...that fits on a Raleigh "Heron" lamp bracket. :)

yes, that would be a great idea. basically a raleigh clone with modern circuitry and LED.

Right on. It would be great if you had both, double sided and single sided. That would really be amazing, and I think it would be a good seller for you.



That would be VERY useful. Also, would it make sense to do Raleigh bottom brackets too? There are a ton of beautiful raleighs out there needing good parts. They might sell a little more slowly, but they would solidify you as problem solvers for the vintage bike community, which is growing.

You mentioned deciding against repacement bolts for dual pivot brakes. How about single pivot bolts? I bought some Sunlite ones from J&B and their slot for the spring is far too wide, so the brake swivels more than it should with the original standard gauge springs.

Also, maybe a few other rims to choose from, including a box section touring rim that is not a cr-18? How much more does it cost to have these rims built with double eyelets? For that matter, are your VO rims built with double, or single eyelets?

One last thing. how about a really good set of cartridge bearing freewheel threaded and/or cassette hubs with a nice strong axle? I know formula makes some good cartridge bearing hubs, but I don't see them offered individually, outside of wheelsets. Could you rebrand these and sell the hubs in 32/36/40 hole counts? A cb cassette hub in a 36 hole count that is somewhat affordable would be rarefied, and I think you'd have a lot of customers.

The Phil Wood hubs are great, but prohibitively expensive, and the Quanta/Quando hubs are very affordable, but they're rather cheaply made. Something of a reliable, attractive middle ground, with a strong shouldered axle, but not necessarily a phil wood axle, is what I'm thinking of. These shouldn't be to hard to get off the ground, and I think they would sell nicely.

Finally, great job on the anti theft skewers. They are a great product at a great price.

There are companies that make LED replacements for regular flashlight bulbs, I plan on swapping one into one of those chrome bullet headlights as soon as I can find one in decent shape.

I'll second high-flange hubs, with cartridge bearings; but please knockoff the Maillard 700! It could even have (or take) a freehub rather than a freewheel, and I'd be OK with that. Plus, they'd probably sell better that way.

I really like Dirtdrop's TA handlebar bottle cage, too.

V-O top tube clips, stainless.

Panaracer Paselas with a file pattern rather than the hokey one they have. Who needs tread anyway?

Gum hoods for the Campy/Suntour/Modolo pattern non-aero levers. Half hoods for the Mafac. Cane Creek is fine for the Weinmann pattern.

Kool-Stop pads that are a longer version of the Campy replacement, to fill the Mafac holders correctly.

Pumps that actually work, but have a vintage or "plain" look and fit the old frame pegs (some sort of length-adjustable design).

Keep up the good work! I think V-O is an indispensable resource.

I'd like to think about this, but off the top of my head

-Skin-wall tires (already noted)
- 5-6-7 (A 6-narrow...Suntour Utra 6 style especially!!) speed freewheels with a decent spread (14-32/34). IRD does a weirdly spaced 28. Does not work well for half-step gearing
and old Suntours are costing a fortune these days
- 110 and maybe 130 BCD chain rings in odd denominations (41, 43, 45, 47, 49). These are IMPOSSIBLE to find, especially would like the 1st generation Shiman/Campy ones.
(then make even ones to match)
- Decent thumb shifters. The Paul conversions for Silver/DT shifters are $$$$. Index? Your call, but the old Shimano and Suntour ones you could switch back and forth are some of the best ever.
- Drop bar brake levers that don't look as ugly as brifters. The old Modolo, Shimano SLR, and campy levers, aero, or not aero, would be nice.
- Brake hoods for old levers.
- front derailuers that are not chain-ring specific, works with triples, and half-step gearing (old cheap Falcons found on 70's Schwinns are probably the best ever made). MOndern Shimano's are awful.
- Rear derailuer that works, but is not ugly with giant pulley wheels like new Acera and the like. Take an old Shimano L512 SGS, Suntour Cyclone, etc, and go from there.
- A fender mounted rear tail light line the old French Seimas or Soubitez that works on either batteries or generators, or both.


I'll think more on this later.

Forks. Steel forks with decent crowns.

High flange polished cassette hubs with cartridge bearings. Now you're onto something. I'd be perfectly happy with some affordable low flange cartridge bearing hubs though. High flange and polish would be cherries on top. Looks like Elektra went all out with a cb sherrif star repro w/freehub.

Yes! I've started more than one thread asking where I can find such a wheel, preferably a matched wheelset. I've got at least seven old bikes (quick head calculation) with this size wheel.

I also wanted some clamp on downtube shifter bosses. I've got Shimano 600 6-spd SIS shifters I want to mount on an old Peugeot. I've already got the 600 SIS rd mounted, using a recently purchased Shimano hanger.

And I would buy a french headset or two just to have a spare. I've got four Peugeots, and I fix them for other people as well.

Btw, I like your selection of upright bars. I got the Promenade recently (which may get mounted tomorrow).

ok which is it? Complain, or not to complain? :p

I've ridden both Paselas (which I really like), and Grand Bois (which I absolutely love). It's possible that on some wheels, or on some bikes, and at some pressures, it could be very difficult to notice the difference, but I noticed it immediately on my Fuji. My only complaint with them are that they are so fast, that I have to ride the brakes on group rides when we're coasting down hills.

A few things I'd like to see.

I like the handlebar mounted bottle cage - like what Dirtdrop posted. Much more elegant than what's there now. Come to think of it, it's really the clamp which is needed. You do offer that interesting item for a very reasonable $4.50 price, but it holds the cages too high, and it is rather clunky looking.

I recently learned of a handlebar bag mount that Cannondale evidently used to make in the 80's or early 90's. It was ridiculously simple and minimal, and according to a couple people who chimed in when a bike with one was posted here - it worked marvelously. I would buy one in a heartbeat if I could locate one, or something like it.

I like the vintage look light fitted with LEDs idea.

Needle bearing headsets are magnificant. Shame Stronglight stopped production on the A-9 (the real one, not the "looks like it, but weighs a ton and doesn't have needle bearings" thing they now call an A-9). Any chance to revive it, or offer something like it?

On 1970's Fujis, there's a little, chromed clamp on accessory that's a cable stop, and a chain slap protector. It's one of the simplest, yet most practical and stylish solutions I've ever seen in use, yet it seemed not to have caught on. I have one (original) on my Fuji, and if I could get a couple more, I'd put them on a couple other bikes.

Bar cons.

I recently bought a set of fenders from VO. I love them. The one step in mounting them that was frustrating was crimping the bands that secure the fender to the brake bolt. If you could either include in the kits, or offer separately for sale, a sturdy arc of metal that fits the inside radius of the fender, it would greatly facilitate this step of the process. The fender simply isn't strong enough to hold it's shape when applying the needed force to begin the crimp in the proper location. This arc of metal would not only facilitate getting the crimps in the proper location, but would also be useful in finishing the job of pressing the band securely against the inside of the fender in a neat arc.

Man, I never touch the brakes on a downhill, except to make a curve. Get out in front, fastest has the right of way!

What to do when the ride leader rolls slow and you don't have an opening to get by? :(

+1 (yes, index :) )
+1
+1

is there any way to make a steel fork with a long threaded 1" steerer tube that users can cut to size? i ride 62+cm steel frames and finding forks is a pita.

We sell basic thumbshifters- nothing fancy, they do the job.

I've talked to multiple mfgs about clamp on cable stops- they all scratch their heads and say why??? It's going to be a long uphill battle to have these made.

Clamp on shifters can be found- friction, same quality as our thumbshifters. in my opinion the the die cast lever is clunky, fat and ugly. nothing i'd put on a restoration or a vintage colnago.

We will have more info about our new french thread headset in a few weeks.

We stock dia compe top tube cable clips. stainless ,3 sizes. a bag of 3. http://velo-orange.com/diacocahocl.html
Retro lighting with modern electronics..... yeah, that would be real nice......

COG cycles- give us a call on monday to set up an account......

+1000
Campy stuff is plentiful on ebay. Just do a search on Campagnolo, it pops up over a 1000 listings.

Two suggestions:

Take a common-as-dirt Simplex band and re-tap the threads to fit the bolt of the shifters you want to use. Then file a couple of notches in the curved body of the shifters to match the width of the band.
OR
Buy a set of Sunrace 6/7 speed DT shifters. Discard the shifters. than mount whatever you desire on the band.

Top

Works for me! However I suspect the bracket is the key component. I have several head lights that could be converted to LED, but don't have the second half of the bracket that fits the lamp bracket.

Velo-Orange did sell a retro battery powered LED light for a while, but it was pretty feeble. The JOS/Spanninga Retro LED, I have one and wish I had bought a couple of more. They look great on older bikes and serve as a marker/running light.

I would love to see and LED version of the B&M Retro.

Aaron:)

I have been a big fan of VO for some time now, and enjoy the VO blog as well :thumb:
I'd like to see a knock-off of the MAXI-CAR hubs, Lyotard #23 Berthet pedels (I'll never be able to afford the White industries version), and a better copy for the Mafac "Raid" center-pull (wider than the Racer).

Cheers,
Chris

OK, I thought about it.

#1 Chainrings, sizes 38-50T, 1 tooth increments, 110/130 BCD, cheaper than TA's (like half, if possible)
#2 Freewheels w/30-34T, narrow 6 most of all.
#3 Traditional levers and hoods.
#4 Decent front derailuer as above...wide, non-gear specific (like modern Shimanos), that will do half step...See 70's Falcons, or 80's Shimano AL11.

All other stuff still would be nice. Paul makes a copy of one of the Mafac centerpulls ($$$$). Though I like the brakes, the thing they miossed about Mafac's is that they were cheap.

Why make reproduction Mafacs when you can still find them new in the box for around $60? That's what I paid for the last set of Racers I bought.

Yep. I have at least a lifetime's worth in a box myself, except the %^$& hanger wires for the 2000/Competitions My thought is that they will not last forever though, which is why it is last on my list.

Chainrings, Chainrings, Chainrings.

+1 on bushings for 610/750 type centerpulls.

I just rebuilt a set after fully sanding and polishing all of the metal...the shabby looking plastic bushings are a bit of a downer

Different colors would be nice...when I polished the arms, I removed the original red decals and filled the indentation with the same color paint as my frame but the bushings are still the same red (but faded/dirty)