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Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 11:45 am
by KenGS
iacl wrote:Just noticed that the 2013 Vivente's are on sale, with $400 off this years models.

I wander what will be new for 2014?
One area we have worked on for a few years is a Rohloff 14sp model. This is due in 2014.
http://www.viventebikes.com/main/page_a ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 12:34 pm
by iacl
Thanks KenGS, I also noticed:

' One of the bikes will be testing the new Rohloff set-up. This bike has Nitto drop bars, a Gilles Berthoud shift lever, 44-16 gearing and dual disc BB7 brakes. Two of the bikes have 40C Marathon rear tyres and 35C fronts.'

http://www.viventebikes.com/main/page_t ... sting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 3:22 pm
by rifraf
iacl wrote:Thanks KenGS, I also noticed:

' One of the bikes will be testing the new Rohloff set-up. This bike has Nitto drop bars, a Gilles Berthoud shift lever, 44-16 gearing and dual disc BB7 brakes. Two of the bikes have 40C Marathon rear tyres and 35C fronts.'

http://www.viventebikes.com/main/page_t ... sting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dont know what those boys at Vivente have been smoking but I suspect it pretty strong.
What is with their ideas on gearing?

"One of the bikes will be testing the new Rohloff set-up. This bike has Nitto drop bars, a Gilles Berthoud shift lever, 44-16 gearing and dual disc BB7 brakes"

44-16T :?: :shock:

Putting in Sheldons calculator with 44-16 with 170mm cranks and 700x38 I get 21 to 110.2 Gi.
I used to shake my head at their derailleur gearing.
I suspect they either have legs like Kauri tree's or they only ride unladen.
I dont get it, do they not believe in any form of cadence but only grinding?
I run 34-16T and unless I was riding down an almost verticle face doubt I could meaningfully utilise the top few gears (I acknowledge to being unfit)
I"m thinking theres no hills where they ride :roll:

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:02 pm
by Tim
rifraf wrote:Dont know what those boys at Vivente have been smoking but I suspect it pretty strong.
What is with their ideas on gearing?
I have to agree with you rifraf.
My VWR came set up with a lowest gear of 22.6 inches which I altered down to 18.8 with a new chainring and cassette.
Just arrived home from eight days touring East Gippsland and the High Country and a couple of extra even lower gears would have really helped on the big climbs.
Barely used the big gears.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:02 pm
by rifraf
Tim wrote: I have to agree with you rifraf.
My VWR came set up with a lowest gear of 22.6 inches which I altered down to 18.8 with a new chainring and cassette.
Just arrived home from eight days touring East Gippsland and the High Country and a couple of extra even lower gears would have really helped on the big climbs.
Barely used the big gears.
I think theres lots of positives about the VWR.
I love the paintjob with its classic looking black and cream, which really appeals to me.
Coming with a front dynohub ticks a big box as does led lighting.
That Berthoud shifter looks the business (I've not researched the option properly myself but know they make quality gear).
Like the BB7 up front.
Like the UN73BB upgrade
I like the spoke count.
Components look great.

I saw a couple of VWR's in Quantum Cycles recently and thought they looked the bees knees for their price bracket.
In fairness, having sneaked a quick squiz at their site, they have made inroads to lowering the gearing of their 2013 series by dropping from 26T to 24T (a step in the right direction) combined with a cassette with 11-32T.

I decided I wanted more tyre options than the VWR offered but it was a contender for purchase before I grabbed the Ogre frame.

I only really niggle about the gearing because I think they are so close to being a great bike out of the box instead of being merely a very damn good one.

This thread needs to be spiced up a bit with a few more VWR pics I say :D

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:57 pm
by Tim
rifraf wrote: This thread needs to be spiced up a bit with a few more VWR pics I say :D
Here's one. All shiny and clean nine days ago. Loaded up ready for touring in the Vic. Alps with ilPadrone and a few of his mates.
Arrived home yesterday and the bike is the same colour as the roads we travelled.
Dirt Brown. Had an excellent time. More reports to follow.

Image

Track blockage about twelve months ago.

Image

About to get saturated at Phillip Island. No I didn't fall off the pier. Water from heaven. Waiting for the ferry.

Image

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:06 pm
by cyclotaur
rifraf wrote: Dont know what those boys at Vivente have been smoking but I suspect it pretty strong.
What is with their ideas on gearing?

"One of the bikes will be testing the new Rohloff set-up. This bike has Nitto drop bars, a Gilles Berthoud shift lever, 44-16 gearing and dual disc BB7 brakes"

44-16T :?: :shock:

Putting in Sheldons calculator with 44-16 with 170mm cranks and 700x38 I get 21 to 110.2 Gi.
I used to shake my head at their derailleur gearing.
I suspect they either have legs like Kauri tree's or they only ride unladen.
I dont get it, do they not believe in any form of cadence but only grinding?
I run 34-16T and unless I was riding down an almost verticle face doubt I could meaningfully utilise the top few gears (I acknowledge to being unfit)
I"m thinking theres no hills where they ride :roll:
Are you forgetting about the Rohloff or are you figuring it in ?

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:28 pm
by rifraf
cyclotaur wrote:
rifraf wrote: Dont know what those boys at Vivente have been smoking but I suspect it pretty strong.
What is with their ideas on gearing?

"One of the bikes will be testing the new Rohloff set-up. This bike has Nitto drop bars, a Gilles Berthoud shift lever, 44-16 gearing and dual disc BB7 brakes"

44-16T :?: :shock:

Putting in Sheldons calculator with 44-16 with 170mm cranks and 700x38 I get 21 to 110.2 Gi.
I used to shake my head at their derailleur gearing.
I suspect they either have legs like Kauri tree's or they only ride unladen.
I dont get it, do they not believe in any form of cadence but only grinding?
I run 34-16T and unless I was riding down an almost verticle face doubt I could meaningfully utilise the top few gears (I acknowledge to being unfit)
I"m thinking theres no hills where they ride :roll:
Are you forgetting about the Rohloff or are you figuring it in ?
Not forgetting about the Rohloff and think I've correctly figured it in.
I run 700c wheels and Rohloff myself with the 34/16T combo which is why the 44/16T raised my eyebrows.
I referred to Vivientes option when I said:
"Putting in Sheldons calculator with 44-16 with 170mm cranks and 700x38 I get 21 to 110.2 Gi."
Its only a personal preference I guess but 21 gear inches is just way too high for me.

My set up is I think 17.3 gear inches and I'd happily go lower if the warranty not been affected but I'm at the lowest allowable ratio now.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:39 pm
by il padrone
Sheldon's gear calculator will do Rohloff (and many other internal hub gear) calculations. 44-16 on a straight drive and 700C will be something like 67"

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 6:28 pm
by ldrcycles
rifraf wrote:
My set up is I think 17.3 gear inches and I'd happily go lower if the warranty not been affected but I'm at the lowest allowable ratio now.
Didn't Rohloff revise their recommendation a while ago? Or is 17.3 the new limit?

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 6:48 pm
by il padrone
Re the Rohloff low gear limit:
Rohloff wrote:The higher the chainring/sprocket ratio, the lower the input torque to the gear-unit. It is imperative therefore that the chainring/sprocket factor does not drop below 2.10 (e.g. 36/17=2.11). The smallest permissible sprocket ratios for a rider weighing less than 100kg are: 36:17, 34:16, 32:15 and 28:13.
http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/speedhub/sprockets/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rifraf is right on the limit.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:18 pm
by Wingnut
I've got a 42 x 16 on my Troll/Rohloff and find I have more than enough gearing, gets me up my 20 degree driveway easily...but maybe I should get a 38 or 36 which seems to be more common?

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:44 pm
by il padrone
20 degrees, or 20% ???

20 degrees would be a little bit less than 1 in 2; ie. 50%. A virtual cliff-face to climb.

We were riding up 10-15% climbs to the Cobberas NP, on gravel, with 25-30kgs of food and camping gear. My 42-17 Rohloff was not enough on a warm day and a sustained pinch :(

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:14 pm
by Wingnut
Ok 20 %...can't ride up it on my road bike, feels like Baw Baw...

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:30 pm
by Wingnut
il padrone wrote:We were riding up 10-15% climbs to the Cobberas NP, on gravel, with 25-30kgs of food and camping gear. My 42-17 Rohloff was not enough on a warm day and a sustained pinch :(
Have you upgraded the chainring since il padrone?

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:35 pm
by il padrone
It's the extra weight on a fully-loaded touring bike that makes all the difference when climbing hills over 10% gradient. Unloaded - can do happily (well, OK); loaded - very harsh.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:37 pm
by il padrone
Wingnut wrote:Have you upgraded the chainring since il padrone?
No, not yet. I'm going to run it for another 3-4000kms before doing the upgrade. And, yes this may be a factor causing less efficient power transfer to some small extent.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:56 pm
by Daggo
Here ya go. My first tour after a decade. And it had to get to 40ยบ everyday didn't it?

Image

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 10:06 pm
by Tim
Tell us all about it.
What, where, when?
Is that an aerial on the back?

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 11:18 pm
by Daggo
Tim wrote:Tell us all about it.
What, where, when?
Is that an aerial on the back?
Scone to Scone. Far to hot. About 2 weeks ago. Pure ZEN 8)

Yes it's an antenna. I also have a radio in the handlebar bag and mic in my helmet which I can switch between the phone or the radio(s). Yes I win the nerd contest.

Image

Daggo

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 12:55 am
by amynicolepeters
does anyone know if it is possible to put 26 " wheels on the medium size vivente ??

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:17 am
by Warin
amynicolepeters wrote:does anyone know if it is possible to put 26 " wheels on the medium size vivente ??
Anything is 'possible' but ... think about the brake mounts! Unless you have disk brakes then the pivot points would be in the wrong place. They can be moved.

------------------------------ hills ...

I've a 17% one on my street .. I can get up it on the road bike ... it peaks at 23% for a short bump. The touring bike is fine .. unloaded! With a full load it is walking and that slowly. Oh .. the gearing on the touring bike is 34 (cassette is 34-13 8 speed) x 20 (,32,44?) .. so it is nice and low :D

Oh .. 26" wheels

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 10:39 am
by RonK
amynicolepeters wrote:does anyone know if it is possible to put 26 " wheels on the medium size vivente ??
Is there any reason to do this?

The VWR has plenty of clearance and can probably accommodate a fair-sized 29er tyre if you want to ride back roads.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:00 pm
by RonK
The Vivente website hasn't been updated with the 2014 models yet, but I've been reading about them on Cycle Traveller.

The lineup will retain the familiar dropbar/STI and dropbar/bar end shifter combinations, the trekking bar version, and a Rohloff version will be introduced. And the derailleur versions will have front and rear disc brakes for the first time.

The 2014 range is expected to go on sale in April.

More here.

Re: Vivente World Randonneur - the best bang for your buck

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:47 pm
by iacl
Noticed some movement on the Vivente website for this years models. Seems to be a price rise, though no specs yet. The Gibb is starting to make my wallet itch a bit.

http://www.viventebikes.com/main/page_p ... tolia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;