danvangijn@hotm

Any thoughts/useful comments on the suitablity of the following for day to day commuting, combined with some light track use? Which parts will need replacing eventually, and which ones can stay? Any comments would be really appreciated.

bob jackson track bike

techone

That's a much better bike than a bianchi pista, windsor, iro, whatever... but it costs quite a bit more.
Don't think anything will need to be replaced for quite a while, unless you crash it.
You in the UK? if not, you'll have some hefty shipping charges and most likely some customs tax.

These are hand made and built up in Leeds, excellent quality.

Momentum

The Miche group is meant to be pretty good - do a search on this site cos I think someone wrote a full review of it a while ago. MA3 rims and sapim spokes anre all good and I expect BJ will have a pretty good wheelbuilder on hand.

I have one of these frames and it is excellent - handbuilt lugged 631. It rides really well, not super tight geometry but definitely track geometry. Very nicely built and finished and the paintjobs are really good. You can choose them in loads of colours as well.

As a complete bike it is a pretty good deal at that proce - like Tech says you won't need to replace anything unless you want it to be more pimpy or you crash it.

moki

A $1500 Bob Jackson and you want to know which parts will need replacement? Where do you work, and when can I start?

Sure there are tons of playa pimp parts out there, but why even bother? Unless you weigh 220 lbs, or are racing competitively, I doubt any hardware will make an appreciable difference in ride quality. The only things that you'd really notice would be the saddle, stem (if you change the rise / length), handlebars, pedals, and tires.

Take your hourly wage, and pay yourself to ride hard and maintain your bike. Maximum ROI, given the initial capital investment.

danvangijn@hotm

Thanks for all the comments guys. Yeah, I do live in the UK so don't have to worry about horrendous shipping costs/custom taxes. I had initially thought about getting a 'stock' IRO angus and get it shipped out, but I imagine with the combined shipping (about 180 dollars according to Tony) and any customs that I would have to pay would work out to be a similar price to the BJ.

Sadly my wages at the moment are relatively non-existent, although all that should change come June next year...I guess I'm just forward thinking. Now all I have to worry about is what colour/lugs/chrome I want. Thinking enamel black (I can imagine the novelty wearing off on some of the other choices) with white stickers and chrome forks....I'll have to think about it. I quite like the Ivory example shown aswell.

What colour combinations have any other Bob Jackson owners gone for? Would be interested to know.

Thanks again,

Daniel

boycey

I've got a Bob Jackson running on Miche parts and have no complaints whatsoever. It's like riding over carpet compared to the alu frame I had before. The build quality is excellent, as is the paint (I went for the ivory). The build time was longer than they initially promised though; and they had no off-the-peg frames available as advertised on the website.

Wierd Beard

I just recieved my custom BJ frame yesterday and built it up last night. Took it for a test ride this morning and its a thing of beauty! Mixture of fillet welds and lugs with a few personal mods. Should have pictures soon and I'll post them with details in the pictures sticky.

All in all an excellent company to deal with though - there are 3 or 4 people rockin' the off-the-peg version now in Glasgow. I say go for it!

chicagoamdream

Damn...is there any place in the States that would carry this?

Momentum

Mine is metallic petrol blue with black lug outlines and white decals. The black outlines match the dirt from London's streets which is sweet. If I was gonna order it again I would ask them to do it with no downtube or seattube decals, just headtube and 631.
I built it up with a mixture of stuff that I had from a previous frame that a taxi rebuilt for me. Goldtec/CXP33 rear wheel, mavic cosmic elite front and handlebars that I have grown fond of changing (mostly bullhorns but risers at the moment).

Also I have an obscenely big bike so it looks like it runs on 650c wheels.

Gotta get it straight from BJ in the UK, so probably nowhere carries them in stock in the US. Could order it from the UK and pay shipping though.

chicagoamdream

Well, I see you can just order the frame...that could save you some cash if you weren't happy with the stuff it came with (which all looks fine to me).

Now, I might just be able to justify shipping on just the frame...can anyone with one of these post pics?

techone

https://search.freefind.com/find.html...ry=bob+jackson

chicagoamdream

Man. I'm really feeling this bike. I'm definitely going to keep my eye on it.

Anyone know what the build-time for these would be? I can't imagine that they would really have "off-the-peg" models ready to go, considering the many sizes and colors they offer.

danvangijn@hotm

Aaaargghh! So many choices to make. I must admit that my personal favourite so far is the ivory/chrome/red from Antonio Ramos. They all look so much cleaner without that front brake. If only I had the balls.....

Antonio Ramos BJ

Momentum

You can see mine in the old men 1% ride report thread https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/153098-old-men-1-london-pictures-warning-explicit-content.html

It is the very big blue bike with bullhorns being ridden by me in a waistcoat and flat cap in the second post on that thread

chicagoamdream

Cheers...very nice looking--you guys make for an intimidating crew. Momentum, how long did it take for BJ to run you off a frame with the sweet blue scheme?

You cats should definitely plan on bringing that old man style to Meat & Great '06.

Momentum

I can't remember exactly how long it took - roughly three weeks I think. It was an off-the-peg frame in 25.5" so I guess they don't sell loads of them and probably had one built and ready to paint. I get the impression that the off-the-peg frames get built and primed and then painted to order for customers.

Apparently BJ can be a bit hit and miss on emails, so if they don't reply then a phone call will do the trick. I just phoned them up and placed the order (frame + headset) and it arrived a few weeks later, exactly as they predicted.