ThermionicScott 

+1. "Golden age" French randonneurs not only didn't mind taking a hand off the bars to shift, they apparently didn't mind if the front shifter was way back on the seat tube, or even both in the case of Rene Herse's "demontable" models. Any unnecessary cable added needless weight in their eyes.

Also, bar-end shifter cables can interfere with a handlebar bag if not done right.

That said, it's worth noting that Ernest Csuka was willing to build up rando bikes with brifters if that's what the customer wanted.

Ride-Fly

Some awesome bikes in here! Love the burgundy/red Motobecanes especially!

drummond72

Which bars are these? B135?

FloridaBoy

Originally Posted by Steamer So why is it that most of the bikes I see on actual brevets and perms don't have fat tires and huge handlebar bags?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with those choices. They are good ones. But threads like this suggest there is a particular type of bike you should use for rando and that is absurd. Wrong. And absurd. And wrong.


After WWII cars were in short supply. In France this type of bike was a substitute. Pretty simple. Perhaps Rene Herse was that eras Tom Ritchey?


You can get a modern Herse frame for a mere $7,500.


Rene Herse Bicycles

Bandera

"Soma Stanyan 2017

It's been a while since Soma announced any new lugged frames. Well the wait is over at last. For 2017 Soma will be producing a limited number of totally redesigned Stanyan lugged road/audax framesets"

Soma Feed: Soma Stanyan 2017

TimmyT 

Covered in failsauce, IMO. Two of the best features of the previous version were vertical drops and a 1 1/8 threadless steerer set up.

Bandera

Agree, De-Modernizing the Stanyan by dumping the 1 1/8 threadless steerer & vertical dropouts puts it in the yawn-so-what faux retro class, not a modern-ish purpose built Audax/LD machine.

A flexier front end & pain-in-the-behind bar/stem swap out (I'm on my 3rd change on my Stanyan): No thanks to either.
Vertical dropouts w/ mudguards fitted make for no-hassle rear wheel removal/install not a wrestling match w/ horizontals & inflated tires

Disappointing, but I already have the original version.

-Bandera

chewybrian 

Most of the bikes I've seen on brevets were skinny tired racing bikes, often with no racks or bags and seldom with fenders. There were others out there, like recumbents and mountain bikes and touring bikes with racks, and a few Rene Herse style rando bikes. As long as the bike is comfortable and reliable, pretty much anything goes. It is more important to have a handle on nutrition, and a good attitude.

I did two series on a mountain bike, and 1000k on a touring bike. They were a bit slower than the skinny tire rigs, but at least saved me the embarrassment of walking up the tall hills, like most of the 53/11 club. Now, I am building a somewhat traditional style rando rig, but not because it is necessary. I simply want one.

ThermionicScott 

Vertical dropouts aren't even "modern" if you are hip to what the French constructeurs were doing in the 1930s/1940s. This is just a bad change, plain and simple.

TimmyT 

I actually went to steel stems on most of my 1" steerer tubed bikes. The flex was too much. I was thinking about changing the fork on my go fast Ti bike to go to 1" threadless.

noglider 

As Spongebob Squarepants said, "Wow. You are strong!"

Sir_Name 

I recently decided to try a (steel) Grand Cru quill stem on the below build, everything else vintage has the typical '80s Al quill stem design. The extra stiffness at the bars (carried over from a previous build) is certainly noticeable and appreciated in more dicey terrain. The OD of the stem extension is larger than the top tube, which looks a little off to me. Tough to tell when riding though.

I suppose this could be considered a randonneuse, it's in that vein even if I haven't ridden any brevets. I'd call it a 650b jack of all trades.

vintagerando

Any suggestions for handlebars with less reach (apprx 75mm) but still have a flare at the ends where bar-end shifters are installed?

Darth Lefty 

Here's a handy thread with a bunch of people talking about their rando handlebars. I think the Gerry Burgess ones might have the shortest reach. But not sure which direction of "flare" you mean... the drops are angled off vertical but the sweep is straight back.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...fferences.html

Unfortunately it looks like the photo links for the Nitto bars have been killed.

abellanti

I have always liked the 1950s-1970s chrome Rene Herse bikes, but never found one I could afford. The closest I came is a chrome 1970 Schwinn Paramount P15. This was their first year as a sport touring bike. It came with a Campy triple, Cinelli model one stem, Campy track pedals, Brooks saddle, Campy derailleurs (even though I switched the rear to a Shimano Crane) , Prugnat lugs and wonderful chrome. However, the wheels are 27 inch. While not French, with French parts, cantilever brakes and 650 wheels, the addition of some fenders and a rack would make a good randonneur.

bwilli88 

I hope that this might qualify for this thread
My Centurion Pro-Tour from 81 with Shimano 5700 triple, Acorn bags, Nitto rack, GB bars, SR stem, SR crankset, 50-46-34 rings, Shimano XT 11-36 cassette, Velocity Dyad rims laced to Deore LX hubs.

arfrhmn

Georgeus bike.
I love that high rise stem, very effective.
That cross big big chain line. Unless it was only for photoshoot, will wear your drivetrain faster.

ollo_ollo

Really appreciated & enjoyed all the beautiful bikes pictured in this thread. Great variety, yet all get the job done. I was drawn back into bicycle commuting and general cycling by a co-worker who commuted year around, rode with the Seattle Randonneurs and once did PBP. That began 16 or so years ago & unfortunately I have no pics of his rides but he definitely influenced the type of bike I ride to this day.

I can contribute pics of 2 bikes to the thread as they would work for brevets, and were regularly ridden on "long rides"(for me) of 40-60 miles which, depending on terrain, took around 4 to 4 1/2 hours. That was the amount of time I generally considered my limit, being short enough to enjoy exploring new places but no so long as to dampen my enthusiasm for cycling.

1st is my 1975 Motobecane Grand Jubile, built up from a used frame, with appropriate French or Japanese components. Saddle is a B17 butchered by me to resemble a Brooks Swift. Stronglight headset and triple crank (50-38-30), Shimano Arabesque derailleurs, shifters & brake levers, Weinmann Brakes, Giles Berthaud SS fenders & leather front mudflap, the rear mudflap is from a piece of old belt. 2 sets of wheels. originally it had Araya semi-aero rims on Mavik hubs with 14-28 on a 5 speed freewheel that I still ride locally with 25's. I took this bike along whenever we traveled and it has been ridden all over the Western U.S.

I don't usually use a front bag, but pictured is a cheap ($25) e-Bay purchase I am trying out. It has 2 straps for handlebars plus a rear mount strap that I fastened to the stem with toe clip strap. Seems useful.

Pictured on it now are a bargain, new wheelset I scored a few years ago at a Swap Meet. They are Mavic rims on Shimano 600 hubs with 13-30(I think, but would have to count) on a 6 speed freewheel, and at $30 per one of my better buys ever. Still using my last set of 28mm Armadillos.


Next up is a bike I bought new. A triple crank Torelli Gran Sasso, 9 speed Daytona/Centaur, Lumo-Tec head/tail light powered by a Union bottle generator. Silver SKS fenders to start, but they are brittle in freezing weather and a picked up stick shattered the front. I replaced it with a free Planet Bike take-off curtesy my Olympia, Wa LBS and have just left it that way. With the fenders, I am limited to 25mm tires.
Don

randyjawa 

I honestly have not read through this whole set of posts, yet, but this seems impossible, to me.

Sir_Name 

Having a short, light rider helps, and iirc they were weighed w/o tires. Integrated racks, lights, etc. reduces superfluous bracket/clamp weight. Unfortunately I don't have one of those to weigh, but they're impressive machines. I wouldn't be surprised if the claimed weights were accurate +/-.

fender1

Put your learnin' hat on.......


https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/...hnical-trials/

jeirvine 

Interestingly, in the latest Bicycle Quarterly, Jan reports on a revived technical trials held in France. He was one of the judges, and was lamenting how heavy most of the submitted bikes were, including some with carbon parts.

On a related note, other than buying a $7000 new Singer frame, what new construction frames carry on the classic 40's/50s French rando characteristics, in terms of geometry, features, etc? Velo Orange, Weigle? Who else?

TimmyT 

Production is going to be V-O and Soma, but I think that a lot of what is going on with light steel frames that are small batch (Ocean Air's Rambler, Black Mtn, etc.) are applicable.
Custom is probably a bit of a bigger pool: Weigle, MAP, Elephant, Jeff Lyon, etc.

I'm not totally sold on old, as there are a lot of advantages in things that are more recent and come out of the racing world.

noglider 

I'm starting to feel this way, too. It's taking me so long to get my bikes to work the way I want, and if I just bought a new bike, it would all work just fine.

nlerner

I did four rides last year of over 100 miles and was on three different bikes from the fleet:

One ride was a 130-mile day with lots of climbing and over 200 miles over three days with lots of climbing and another was a 24-hour 360K. I was on my Rivendell Romulus:

IMAGE_322.jpg

For a 200K plus on a flat course, I was on my '94 Merlin Ti:

photo 2.JPG

For a relatively local century, i was on my '97 Lemond Buenos Aires 650B conversion:

Day7_2.JPG

I rode several other bikes on rides that ranged from 60-80 miles, but these three were the distance machines. While they're all pretty different with tires ranging from 25mm to 38mm wide, they are set up to be comfortable for long miles, are relatively light weight (the Rivendell definitely being the heaviest), and they're reasonably versatile in terms of gearing. I suppose those are the characteristics I need for brevets.