A 650B conversion, converted again
 

I few years ago I converted a 1980s Shogun touring bike with 27" wheels into a 650B "rando" outfitted bike, going all-out with frame modifications by a local builder to reposition the canti posts, relocate bridges, and incorporate internal wiring. Many of you have already seen it, so I won't post those pics again. But after a few years of riding it on extended rides, I got tired of its heavy weight and stiff frame, and all the rando kit--front rack, integrated dynamo lighting, fenders--just bogged it down even more. I ended up buying a much lighter, sprightlier Rawland Stag frameset, and built that up to replace the Shogun (the built up bike is 6 lb lighter and so much faster! I recently posted that here as well). Meanwhile, my everyday city bike (1972 Jeunet 700c road bike with 1x5 derailleur drivetrain) suffers from not being able to fit tires larger than 28mm with fenders, and the streets where I live aren't known for their smoothness!

So what to do with my Shogun? Why not try it out as a city bike? It already has nice wide 650x42b tires with fenders, and integrated lighting. So I swapped out the rando rack for a larger VO porteur rack (which I had a local welder modify to integrate nicely with the bike and lighting), threw a longer stem on and swapped out the drop bars with bar-end friction shifters for VO postino bars with 8-speed indexed shifters on Paul thumbies. While at it, I swapped out the Suntour drivetrain with wide, sub-1:1 alpine gearing for a vintage Shimano 105 drivetrain with taller, narrower gearing more suitable for every day riding. SPD pedals were swapped out for for MKS touring. I topped it off with a Planet Bike mudflap and the saddlebag/support from my previous commuter.

Pics:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7378/1...f2b9f115_h.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5489/1...1f4fee05_h.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7439/1...e62cf391_h.jpg

(The reflective triangle is because more than half of my commute is in the dark, much of it with my 9-year old daughter).

The verdict? The bike works so much better in this configuration! It rides smoothly and the riding position is comfy, and while it will never be fast, the penalty of its 32+ lb weight is inconsequential over the short 2-5 mile distances it sees daily. And while the steering felt sluggish before, in this configuration it feels lighter and more balanced, even with a small load on the rack-- probably a result of a shift of the center of gravity rearward with the different riding position.

Looks great! Glad you are enjoying it again.

+1 really splendid. So the bars are a win? How would you compare them to VO Porteur bars?

Nicely done, I'm sure it's quite useful and enjoyable in the new configuration as well as looking a treat.
Nothing like having a versatile design that can be modified to meet current requirements and stay in service for long periods of time.

-Bandera

southpawboston, Looks great to me, nice job! Were you familiar with some of the kit prior to the re purposing, like the handle bars, or was this a calculated experiment? I like the bag, possibly to use on my distance bike.

Brad

Thanks! These bars are much wider, the hand grip area is not as swept back, and they have no drop/rise. Closer to mtb bars than to porteur bars. They're a copy of the Nitto Jitensha bar, which as I understand is a copy of an old Italian design.

Thanks, I knew some of the parts but the whole thing was a calculated experiment. I already knew the porteur rack really well since I have the same one on my Jeunet and have been using that for 3.5 years. I picked up this one cheap on the iBob list, with the intent of eventually using it on the Shogun. I knew that the only shortcoming was the fork crown bracket, being a universal piece of drilled flatstock designed to make installation easy but resulting in flex. That's why I had a welder modify this one, by welding a circular section of stainless tubing and a crown bolt to the back of it for a direct mount:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3673/1...bf9d8e4f_c.jpg

I also had him weld on a headlight mount, made quite simply with a 1" length of stainless tubing welded to the rack strut, with the exposed end tapped for an M6 bolt. The headlight is as sturdy as can be and is tucked safely from damage from falling, etc. And I was able to re-use the existing fender hole from the prior rando rack installation, and the existing headlight wire routing (the headlight was attached to the prior rando rack with a home-made bracket):

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/1...9df240a6_c.jpg

I had never tried the Postino bars before, but since I had seen many city bike conversions with the Jitensha bars, and the Postinos are half the price, I thought I'd give them a try. Glad I did! My hands and arms are comfortable with them, and my back angle, slightly higher than it was in rando-configuration but far from upright, is just about where I want it for navigating through traffic.

The bag is a Carradice Pendle, one size up from the Barley. It used to be Carradice green, but it's become faded to a chalky gray from being left on my Jeunet commuter, which lives outside. It's supported by a Carradice bagman which, in this form, is no longer made. It's been a great saddlebag, totally waterproof canvas, but I'll probably swap it out for a larger one since I'm toting around so much of my daughter's stuff lately. But for a distance bike, it's more than big enough.

Lookin' good, SPB.
Where does your daughter go?
650B wheels were not limited to randonneurs, they were standard on French city bikes as well. I am going to replace the 27x1-1/4 wheels on my Motobecane Le Champion with 650B rims and Gran Bois Hetre tires for the same reason as you: I want some fat tires that will handle the bombed-out streets of my city. I normally use a mountain bike, but this will enable me to ride one of my vintage road bikes as a commuter, and get more use out of it.

It looks very nice and i bet it's a joy to ride.

southpawboston, Thanks for the more detailed post, I found it very useful.

Brad

Exquisitely well-thought out, and so beautiful.

Looks very nice, great attention to detail...:thumb:

Lookin' good, SPB. You always do such nice work, and considering the various iterations this particular bike has gone through I really appreciate how tasteful each stage has been. Thanks for sharing.

What happened to the lug outlines?

Congratulations! Its an impressive creation.

Looking at this bike puts a smile on my face! I really like how you have repurposed your old bike. Very nicely done.

Thanks, all!

Good eye for catching that! I decided I wanted a cleaner, simpler look with this iteration. It started when I was using mineral spirits to degrease the head tube after installing a new headset; it removed some of the outlining on the head tube lug and I realize how nice it looked without a contrasting color. I had forgotten that the lug brazing quality of this bike is pretty good for a production frame, so it pulls it off pretty well not being hidden underneath a contrasting color.

Wow! Awesome looking bike!

I dig it a lot! I never cared for the lug outlines.