Originally Posted by
H.S.Clydesdale
I should ask though, Commodus, what frame is this? I know of just a few road frames that can handle big tires and cantilever brakes, this one does not look familiar.
It is a Velo Orange Polyvalent.
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...lent-mkii.html
It uses 650B tires, which allows for widths up to 42mm in a racing type casing. This gives the same diameter as a 700c wheel running a 23mm tire, and avoids too much complication when it comes to geometry.
This allows you to build a fast, responsive bike with big tires. If you tried to put these balloons on a 700c bike, the handling would quickly get clumsy.
This particular bike is a bit overbuilt for me at 155lbs., but even with the heavy crankset, unnecessarily heavy-gauge spokes, heavy cassette, steel seat post and the quill stem, it comes in under 28 lbs. as shown.
Now that I know for sure I like the configuration, I'll probably a Boulder All-Road and build it up lighter.