Bleriot pros/cons for commuting
 

Hi.
I'm considering a Bleriot for commuting & touring. I like the French style & 650B tire size (which is why I also like the Velo-Orange Randonneur & Kogswell P/R), but like anyone who works for a living, the cost concerns me. Its a nice bike, though. Any thoughts about such a bike in real-world commuting?

Any bike will work for commuuting, depends on what you need and your riding style.

I do my 19 mile one way commute (when I have time to commute) I do my commute on 3 different bikes.
a cross bike a road frame single speed and a MTB with slicks.

The Bleriot is a less expensive version of rivendells Saluki and yes the frame is in the $700.00 range

A saluki frame is I think $1600.00 a tad pricey in my book but ???

either will work fine but at the same time so will many other frames.

My commute beast at the moment is a Surly cross check and with the exception that the frame is too small for me its a great commute/light tour bike the cross check or SOMAs double cross frames sell for
around $400.00 , the wheel size is 700c though.


Another way is buy pre owned (Used) many bike shops take in trades and some very nice bikes can be purchased at pretty low $$$ but you have to hunt or craigs list.

have a great day

"John"

The Bleriot seems like a good value for do-it-all frame, but has some annoying quirks in the design (like most Rivendells). First, it only takes 650b tires, which are an unusual size that few bike shops carry. Second, it has cable guides rather than bosses on the downtube, virtually requiring that you use bar-end or STI shifters. I like downtube shifters for commuting, but can't figure out a way to use them with a Bleriot frame.

Personally, I think that the Salsa Casseroll or Soma Smoothie would be better choices for commuting/ sport touring in that price range. Not quite as stylish as the Bleriot, but less expensive, lighter and more versatile.

It is a pretty frame and in genreal I am a fan of Rivendell. My opinion is that 650b is a great marketing manuver to the serious bike affinado and not much more. I ride bikes with 27' and 700cc wheels and both use 32mm tires w/ fenders. I can't really tell much difference. It is a nice frame for sure but to limit myself from the starting point as to choices going forward (tires, rims etc.) would not be worth it. If I were able to buy a Rivendell, I would go with the A. Homer Hillson. YMMV

If you ever intend to ride with a rear rack, check the chainstay length. A touring frame like the Surly Long Haul Trucker is designed to give the rider heal clearance with panniers, I believe a typical chainstay length for good heel clearance is somewhere near 45cm.

Tsk. Imagination and google will get you miles ahead.
Campy clamp downtube shifters
http://i2.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/aa/c8/7914_1.JPG

Clamp-on shifters are made to be used with 28.6mm down tubes.

Rivendells, including the Bleriot, have -oversized- (OS) down tubes that are 31.8mm.

Thanks, Mike
 

Thanks for posting, Matt - I think I've actually decided on a Kogswell, building one wheel with a vintage sturmey archer three speed for town riding and building a 12 speed for touring. How can I get one? I'll try to contact you guys tomorrow.

I love my Atlantis!!!
Don't know if that helps at all, but it's all i got for ya.

Excellent.

We're usually around - 952-445-8804

But when the weather in Minnesota is nice (like today), we may well be out on a ride. I wish I could design bikes by sitting at the phone. I'd sell more and maybe not get dinged for being inattentive. But I find that being on the road fine-tunes my sense of what works and what doesn't. And that's always been my priority.

The best way to contact us is via email: info@kogswell.com

There are people who have a special affection for 650B bikes. It's a taste, somewhat of a refined one that you can only appreciate if you have it. More than that, it's a tradition, like tweed sports jackets and pipes. I would love a 650B wheeled bike myself, if only because at 5'3", my frames are always a little small for 700C wheels. But there's no way I would buy an expensive and relatively rare bike like that just for commuting. Just get something you don't have to worry about too much. Of course, if you're independently wealthy, then no problem. Get the Bleriot by all means if you want one. It's a superb bike for general pleasure riding, I think. But get something you can afford to lose or break for commuting.

Is Kogswell going ahead on the design of the Porteur for either 26" or 700c tires?

650b is a real deal breaker for me, personally. NO WAY would I purchase a bike with 650b.

Try this link for more up to date and interesting info on 650B.

http://search.bikelist.org/

I was hoping Kogswell would answer your post. According to another website there has been some delays in manufacturing or they would already be here.

Converting a 700C bike to 650B is pretty easy if you have the right frame to start with.

The best frames for conversion are steel criterium racers. Steel because the stays are thin enough to allow for the fat tires to fit. And the criterium geometry has a high BB that works well with the slightly smaller 650B tires. Crit bikes usually had 700C wheels and short reach brakes and that too plays into the 650B wheel size. You can use the new Tektro R556 brakes: they reach down to the 650B rims just fine.

We make a fork that replaces the fork on a crit bike. It has more offset (read lower trail) and it has fender eyelets and rack eyelets.

If you shop around, you can put together a nice 650B bike for not a lot of money.

Lot's of modern racing bikes work too. Entry level aluminum bikes. You just have to check the clearance between the chain stays. Our conversion fork works well with those frames too.

We have 26" and 700C frames coming next week.

Only in 59cm size for now (center to top of seat tube). 57cm top tubes.

The 700C forks got built too short so they're coming next month.

650B seems like a high-maintenance relationship to me, particularly for touring. It's like asking a woman with elaborately painted fingernails to help roof your house.

I appreciate that the op wants a stylish frame for commuting, though. Make it enjoyable.

I wouldn't mind getting one of those Porteurs in 26".

I'm saving my $. :)

I never thought that I'd embrace TIG welded frames. Then I learned to TIG weld.

I never thought that I'd embrace threadless streering. Then I tried it.

I would have bet money that I would not warm up to forks with 70mm of offset.

Then I rode on one and now I can't imagine using 45mm of offset again.

And I never thought that I'd embrace 650B tires.

Wrong again.

Several Bleriots have been built with ISO622 (a.k.a. 700C) and shorter reach brakes.

TCS

It's not a matter of embracing. I embrace! I embrace!

I'm just saying, it's easier to keep my ladies in shoes if they all have the same size feet.

And I don't want to push a loaded touring bike 150 miles through South Dakota heat to locate a size 650B Manolo Blahnik.

Some may call 26" common, I've learned to call it pretty. Pretty enough, at least.

There's no doubt that 26" (ISO 559mm) is the way to go if availability is important.

Do you just like downtube shifters in general, or does the type of shifter you prefer actually depend on where you're riding to? If it's the second option, I don't understand that at all.

My wife commutes occasionally on her Bleriot. You hear a lot of nonsense about 650b bikes by people that have never owned one.

I like hers so much I want to put one together for myself. The 650b tires are these
big pillows that run at absurdly low pressure. They simply roll over a lot of stuff that would cut other tires because they are softer. The ride is exquisite for the same reason.

If you do something like QPB's package program, you can put a 650b together for a reasonable amount of money.

DT shifters
 

I've got STI shifters (Campy Chorus and DuraAce) on two of my bikes, but my commuter has DA downtube shifters. I installed the DT shifters on my commuter mainly to save money, but after riding it a while decided that I actually like them better for riding in traffic. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it's got to do with the slower pace, riding solo, and not shifting as often.

I've tried riding my commuter bike in group rides and it's not as enjoyable unless it's a leisurely pace. It's harder keeping up with a paceline on hilly terrain when you have to reach down to shift. STI shifters are definitely better in that respect. But for a leisurely pace and/or a ride on relatively flat terrain, I actually prefer the DT shifters.

I've never used barcon shifters, and might like them if I tried them. I just don't like the fact that the Bleriot doesn't give you the option of using DT shifters. If I bought a Bleriot, it would be to use as my commuter bike, so I would have to buy some barcons rather than just swap over the DT shifters I've already got on my existing commuter.