Over the next week or so I will be putting together this:
RenoVelo, a Rivendell Sam Hillborne
This bike will be used for touring and this is an ideal frame with which to start. The steel tubing is of a gauge or thickness to contribute to the rigidity of the bike when loaded, and the geometry of the bike will make it solid and stable on the road. The 650b wheels with some nice cushy tires will make the ride super plush. In it’s first life it was a demo bike at Rivendell World Headquarters in Walnut Creek, CA and now it is reincarnated as the RenoVelo. Some other details that make it a good touring frame are:
135 mm between the dropouts accepts a "mountain" or touring hub. A wider bracing angle makes a stronger wheel than the 130 mm spacing on a standard "road" wheel, and it makes the frame rear triangle stiffer too.Lots of places to bolt racks and fenders.The head tube extends above the top of the top tube. Makes it easy to get the bike "riv'ed out"A place for a kickstand!Simple, durable square taper cartridge bottom bracket
Studs for cantilever brakes. Depending on the model, better stopping power and clearances than side pulls.
If you are interested in following the progress of this build, as you should be, check back here starting next week. More photos on our Flickr page too. (click the photo banner on the right)
Quill stemsinsert into the threaded steer tube on a bicycle fork and are held in place by means of a bolt which tightens a wedge inside the tube. The other type of stem commonly used is a so-called threadless stem which clamps to a threadless steer tube. Quill stems and threaded steer tubes are less common nowadays, but the Nitto company in Japan still makes a wide range. Here is a side by side photo of most of the stems they make. Each stem in the photo is placed so that the minimum insertion mark on the stem aligns with the top of the ruler. This gives a basic visual cue as to how high the various stems can extend above the top of the tube. Notice that the stems are placed at an angle meant to replicate the 70 some degree angle of the head tube on most bikes. NEWS FLASH! 09/26/2012 We now stock the 225 Technomic Deluxe stems. These have a long quill like the Technomic but are cold forged and have the same finish as the Deluxe. 25.4 or 26.0 clamp sizes.
From Left to right: Nitto Dirt Drop 100, Nitto Dirt Drop 80, Nitto Technomic, Nitto Technomic Deluxe and Nitto Dynamic
The Dynamic stems only come with a 26.0 mm clamp size, and the Dirt Drop, Technomic and Deluxe stems come with either 25.4mm or 26.0 mm clamps. A 25.4 stem will not work with a handlebar that has a diameter at the center clamping point of 26.0. However a 26.0 stem will work with a 25.4 handlebar as long as a shim, specially made for this purpose is used between the stem and the bar. The Dirt Drop stems are only made in 80 mm and 100mm versions (the extension from the vertical-ish riser part or quill part of the stem). The other models come with extensions generally from 80 mm to 100mm in 10 mm increments. Got it?
Hopefully, this is a useful comparison for the bicycle traveler who might be thinking about changing the position of their handlebars or about getting different handlebars.
J.B. Brooks took out the first patent for leather saddles in 1882, and the company that bears his name has been making them ever since. Brooks saddles have become iconic, known for their good looks, comfort and durability.
Sweet Brooks B67
This two part video relates a little more about the history of the company and shows the process of making each saddle by hand, as has been done for over one hundred years. The Bike Touring News store carries Brooks saddles and always strives to have most models in stock or readily available. ( Alan at EcoVelo just posted this photo essay on Brooks saddles)
Let’s review. We know that v-brakes, also called linear pull brakes, require a brake lever configured to “pull” more cable than do side pull or cantilever brakes. We also know that so called aero style drop bar levers fit on drop bars and on moustache bars. (it’s a diameter thing) And those levers have rubberized hoods which are folded back out of the way when wrapping the bars with tape and pop back in place to cover the tape where it wraps around the lever clamp.
The hoods on drop bar brake levers.
So what if you have flat or riser mountain bike style handlebars or a swept back bar like the Nitto Albatross? The diameter where the brakes clamp is a little smaller and there is no bend to accommodate the shape of the brake lever clamp. You need a mountain bike style lever, which looks like this.
Brake lever for flat bars or swept back bars.
Get some grips (or just get a grip) and clamp these near the end of the grip. And make sure you get a lever designed to work with your brake calipers. For shifters you can use trigger type shifters or a top mount shifter or bar end shifters. More on that in later installments.
Well, the weather finally cooperated this weekend and we were able to complete our Boise-Montour-Boise overnight bike trip. We were attempting to find a passage over the foothills without traveling on the main highways. That didn’t exactly work out, but the adventure and the exploration were really the main point.
And the timing couldn’t have been better. It had been a difficult week and the combination of work-a-day events and everyday average life events were beginning to feel oppressive. Funny how halfway through the first day the thought patterns in the brain were beginning to be a little bit more objective and coherent. Such is the power of getting out on the bike!
Just after the road turns to dirt and just before it becomes Pearl RoadWhere's Sky King?
Eagle Road becomes Willow Creek road as one travels north from Eagle and about 17 miles from our front door it turns into dirt. A fairly well maintained dirt road which goes basically straight up for the next 8 miles, and becomes Pearl Road along the way. We were watching for a road which, according to Google Maps, veered off to the left shortly after the abandoned mining town of Pearl and wound back down towards Montour. We never saw this alleged road and finally ended up on Highway 55 just outside of Horseshoe Bend. Dropping down into Horseshoe Bend on the old highway and then about 11 miles on scenic highway 52 along the Payette River brought us to Montour. About 10 miles more than we had planned on, and the 47 total miles for the day took us almost 5 hours to ride. Luckily, we were able to replenish our carbohydrates and spirits at the general store!
Can you spot the bike touring dietary supplement?
Being so replenished, and having set up the hammocks, we proceeded to cook our pasta primavera and to enjoy the sunny windless evening, with mosquitoes. Sitting in the sun and reading, we could have been anywhere….Texas, California or Croatia, and yet we were only a few hours from home.
Dual Hennessy Hammocks
The next morning we decided to take the dirt road on the north side of the river into Emmett instead of taking the main highway. According to the campground host, the road was well maintained with little loose gravel and only one climb. Never listen to a cigarette smoking diesel pickup driving campground host. I’m sure the road is a piece of cake driving the pickup home from the bar in Emmett. It’s just that the climbs were numerous and sharp, and the washboard effect was in place on most of them….. heck of a way to start the day.
After a big breakfast in Emmett, the ride up Old Freezeout hill and then on highway 16 back into town was relatively uneventful. And so, with just a little bit of planning and just a little over 24 hours, we were able to get away for a little adventure, recharge and come back raring to go and ready for the next kick in the teeth.
So, the question came up about which brake lever to use on a Nitto Grand Randonneur handlebar. That’s sort of a two part question. In order to answer it we need to delve into brake calipers. Some common brake calipers are: Cantilever
Cantilever Brake Caliper
Sidepull
The sidepull brake caliper. Center PullThe Center Pull Brake caliper Linear Pull a.k.a V-Brake
The V-brake, sometimes called a linear pull brake.
Stupid v-brake. It throws a monkey wrench into the whole works. Even though they work great and have fantastic stopping power, they use a different leverage than the others to work properly. So whatever lever is used with these calipers, it needs to be v-brake compatible.
“Drop” or “road” style handlebars are of a standard diameter at the point the brakes are meant to clamp to the bar. So any lever that looks like this will work:
The Cane Creeek SCR-5 sports a wide, cushy grip- plus it has lizards!
These are also called “aero” brake levers because, rather than exiting the top of the lever and looping over the handlebars, the cable and housing exit under the hood and run along the handlebar, under the wrap, for a nice clean look. Shimano brake levers.... clean look! Make the tops of the bars level with a smooth transition to the brake hoods, dangit.
The Cane Creek and Tektro levers have a feature known as the Campy style quick release which is a button that releases the cable tension allowing the brake calipers to spread out to clear the tire when the wheel needs to be removed. It’s called Campy style because Campagnolo (Campy) brake calipers do not have quick releases.
Shimano aero brake levers don’t have quite as wide a hood which results in a more classic look. And they don’t have the quick release feature on the brake lever, again maybe not a problem since most brake calipers will have a quick release.
The drop bar brake levers we sell will fit on any of the drop bars we sell. and they will work on the not-so-ironic moustache bars too. Just be sure, if you have v-brakes to get the Tektro RL520 v-brake version. The other standard levers will work with cantilever, side pull or center pull brakes. And finally if you’re replacing a handlebar or just the brake levers you might want to get a cable and housing kit to replace the old set.
Today I found a link on the Bike Forums Touring site for an app for finding camping spots using the IPhone or Android. It’s called AllStays Camp and Tent. With it the bike tourist can find campgrounds near their current location and over 13,000 campgrounds in the US and Canada.
Camp and Tent app screenshot
Details Camp and Tent screenshot
It shows maps, directions and details about the campground like number and types of sites, amenities and phone numbers. This particular version only shows campgrounds with tent sites but there is an app for camping with RVs as well. It has a manual search feature with states and towns listed alphabetically with the number of listed campgrounds, and the searches can be filtered by Forest Service, KOA, National Park, etc.
The Bike Hermit is pretty excited to find this, but then he doesn’t get out much either.
(Update 10/2/2014: SKS have updated their fender line and the Chromoplastic fenders and Longboard fenders have been combined and are now called SKS Chromoplastic Longboards)
The SKS Longboard fenders are in at the Bike Touring News Store. I have been anxious to see how long these really are. So I did a side by side comparison with the Honjo alloy fenders and the Planet Bike Cascadia fenders.
rear Fenders- the SKS Longboard on the bottom, then the Planet Bike Cascadia and the Honjo
The rear fenders are about equal in length, but with an aftermarket mudflap the Honjo fender would provide the most coverage, maybe not as important as front fender coverage- except maybe for whoever is behind you!
Arguably, the coverage provided by the front fenders is the most important because the farther the fender comes down on the trailing side the less spray onto the rider’s feet. And as we can see, there is quite a bit of difference in the coverage of these three front fenders.
front fenders- SKS Longboard on bottom, Honjo, then Planet Bike Cascadia
In the above photo of front fenders the fenders are positioned according to the point where they would attach to the bicycle fork, and you can see that the Longboard fenders are the longest providing more coverage in the front as well as in the rear than the other two. To be fair, with an aftermarket mud flap the Honjo fender would provide equal coverage.
Aftermarket mudflap provides more coverage on the front fender.
View Larger Map
The forecast for this Memorial Day weekend features the possibility of snow! So the planned overnight excursion from Boise to Montour, ID will be postponed. We could do it but it’s not designed as a test of endurance, it’s supposed to be fun. At any rate this is the route. From Boise we will head west to Eagle and then north on Eagle road which is paved for only a few more miles. Then it’s gravel all the way to Pearl and Montour. Total distance from Boise to Montour will be about 36 miles, and I’m guessing it will take us about 3 hours. There is a campground in Montour that we have visited on earlier trips, and it will probably be less crowded after Memorial Day anyway.
UPDATE!
We finally got to do this one. Read the account at Bike Overnights Adventure Cycling’s most excellent blog.
The weather looks a little sketchy for our planned Memorial Day overnight bike trip so it may be postponed one week. Not that it’s going to be horrible weather, but it will be more fun when a little warmer. Maybe I should call this Fair Weather Bike Touring News?
Sky King’s bike is ready to go.
Wald Basket on a Nitto M-18 front rack
Grant Petersen at Rivendell pioneered the use of an inexpensive wire basket zip tied to a Nitto rack for overnight bike tripping. Sort of primitive but it looks like it should work. (Notice I’m letting Sky King do the experiment)
Zip Ties are the preferred method for attaching the basket to the rack.The Nitto M18 attaches with a metal tang which shares the front brake bolt.For a bike without mid-fork eyelets Nitto provides these stainless steel clamps.The Nitto R10 Bag Supporter
The Nitto R10 Bag Supporter is a real minimalist rack but she is just going to use it to support a large rear saddlebag and a sleeping bag.
Sky
While almost any bike can be used for an overnight trip,Sky King’s bike, Sky, sports road style drop handlebars, bar end shifters, a triple crankset with an 8 speed cassette and relatively voluminous tires about 34 to 35 millimeters wide. The wider tires will offer some cushion on the gravel roads we will be traversing. The small front chainring with 26 teeth combined with a large rear cog of 32 teeth provides a low gear of 21 which should get her up any of the hills we will encounter. (see my post about gear inches to see what that means)
More about the actual packing, the Bike Hermits setup and the route will be the subject of future posts.
