Starting to come together nicely.

What's with the second stem?

Second stem if for mounting the lighting system....

Well, not really. I am a firm believer that there is no point in cutting the steerer tube until the other elements of fit ave been dialled in. So... the steerer tube is still full length, and even though I bought heaps of spacers (enough for the final fit, I think) I didn't have enough to allow the headset to be tightened so Machka could ride the bike with the steerer tube uncut. I had a spare MTB stem so slipped that on there to give me what I needed.

The light, a Busch and Muller (B&M) Fly Senso, will be mounted on the fork crown behind the front brake. Randonneuring rules here require a second light be carried, but it can be fitted should the primary light fail. At the moment I would put it on the handlebar drops and "make do". Machka has her heart set on something to get the light mounted below the handlebar bag, and whether that is a SpaceSaver or a stem and bar, we will see. I just want to get the bike ready for this weekend's 400.

Congratulations on the new bike. I think it looks beautiful in black and silver as it is. How does it ride?

Looks like you've got it all ready for a good long ride. I imagine doing a really long ride on a new bike before you have tweaked all the fit adjustments is quite a leap of faith for most, but for experienced rando nuts like you it's probably just like getting dressed. Enjoy the ride.

I'll separate posts here because they might make things a bit more readable.

I had a very brief ride after Sunday's sortie, and I have to say I was very impressed with the smoothness... and now I WANT ONE!

Bear in mind that this was immediately after finishing almost 30km on a carbon frame and fork, so I could compare ride quality between both.

I like the steel fork on the Ti bike -- the steering was nice and direct. This is even though the carbon fork specced with the frame had a 38mm rake, while the Surly steel fork is specced at 45mm. It means a little less directness, and a little more comfort, in my opinion. And, there is almost no toe overlap for Machka.

And it probably helped just slightlly that I was sitting on my old Brooks B17 after riding the afternoon on a still-to-be-broken-in-after-750km Brooks Ti Swallow that's fitted to my carbon bike.

This Hasa or Saga Ti frame is not top-shelf by any stretch, but it does appear to do what it is meant to very well. And that is to give Machka a bike that will last her a very long time, that will be comfortable on long rides and that will be enjoyable on shorter rides.

The Surly fork I had was very stiff (a mag tested forks and proved it) and extremely heavy.
The steel fork on my bike now weighs about half as much as has a much better ride.

These are the Surly Pacer forks, and are more in the tradition of steel forks, rather than stiff MTB-style ones. They weigh in at 1300 grams, and that will reduce when the steerer tube is finally cut.

Machka was quite adamant she did not want a carbon fork, mainly because she saw the result of one that broke at speed on the Gold Rush Randonnee a few years ago. Ti was out of the question both in terms of cost and because they are reputed to be too "soft". As one person put it, you could apply the front brake and have the wheel come back and touch the downtube.

Off the shelf 1-1/8th steel forks are incredibly hard to locate here in Australia. We tried quite a few bike shops in Melbourne, and the best we could do was $AU330-plus for a custom-made one. Surly forks were close to $AU300 here, too. I sourced the Pacer one in the UK for $AU99 and they were here in an instant (in postage terms).

The Pacer forks also have eyelets on the dropouts for mudguards, and that was another factor in opting for these steelies rather than carbon.

More photos. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7623874386934/


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/...8cbb9a8610.jpg


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1015/...764b159f4f.jpg

Hey, I'm all for a little mud on the tires :)

If you knew how wet and muddy the entire area outside our home is at the moment, we're lucky it's only a little mud!! It sure beats the picture in front of the garage door...

I'm thinking that the one and only thing I don't like is the length of that rear brake cable housing at the back - too long with too much 'hump'.

Agreed. It will be changed tomorrow night when I work on the lights and other sundry bits and pieces. It was put on more or less to get the bike finished and on the road on Saturday.

I should point out that the wheels are temporary. The front one is a Shimano dynohub wheelset that I bought sometime ago as a training wheel in the winter. There is a 32H SON dynohub waiting to be built into either a Velocity Aerohead or a Mavic Open Pro rim. The rear is an old Velocity Aerohead wheel from my touring bike before I fitted Velocity Dyads to it. The hub needs a little bit of love and care. There is an Ultegra hub waiting for a matching 32H rim to replace it.

The only thing i get here in NY is constant road crap.... gums up everything on a bike that moves. pain in the arse to scrub out. I wish it was just mud :)

I've done 290 km on the titanium now, over 3 rides (two 30s, and a 230). It's fairly comfortable, although needs some fit adjustments. The front end feels a bit "soft" or maybe "mushy", possibly a little bit swimmy. I'm thinking it might just be the steel fork, titanium bicycle combination and I may need to get used to that. It's VERY quiet ... even much of the shifting is quiet.

Something else I've noticed is that it climbs well. Yesterday my legs and lungs were struggling to get me up the hills, but the bicycle seemed to handle them just fine ... and faster than usual.

love it!

regarding the "mushy" feel - maybe consider bumping up the tire pressure in the front tire now that you have a little more flexy fork than you may be used to. this may balance it out a little? what do you typically run at?

i know that i can totally feel a difference in the front end of my bike when the tire pressure is varied...

I noticed the change when I went Ti last year. I wouldn't call it soft, more like smooth. My first rides were using the same wheels/pressures as my old bike (Caad 9) using the same roads. Previously, where I had a clunk over a bit of road, now I had a thunk. Rattles became rumbles. The precision was still there for turning, just less road vibration. FYI I have a racy carbon front fork, so I don't feel like the front is mushy.

No news on your old bike?

It could be any number of factors contributing to this feeling.

The steel fork on a Ti frame can be quite soft, but in your frame size that shouldn't be an issue.

Perhaps the issue is that the fork rake of the Surly steel unit is different than the bike was designed to use. You mentioned, Machka, that the fork that normally ships with your frame has a really steep rake, while the Surly fork is a bit more offset. That can certainly affect the handling, making things feel "swimmy" or vague.

The suggestion of higher tire pressure is a good one. I'd also look into riding a stiffer wheel in the front - perhaps you can demo some wheels from your LBS to see what works best.

Still, the bike looks like it'll be quite good for you in the long run.

how did it perform on the big ride?

I think Velocity has a wide range of rim colors. Plus you'd be adding Australian content.

Rake isn't the same as curve. Rake is the perpendicular distance from the front wheel axis to the steering axis. Curvature is the tightness of the fork bend and a tightly curved fork blade can look deceptively like a fork with a lot of rake. More curvature often results in improved ride quality, and more rake results in different handling characteristics than low rake.

Coming along nicely :)

The new rims have arrived - DT Swiss. We've got the hubs and just need the spokes now for Rowan to build the wheels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...detail/?page=4


I've done another about 350 km on the bicycle now and have gotten used to the handling. I'm still working out a few minor fit issues.

should the seat post clamp bolt be fore or aft?

If it is facing forward it will get less gunk in it that is thrown up from the back wheel. My CAAD9 came like this.

My titanium is making some more progress! :) Rowan just finished building the wheels ... they roll better than what I had on there before, and they are shiny!! :D

And my new green Brooks B17 with titanium rails arrived today and has just been installed. I don't have a photo of it yet. I think the plan is to take the new saddle for a spin tomorrow.


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/...552b158b_z.jpg


And I've added a few more randem titanium photos here ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7623874386934/

Nice looking bike. How much did the frame cost? I can't tell from the picture, but is that a sloping top tube or horizontal? What size frame is it? Just wondering because my g.f. rides about the same size and I was thinking of getting her a titanium bike for her b-day.

The frame (a Hasa) was about $1000, I think, I'd have to double check with Rowan. The top tube slopes ever-so-slightly, which I like .... I prefer a sloping top tube. And it is a 50 cm (I'm 5'5.5" with a 31" inseam). Rowan has been sourcing all the parts and building it up for me over the past few months.

Neat. Did you get the frame in Oz? Never heard of them before. Was it $1000 AUD? Online store?

Rowan and I did a ride after work on our single bicycles. It was the first ride on my brand new green Brooks B-17 saddle with titanium rails!! :D Not bad at all!! :) :) And looks good too.

Some info about the bicycle.

We got the frame from a place called Cycling Deal: http://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/ for the $1,150 AUD as seen on this page of that site: http://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/shoppi.../frames/road1/

It is a HASA frame, which is Taiwanese ... and yes, I got it here in Oz. We saw it online, and then went to a Cycling Deal factory outlet in Melbourne to pick it up.

The wheels are DT Swiss, 32 hole, on an ultegra rear hub, and SON dynohub (front), and the spoke pattern is 3 cross ... designed for durability.

And it now has a beautiful green Brooks B-17 with titanium rails and copper rivets. :)


I am eyeing the Deda jaguar green bar tape, but so far the only place I've been able to find it is PBK and we've never ordered from there. I'm also debating about green leather bar tape (Brooks), but wow is that ever expensive and the way I go through bar tape, I'm not sure it is worth it.

Next, I need to decide if I like the handlebar height so we can cut down the steerer tube, and we need to paint the front fork. The painting of the front fork will not occur till my Giant arrives and I have another bicycle to ride.