Members' bikes

[Wobbly John]

Compact short wheelbase, innit. 

I think SWB is reserved for those that have the bottom bracket forward of the front wheel - infact my M5 Citymate with the bottom bracket welded on the front of the head tube is still usually classed as a compact long wheel base (CLWB)

[Kim]

Oops, I meant compact long wheelbase, of course.

The BikeE is the canonical example.

[LEE]

New company car/school bus . . .



Pure Marmite 

I suppose I should be careful what I say..(not mine I hasten to add, a quick go on my son's friend's Easy-Rider).   If you don't like cleaning spokes then it's not the bike for you.

[BarryS]

I have long wanted a proper touring bike, having always 'managed' with various racing and audax machines. Roberts Roughstuff frame ebay find last year and I have been improving it since then - I think it's finished now!
I am surprised how well it rides unloaded, but the real plus is with full panniers, can still 'honk' the machine uphill with no shimmy at all, never managed that before on a lightweight. Was unsure about road discs but am rapidly being convinced through the recent bad weather.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Roberts Roughstuff

Very tidy

[clarion]

Nice.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Another Gilles Berthoud saddle / Thomson stem combination

What rims are those?

[zigzag]

I have long wanted a proper touring bike, having always 'managed' with various racing and audax machines. Roberts Roughstuff frame ebay find last year and I have been improving it since then - I think it's finished now!

looks very fit for purpose, i especially like the provision for a frame pump - there's no better place for it on a bike. other bits are carefully chosen as well (as on SergeantPluck's tourer), which i like and appreciate a lot.

[marcusjb]

Truly magnificent - great bike, love it!

[clarion]

Are the Crocs an essential part of the Look?

[BarryS]

The rims on the Roberts are Mavic XC717 disc. I thought they were a nice complement to Thomson parts with the same crisp almost industrial finish

[Sergeant Pluck]

The rims on the Roberts are Mavic XC717 disc. I thought they were a nice complement to Thomson parts with the same crisp almost industrial finish

I agree - I really like the combination

I need a set-back seat post, like you, but sadly I don't think I have enough seatpost on show to accommodate the bend in a Thomson.  At some stage I'll get disc specific rims, and maybe a dynamo, but for now I have the serviceable enough wheels from a previous bike.

[TimC]

I have long wanted a proper touring bike, having always 'managed' with various racing and audax machines. Roberts Roughstuff frame ebay find last year and I have been improving it since then - I think it's finished now!
I am surprised how well it rides unloaded, but the real plus is with full panniers, can still 'honk' the machine uphill with no shimmy at all, never managed that before on a lightweight. Was unsure about road discs but am rapidly being convinced through the recent bad weather.

Sweet. What are the 'guards?

[BarryS]

Gilles Berthoud stainless 50mm - first time I have tried them. Real tricky to fit and get a good line, but they do seem more effective than usual SKS. Mudflap made from the back of a Black n' Red notebook, which works well, but I ideally need something a bit more flexible I think. This is more like having extra mudguard attached, and can knock on the kerb etc. Sugestions?

[BarryS]

I need a set-back seat post, like you, but sadly I don't think I have enough seatpost on show to accommodate the bend in a Thomson.

You need to have about 11cm of seatpost showing before you can use a bent Thomson post. Berthoud, like Brooks, really do need some setback.

[LEE]

but I ideally need something a bit more flexible I think. This is more like having extra mudguard attached, and can knock on the kerb etc. Sugestions?

I just use black DUCK/GAFFER tape stuck onto my (cleaned beforehand) front plastic mudflap (folded back on itself so you have shiny side out back and front)

The curve of the orginal mudflap gives it enough rigidity against the wind but it's very flexible against kerbs..etc. 
Have it as short or as long as you like.

On the rear I use a section of plastic milkbottle, covered in DUCK tape (so it looks nicer) and attached with a small cable tie (drilled mudguard).

There's a thread on the topic somewhere

[andrewc]

No, I don't think so. I've googled this and there are a few racks that need spaced out by a few mm (Tubus Duo is one, I think) but only 3 mm or so and that's if you want to use the rear pair of eyelets. Lots of racks seem to just fit.

The front pair of eyelets are just as accessible as the non-disc. I don't know anything about front racks but I guess for touring loads the rear eyelets are the best as they are sort of under the axle?

Have you seen any good uses for those 2 bottle bosses at the sides of the fork crown?

An illustrated article on how to fit Surly's "Nice Rack" onto a Disc Trucker http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=11783&v=2t

[Sergeant Pluck]

No, I don't think so. I've googled this and there are a few racks that need spaced out by a few mm (Tubus Duo is one, I think) but only 3 mm or so and that's if you want to use the rear pair of eyelets. Lots of racks seem to just fit.

The front pair of eyelets are just as accessible as the non-disc. I don't know anything about front racks but I guess for touring loads the rear eyelets are the best as they are sort of under the axle?

Have you seen any good uses for those 2 bottle bosses at the sides of the fork crown?

An illustrated article on how to fit Surly's "Nice Rack" onto a Disc Trucker http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=11783&v=2t

Thanks Andrewc, I had seen that article. I'm not sure if I am that keen on the amount of spacers he's had to use, but the rack ends up nice and low and well back - I'm assuming that is going to be more stable.

[Ham]

This fettle for a mudguard on my Pompetamine may help. Using a bolt as a stud, locking ordinary nuts together to provide a solid mount.

[Tewdric]

I have long wanted a proper touring bike, having always 'managed' with various racing and audax machines. Roberts Roughstuff frame ebay find last year and I have been improving it since then - I think it's finished now!
I am surprised how well it rides unloaded, but the real plus is with full panniers, can still 'honk' the machine uphill with no shimmy at all, never managed that before on a lightweight. Was unsure about road discs but am rapidly being convinced through the recent bad weather.

That's lush!  Bit tarty though without a front rack.  Can you fit a Tara?

[Cudzoziemiec]

You want him to fit a Tara? I know the LHT is a load carrier, but even so...

[Sergeant Pluck]

This fettle for a mudguard on my Pompetamine may help. Using a bolt as a stud, locking ordinary nuts together to provide a solid mount.

Thanks. I won't need as much clearance as that when I eventually fit a front rack - a brake shoe nut used as a spacer, will be more than enough from what I can see. I wouldn't want to go much longer than 5 mm or so.

What's odd is that most low-rider front racks don't seem to suit fitment to the front pair of fork eyelets - those eyelets seem to be only useful for carrier-type racks or porteur racks.

What I'd like is a little Nitto rack at the top - I'd have to fettle that by buying a particular Nitto model then adding longer rack struts to use my mid-fork bosses as I don't have cantis - and a Tubus Duo. 

[eck]

It's a few years since I posted pics of my bikes, so I thought I'd do an update. Some have come, some have gone, so here's what we have at the moment, roughly in order of appearance:

Ribble, Columbus SL, 1992, been fixed for about six years. 42,527km


Marin Bear Valley, 1996, resprayed (badly) ca 2007. Just used as a hack winter bike, not off-road. 13,718km


Joe Waugh, 653, my only custom frame, still my favourite bike. 14,379km


Airborne Zeppelin, 2003. Discovered a small crack behind the BB in 2010, after about 25,000km. Got it repaired, still going strong. 33,935km


Orbit Gemini tandem, 2004, got it soon after we got married. It's great fun, and so is the tandem! 4,628km


Blue Ribble, 2006. Well, everyone needs a blue Ribble! Currently set up for the turbo, with tri-bars so I can get used to "the position" before the summer. 14,678km


St John Str Cycles, 2007. Frame bought second hand, a heavy bike but really comfortable. 19,074km


Yellow Ribble, tatty frame bought second hand and cheap, 2010, again, built up with spare bits. 8,281km


van Nicholas Zephyr, 2010. I bought this to replace the cracked Airborne frame before I knew it could be repaired! Well, N+1 and all that! 4,942km


And finally, de Rosa Avant, bought last year as a "significant" birthday present! I'd wanted a de Rosa for over 20 years. I can't ride fast enough to justify it, but it's lovely! 1,774km

So, I hope I've obeyed all the rules: chain on big ring, valves at 6 o'clock etc etc.

Sorry for the rubbish foties, but I hope you enjoy criticising the bikes!

[Moose57]

Nothing to criticise there, just makes me realise I can get more bikes after all. I ONLY have 4!! 

[BarryS]

That's lush!  Bit tarty though without a front rack.  Can you fit a Tara?

Indeed I can, in fact it has a set of Tubus Duo packs already, just not fitted while I fettled the (very annoying) Berthoud mudguards.
The tarty bit is a complete x4 set of blue panniers I now have to go with it.