El Chaba

I am hoping to put this to some use this year…..

kingston 

I do a lot of the GLR rides. While it's mostly modern bikes, a few of us ride C&V sometimes. Hope to see you at the opener.

fender1

My current rando set up.

nlerner

^ Nice beausage on the garage door, @fender1!

fender1

Thanks! its OEM and I would hate to lose any of the "hard-won" patina by repainting it. It tells the "story" of my garagre door and all the "adventures" it has been a part of....

Sedgemop 

Nice. Probably see you on 4/30.

non-fixie 

Since my previous post I have been playing around with the randonneur format a fair bit more.

The Roy Thame went through quite a few updates, and in its latest iteration it has become one of my favorite bikes:



I've done some experimenting as well. For instance with this Jonkers. Low weight (~10kg) and a more racy geometry made for a fun bike, but at the sacrifice of comfort:



At the other end of the weight spectrum is this Snel. Made to load up with lots of luggage and it feels like it. Rock solid, but otherwise uninspiring:



Another favorite is this Austro-Daimler Inter 10. With its Reynolds frame and medium wheelbase it is both comfortable and sporty:



My most recent build is this Rubust. I bought the frame on ebay.fr just because of its looks and the fact it's French. I've only done a few short rides so far, so no verdict yet, but I like it enough to take it along on a planned vacation trip in a couple of weeks.

mountaindave 

Ok, how are you getting all of these Campy ergopowers to play nicely with Shimano RDs?? Custom spacers on the cassettes?

non-fixie 

No, the early 9-speed ergo's cable pull gives a 5.49 mm derailleur movement per click when using a Shimano SIS RD, which matches the 5 and 6-speed standard cog spacing of 5.5 mm very nicely. Plug and play, really.

mountaindave 

That’s fantastic. The pull is consistent too? Thought some steps were variable, or was that 10s?

masi61

Yes, this is interesting. Using Campy Ergopower with vintage 120mm or 126mm spaced frames and 5/6 freewheels and getting them indexing and mated to classic triple road cranks is refreshing.

I purchased some 8 speed Chorus Ergoshifters and an 8 speed Chorus (wish it was long cage) RD with the intent of using it to shift a 126mm spaced frame with indexing for Shimano 7 speed Uniglide freewheel or 7400 cassettes. I heard that the movement per click is the same as the Shimano 7 speed - 5.0mm. You wouldn’t happen to know if this is doable?

non-fixie 

According to this chart, you're right. That is, if the RD is "Old Campag". AFIK that means pre-2001. Haven't tried this combination myself yet.

non-fixie 

Well, consistent enough to work well, for me anyway. I wouldn't know about 10-speed, as my C&V-oriented mind doesn't allow for that yet.

Classtime 

Of course, freewheels, single pivot brakes, relatively fragile derailleurs, were ridden on many Brevets back in the day. But I'm wondering if anybody has recently ridden or plans to ride a complete series on a completely vintage bike:
Vintage derailleurs, freewheel, vintage single pivots, (or Mafacs or Vanquer 999s), 27inch rims, clips and straps?

I did some 200s and a 300k a few years ago but on my 2011 Milwaukee with most of a 6700 group. I'm toying with the idea of next spring doing the series on my Grand Jubile but I'm concerned about broken derailleur springs, freewheel explosions, 27 inch tire failure with no replacements nearby, hot spots from the pedals, and loosing hand strength after 100s of miles and sleep deprivation.

mountaindave 

Pedals, saddle and bars are all touch points and should be comfortable no matter the vintage. Same with shoes, shorts, and gloves.

I would not hesitate to ride one of my vintage bikes as long as it had proven itself in test rides. There’s no guarantee in life with any equipment - there’s inherent risk in any equipment choice. I’d be far more comfortable using cable operated ders as opposed to battery operated ders on a long ride, for example.

Regarding 27” wheels, I would immediately swap them for 700c. If you felt so inclined, there are plenty of vintage wheel sets available; there are also many suitable modern rims with appropriate vintage aesthetics. 27” is dead and 700c has existed for over a century - it’s very period correct. It also opens the door to wider, supple tires which reduces fatigue.

GhostRider62

I did a SR on vintage equipment......about 30 years ago. I still ride the slow bike but only on local rides.

83cannondale

I often ride with this group.. Often on a 1983 Cannondale ST500 touring type bike. Occasionally on a 1974 Raleigh International. Lately, for day time rides, a Trek Domane SL 7 (sorry). Hope to see you out there .!!

jeirvine 

Nice build. I like your light setup. Do you have more detailed pics of that? I have room under a small HB bag for a front light, and am looking for ideas on where to mount it.
-J

fender1

Here are some additional pictures:

lonesomesteve

It would be inaccurate to call my main bike "a completely vintage bike" since it's built from a mix of new and old parts, and not much about it resembles the original Trek 614 it was built from. That said, the only "modern" technology on the bike is SPD pedals and hub dyno/LED lighting. Otherwise, it has friction shifting, vintage derailleurs, classic Mafac centerpull brakes, etc.

This bike was designed and built with Randonneuring in mind. I didn't build the bike thinking, "I want a vintage Randonneur bike." I built the bike to be a highly capable randonneuse without any thought to when the parts were designed or manufactured. It just so happens that a lot of vintage components work extremely well for Randonneuring. The bike has been ridden on numerous brevets of 200k, 300k, 400k and 600k (never a 1200k, but I'm taking it with me to France for PBP in 2023...) and has performed exceptionally well.

Roger M

I'm not a randonneur, but here's my bike that's set up for longer rides. A bit portly, but the Expedition is a pretty decent rider.


A couple of Swift Industries bags have enough volume for at least an overnight ride.

JaccoW

I guess my Koga-Miyata Graveller would fit in here as well. I took it on a 750km tour last summer and so far it has been very comfortable, even on a couple of days with 140km (87 miles) and 1200m (3937 ft. ) of climbing.
I'm thinking of putting a disc-brake fork on here and building a new wheel with a SON dynamo hub.

Sedgemop 

Looks like you've got a plenty of great bikes to choose from. Hope to see you out there.

gomango

Snazzy. Color me envious. Great bike!!!!!!!!!!

merziac

I think about it from time to time, then quickly come to my senses.

Pretty sure this could get me there with some changes, upgrades, etc.




Or this



That started life as this.


Yep, same bike as Jim built it for himself.