Creme Brulee

well i like it. Its more interesting than another wimpy de rosa or masi or whatever... you can do way more with it as well. i too didn't like sloping top tubes, but functionally on mixed terrain bikes they make a ton of sense, and if you look at enough late 80s and 90s mtbs, you'll learn to like em.

tarwheel 

My only questions about Rawlands are: Where do they get those names and what do they mean?

whatwolf

Haha, I didn't think this thread would be so divisive. It's interesting to me. I actually really like that Jack Taylor, but it does have some odd stuff going on. I'd love to see it straight from the side, I have a feeling the angles would make me uncomfortable. But something about it still appeals to me.

whatwolf

Also: the cSogn has landed!

Italuminium

Whoohoo! now get building I think I'm on the all-silver camp with this one. Allrounder builds in black just look a bit cheap and box-store hybridisch to me.

cyclotoine

I understand the design of the cSogn but I also think it is pretty ugly. Something about drop bars perched way up in the sky looks unnatural. But if it is comfortable who cares, right? Personally, if I want to be that comfortable then I will use a different kind of handlebar, but there are many tastes and people like to experiment so their should be products on the market that some of us do not like because we are all different in tastes and body geometry.

I like sloping top tubes, but the extension gets me and in my opinion it reduces the versatility of this frame. If I want it to be a go fast bike I might want to set the bar up lower. It looks like the idea of this frame design is to put the bar up high and not give you the option to lower them. As such I think the singular peregrine is a more versatile bike. There is a lot to like about Rawlands in general, but I have to say that if I am buying a new bike frame that isn't a road bike it's going to have disc brakes. Again, that is my taste. Rim brakes work great and are totally adequate, but disc brakes work better.

A note about compact geometry. If you ride large frame you will notice that they do make the frame stiffer. end of story. For myself compact is better for springing and climbing, no question. THose are things you do out of the saddle. The tall seatpost is a moot point from a frame stiffness point of view in that regard and you can change your seatpost to suit your needs. Want stiff? THomson elite, could you need a stiff post? I doubt it// Want compliance? Light weight carbon or titanium.

nlerner

Yeah, those sloping top tubes are so contemporary looking:

gomango

The Sogn name comes from the Sogn Valley south of the Twin Cities near Northfield, MN.

Some of the best all around riding in the entire country, maybe in the world.

Primarily woods, meadows, beautiful/picturesque farms and farm roads with John Deer tractors and the occasional rider on horse back.

There is a trail there named Shady Lane Trail that offers unbelievable gravel opportunities.

I've already ridden there four times this spring and I hope to be down there this Sunday.

Here is a link that gravel road riders will appreciate: https://milltowncycles.blogspot.com/2...1_archive.html

Scroll down on the linked page, you'll get the idea.

The cSogn was designed for gravel road riding and is quite comfortable. I thought long and hard about a cSogn/rSogn, a Singular Gryphon and a Salsa Fargo.

I ended up with total Salsa overkill buying an El Mariachi, the Fargo and a La Cruz for my son.

Perfect bikes for off road adventures in the Sogn Valley.

Italuminium

^Sounds like a great place.

I'm in a place now that can really use a "sogn" build: the border area between belgium and the netherlands, think liege-bastogne-liege and the amstel gold race. What they don't show on race coverage is that all these gnarly hills are connected by unpaved clay farm tracks riddles with fist-sized pieces of flint, and the woodland hills are rife with cool singletracks.

The only thing I can't like about this frame is the extended ht, but that's easily solvable for the right shop.

gomango

Sean at Rawlands kept working on the bike till it evolved into the rSogn.

I really like this one, such a great off-road machine for the $$$$.

As I understand it, the Stag is now taking its place.

Pics from the Rawland's blog.

https://rawlandcycles.blogspot.com/

rSogn




Stag prototype

Italuminium

Yup, that's more like it! And friendly priced. Plus the decals and the way the guy weaves his scandinavian ancestry in the design and brand is really neat. I went to Oslo two years ago and the art and craft on these old viking ships is amazing, and it's so cool to see some of those scrollwork decorations interpreted by a modern craftsman.

ftwelder

I love the bike. If you ride an MTB with flat bars the switch to road drops is refreshing. I think perhaps the stem is too long or the frame is too small or something like that.

whatwolf

Thanks Frank. I'm excited to build it up. That first photo is actually not my build, just a photo to show the frameset I got.

It's well used, but I got a great deal on it and it should build up into a super versatile bike for me.

gomango

Well used means you don't have to feel bad when you ride through mud puddles or the bike tips over at the gas station when you are picking up a Gatorade.

whatwolf

DiegoFrogs

That Jack Taylor, like every other one I've ever seen, really lights my fire. I'd love to own one someday, or learn to build one like them.

Italuminium

Yes, it's so cool, and shows what kind of talented and imiginative builders the JT brothers were. Much more sophisticated than those crude California klunkers

whatwolf

Welp, nearly a month later and the bike is still not built up. But that shall soon change! The last few things from Paul arrived yesterday and I can get to work this memorial day weekend. Wahoo!

gomango

Bring it on!

pcb 

Warning: pernicious threadjack about to occur! With only photos of brakesets to show, whatwolf has not proven the existence of the alleged rSogn. No pix, didn't happen, sister! Since I contributed to the purchase of said alleged rWhatever by buying whatwolf's awesome Paul/Velocity 650B SS wheelset, here's where they went. Photos exist, this really happened. Not great photos, shot in a narrow alley with a wide lens, won't get its own thread until decent pix exist, and it's too rainy for that right now.

Thought it was a very early Peter Mooney, maybe '76. Peter has confirmed he built it, but my serial # doesn't match his records. Some build cues smell early-'80s, but frame was repainted so could have been updated. Anywho, lotsa fun Paul stuff here, too.







So whatwolf, get building already!!!

Chrome Molly

The rSogn sort of reminds me of a 90's Kona Cinder Cone with a very different front fork. Glad that look came back (though Rawland probably isn't thinking splatter paint for the rSogn). It's lovely, and must be a hoot on gravel.

tarwheel 

I like the design and that should be a great bike. The design is a natural evolution to meet fit requirements and the limitations of threadless forks and stems. With quill forks/stems, it was much easier to raise handlebars higher so head tubes did not need to be so long. With threadless systems, you either need to add a bunch of spacers and/or use a riser stem -- unless the bike designer also lengthens the head tube. Once you get used to the design, you may find it functional as well as visually appealing.

I need to run my handlebars about even with the saddle height due a neck injury as a child. For years, I had trouble finding frames that fit me right. However, in the past few years it has become much easier with some models have designs similar in ways to the Rawlands. The Salsa Casseroll is a good example as well as various Gunnar models.

tarwheel 

Thanks for the info! Perhaps I'll check it out sometime. I'm a Minnesota native but haven't visited in years. Might be a good excuse for a visit.

whatwolf

Threadjack away! That looks great!

whatwolf

Proof that it exists: