Six jours

My theory is that modern derailleurs really count on having ramped/profiled/pinned chainrings. Revert to simple, plain rings and the modern derailleurs grump.

Most of my theories are wrong, though.

I think Mike is probably on he right track with the compact derailleur. If the Super record hadn't worked -- or when it wears out -- I will try one myself.

bmike

most of my theories are wrong too... if you look at conventional bike wisdom.

i would think a compact would work well moving to the smaller chainrings. most 'modern' cranks seem to work well with a 16t difference. i cheat a bit and have some overlap with the 14t difference... but i do most of my riding in the 'big ring' (ha! 46t!!) and use the top half of the rear with the little ring.

i had marginal quality with the 'standard' campy f. der.
i misordered it and spent the extra on the compact - and shifting was improved.

what really sorted things out is when i spent time getting a good chainline and centering my cranks. i also worked hard to get the limits set 'just so'. i bottom out my ergo on the little ring, and i have 1 extra click that does nothing when i get into the big ring. i also ditched the campy chain and moved to a wipperman - much quieter, and i think it helped with the shifting. (i'm running 10sp)

its been working - so i'm not changing a thing. i actually dread the day i pull everything apart and have to remember how i got here...



i think a older f. der would work well - i have an old bridgestone in pieces - it had a 'compact' triple on it and the f. der is shaped much like our current 'compact' versions. if i ever bust my left ergo i'll be replacing it with a friction bar end - and i might just put that old (suntour?) on to give it a go.

Six jours

Yeah, every once in a while some guy will come up to me on a club ride and say "Wow, man, I can't believe you did that whole climb in the big ring!" The "Well, not exactly..." answer always requires some explanation.

Amen. That's the trouble with these "integrated" bikes. When I changed out the fork a few months ago (a 20 minute job on a standard bike) it took me four hours. I honestly don't plan to ever change anything I don't absolutely have to...

cheg

+1 on the Wipperman chain. They work very well and last thousands of miles even though I use the full range of the cassette with the big and middle chain rings.

jens5

My 61cm Heron Wayfarer. Half Campy, Half Shimano, with Brooks Imperial saddle. Comfy!

jens5

? How do you post a pic that big with a 100kb limit?

bmike

you need to have your images hosted off site on your own server or at picassa, shutterbug, etc.
then you just link with the html to the pic as opposed to attaching.

do a search - there are many threads on this.

ben_san

My Coho Randonneuse built by Chuck Lathe in North Carolina. It really has exceeded all my expectations - the ride is sublime.

Six jours

Gorgeous.

You may be able to find a larger tail light at your local boating supply store.

MTBMaven

Beautiful build ben_san!

madscot13

I must agree this page has two very nice looking bikes.

Question Ben- san, during a century do you use your front handlebar bag to capacity? I am just wondering because I need a carrying system for my first century and I am wondering what others are doing.

ben_san

Depends... I often ride solo and unsupported and tend to avoid organized rides. Weather in the Bay Area is pretty unpredictable so it's nice to have lots of room for extra layers. I also like to carry enough food for a ride without stopping, add some tools, spares and a phone and the bag is pretty full. For an organized ride with food / water stations and predictable weather, a simple seat pack is plenty of capacity for most people.

ben_san

Thanks! There's a custom mount on the chainstay for the light and it's really visible at night. I don't want to name any names but I see constructeur style bikes these days that promote form over function when it comes to rear lights, which makes me wonder if these bikes are ever really ridden.

TomM

Forget all of that complicated stuff, go fixed gear.

Six jours

Like bible salesmen, some of these guys.

Reynolds 

My MTB:


My roadie:


I've done metrics, centuries and double metrics on both.

macrossjoe

my do it all bike.
i've done one century and a couple of metric centuries with this bad boy....

bmike

i do that too.
depends on the ride and the mood.

croscoe

I must say, I believe that the best looking bikes on this site exist on this subforum. Wow.

There are some seriously gorgeous steeds in this thread.

obie

I did two solo centuries in August with my Lemond 'Buenos Aires'. One group century next wknd. with same.

Added new btl.cages & tires (Conti 4000's) last week. Use a medium size saddle bag and, a Road Morph in addition to a CO2 pump (4 cartridges).

Lamplight

It's like a new, much, much nicer version of my bike! That is one of my favorite colors on a traditional randonneur bike, as well. Beautiful!

MIN 

what tires ben-san? rad bike.

bent eagle

StephenH

I've done a couple of metric centuries and my first real mile century on my Worksman industrial cruiser. (Charity rides, not brevet stuff).

skylla

2007 Cannondale Synapse Alloy 2

This was taken right after my second >100 mile ride (and my reason/justification for buying the bike in the first place), the National 24-Hour Challenge. (The empty Pepsi bottle behind the wheel was full 12 hours before, when it was the only thing that sounded good while I was dying of nausea.)