Andy’s randonneur bike was finished back in the summer and serves as a great example of what the results are when every detail is discussed and scrutinized. The frame is part of my Bespoke Series line that has a more standardized offering in tubing and lug work but is made-to-measure based off the results of a bike fitting session.
The tube set is standard diameter Columbus SL and is joined together with Henry James lugs, a Pacenti Paris-Brest fork crown and my new rear dropouts. I am big fan of the Schmidt connectorless generator hubs, and the fork features the special fork ends that are required for the system.
There are a lot of options available when building a randonneur bike, and Andy ticked off most of the boxes on the order sheet. The bike features the Compass wired tail light, rubber chain slap guard, pump peg and full rack set. The components are a nice mix of new and old parts. It is a great time to be a fan of randonneur bikes with companies like Compass, Pacenti, Grand Bois and Schmidt making well designed, durable, and aesthetically pleasant components. The bike is built up with the Compass 46-30 Herse Cranks, their new canti brakes and handlebars. The wheel set is made from Pacenti Brevet rims, White Industries hub on the rear, Schmidt hub in the front, laced with DT Revolution spokes and wearing Compass Baby Shoe Pass 42mm tires.
The drive train is of the vintage variety, most of which Andy had been saving in his parts stash. A set of Simplex Retrofriction downtube shifters were combined with Shimano front and rear derailleurs with a wide range 7 speed cassette. The bike is topped off with a Brooks saddle, vintage Campy seat post, Grand Bois stem with the bars being wrapped in shellacked cloth tape and one of my handmade QR decaleurs.
Ruthworks SF made a really nice handlebar bag in a muted grey waxed canvas. Black Magic provided the icing on the cake with a very clean and elegant paint job in Islay Blue. The color, not only takes the name of one of my favorite Scottish islands, but looks stunning on the bike, adds quit a lot of depth and even a little bit of a drama for such a straightforward paint scheme. In the spirit of building a fully integrated randonneur bike, the Honjo fenders and Leyzene pump were painted to match.
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