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Tag Archives: Cycles Toussaint

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Gorge(ous) Rides

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Tags

bicycle, Bike Portland, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, lyle, Noraneko, Portland, rivendell, the dalles, Tilikum Crossing


Hmmm – finally getting back to this writing business.  I just returned from an amazing 24-hr trip to Oregon.  It was a make-up for a trip I missed a year or two ago with a great pack of folks I met on the Seattle/Portland Riv Rumble.

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Ride Leader Aaron

Unfortunately, I missed the first ride on Saturday, and rolled into town around 6pm.  I met Aaron at the new’ish Freebridge Brewery in The Dalles, and there we decided to make a last minute plan change and head to Portland for a Rumble reunion with Chris and Andy. We made it to the Chen Palace™ around 10pm.

After lots of catching up, whisky tasting, and whatnot, we hopped the bikes and made our way to a late night ramen restaurant.  On the way, we rode by Rivelo, Portland’s Rivendell dealer run by their old GM John Bennett.  We also did a loop across the Willamette River on the new Tilikum Crossing transit bridge (no cars!).

After some crashing on Chris’s couch, we woke up to a sunny Easter Sunday and made Big Breakfast in the ChenKitchen™.  Folks started showing up like this was some kind of tradition, and everyone was well fed by noon.  That’s about when Aaron and I decided to get over to Rivelo and do some local economy boosting.  He rode an Appaloosa while I picked out some Grandpa’s Tar Soap.  When we were situated, we made our way back to The Dalles via Lyle, WA.

Here, a great 20-miler happened.  Rainbows and unicorns (or at least camels).  Pics:

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Trailhead with Trusty Bikes

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Early Trail

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Klickitat

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Looking Green!

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Columbia River (way out yonder)

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Twas a rainin’

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OMG

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The Cold Descent – Hobo Gloves

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Enduro Offroad, Northwest

≈ 5 Comments

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Trail Riding

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Tags

a. homer hilsen, bicycle, bike, commute, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, front bag, low-trail, randonneur, rivendell, Seattle, Velo Routier


I want to go into a bit more detail on what I’ve found in experimenting with a more traditional low-trail bike like the Vélo Routier, and compare it to the mid trail Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen from my last post.  I have these bikes set up nearly the same.  Both use 42cm Noodles, Compass cranks, and VP pedals (not shown), and Selle Anatomica Titanico saddles.

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As the side view shows, the main difference is the fork rake and head tube and seat tube angles giving the bikes a slightly different geometry.  The Toussaint has slightly steeper angles, and more rake giving it trail around 30mm, whereas the Hilsen is more relaxed with trail around 55-60mm.  Yes, the Vélo is 650b and the Hilsen is 700c, but both bikes use light, supple Compass tires (tubeless even).  The tire volume has a definite impact on the ride, but it doesn’t really relate to how the trail aspect affects the feel of the bike, at least not in the detail I’ll get into here.

Steering Curves

You can definitely tell the difference in the feel that the geometry creates when doing tight turns on the bike.

I’ll start with a spot in my commute that “pushes” technique a bit. There is a railroad crossing on my daily ride where I perform a fairly tight “S” turn that has fences on either side to keep me honest.  The Hilsen requires more thought and body lean.  The Vélo Routier requires less body, and steers the curves easier.  This is the case no matter the load on the bikes for the most part.

On the other hand, when I put the Hilsen into a curve, it tracks it.  When I put the Vélo Routier in, it will still respond to inputs.  This can be good or bad.  I would say that on the Routier, I have to stay on top of steering all the time, whereas on the Hilsen, I have to be a little more planned up front, but when committed, it requires less concentration from me.

Front Weighted Loads

The Routier is much less concerned if there is weight in the front.  The bike doesn’t wag from side to side (wheel flop) when there is significant load, and when I park it with the front bag, it doesn’t sway over to the side.  The times I’ve actually found this to be nice is when I’m parking the bike, and when I’m carrying a 10+ pound load (which is actually very rare for me).

My typical rando load is probably at most 5 pounds in my front bag with a layer, extra gloves, and food. This is easily handled with little problem on the Hilsen when similarly front bag equipped.

Tracking

The Hilsen always wants to go straight at speed – there is more gyro stabilization effect with this geometry.  This helps when you want to be minimal in steering input.  Examples: curves, laziness, riding no-handed.  The Routier goes where your hands move it to.  This isn’t great if you are tired or distracted.  I’ve had a few more close calls on the Routier nearly going on a temporary off-road excursion.  This has been at normal riding pace: 12-17 mph.  I really noticed this “ultra responsive” steering at the end of a 300k when I was tired, and couldn’t seem to keep the bike going in a straight line without undue effort.  I remember thinking to myself that the low trail was supposed to be “easier”, but in this case, under fatigue, it was actually the opposite.  This is also a complaint generally fielded against higher trail bikes – that they tend to wander when climbing at slow speeds.

I’ve heard that wind gusts can really upset a higher trail bike, but I haven’t experienced that yet.  Gusts tend to bother me on either bike, but not uncontrollably so.

UPDATE: a comment left by a reader asked about high speed descent handling between the bikes.  I have noticed very little differences here – when moving at speeds over 20mph, both bikes feel stable.

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Commuting

I find no real difference other than the amount of weight you want to carry. And, this only matters if you really want to carry a lot of weight in the front.  I tend to hate on rear rack and pannier combos as I don’t like the tail wagging the bike feel, and the dirt on the panniers from road spray. Front bags are awesome for keeping your stuff accessible and clean.  I don’t typically carry a lot of weight on my commute.  I keep heavy clothes in the office, and only occasionally bring an iPad or MacBook on the commute.  I will sometimes pick up beer, or other heavy items on the ride home, however, but either bike manages this for a few miles with no real problems.

Balance/CoG

Now here is something I’ve noticed more as I ride the Toussaint, and this is more obvious when I try to ride no-handed.  I feel like my center of gravity is higher on the low-trail bike.  It sort of feels like I’m sitting up higher and closer to the bars – more of an “on top” feeling rather than an “in the bike” feeling.  I would just attribute this to the sharper seat tube angle – not even something that necessarily contributes to the trail number, but is part of the geometry difference.

Summary

Different trails for different folks with different needs.  If you are a long-distance or endurance rider who carries a good load, is alert even after hours in the saddle (think 12+ hours), and you like to have a very precise feel for control on steering movements – go with a low trail ride.  If you are regularly carrying large loads, and want them to stay clean and dry, go low trail.  If you don’t mind carrying load in the back – it doesn’t really matter then.

If you like to ride long distances but want to be able to do lots of restful no-handed riding, and you like to zone out a bit more – go with a mid-trail bike.  If you are a commuter and want a bike that doesn’t flop over and pull the bike down when you have stuff in the front basket/bag, get a low trail bike.

If you like to ride big tires with fenders, or have bigger feet, and hate toe-overlap, you may find you will have less on a low-trail bike as the fork is raked out more.  Another consideration.

I find both of these bikes to be great brevet bikes.  They are also great commuters.  I would give the nod slightly to my Hilsen based on my riding style, preferences, and loaded weight characteristics.  Someday, I’ll have to “pull a Chen” and “get another Hilsen” that is modified to low trail and then do a test, but that sounds like a lot of work.  I’m moving out of my tweaking phase.  My real recommendation is to get two bikes, one low and one mid/high, and find out what you prefer.  Nobody can really just tell you – it helps to experience it yourself.

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Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Randonneuring

≈ 10 Comments

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New Toussaints

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

Tags

bicycle, commute, cross, Cycles Toussaint, gravel, pavé, randoneurring, Velo Routier


Our northern buddies at Cycles Toussaint in Calgary have introduced a new Vélo Routier.  I took one out for a spin to see how it compared to my v1 bike.

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V2 Vélo Routier

My first impression was that it felt just like my Vélo Routier. I’m not sure that I would be able to tell the difference in a blind test. It felt planted and quick steering.  Comfortable, not quirky.  This was set up similar to my own bike, with a Selle Anatomica, Noodles, bar-end shifting, and Compass tires.  This geometry just works for me.  Nice bike, great brakes.  They offer the v2 in 2 versions – one with braze-ons, and one without.  I really like the braze-on centerpulls and the quirky seat-stay pump mount, so that would be my choice.  The blue color is a nice change, too.  One new quirk – there is a slotted rear axle mount now, to better accommodate IGH or fixed/single gear hubs.  While this opens up the bike to more options, it may make bikes with fenders tougher to change out a flat on, but there are ways around the problem.

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Toussaint Pavé

The next bike is a demo that is a new direction for Toussaint.  I believe this is an all-round road/gravel, maybe even cross bike.  It was set up racier than I would typically ride, but it was surprising in a number of ways.  The tubing is all stainless steel, which gives it a fairly “ti” look.  The downtube is quite oversized, as well, at 38.1mm. This seems overly stiff for my weight range, but can be offset with cushy tires. It is spec’d to take a 45mm fender, so I would assume you could put the Compass Barlow Pass tires on with no problems. It looks like a Clement MSO would fit fine for a bit more bite.

Toussaint used interesting plated fork and seat stay crowns. I like the classic low fork bend of the Routier more. To my eyes, it would be a great match for the double plate crown on this bike. The “banana” bend just looks odd to me.  I assume it makes the disc attachment easier/stiffer, but if the bike could use a more classic bend here, it would be prettier.

 

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Double Plate Crown

Disks make it a great utility rain bike.  I found the bike to be quite like the Vélo Routier in feel – even with a bit more trail on the Pavé (45mm).  It still felt quick steering, and was light and fun to ride. I was wondering how it would be with some front or rear load. I may see if I can get an extended trial to find out.

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Seat Stays

After the ride, I am hopeful this bike would fall into a similar price range as the Vélo Routier – if you could get a bike built for the rainy NW commute, not have to worry about rust or wet brakes, and still maintain great geometry that would handle randonneuring or lightly loaded gravel adventure rides – nirvana, right there!

The Toussaint blog (with lots of good info on the tubing, geometry, etc…) is saying they hope to sell these for around $2000, so I guess the tubing makes a big difference, but we’ll see what happens if they do a production run. This is a cool, practical bike!

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Northwest

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…vrrrrrp – OK

16 Monday Nov 2015

Tags

a. homer hilsen, commute, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, hilsen, Hunqapillar, Oregon Outback, randonneur


Untitled

Getting back on the blog. It’s been a long hiatus since my last post on June 11th?? Wow – I feel lazy. What’s been going on since May/June? I guess I’ve been low-key biking, working, and occasionally kayaking. No big bike trips this summer. The closest thing has been a brief bike around Amsterdam in October, but I’ve literally done zero rando events this year. Ironic as it was a PBP year. Well – there will be others. I’ve still got a few stories to get out, such as:

  • What worked on the Oregon Outback
  • How is that Velo Routier doing these days?
  • What about the Homer and the Hunqa??
  • Food and clothing thoughts
  • Soma (old brand) single speed conversion (maybe)

OK – got that out of my system.

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Northwest

≈ 6 Comments

2014 Redux

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling, Northwest, Randonneuring

≈ 2 Comments

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.

Cycle Distance Stats-MonthlyWhile 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.

cycling speed and distance aveI 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.

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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.

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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…

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