2014 Redux

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling, Northwest, Randonneuring

Tags

100k, 200k, 650b, a. homer hilsen, acorn bags, ahh, bar tape, bicycle, bicycle commute, brevet, commute, compact double, compass, cyclemeter, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, cypres, diamond wrap, dynamo, dynamo lighting, Edelux, fenders, Gran Bois

An auspicious year for this family of horses, 2014 was pretty nice. There were a few epiphanies, and a lot of riding. I’m sitting around resting a nagging medial knee issue that has kept me off the bike for the past week or so. I’ve been wanting to get out and do one last permanent to finish off the 2014 season, but better judgement is telling me to wait until the knee feels normal. I know from past experience that the best way to heal is to go easy for a while.

While I didn’t do much more mileage this year, it was still a full year of riding with 3,111 miles (just over 5000 kms) so far. Last year I did just over 3000 miles, as well. I did most of my brevets early, with the organized rides over at the end of March. That month was also my first 500-mile month. I rode my first solo permanent in April, and did some Moab mountain biking over spring break. July brought the Entmoot, and as usual, a lower amount of riding as I seem to slow down in the summer months.

I picked it back up in September, and peaked in November with a late season 200k permanent around Whidbey Island. I am loving this island’s smooth hilly roads, and have a few more brevets and just general rides planned for the future. My average speed has not budged in the past 3 years, so I may work on my fitness in the new year and see if I can’t bump that up with some interval training. I am still hedging on the longer rides (over 300k) – I’m just not sure if I would enjoy them. The Entmoot ride was an eye opener this year, and I feel like unorganized rambles have a special attraction with exploration and time for photos and camping with friends being great short vacations. The planning and anxiety around an organized brevet sometimes feels like work.

As for the mechanical side, I am slowly gaining more perspective and opinions on what works for me. I really like the Cycles Toussaint experiment with low trail and plump 650b tires. Tubeless has worked out well, too. I appreciate the extra cush on the rides, and less worry about flatting. I still enjoy the Hilsen’s ride with the 32mm Compass tires, too – they are almost as compliant with significantly less air volume.

I’ve come to feel that the 42cm Noodles are the right cockpit for me over the long distance. I continue to enjoy the Selle Anatomica saddles, and Sidi shoes. I am not bothered by having 7 or 8 speed cassettes, and index and friction both work, but on the longer rides, I appreciate the simplicity of indexing. I have bar-end shifters on the Toussaint, and downtube shifters on the Hilsen, and both are set up indexed at this point.

I really enjoy the centerpull brakes on both bikes, but the post-mounted Dia-Compes on the Toussaint have amazing modulation and easy setup. I appreciate the simplicity of the older brake style. I think a great project would be to have centerpull braze-ons added to the Hilsen, perhaps with a low-trail fork, S&S couplers, and Compass Mafac copies added. Hmmm – perhaps when it’s ready for a re-paint, I can convert her over to 650b as well? Probably a silly experiment better addressed by a custom.

If I were to have a custom built at this point, it would be a titanium or ultra-light steel tubed, low trail 650b all-purpose bike. I really feel like this is a do-all, go anywhere bike. The Rivs would remain my country and camping bikes, and the Toussaint would be backup brevet and city porteur bike. It would be great to have a lugged Weigle, MAP, or Pereira. Maybe a Bantam? Still dreaming of good rides ahead…

Brevet Season

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

650b, brevet, Chilly Hilly, Cycles Toussaint, SIR, Velo Routier

I know – misleading title for some of the folks who never stop doing long rides…

For me, the brevet season is getting started here in the Pacific Northwest. My first long ride was the Chilly Hilly. This is a course that circumnavigates one of the islands near Seattle in the Puget Sound. It includes a nice ferry ride with hundreds of bikers taking up the car deck.

The official distance is 33 miles, but I ride to the start, so my distance is more like 55 miles. This year was an overcast day starting in the 40s, and ending in the 30s Farenheit. It started raining hard after the ride, just as I was departing the ferry in Seattle. This made the ride home a bit miserable, but I felt pretty good, however, and it was a great start to the season.

I rode the Hunqapillar to try out flat pedals. No knee problems encountered, and I didn’t really notice the extra weight of the bike except for the amazingly steep hills on a few sections of this infamous ride. I also went without any hand pain using the Albastache bars. It was a nice and comfy ride!

Next up was the Spring Populaire put on by SIR.

This is a 100k ride (around 62 miles) and starts nearby in the Greenlake neighborhood. I rode to this one, as well, so added a few miles to the ride. It was my first long ride on the new Velo Routier, and I was excited to get some miles on it to get a feel for 650B, low-trail, rando geometry. The bike was ready to go with lights (though I wouldn’t need them) and all the normal gear. I did forget a pen, however – kind of a faux pas for a seasoned rando like myself (sic).

I saw a few friends at the start, but after we took off, I was on my own for the whole ride. The bike handled great, and I was towards the front of the 100 or so riders that showed up for the ride.

I quickly made my way through the controls, and was having a great time. The tires floated, and the scenery rolled by. I was feeling good, and eating/drinking enough to feel strong. The rain started to become oppressive, and I was soaked through by the midway point, so at a bathroom stop in Renton, I took off my outer wool jersey and put on my rain jacket. I had to wring out my gloves, so I put on my extra pair. Not much could be done with the shoes, however. They were a brand new pair I had gotten for the ride. I wanted a light pair of hikers with a stiffer sole, and they fit the bill, but by the time the ride was done, my feet were soaked and numb from the cold. Hmmm – time to rethink this?

About 40 minutes from the end, I picked up a flat tire from a glass shard. It was a slow leak that I quickly found, but it still took nearly a half hour for me to get the tire changed and pumped up. Nothing like new tires to make you work hard! At this point in the ride, it had been raining hard, and I was cold and wet, so the I-90 bridge I was under made for a nice umbrella. After the change, I had one more mechanical. As I was climbing up Lake Washington Blvd towards the arboretum, I downshifted to the small chainring. The chain stuck to the large ring, however, and managed to come up and past the derailer. I had a sticky ring incident before, so I was trying to be careful. Luckily, there was no damage to the derailleur, and I was able to pull the chain back around the cage. I’m going to follow up with Compass – I may have some oversized chainrings from the first batch…

Back in business, I nearly missed the “secret” control, and had to backtrack a bit – thanks to the cyclists that warned me! By the time I got to the final, I was so wet, I bypassed the pizza and beer, and just got the card signed. I headed back home and spent the afternoon drying my bike, clothes, and self. This was a really wet ride. Not one of the memorable brevets, but I felt OK at the end, and the bike was comfortable and fast. After I get a few things adjusted, it should be ready for some really long trips. This is a track of the ride route:

http://cyclemeter.com/51cfa6724f84c700/Cycle-20140308-0829?r=e

Someone was definitely glad to see me at the end!

Toussaint Pics

23 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

650b, Cycles Toussaint, Hetres, low-trail, randonneur

Toussaint Build, a set on Flickr.

This is how I purchased the bike – frame, fork plus! I need a different front rim, and I’m re-curving the fender line, but it will likely get built up this week. I can’t wait to ride the sweet Hetres.

Cycles Toussaint

19 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

650b, biking, Chilly Hilly, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, low-trail, Rawland, rivendell, Seattle, Soma Grand Randonneur, stag, Velo Routier

http://flic.kr/p/hmdmkS

I have been awaiting the Soma Grand Randonneur frame I had ordered a month ago, and suddenly got a wild hair to re-think the decision. Actually, I lost patience as the rando season is swiftly approaching.

Late last year, my LBS built up a few newer arrivals in the steel bike, low-trail, 650B vein. I did some test rides, and came away with a definite feel for how these bikes differ from my existing rides. In my weekly after-work stop, I was chatting with owner Kathleen, and discussing ordering a Rawland Stag (one of the bikes in this club I hadn’t ridden) when she suggested I look at the Toussaint again. I quickly dismissed it as I recalled it being a 57cm frame, and feeling that was too small. But the seed was planted. I looked up the geometry again, and noticed it was not much different from my A. Homer Hilsen – 1cm less top tube, but the same stand over. Hmmm – that’s why it felt so right when I rode it after the Soma.

After much soul searching and pondering alternatives, it sounds like the bike I’ve been looking for was the Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier that was right under my nose for the past few months. Kathleen is pulling some of the original build off it so I can use my existing cockpit and crankset. I will pick it up this week, and I can’t wait to get it built up and out on the trail. I may try to ride it on the Chilly Hilly this weekend – that would be amazing, but possible if the chips fall in my favor…

Low Trail Rides

21 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

650b, bicycles, bikes, Boulder Bicycles, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, FreeRange Cycles, Grand Randonneur, Grant Petersen, low-trail, Mike Kone, randonneur, rivendell, Seattle, Soma, Velo Routier

Having the good fortune to live and ride in Seattle near good local bike shops has its blessings. I stopped in FreeRange Cycles on Tuesday and tried out a couple of new rides that sport a low trail geometry with a bent towards the randonneuring crowd (me). Both are a bit of a departure for me in that they are TIG welded steel frames.

Soma Grand Randonneur

The Soma Grand Randonneur was recently shipped, and is a very compelling deal. It is a $500 frame/fork combo that was designed by Mike Kone of Boulder Bicycle and Rene Herse fame. Note: Soma is doing some great combo design deals lately. First Grant Petersen‘s design on the San Marcos, and now a low-trail guru’s take on a commodity frame. You’d be hard pressed to not want both!

The bike I rode is a 55cm (small for me) with a large porteur rack on the front. Good to add some weight and see how it feels with a bit of front load. In my short ride, I felt immediately at home on the bike, and really felt some of the benefits of the different front-end geometry. It was quick handling, but forgiving – not twitchy. As I slowed to a stop, I noticed there was none of the flopping I have on my higher trail bikes if I let go of the handlebars. OK – that’s kind of nice. But the thing I liked more is that on a slow climb, I didn’t have the bars slightly twisting back and forth with my pedal strokes. It tracked well at low speeds. Hmmm – I may like this sort of thing.

On turns, at medium and higher speeds, there was no uncertainty of where I was going. Perhaps it didn’t feel like it was “on rails” like my Rivendells, but there was no bad effects I could ascertain. As for riding no-handed, it was about like my Miyata. Not great, but doable, and I wonder if it’s not due to the high saddle, low bars on this slightly too small frame for me.

Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier

On to the other bike – a new effort out of Canada. Cycles Toussaint is a Calgary company recently formed (2012) with two bike models. The version I rode was a demo Velo Routier sent to Kathleen at FreeRange to see if there is interest in the area. It’s a smart-looking white frame that was nicely built up in a traditional rando effort. It was slightly bigger at 57cm, so more in line with my size (I would probably go with a 59-60cm frame).

The only real difference in ride character this bike had in comparison with the Soma GR is that it tracked better for me no-handed. I won’t guess why other than perhaps the lack of a rack, the size being more in line with what I normally ride, or some build difference (tires?). Other than that, the bike handled much like the Soma. Deliberate, comfortable, and non-eventful. At $500, this bike is at the same price point, and it may come down to looks for you if you are in the market. To my eye, the Toussaint is prettier, and I liked the additional seat-stay peg so you can choose to mount a top-tube frame pump, or a smaller seat-stay pump. Overkill? Maybe, but I like pump-pegs – call me nuts…

Similarities:

Steel
650b
Low 30mm trail
Integrated fender mounts
$500!
Threaded 1″ steerer tube for threaded headset (yeah!)
Room for fenders and 42mm tires
Tubing – both are double-butted with .8/.5/.8 on small sizes, and .9/.6/.9 on larger frames

Differences:

Color
Tube diameters – thinner seat-stays on the Toussaint
Fork bend – prettier curve on the Toussaint
Bottle bosses – 2 on Toussaint, 3 on Soma
Front rack mounts – Soma has rack and low-rider mounts, Toussaint has rack mounts
Sizes – Toussaint comes in 4 sizes – 51-60cm, Soma fits more riders with 6 sizes from 49.5-65cm
Rear hub spacing – 130mm for Toussaint, and 132.5 for Soma