Japanese semi-randonneur build

[DJIntegr8]

Long time no update! This has been a beast of a bike, love just jumping on it and heading out for a ride in any weather Put 1500km on it since the rebuild..

Full Commuter Mode


Carradice Nelson Longflap is great - just swallows my work gear, lunch, tools..


Mudguards were a bitch to install, but well worth it in the wet.


28t big gear on the back


New stem and handlebars are super comfy


Melbourne's been a bit wet the last couple of days




Tight clearances with guards on the triathlon frame


25c tyres give a little more comfort over the 23c on my weekend roadie






Hanging out at home


Brendan

[mark field]

nice work, and nice images too.

[MREJ]

Beautiful work on your bike! How do you like the saddle bag? I am thinking of fitting my Genesis Equilibrium with one of these and some guards, for a bit of light 3/4 day touring.

[brasstinman]

nice work, and nice images too.

+1

[RichoVonBlack77]

Definitely an inspiration! ( looks at Malvern Star Skidstar project sitting in the corner), may have to re start my own project, once I work out if I want 28 in or ( heresy) 700cc wheels, love the way the paintwork came up!

[DJIntegr8]

Cheers guys! Haven't updated for a while - been out riding 3800kms on the clock..

Beautiful work on your bike! How do you like the saddle bag? I am thinking of fitting my Genesis Equilibrium with one of these and some guards, for a bit of light 3/4 day touring.

Love the saddle bag - sags down a bit when it's not full up, but I just tighten up the strap on the seatpost side. Would love to do a short trip on this bike - did 80km on the Warburton trail down here and the setup totally suits a quick touring ride.


Cinelli Cork bar tape
Brooks B17 saddle (from cruiser)


B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo dynamo light


B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo dynamo light


B&M Toplight Line Plus


Knog Blinder rear


Crane Copper/Brass bell


Shimano 600 52/39 crankset


Knog Blinder front

Brendan

[utedeej]

That is a great looking bike. Where do you get those bags from? I'd love to build a light "credit card" tourer with something like that.

utedeej

[rkelsen]

Hey man,

Would you be interested in selling your old cranks with the biopace rings?

Cheers,

Rob

[familyguy]

How do you find the Knog lights? My old Knog Frogs used to go flat sitting on the shelf, haven't bought myself to trust them since. They're more of a 'flashing to get attention' light than a 'light to see by', aren't they?

Jim

[servicimo]

Fantastic resto and even better pics! A trick to get white hoods white again is to just soak them in straight bleach for a few days. Doesn't hurt them, just cleans them up!

[BRLVR.v2]

I really like what you did with this bike Man!

[DJIntegr8]

That is a great looking bike. Where do you get those bags from? I'd love to build a light "credit card" tourer with something like that.

utedeej

Picked mine up from eBay - the black/cream ones were quite hard to come across, lots of green/brown ones around. Seems to be easiest to find direct from Carradice. I noticed Commuter Cycles in Melbourne have started stocking the Zimbale bags - I've got a small 2.3L one on my cruiser for carrying spares and other little bits and pieces. Nice but not quite the same quality as the Carradice - the canvas just doesn't seem as thick or durable, and the Carradice has a second lining on the inside.

Hey man,

Would you be interested in selling your old cranks with the biopace rings?

Cheers,

Rob

Sorry, they'll be going onto another bike for my cousin. Slowly upgrading mine so I can put the bits onto another frame for him Anyone got more 600 parts (RD, brake levers and shifters)?

How do you find the Knog lights? My old Knog Frogs used to go flat sitting on the shelf, haven't bought myself to trust them since. They're more of a 'flashing to get attention' light than a 'light to see by', aren't they?

Jim

These Knogs are great! I love the product design behind these things, the packaging is quite nice too being fully recyclable/biodegradable (I'm a bit of a design/engineering nerd). The Blinder has 4 high power LEDs couple with wide angle lenses - I reckon the viewing angle is brightest out to 90degrees, fading out to 150degrees (still quite blinding close up). Definitely an attention-seeker light, I've got the dynamo lights to see with, but at a pinch (low speed) you can use them to find your way home in the dark. Because they are USB rechargeable, I just use them while commuting (at least 6 hours total use per week) and then charge them on the Friday while at work. Also the quick release clasp is quite neat, means I can switch them between my bikes quite easily (well, most lights you can, but the clasp is cool!)

Fantastic resto and even better pics! A trick to get white hoods white again is to just soak them in straight bleach for a few days. Doesn't hurt them, just cleans them up!

Does the bleach get rid of the gummy feeling? The old ones felt like they were degrading quite badly. Black hoods match my bartape now though

Brendan

[vaeske]

hey mate, i've got some parts here for you if you like, RD and FD. those are the 6207 models, so would be lower than your 105 group? but if thats what you want then holla at me.

i haven't got any 600 shifters but do have a set of he golden arrow shifters if you're interested as well.

Cheers

[servicimo]

Does the bleach get rid of the gummy feeling?

unfortunately not. Once the rubber starts to break down you cant do much. Again, sweet build!

[DJIntegr8]

hey mate, i've got some parts here for you if you like, RD and FD. those are the 6207 models, so would be lower than your 105 group? but if thats what you want then holla at me.

i haven't got any 600 shifters but do have a set of he golden arrow shifters if you're interested as well.

Cheers

Hmm, they would match the cranks - have you tried it with indexing? Reading up, the RD-6207 was designed for friction and the 6208 was designed for SIS but unsure of the difference? Currently running the 105 shifters with 7-speed indexed.

Brendan

[vaeske]

yes they are the model that matches the cranks. but i haven't actually tried them indexed. i've also got an shimano rd-A500 that takes index shifting. if you're interested as well.

[punchy]

Hey DJ, that is a superb write up and build. Love your attention to detail. You leave my novice bike building hobby skills light years behind. Very inspiring.

Glad I read up on your Carradice bag review. Interesting to read your comments on the quality. I wonder if their 18 litre bags are any thicker with the canvas ? I have a Carradice pendle bag atm but I want to upgrade to an 18 litre bag as the pendle is a little tight for me on what I like to carry. I will swap over the pendle to my fixie for lighter loaded commutes and put a larger 18 litre bag on my work commute bike. Will save me having to carry a back pack in addition to the saddle bag. Looks as though Carradice might be the way to go still. Ive been very happy with mine. Although, I do like the quick release leather straps on the Zimbale. Question... Does your Nelson bag have eyelets on the side for shoulder straps ? My Pendle has, I just want to make sure the Nelson is the same.

Love the copper bell. I have both the Crane Aluminium and brass bell. The copper version is next on my list

Once again. Great write up !

Steve

[DJIntegr8]

Hey punchy, sorry been away in NZ snowboarding last week and just saw your post.

The Nelson has fat leather straps on the corners, I've attached some carabiners to make it easier to clip on the shoulder straps. Works well off the bike with a strap from an old laptop bag

I love the copper bell, always gets a few comments and the tone is great! Just bought one of the aluminium ones for another build too.

Brendan

[DJIntegr8]

Hit a milestone last week while commuting. 5000kms!



Thought it was about time for a post-winter drivetrain overhaul, regreased the BB, and finally swapped a Hyperglide freehub body onto the 105 hub. I'll write up a separate thread as it might be interesting for others to see, quite easy once I had the parts! Now sporting a Hyperglide rear cassette, changes are hugely improved over the Uniglide "twisted tooth" design.


Hyperglide 14-28 cassette

Brendan