fall

Really, really nice. Good luck with it.

Flog00

Great bike!
Better brakes and the black stuff shiny?
Congrats.

The Golden Boy 

Fantastic.

Like @Flog00 said- better brakes and replace the black stuff with shiny stuff. (except the fenders and hoods)

Congratulations!!!

darkest

Nice bike - I understand your excitement. Checkout my unheard of French custom build - has a similar but not quite the same front rack.

TickDoc

Love this shot. Very clean at the seat junction, esp for a fendered bike.
Congrats on a beauty of a bike.

gomango

How did you end up on shipping the bike?

What was your method if I may ask?

Nice bike btw.

daf1009

Really nice bike...I tend to prefer lugged over fillet brazed...but...wow...this one is EXTREMELY smooth looking...that is very cool. After that first ride, any changes you are thinking about??? (you know, as you make changes, it just gives us an excuse to see more pictures!)

MZilliox

My buddy found a place called emerald freight who shipped it door to door for what cost me 175. i think he picked up a few bucks too, and the price of shipping was around 210 cleared to my door in a weeks time. not bad really, just had to be patient and shop around. next lowest quote was about 250 but involved going to the airport to pickup.

gioscinelli 

To Complement the Berthoud Randonneus would be:





The Berthoud Soulor saddle is very comfortable and stylish!

MZilliox

The obvious changes that stick out are tires, stem, crankset. tires and stem are easy, crank arms not as easy. probably go with a 30-40-50 that stronglight makes, but i assume with the new success group i could also use campy chainrings...

other little things... not sure about the saddle, will give it time. i like the white on the bike, maybe match to white bar tape. but it may get a brown brooks and brown tape too.

MZilliox

Yes, I have kept my eyes open for a deal on one of these saddles. also keeping eyes open for the handlebar bag. any leads, let me know...

icepick_trotsky 

A real beauty! I've been following the shipping conundrum on your other thread, and I'm glad it all worked out. How did you end up getting it home?

MZilliox

My buddy found a place called "emerald freight" who shipped it door to door for what cost me 175. i think he picked up a few bucks too, and the total price of shipping was around 210 cleared to my door in a weeks time.

himespau 

Nice

Force 

Love this bike. Looks like the perfect go fast rando bike. Thanks for posting so much about it. I would go with Brooks or Ideale saddle with a silver post. I wonder how wide of a tire it can take. Curious to hear what additional info you obtain from Mr. Berthoud, including tubing, etc. Enjoy it!

MZilliox

Thanks, I hope to ride my first 200k Brevet on it either late this year or early next year!
Mr Berthoud responded in telling me where to look for the serial number. it was very difficult to find under the BB and the matching # at the mounting point of the front rack. "GB39". I have forwarded that info on to them and will hopefully get more info on the bike soon.
I have a Brooks to try on there. I would love an Ideale or Berthoud (for French reasons), but they are not as easy to come by. I agree on the silver post, but it is 26.4mm so my options are limited by what oddballs i can find. I am looking for one with a bit of setback.
I am also trying to find just the right stem, as the stem i found has the wrong type of adjusting screw for decaleur attachment. its also not very tall it turns out. I may have found one on ebay that would work, but its 70 bucks so i want to keep my options open.

I think i will go with either nitto rando bars or noodles in 44mm. I have 46mm noodles on the serotta and those are nice, especially off road, but maybe a touch wide.
Figure out some proper french brakes.
pick up the VO Constructeur rear rack and this thing is solid.

Oh so much to do, so much fun.

icepick_trotsky 

French sized (metric) Reynolds 531 takes a 26.4 seatpost, @MZilliox. Could be a clue.

MZilliox

Interesting, I was initially told it was probably deda zero uno, but I just wasn't too sure on that. I have seen some of his frames with 531 stickers on them. the top tube is very narrow, hmmm, hopefully Berthoud answers the questions soon.

gomango

Your focus points for this nice bike are:

1) Overhaul/tune everything
2) Tires - try Compass Chinook Pass if they fit.
3) Saddle- Brooks Cambium/Swift would be my choices.
4) Front bag- just order a Swift if you are able spend a couple extra bucks or an Ostrich would be fine.
5) Lights front and rear- I would rebuild the front wheel and go with a SONDelux dyno or a Shimano also works just fine for a lot less $$$$$$. Edelux II front and maybe a Dinotte for the rear.
6) Water bottle cages- King or forget it.
7) Do those handlebars fit you? Are they wide enough? if not, I would go Nitto Noodles in the correct width.
8) Calipers- If you think they need an upgrade, buy some Kool Stops before you buy new calipers. 105s are usually fine. Just not very "cool".

Fun bike. Enjoy.

MZilliox

Thanks for the list: Mostly agreed!!!
1. The tune and overhaul was started but i hurried to get the bike together "as is" for a ride. I cleaned a few things that were already disassembled, but i didn't get down and dirty. there's new parts coming first. before i build it up for the final specs, I'll really polish/clean/re-grease each part and get a new 7spd chain. I either have to find a different cassette thats more like 12-24(26) or a higher geared triple, or most likely both. the 15-28 on there just doesn't keep up with me and the bike.
2. Those tires are pricey, I was thinking Grande Bois or Vittorias, had not heard of compass before. I'll check it out
3. Saddle will be brooks B17 or C17 most likely.
4. front bag is none other than GB25, what else?
5. I will hold off on dynamo lights until I complete a first brevet, if i like it and stick with it i will add a dynamo for longer brevets.
6. I was gonna get a vintage Zefal water cage
7. Nitto Noodle 44mm or Nitto 136 Rando 44mm for the bars. Serotta has 46mm Noodles, love em (bars on here are closer to 39 or 40cm width, not may fave)
Also need to sort out this stem. Trying hard to find a decent 22mm stem. not easy.
8. brakes work ok, not as well as my ultegras, but fine. last priority. would love a french brakeset though.

Thanks all for stopping by and hanging out. Gonna go climb the hill with the Serotta first, then come back and hit it with the Berthoud. will be fun to test em both. Hydrating