I need Rando bike inspirations..

[Vonruden]

I would add Chapman to the list, he is making some beautiful Rando's.

[bicycletricycle]

i would recommend Brian Chapman, nice guy,cheap for a nicely detailed custom. I have 3 of them. My most rando chapman is my newest ones, it is great.



My first chapman is just a front rack from rando status


Can't get a Tournesol these days but I like mine.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by geordanh

As much as that Cervelo setup looks brutal, over the years I've realized that I just hate riding most by the book rando bikes and would way rather ride a real road bike if I have like 0-15 lbs of stuff on a really long ride. Just my opinion obviously but after putting thousands of miles on a low trail, squishy, flexy, planing rando bike I decided these things look better than they ride.

If I were going out to buy a rando bike today, I'd skip the usual suspects and buy a Breadwinner B-Road, Endpoint Coffee Grinder or maybe that cool looking new production Tomii with normal road geo but that's obviously just my opinion.

This will be the best post of this thread. Couldn't agree more.
I cant think of a category of bike that has more "overpay and never ever ride" value than Rando. Well probably general mountain bikes too.

[bicycletricycle]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

This will be the best post of this thread. Couldn't agree more.
I cant think of a category of bike that has more "overpay and never ever ride" value than Rando. Well probably general mountain bikes too.

As a counter point, I can no longer ride a narrow tire "fast" bike after having a heavy, squishy, slow, overpriced rando bicycle. Most likely because of my usual rides, 40-100 mile rides, a few stops and few little stupid dirt roads or paths added in, maybe a stop at the beach for some swimming, perhaps on long ride I'll read a book at a stop for a bit to have something to think about, no computer or any idea how fast I'm going. Also, I ride as much of the year as I can so room for raingear/jacket/sweater is important for me and the built in lights help a lot during daylight savings. Also, I ride alone so I don't have to keep up with anybody.

Also, the addition of high volume tires has been enjoyable to me, switching between 700x28 gp4000IIs, 700x33.3 ruffy ruffy tuffy and 650x42 compass tires has been interesting, the bigger tires are probably slower but not enough to really bother me, on the other hand they are really comfortable and let you ride all over the place safely. Dirt roads, short cuts, over storm drains that you might normally have to go into traffic to avoid, etc.

However, I am sure a lot of people buy these types of bikes and rarely use them. If you just go out for short fast rides in nice weather then they are surplus to requirement.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

As a counter point, I can no longer ride a narrow tire "fast" bike after having a heavy, squishy, slow, overpriced rando bicycle. Most likely because of my usual rides, 40-100 mile rides, a few stops and few little stupid dirt roads or paths added in, maybe a stop at the beach for some swimming, perhaps on long ride I'll read a book at a stop for a bit to have something to think about, no computer or any idea how fast I'm going. Also, I ride as much of the year as I can so room for raingear/jacket/sweater is important for me and the built in lights help a lot during daylight savings. Also, I ride alone so I don't have to keep up with anybody.

Also, the addition of high volume tires has been enjoyable to me, switching between 700x28 gp4000IIs, 700x33.3 ruffy ruffy tuffy and 650x42 compass tires has been interesting, the bigger tires are probably slower but not enough to really bother me, on the other hand they are really comfortable and let you ride all over the place safely. Dirt roads, short cuts, over storm drains that you might normally have to go into traffic to avoid, etc.

However, I am sure a lot of people buy these types of bikes and rarely use them. If you just go out for short fast rides in nice weather then they are surplus to requirement.

I think you're the exception, rather than the norm. And its beautiful. I am legit glad there are people enjoying this stuff. I also think a lot of purchases are social media driven these days (Crust, a dude who uses a dead child for his screen name, etc) and never actually use the bikes for any rando purpose. Or they might for the next six months while John Prolly has em hot.

[bicycletricycle]

It is a bummer when nicely crafted bicycles go unused, but they will make their way back into the market at a discounted rate for people who want to put some miles of them. If only 1 or 2 percent of new rando bike purchases encourage people to take longer bike rides with books and some swimming trunks or rain gear on a warm night then it seems okay to me. I think this kind of riding can be more enjoyable over more of your life than max tempo stopwatch based activities and for me the more people on bicycles the better.

Besides, it is not like anyone is forcing anyone to buy them and it is no more ridiculous then people riding pro tour level carbon rim skinny tire go fast machines on non competitive rides for exercise.

I might argue that "most" people on traditional road machines are riding bikes a little bit too far on the performance side for maximum enjoyment. Years of working in bicycle shops and selling road bikes to people which I later had to try and cram bags and racks and higher bars and lights onto seemed to point to this problem.

I think that the "rando" fad that we are is great, when it passes we will be left with a bunch of practical bicycles and equipment in the marketplace. Much better than all the crap left over after the fixie fad, ultra narrow riser bars, frames with no brake mounts and million pound "aero" rims.

Originally Posted by livingminimal

I think you're the exception, rather than the norm. And its beautiful. I am legit glad there are people enjoying this stuff. I also think a lot of purchases are social media driven these days (Crust, a dude who uses a dead child for his screen name, etc) and never actually use the bikes for any rando purpose. Or they might for the next six months while John Prolly has em hot.

[Erik_A]

http://theradavist.com/?s=touring

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

I think that the "rando" fad that we are is great, when it passes we will be left with a bunch of practical bicycles and equipment in the marketplace. Much better than all the crap left over after the fixie fad, ultra narrow riser bars, frames with no brake mounts and million pound "aero" rims.

For real. I would like a nice bike that I could ferry things back and forth to the farmers markets and flea markets where I live, but the ideal bike for that costs too much to dip into my budget for the kind of riding I typically do, short road or long gravel.

[Mzilliox]

Weigle's are nice, had one sold one, may find another, will probably end up selling it too.

there are lots of nice bikes out there.

here is my most comfy bike that i would take on that type of ride. it actually rides a fair bit nicer than my Weigle did.

[IMG]Berty loves flowers by Matt.zilliox, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Applegate Bridge Berthoud by Matt.zilliox, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Pastashop]

Aside from pure aesthetics, I'd recommend looking into what suits the intended use and price point.

The 650b "rando" bike is typically designed to handle fatter tires for comfort over imperfect roads, narrow Q factor, allow for full coverage fenders without toe overlap (particularly on 56 cm and smaller frames), and predictable steering with a front load. Many elements in the design work synergistically, resulting in the look that we have come to associate with the French rando bike type.

Just following the look while ignoring the overall purpose is an exercise in (possibly passing) style. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

That said, and to the original question, there's a Flickr group for Ebisu bicycles -- very nicely sorted machines. I've one that I enjoy thoroughly!

(in all kids of weather...)

[oliver]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

This will be the best post of this thread. Couldn't agree more.
I cant think of a category of bike that has more "overpay and never ever ride" value than Rando. Well probably general mountain bikes too.

After riding a rando bike in a handful of rando events, I have to say I agree that they are overpriced. I find mine to be a bit heavy (and as a result slow), the special rando parts to be expensive, and would only recommend it if aesthetics really matter.

If I had to do it again, I'd get a road bike that could fit 32s, frame bags, and a dynamo.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by oliver

After riding a rando bike in a handful of rando events, I have to say I agree that they are overpriced. I find mine to be a bit heavy (and as a result slow), the special rando parts to be expensive, and would only recommend it if aesthetics really matter.

If I had to do it again, I'd get a road bike that could fit 32s, frame bags, and a dynamo.

What "special rando parts"? It's hard to think of a part more closely associated with randonneuring than a dynamo-powered lighting system, but you seem to view that as something other than a matter of aesthetics.

[oliver]

Originally Posted by palincss

What "special rando parts"? It's hard to think of a part more closely associated with randonneuring than a dynamo-powered lighting system, but you seem to view that as something other than a matter of aesthetics.

Handlebar bag, front rack, and decaleur I guess. You could also include the dynamo hub and lights; I've ridden with a number of people that use battery powered lights.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

I also think a lot of purchases are social media driven these days (Crust, a dude who uses a dead child for his screen name, etc) and never actually use the bikes for any rando purpose.

And what percentage of the owners of road racers use the bikes for any racing purpose? In my mind, the only uncertainty there is how many zeros to the right of the decimal point.

As far as "any rando purpose" is concerned, if the point of such a bike is to be comfortable on rides that would otherwise be tiring, to be able to carry enough to let you comfortably adjust your clothing over a 20-30 degree range of temperatures, to be safe if you're riding at dusk and after, and to be comfortable should it rain (all of which pretty much defines the mission these bikes are designed for) then you really do not need the little yellow brevet card or the time limits between controls or even the 200K or greater distances to qualify as a "rando purpose." That purpose, in fact, coincides far better with the real world riding most people do than a racing bike.

[oliver]

Originally Posted by palincss

As far as "any rando purpose" is concerned, if the point of such a bike is to be comfortable on rides that would otherwise be tiring, to be able to carry enough to let you comfortably adjust your clothing over a 20-30 degree range of temperatures, to be safe if you're riding at dusk and after, and to be comfortable should it rain (all of which pretty much defines the mission these bikes are designed for) then you really do not need the little yellow brevet card or the time limits between controls or even the 200K or greater distances to qualify as a "rando purpose." That purpose, in fact, coincides far better with the real world riding most people do than a racing bike.

I certainly agree with you in that a "classic rando" bike can do all those things, but so can road bikes more or less. If you take a look at what people ride in brevets in Europe, you'll find very few "classic rando" bikes, or at least that's been my experience.