Re: [CR]heron bicycles prices-PBP-delete if you like...Gilbert reply long

(Example: Events:Eroica)

From: <CYCLESTORE@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2001 20:53:30 EST
Subject: Re: [CR]heron bicycles prices-PBP-delete if you like...Gilbert reply long
To: moos@penn.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, Arthurradley@hotmail.com, randonneurextra@hotmail.com


Howdy Jerry and all,

(Please note some web references below)

I'm suprised at how much differently similarly designed bicycles ride and how much opinion varies. Same tubing, same geometry, same components different ride. If eel that even material much vary a high degree from time to time. I have over the years decided that anything I buy has to fit it's intended use. Fit is paramount of course. I like most of Grant Peterson's Heron/Rivendell philosophy on frame design and style. He does occasionally stick his head in the sand (No more than Me of course) and is somewhat oblivious to the need for a finely finished frame to have brazon's for common accessories for loaded touring (Low rider racks with clamps on a $400+ paint job bother me).

Just some thoughts on Audax/Randonnee Bike Selection, I have arguably shoehorned fenders and generator lights on as many bikes as anyone in the US for the randonees and Paris Brest Paris (P-B-P) so I feel my opinion is valid (only my opinion). Over the years I have seen the winners, the losers, the stylists and the impractical all successfully complete the PBP on virtually every type of bike, recumbent, trike and pedal car. So as not to discourage anyone from participating in either the PBP or the shorter less ambitious qualifiers let me say that any bicycle is allowed as long as it has the proper lights and no aero bars, practically. The events are ideal for classic bikes because they possess the best off the peg geometry, clearance and comfort of than most bikes available today (exceptions abound). These are come as you (and your bike) are events and the pace is generally civilized (though some go quite fast). While I don't recommend it many of the randonnuers actually ride fixed wheels for the challenge (I can usually catch them near the end and they become putty at the hands of my freewheel near the end) and a few internal hubs are becoming a common sight. So you see a special bike is not needed, so come join us.

A REAL RANDONNEE Bike should have these features:

Good comfortable fit: High bars, low bars, dropped, flat, moustache-what ever works for you. A comfortable saddle it a great benefit! B-17's and Pro's are the favorite. #1 failure for PBP is deep seated joint and muscle pain from a harsh riding bike, not lack of fitness.

Clearance for wide tires and mudguards: Most road bikes today are racing bikes which are fast but have narrow gearing and no room for wide tires or mudguards, though I've shoe horned plenty. Wide tires for reliability and comfort and generous clearance for mudguards greatly cut down on headaches. All events are run rain or shine and lack of mudguards and their proper use are, I believe the #2 reason for PBP failure by Americans. It's the number one reason people don't start (if it's raining they don't show sometimes) Really tight clearance bikes should not have mudguards (At the moment mudguards are not required in PBP or qualifiers except by individual organizers but are highly recommended) because of danger of debris jamming them and causing the wheels to lock (this will cause control problems when you are thrown over the bars). Wider mudguards have less problem with rubbing. Mudguards don't slow you down much unless they are lots wider than the tire used and the rear one may improve aerodynamics. What slows you down is waiting for the rain to stop (sometimes it doesn't) or shivering and riding in dirty oily water and misery not to mention a soggy chamois chafing ye olde backside.

Wide Range Gearing: Some guys ride a fixed and a strong rider on a flat course that's fine. A gear train with a wide ratio spread and capability to go wider for longer hillier events is lots better. Most of modern drive trains seen to give you low Atb gears or high road gears. Some of the older Triple setups have the most useable gear ranges. Close steps are good when going fast but far better to something to save a weak knee late in a ride. It's surpassing how good spinning up some Vermont mountain in B-M-B can feel if you can spin up that Vermont mountain. As far as gears over 100 gear inches they have limited use to most people in randonnee's. As a fat guy who gets dropped every time a carpenter's level tilts I use a big gear sometimes near 130 gear inches to catch people on the down side of a hill but it rarely works as well as coasting on my Moulton (it is very fast downhill). On low gears personal preference rules here. I did PBP with no complaints in 1983 with a 33 inch low but total I'd bring a little less than 1 to 1 ratio (27 gear inches) just as a precaution these days. Some of the qualifiers are extremely hilly in Western North Carolina and Virgina and that B-M-B (Boston Montreal) and along with baggage you will carry tired legs too. If you are building a bike from scratch or updating one's drivetrain the Sachs 3x7 hub (very wide range internal replaces front chainwheel [ works with STI Shifters and Gripshift style arrangement) and 7 cogs or your choice make a tough package. The Sturmey Sprinter 7 internal has a wide enough range 33-100 and proportionally lower or if you have the cash the Rohloff Speed Hub 14 beats the band with 14 evenly spaced non overlapping gears in a quiet, tough lightweight package that is clean on the bike. This isn't for everybody but if you want the ultimate.

Reliability: Tested, Solid well built equipment is what you need for Randonnuering! #3 Reason for Americans failing in PBP (or the qualifiers) is broken and unfixable equipment and/or not bringing spare parts! Are 190 gram tires the best choice for a 600km brevet on some gravel roads with your tandem. Can you ride a 16 spoke wheel with one broken. How crashworthy is it in a minor accident? Using super lightweight wheels and minimal spokes that can't easily be replaced will have you asking for a ride instead of completing one. You don't have to go overboard; there are heavy duty sewups and rims out there, but use common sense, gluing tubulars is slow going. Bring a spare tire if you can't stand riding on the rim very far and at least 2 tubes (I carry 3 and never worry) any a boot/tube patch kit and small specialty tools/parts so that foreign controle mechanics can assist me. I bring less on shorter rides because I expose myself to less potential trouble.

Lighting: Provisions should be made for 2 sets of lights with spare bulbs(rules require 3 each lamp). Experienced French Randonnuers use a generator setup with battery backup. Hi-Power rechargable lights are nice but none have the endurance for all night rides of several days. Large batteries can be very heavy. The latest generation LED rear lamps have come a long way to pushing incandescent rear lamps out of common use. Two of these on the rear will be quite reliable though many will opt for a generator with fender mounted tail lamps (rear fender mounted LED are now available). On the front a generator like the Bottom bracket mounted Union is excellent at modest cost while Shimano and Schmidt make smooth modern dynahub generators that are superb and quite. Naturally they require building a wheel around them. A halogen battery lamp like the Cateye Micro 2 (or similar) will give you a pretty fair backup (or supplement) if the generator fails. Backup bulbs, batteries and redundancy make you self reliant which is the true randonnuer's creed.

Adjustable Baggage Options: A Randonnuer bike will be used over long distances, over varied terrain, weather and various road surfaces. Racks and baggage should be selected carefully. Very little these days is modular like the old French bikes. It used to be a little ride you used a handlebar bag, then added a seatbag, then a saddlebag/rackpack or small panniers front or rear as the situation justified. Many cyclist attending from Europe rode to the start of PBP, stripped off panniers and side bags and the bikes were left with small day or weekend style racks with built in lighting for the main event itself. I rather like that idea. I had the same thing added to my Rene Herse when I visited Toronto for a 600km event years ago. It's nice when a bike can change it's intended use as easily as it's owner changing clothes.

Portability: I learned years ago in the days before auto ownership that a proper tour bike needs mudguards but it many times caused problems packing it in a vehicle or shipping to an event by air or other public transport. That's when I saw the Rene Herse demontable with take apart frame as an answer. It separates in 10 seconds and goes in the boot of a car more compactly than a racing machine without wheels and you do not get greasy from the train. The new S&S stainless couplers are a terrific idea but take lots of skill to install and slow to use and sort of ugly (one very notable exception are David at Bohemian Cycles S&S new artform couplers, he is on the CR list). At any rate a take apart feature has always been high on my list.

Very few bikes built custom or otherwise, old or new offer a wealth of the features above. After many hopeful searches I found one company that did and Jerry will not be suprised that it is also made in Britain and that it is an extremely good buy right now. I, at great personal expense stating importing them with no regrets. They have been used successfully in many PBP events and are well known to be exceptional in long distance events.

The bikes are all designed by Alex Moulton and built by him or to his standards under license in Great Britain. From the bottom to the top of the line there are all extremely comfortable with a simple no maintenance suspension design used for almost 20 years. It takes out 80% of the road shock away without a fuss. Modular racks front and rear, small and large along with expandable aerodynamic baggage make this a super versatile machine. Mudguard clearance is standard and they can knock down as fast as my grand old Rene Herse. Also they are very aerodynamic and much faster and lighter than any similar equipped touring bike. Properly equipped they are rugged and reliable and ride like racer but can haul like mule with nice loaded road manners. They new ones have wide (really) 150 gram tires(120psi) and 330 gram rims but the wheels are still rugged enough for dirt and gravel loaded.

If you'd would like to participate in a classic ride like the PBP or it's qualifiers you can use any cycle you wish. I rather like the idea of a cloth cycling cap, the lightly loaded touring cycle with mudguards whirling through the sunny French countryside in echelons of riders with crowds cheering us on at high speed. What I really want though is to whirl along easily in comfort and style, not on a cobbled together bike but one built for the purpose. I will likely never do a ride over 200km again without the benefits of a Moulton. It's so perfect for the task. We actually have most made just for randonnee type events, generally custom. Some people would say Moulton's are not classic (and also not suitable for the list) but they have been used by enthusiasts (Even the late Tom Simpson has had some brief encounters with the machine) racers and tourists for decades. Also these machines are owned and coveted by many list members though Moulton's don't have traditional lines (which I regard as very beautiful by the way, but aren't all bikes sort of beautiful?)

For reference: Randonnuers USA Website Hyperlink: <A HREF="http://www.rusa.org/">Randonnuers USA</A> Moulton Bicycle Club Website Hyperlink : <A HREF="http://www.whooper.demon.co.uk/moulton/moulton.html">Moulton Bicycle Club</A>

Sort of a pitch but I tried not to be shameless or totally off topic, could have been worse. Did I mention they are reasonably priced?

Yours in Moultoneering,

Gilbert Anderson

The Bicycle Outfitter 519 W. North St. Raleigh, NC 27603 USA 800/321-5511 919/828-8999 cyclestore@aol.com

I agree, if a Heron is what you really

want, $1000 is not a bad price. To me a Heron is a high quality, handmade frame,

quick, yet versatile enough to commute or ride across the country on. It has

moderately ornate lugs and clean workmanship, and quality paint. It is, however,

available only in standard sizes and few colors, with no custom graphics,

brazeons or geomerty. To me the Mercian offers everything the Heron does, plus

virtually any geometry, brazeons, chrome, or color combo you can imagine, and is

still delivered to one's door for a lower price. I don't quite know what it is

about the Heron that would make me prefer it, except that I can go to a shop and

buy one off the peg. That certainly counts for a lot to many people, but for

collectors who have bought stuff from all over the world, and have other bikes to

ride while waiting for delivery, I wouldn't think prompt delivery would be

decisive. I'm currently looking about for the near ideal Audax bike, and I have

a feeling that, the exchange rate being what it is, the frame will come from UK.

Regards,

Jerry Moos

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