My new Woodrup Touring Bike
#1
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My new Woodrup Touring Bike
My first shakedown ride on a custom Woodrup that Kevin Sayles just made for me. It was designed for loaded touring with 38mm 700c tires with Fenders.
The color scheme was inspired by southpawboston’s Mercian.
I was going for “Modern Classic” and I think it hits the mark for me.
There are still a few kinks to work out but first ride impressions are very good.
Immediately familiar, comfortable and stable. I am surprised how well Campagnolo 10 Speed works with Rivendell shifters.
Right by NBend, on Flickr
Rear by NBend, on Flickr
Left by NBend, on Flickr
Front by NBend, on Flickr
Seat by NBend, on Flickr
Fork Bridge by NBend, on Flickr
Drivetrain by NBend, on Flickr
Kevin Sayles trademark
Super S
by NBend, on Flickr
The color scheme was inspired by southpawboston’s Mercian.
I was going for “Modern Classic” and I think it hits the mark for me.
There are still a few kinks to work out but first ride impressions are very good.
Immediately familiar, comfortable and stable. I am surprised how well Campagnolo 10 Speed works with Rivendell shifters.







Kevin Sayles trademark

by NBend, on Flickr
#2
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Stunning.
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beautiful
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
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Damn.
Hot damn.
Hot damn.
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That is a beautiful piece of artwork, to ride. KB
#7
Senior Member
Extra super fantastic!!
Tell us more about this bike, please!
Tell us more about this bike, please!
#8
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Love the fine details in the paint. Are you sure that saddle is comfy for "loaded touring"?
#9
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The level of thoughtfulness and attention to detail is just incredible. You have a stunner on par with the best I've seen here and elsewhere. What I appreciate the most is she was built to ride the way you want to ride. Congratulations!
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Beautiful!
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Just...wow.
Woodrup flies under the radar in the contemporary custom builder scene but I'm not sure why. Their bikes are creative, chock full of interesting features, and beautifully finished and painted. Not to mention they can do all the modern bells and whistles if you want (thru axles, electronic shifting, any disc mount type,etc). I was blown away by a tandem they posted in their Instagram a couple months ago.
Woodrup flies under the radar in the contemporary custom builder scene but I'm not sure why. Their bikes are creative, chock full of interesting features, and beautifully finished and painted. Not to mention they can do all the modern bells and whistles if you want (thru axles, electronic shifting, any disc mount type,etc). I was blown away by a tandem they posted in their Instagram a couple months ago.
#14
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Just stunning. if you had asked me about red lining on a green frame I would have said no, but the combination looks great. Can't beat silver Campy components for a classic look. Well done.
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Man oh man, it doesn't get much more elegant than that. Wow.
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Nice result, Matt. Love the colorway and parts choices. Speaking of which, I think we need a close-up of that roller-straddle-cable setup 
DD

DD
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Congrats NB. Perfect.
Fork crown & cages = icing on top of a beautiful cake.
Fork crown & cages = icing on top of a beautiful cake.
Last edited by Wildwood; 03-03-18 at 07:52 PM.
#19
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Friends and neighbors, THAT's a bicycle.
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Thank you for the comments folks.
Thanks to my friend, Bob Freeman who 1st suggested that I contact Kevin Syles about building me this frame set. Bob and his wife Deanna have two stunning examples of Kevin's work. He had mentioned last summer that Kevin would be retiring soon and now would be a good time to get one - Ordered in September, I took delivery last week. Bob measured me up and helped me with some of the design details. I took the frame over to Bob's underground labratory the other day and he put in the Headset and Bottom Bracket for me.

Bob installs the head set and bottom bracket in his underground lab... by NBend, on Flickr
The frame set is Reynold 853, Sachs "Rene Singer" lugset. I had spec'd SS dropouts thinking they would hold up better over time (no chipped paint). 130mm rear spacing so I could re-use my Campagnolo Hubs which I laced 3x to Soma Weymouth rims (another suggestion from Bob). The rear derailluer is a Campagnolo long cage Chorus; the front is a Campagnolo Eurus MTB unit. Friction shifters are from Rivendell - they have a super light shifting action and they work very well with the derailleurs. Touring doesn't require rapid shifts so I saw no reason to go with indexed shifting. This set up is smooth and simple. Gearing is 28-38-48 up front on a crankset from Compass and I cobbled together a 13-30 rear cluster by taking a new 12-30 Centaur and replacing the 4 highest gears with those from my existing 13-29 Veloce Cassette. I did this becuase I was a few teeth over the chain capacity for the long cage Chorus (turns out I didn't need to worry about this) and I liked the idea of having 1 tooth jumps in the 5 highest gears (it added a 16 tooth sprocket with this set up. The pedals are really nice! MKS RX-1's.
The Stem (NP), Seatpost (S83), Handlebars (Noodle) and Bottle Cages (T) are from Nitto and the Headset (110 Classic) and Brake Levers (SCR 5) are Cane Creek. I always liked how the noodle bars and campagnolo ergo 10 lever felt in my hands on my Merckx and this combination fits very much in the same way. The Bar tape is Leather (Handlebra). I wrapped white waxed twine for the 'finishing tape' but rushed it so it's a little sloppy. I re-do this so it looks better.
I chose a Brooks C15 Cutaway because it was weatherproof and comfortable. I rode my tour last summer on a brooks swift and one thing I wanted to not worry about this time around was rain or morning dew. No more seat cover needed!
The Compass center pulls were selected mostly for for aesthetics but I've been told once you carefully setup the pads and straddle cables that they work well. Apparently, I haven't figured them out yet - they squeal like a stuck pig right now. I do like the strong return springs on these, that coupled with the levers makes for a great feel.
Tires for now are Compass 38mm (until I tour, might as well have something nice while I get used to the bike) but I plan on something more sturdy like a schwalbe for loaded touring.
The Fenders are 50mm Velo Orange Zeppelin's and I used those neat little reinforcement plates from Boulder Bicycles under the seat stay and fork bridge for added strength. I still want to add a nice rear reflector (Jitensa studio). As I rode today, the fenders are rock solid but becuase of their width I have a little clearence issue with the front derailluer cage striking the fender in the small chainring so I'll have to do a little bending to accommodate this.
The only thing I am not happy with is the front rack (Compass), Kevin didn't position the attachment points quite right so it tilts downward a little. Maybe I'll see if @gugie would be willing to lengthen the front struts for me. I have an Acorn Boxy Rando Bag for the front rack.
Front low rider and rear pannier racks are Tubis and the bags are Ortlieb classics - both veterans of my tour to colorado last summer. I'll mount them later once I get closer to summer
No lighting systems in mind as yet, @gomango though I do like the idea of being able to recharge my phone on the fly. Maybe later..
Thanks to my friend, Bob Freeman who 1st suggested that I contact Kevin Syles about building me this frame set. Bob and his wife Deanna have two stunning examples of Kevin's work. He had mentioned last summer that Kevin would be retiring soon and now would be a good time to get one - Ordered in September, I took delivery last week. Bob measured me up and helped me with some of the design details. I took the frame over to Bob's underground labratory the other day and he put in the Headset and Bottom Bracket for me.

Bob installs the head set and bottom bracket in his underground lab... by NBend, on Flickr
The frame set is Reynold 853, Sachs "Rene Singer" lugset. I had spec'd SS dropouts thinking they would hold up better over time (no chipped paint). 130mm rear spacing so I could re-use my Campagnolo Hubs which I laced 3x to Soma Weymouth rims (another suggestion from Bob). The rear derailluer is a Campagnolo long cage Chorus; the front is a Campagnolo Eurus MTB unit. Friction shifters are from Rivendell - they have a super light shifting action and they work very well with the derailleurs. Touring doesn't require rapid shifts so I saw no reason to go with indexed shifting. This set up is smooth and simple. Gearing is 28-38-48 up front on a crankset from Compass and I cobbled together a 13-30 rear cluster by taking a new 12-30 Centaur and replacing the 4 highest gears with those from my existing 13-29 Veloce Cassette. I did this becuase I was a few teeth over the chain capacity for the long cage Chorus (turns out I didn't need to worry about this) and I liked the idea of having 1 tooth jumps in the 5 highest gears (it added a 16 tooth sprocket with this set up. The pedals are really nice! MKS RX-1's.
The Stem (NP), Seatpost (S83), Handlebars (Noodle) and Bottle Cages (T) are from Nitto and the Headset (110 Classic) and Brake Levers (SCR 5) are Cane Creek. I always liked how the noodle bars and campagnolo ergo 10 lever felt in my hands on my Merckx and this combination fits very much in the same way. The Bar tape is Leather (Handlebra). I wrapped white waxed twine for the 'finishing tape' but rushed it so it's a little sloppy. I re-do this so it looks better.
I chose a Brooks C15 Cutaway because it was weatherproof and comfortable. I rode my tour last summer on a brooks swift and one thing I wanted to not worry about this time around was rain or morning dew. No more seat cover needed!
The Compass center pulls were selected mostly for for aesthetics but I've been told once you carefully setup the pads and straddle cables that they work well. Apparently, I haven't figured them out yet - they squeal like a stuck pig right now. I do like the strong return springs on these, that coupled with the levers makes for a great feel.
Tires for now are Compass 38mm (until I tour, might as well have something nice while I get used to the bike) but I plan on something more sturdy like a schwalbe for loaded touring.
The Fenders are 50mm Velo Orange Zeppelin's and I used those neat little reinforcement plates from Boulder Bicycles under the seat stay and fork bridge for added strength. I still want to add a nice rear reflector (Jitensa studio). As I rode today, the fenders are rock solid but becuase of their width I have a little clearence issue with the front derailluer cage striking the fender in the small chainring so I'll have to do a little bending to accommodate this.
The only thing I am not happy with is the front rack (Compass), Kevin didn't position the attachment points quite right so it tilts downward a little. Maybe I'll see if @gugie would be willing to lengthen the front struts for me. I have an Acorn Boxy Rando Bag for the front rack.
Front low rider and rear pannier racks are Tubis and the bags are Ortlieb classics - both veterans of my tour to colorado last summer. I'll mount them later once I get closer to summer
No lighting systems in mind as yet, @gomango though I do like the idea of being able to recharge my phone on the fly. Maybe later..
Last edited by northbend; 04-29-18 at 07:04 AM.
#21
Senior Member
Beautiful frame and a very nice build.
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Semper fi
Semper fi
#23
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The first picture of this British Racing Green bike stopped me in my tracks - and then all the details in the others. So much to see on this bike, and for sure it'll ride as good as it looks.
#24
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Beautiful bike, and the bar to seat set up looks spot on.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the Brooks Cambium with the cut-out. I had a solid model that didn't play well with my backside, but I love the look for a retro style build.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the Brooks Cambium with the cut-out. I had a solid model that didn't play well with my backside, but I love the look for a retro style build.
#25
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Wow, that's really nice. Love the fork and box striping!
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Hard at work in the Secret Underground Laboratory...
Hard at work in the Secret Underground Laboratory...