Johnny Coast Randonneuse--October 2011 Tweaks
I am somewhat ashamed to admit it has taken me almost a year of trial and error tinkering to get the build of the Coast just right. Which is to say, fully up to snuff as a circa 1970s, truly state of the art rando-- wholly suited to a full day in the saddle of long, slow climbs and fast descents on both rough paved and gravel roads, during the day and after dark, taking in stride virtually any kind of weather but snow.
Accordingly, last week I finally tackled the fairly complicated task of converting it from its original double Stronglight chainrings to a triple TA Specialites cyclotourist set-up (46,36,28). This required a longer Phil Wood axle, a Simplex SLJ triple front derailleur, and a long cage for my original Simplex SLJ RD.
Rather more minor tweaks were made through the course of the summer--In particular, a pair of steel cotterless Stronglight "Competition" cranks, and Koolstop Mafac pads (that ARE vastly superior to the original black Mafacs and a VERY good idea with Cantis).
I've decided to give Pari-motos a try (which do seem to roll a bit faster and save weight compared with Hetres). [April 2012 note: I've since swapped back to Hetres having found the Pari-Motos somewhat skittish on slick roads; and found alarmingly that they had stretched after a couple flats in a way that gave me pause about their actually remaining stuck on my vintage Super Champion rims.]
And finally, after experimenting with late/not-great Ideale saddles (an 88 from the 1980s, and a Columbus from their final year or so in business), I've had it-- and returned to the Brooks fold, with high hopes for my recently acquired Vans limited edition (Nº2/500) which struck me as having just the right neo-Gothic Brooklyn/Paris aesthetic.
The handlebar "lunch box" bag is a real vintage Sologne (to my mind in no way superior to the virtually identical current model made by Berthoud), and the panniers are Berthoud (absolutely the perfect size for rain jackets, spare tubes and other light things that are great to have just in case).
Johnny Coast Randonneuse--October 2011 Tweaks
I am somewhat ashamed to admit it has taken me almost a year of trial and error tinkering to get the build of the Coast just right. Which is to say, fully up to snuff as a circa 1970s, truly state of the art rando-- wholly suited to a full day in the saddle of long, slow climbs and fast descents on both rough paved and gravel roads, during the day and after dark, taking in stride virtually any kind of weather but snow.
Accordingly, last week I finally tackled the fairly complicated task of converting it from its original double Stronglight chainrings to a triple TA Specialites cyclotourist set-up (46,36,28). This required a longer Phil Wood axle, a Simplex SLJ triple front derailleur, and a long cage for my original Simplex SLJ RD.
Rather more minor tweaks were made through the course of the summer--In particular, a pair of steel cotterless Stronglight "Competition" cranks, and Koolstop Mafac pads (that ARE vastly superior to the original black Mafacs and a VERY good idea with Cantis).
I've decided to give Pari-motos a try (which do seem to roll a bit faster and save weight compared with Hetres). [April 2012 note: I've since swapped back to Hetres having found the Pari-Motos somewhat skittish on slick roads; and found alarmingly that they had stretched after a couple flats in a way that gave me pause about their actually remaining stuck on my vintage Super Champion rims.]
And finally, after experimenting with late/not-great Ideale saddles (an 88 from the 1980s, and a Columbus from their final year or so in business), I've had it-- and returned to the Brooks fold, with high hopes for my recently acquired Vans limited edition (Nº2/500) which struck me as having just the right neo-Gothic Brooklyn/Paris aesthetic.
The handlebar "lunch box" bag is a real vintage Sologne (to my mind in no way superior to the virtually identical current model made by Berthoud), and the panniers are Berthoud (absolutely the perfect size for rain jackets, spare tubes and other light things that are great to have just in case).