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Hand-painting Crane Suzu Bells

April 17, 2015, 12:56 pm
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Handpainting Demo of Crane Bicycle Bells from somafab on Vimeo.

As you know art isn't easy. Though some artists sure make it look easy.
Here is Nami, the artist who hand paints those exquisite Crane Suzu bells showing us how she does it. These bells come in 10 different classic Japanese design. Available in bike shops all over and on our SomaFab Store. My personal favorite is the Japanese maple.
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RIDER PROFILE: Norma Herrera of the Calfornia Bicycle Coalition

May 4, 2015, 3:13 pm
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Norma is a proud new owner of a Grand Randonneur. She is currently getting ready the California Coast Climate Ride. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, specifically East L.A. And has lived in Oakland, CA for two and a half years.  

What kind of riding do you do? If you have one, what is your favorite ride route?

I've been car-free since 2010 and don't like waiting for public transit so bicycling is my #1 way of getting around. 

I also really enjoy night-time group rides, though I haven't been doing too many here in Oakland. Believe it or not, L.A. has a huge bike culture and those people are some of my best friends. 

I need to do more bike camping. My old bike (a late-80's single-speed conversion Bianchi) didn't really allow for too many camping trips. I'm excited to get some racks on my Grand Rando...I anticipate a lot of bike camping this season.

My favorite ride route is actually my commute to work. I get to ride alongside the water by Jack London Square and it's always really calm and quiet. Great way to start a work day. I also like to ride the Iron Horse Trail.

What kind of bikes have you had before or still have? If you have a ton, just share the most memorable.

My aforementioned Bianchi has been my only regular bike for five years. It was actually given to me by a really good friend, so it's not my size but it has done me really well.

However, my most memorable bike is this thing: 

Meet GOAT, a 70's Schwinn cruiser cut-up, flipped and welded onto a unicycle wheel. If you've never built a freak bike, I highly recommend it.

What made you choose a Grand Randonneur and/or how do you like it so far?

It's by far one of the prettiest bikes I've seen and one of the few that comes in my size. So far, I'm loving how easy it is to ride...going from a SS to gears is one of the most life-changing experiences I've ever had! And having a bike that can handle dirt and gravel is amazing. 
Norma's got her 49cm Grand Randonneur  built with Soma Three-Speed Bars.

What you excited about doing, trying or going in 2015?

I'm definitely excited about the Climate Ride in a couple of weeks (you can donate to my cause here.) It's the first time I'm doing a multi-day, hundreds of miles tour and it's especially exciting, because I'm doing it on behalf of my organization, the California Bicycle Coalition.

I'm also excited about working in bike advocacy and all the exciting things we're getting done. More people on bikes = positive change in our society. 

Is there an activity, hobby or cause that you are involved in now that you would like to share?

For the time being, my biggest cause is getting more people on bikes. I volunteer for all sorts of events when I can (Save the Bay clean-ups and Sunday Streets are two of my favorites) I also am starting to work on a huge build project for Burning Man, which is very exciting. 

What's on heavy rotation on your MP3 player/streaming service?

Lykke Li, Hot Chip,  and Sia.
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Adventure Cyclist Review the Saga Disc!

May 14, 2015, 4:05 pm
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Patrick O’Grady checks in on one of his favorite touring rigs as Soma adds stepped-up stoppers to create the Saga Disc. See his full review in the May 2015 issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine.

This was a pretty unusual build with 46-30t IRD Defiant Cranks and SunXCD derailleurs.
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Librarian Quits Her Job to Ride Her Soma Saga Across America

June 30, 2015, 3:37 pm
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Laurie Chipps says her goal for the trip was: "to encourage others to do what inspires them most, whether the smallest change or a similarly big adventure, not just to be envious. If you put your mind to something and follow through, you can make anything happen."

"I do want a career change, possibly empowering people to go on trips of their own or race bikes," Chipps said. "I'm hoping there are a lot of jobs in the outdoor adventure or tourism industry there. And if I can't find a job, Chicago will always be here."

Chipps has saved money for a year and gave away almost all of her furniture. Her last day of librarian duties was April 10, and this week she turned in her apartment keys.
She is currently on Day 53 of her ride near Pueblo, CO (where the sunset below was captured). We wish her the best.

She is  riding along the Adventure Cycling Association's Transamerica route, 
She is blogging about her experiences here.
The full interview with Laurie can be found on DNAInfo

Photos: Laurie Chipps

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Best Bike For A Century

July 20, 2015, 5:20 pm
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If you've done your share of centuries, you know you get all types of bikes at these events – carbon race bikes, recumbents, hybrids, fixed gears, even cruisers – which goes to show that as long as you are comfortable on the bike, it does not matter what type of bike you use. In long distance riding, everyone seems to be a little different, both physically and mentally. You need something that fits, and something that does what you want it to do, too. Some want to sprint, some want to use a steady cadence, and some change their minds all the time and just ride according to how they feel. If you are fit enough and motivated enough to ride one of Soma Rush track bikes with deep drop bars on a double century, more power to you!

But if you are interested in finishing those 100 miles reasonably fast and also feeling fresh enough at the end to enjoy the after-event festivities, the best bike for centuries from our line is the ES model, because it offers the best balance of benefits for long distance road events. The ES is our "road sport" or "audax"(as the Brits call it) model. It also falls into the recently coined "Endurance Road" category.

COMFORT with EFFICIENCY: It is double butted chromoly steel instead of carbon or aluminum. Carbon at our pricepoint is likely to be overly stiff. Comparably priced aluminum transmits a lot of road vibrations which fatigue the muscles. A quality steel bike smooths out road vibrations. A good  endurance road carbon bike can do a decent job at that, too, but the price tag for one of those will be much higher.
The ES also fits medium width tires. Most road bikes (even entry level) barely fit 26c wide tires, which is lame, since wider tires offer more cushion and shock absorption and handle rougher roads better. Centuries and fondos are not usually on the smoothest tarmac.  The ES fits up to 700x32c tires, which is a size most folks in the know says offer noticeable comfort without compromising rolling efficiency. Cyclocross bikes like our Double Cross can also fit wider tires, but have a taller bottom bracket height, so the ES edges it out in the stability and road handling department.

STABILITY with SPEED: The ES geometry is optimized for non-competitive long distance rides. A bike with race geometry may excel at maneuvering around the competition, but its quick steering makes it more difficult to go in a straight line without more course correction from the rider. (i.e. more difficult to ride in a relaxed manner). The ES has a medium length chainstay and wheelbase for sporty, but not twitchy handling. Still quite fun on a windey descent or drag racing for the county line.

COMFORT + EFFICIENCY + STABILITY + SPEED = A rider who can ride longer, with less fuss and fatigue and with more enjoyment.

The ES comes in sizes 46 to 66cm. Steel fork is optional. A complete bike with SRAM Apex and hill-friendly 11-32t cassette is also available to shops in limited sizes.


Useful Links
• 12 Scenic Century Rides
• Centuries and Endurance Rides in California
• Training for a Century


Steve Wagner's 2010 ES with fenders.












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"Where Are Them Wolverines At?!!"

July 23, 2015, 5:09 pm
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One of Joe Bike's favorite Wolverine builds so far. With Genavalle shifter and three racks.
How's everyone's summer going. I know some of you were hoping to be smiling and perched one of these tasty pumpkin orange beauties --- maybe with dirt drops and monster cross tires or a belt drive and panniers. We apologize for that.

We are doing our best to supply demand. We did get two shipments in this month and hopefully by next week we will have sent out 200 of these to shops and distributors. We have suspended our sales on our online shop until we catch up with backorders, which hopefully will be achieved with our mid-August container. For those still waiting, thank you for your patience!


Updated version with split seatstay.

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Amazing Race: 9th Annual Bicycle Balloon Race

August 6, 2015, 11:18 am
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Gravel, schmavel! Here's a race that will really take your breath away. The event is part of the Warren County Farmer's Fair and Hot Air Balloon Festival. The premise is fairly simple. Bicyclists and balloonists pair up to compete against other teams. Participating pilots launch with a bike and bicyclist. After flying for a predetermined distance or amount of time, the pilot will land and let the bicyclist out, who then must cycle back to the Fairgrounds. The team who returns to the Fairgrounds first wins a cash prize. This year the proceeds went to Adopt a Soldier Platoon.

Meesh (riding her new Soma Wolverine) and Tracy (the balloon pilot) were able to raise over $5000 for the charity. Congrats on a job well done!

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More Bikes For Tall People

August 13, 2015, 11:53 am
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We've been offering our Soma ES road sport frame in a super large 66cm size for many years now. Last year we started offering a 66cm in our Double Cross Disc and our Buena Vista mixte frame in a 62cm. We may only sell 10 per year of each, but still love offering this option, because there are frustratingly few choices for taller persons.

In 2016, we will expand their choices by offering a 66cm size in our Smoothie road race frame and our Saga touring frame. Spread the word.

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New Treads Soon

October 14, 2015, 12:34 pm
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One of our new treads is equipped with a "Tubular Casing" --Promises a plush and scary fast ride,
but it will get angry if you ask about its TPI.

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Introducing Two New Soma Tires

October 19, 2015, 12:47 pm
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We are excited to introduce the Shikoro and Supple Vitesse 700c road clincher tires. Both come in widths that serve categories from racing and raining to touring and commuting (23, 28, 33, 38, 42c). Both utilize a mostly smooth all-road tread pattern and a High Mileage high carbon rubber compound. And as usual, we've tapped Panaracer's Japanese factories to produce these for us to ensure a high quality product.

The Shikoro is aimed at a wide range of riders that value efficient and comfortable road performance with durability and robust puncture protection. The bead-to-bead Dense Weave Polyamide breaker provides protection against both tread punctures and sidewall cuts. It offers better protection than the Hypertex casing used on our New Xpress tires and smoother ride quality. The tri-layer 4HD casing offers a nice balance of low rolling resistance and rigid support needed in cornering. We anticipate the Shikoro will be pressed into service for mostly training, club rides, and gritty commutes, but won't be surprised to see folks using them on gravel races where there's a lot of pavement. Available in folding and steel bead.

Soma Shikoro (700x28c shown): "Shikoro" is the term for the neckguard on a samurai  helmet.
Shikoro 700 x 42c



The Supple Vitesse is aimed at cyclists valuing a premium ride quality above all else. The heart of this tire is it supple tubular casing, which offers a high level of vibration absorption and road feel, plus very low rolling resistance. You will find the wider tires to be remarkably plush, but not slow at all. And discerning riders should notice the narrower models will be as fast and positive feeling as  high end tires marketed specifically for racing. We offer an SL (superlight) model as well as an EX model, which has a thicker tread for longer tire life. Skinwall and folding bead only.

A lightweight tubular casing offers the supple speedy ride of a tubular – but in a clincher design.

Five sizes and two tread thicknesses to suit a variety of riding needs.

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Ride On Review the Soma ES Complete

October 29, 2015, 1:52 pm
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This is an excerpt of a review by Ride On for the ES complete bike built with SRAM Apex shifters and derailleurs, Sugino Alpina 50-34t cranks and Suzue wheels.


... It can be run very light, but I had it set up touring style with racks and mudguard. These accessories were no impediment to this feisty machine....Smooth speed is the natural expression of this bike... ES stands for "extra smooth" and derives from Soma Smoothie road bike...The smooth description however can only be relative to an out-and-out racing bike -- all day comfort on this machine is somewhat traded for thrills compared to the laid back randonneurs of this rider's experience.
A compact crankset with SRAM double-tap shifters ably provides  for gears. The rear cassette changes down to a 32 cog which seemed ample to provide all the luggage with which one might handicap this fine steed...the IRD dual pivot calipers did not pull you up as effectively as your would expect. Fine tuning and some softer pads helped...


Score: 83%

Function: 32/40

Quality: 34/40

Price: 7/10

Appearance: 10/10

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Soma Cazaderos - A Favorite of the CX Magazine Gang for Adventure

November 4, 2015, 11:16 am
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Here's a short and to the point review of the Soma Cazadero tires out of Cyclo-cross Magazine.
Click on the image to read the whole thing. Glad to hear it is one of their "all time favorites for gravel and adventure" even though we are aware gravel is still in its infancy. We hope the Cazes live up to that statement over the years.

Cazaderos come in both blackwall and skinwall, 700c or 650b. 42mm width only (1.65").
Have you  tried them yet?


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Guide to 650B Conversions on Soma Frames

November 11, 2015, 5:26 pm
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Jason's Double Cross Disc 650b Converstion
We get a lot of questions whether our 700c (or 26") wheel frames can be converted to 650b/27.5" tire size and what would the maximum tire width they can use, if it is possible. So we thought it would be nice to make a post covering this over our current line.


Model: Double Cross Disc    Convertible?: Yes
The Double Cross Disc makes a great 650b conversion project. It's bottom bracket height is about the sames as our Grand Randonneur 650b frame, which means you can swap in 650b tires as narrow as 33mm and not worry about pedal strike while road riding. For light off-roading we'd recommend using tires 38mm to 42mm. You won't be gaining much in tire clearance as the Double Cross already fits 700 x 42c. What you will gain is the ability to run fenders with 650b x 42 tires and more stable handling because of the lower bottom bracket. But a lower bottom bracket also means you need to be more careful about pedal strike on dirt trails.
Maximum tire fit with fenders: 650b x 45mm  

Model: ES (and Stanyan)  
Convertible?: Yes
The ES has been a popular bike for 650b road conversions. You would need to switch the brakes from 57mm reach brake to 73mm reach model such as the Tektro R-559. (Some rims may require 76mm reach brakes)
Bottom bracket height will be lower than with the average 700 x 23c tire no matter 650b road tire you choose, so avoid cornering like your doing a crit. We recommend 38mm to 42mm wide tires. Max tire fit with fenders: 650b x 38mm

Model: Wolverine 
Convertible?: Somewhat
Nearly any 700c disc brake bike can be used for a 650b conversion project. The Wolverine is no exception; however in our opinion there is very few compelling reasons to do.
It already fits up to 29 x 2.0" tires. Going 650b will not increase that. Its bottom bracket height is more like a road bike than a cyclo-cross bike, so it's on-road handing is pretty good. Using a 650b x 38/42 will lower the bottom bracket height further where you may gain advantage in stability some desire for on-road loaded touring, but of course you'll also be reducing cornering clearance and off-road capability. Using 650b x 2.0" you get the about the same BB height as 700x32c CX knobbies ( just enough for some off-road fun). We recommend nothing smaller than 650b x 38mm. Max tire fit with fenders: 650b x 2.0"


Model: Buena Vista 
Convertible?: Yes
42cm size (designed for 26" wheels): It is doable, but there isn't a compelling reason to do besides trying a larger, narrower, higher pressure tire. You would need to swap to 57mm reach road brakes, if the 73mm reach brakes you already have don't work. Bottom bracket will be raised, but it is a non issue in this case. There may be additional toe overlap with the front wheel. Max. tire size: 650b x  33  (fenders will not fit. This is a limitation of the brakes used; not the frame.)

The larger Buena Vista sizes are designed for 700c wheels: You would need to swap in 73mm reach brake like the Tektro R-559 or Dia-Compe 750's. The frame has a low bottom bracket height to begin width, so stick with 42mm wide tires to avoid pedal strike or just learn to check your pedal position when cornering.

Model: Saga Disc  
Convertible?: Somewhat
We don't recommend converting the 700c models, because it will lower the bottom bracket height too much to ride safely.
For the 26" wheel model, it is quite doable without much consequence. A 26" x 1.95 tire has almost the same diameter as a 650b x 42b. However running a 650b x 1.95" knobby will definitely take away the possibility of using fenders.

Model: Juice    
Convertible?: Somewhat
You can swap in 650b wheels on any disc brake 29er, but there isn't a compelling reason, except maybe you want a lower bottom bracket for road/commuter use. But your center of gravity will still not be as road-optimal as on our our Grand Randonneur frame or CX frames. As of 2015, the Juice does not have clearance for a 27.5+ (i.e. 27.5 x 3.0" tires) conversion.  

Model: Rush  
Convertible?: No
There isn't enough clearance for 38mm wide tires. You might fit 33mm tires, but in our opinion there isn't compelling reason to convert it. Bottom bracket won't be high enough to run this as a fixed gear after conversion.

Model: Soma Saga (Canti)    
Convertible?: No
Cantilever brakes don't offer enough adjustability to fit 650b rims.

Model: Smoothie   
Convertible?: No
There isn't enough clearance for 38mm wide tires. 33mm wide tires will lower the bottom bracket height too much.

Model: Double Cross (Canti)   
Convertible?: No
Cantilever brakes don't offer enough adjustability to 650b rims.
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Feeling Lucky? Enter to Win A Set of Shikoro Tires

December 3, 2015, 11:38 am
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Bicycle Times Magazine is giving away a pair of our fast and tough Shikoro's in their weekly Give-away Contest. Definitely better chances to win than Fantasy Football or the state lottery.

The Shikoro is awesome for training, touring, commuting, and even light gravel and is very supple riding for an armored tire.

Distributor Merry Sales is already out our first run of Shikoro (folding bead) in 3 sizes, so it might take a couple of months for us to get the winner their booty, if they choose one of those sizes.

"Shikoro" is the Japanese term for the neckguard on the back of a samurai helmet.
Contest ends Dec. 9. Good luck!
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Guido's Double Cross with 1 x 8 Drivetrain

December 21, 2015, 4:53 pm
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Guido built his Double Cross from a mix of old and new parts and it is beautiful. He went with a 1x8 drivetrain with a 36t front x 11-32 in the back with a downtube shifter. A simple versatile set up that is working well for him.

Even though 1x drivetrains did not hit mainstream until we nailed down good shifting 10 and 11 speed cassettes, some folks are more fine with fewer cogs in the back. IRD recently release 12-40 9-speed and 13-40t 8-speed cassettes for those want to maintain some simplicity.
(Guido is a cartoonist by trade.)
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Supple Vitesse SL

January 11, 2016, 11:12 pm
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I mounted up a set of 33c Supple Vitesse SL tires on Pacenti CL25 rims to try them out on some local trails.


While they're not the most aggressive tires for offroad riding, the grippy Japanese rubber compound and ultralight casing make them extremely fast rolling on hardpack and slick rock surfaces.


33mm is a bit narrower that what I normally ride offroad, but for a bike that stays primarily on the road its a good size.


The Supple Vitesse has the advantage of a recessed file tread pattern, which doesn't pick small peices of rock and other debris like many retro tread patterns. The ribbed sections make the rubber softer and allow it more purchase on uneven surfaces, but due to the support provided by the solid areas they don't add much drag when in contact with smooth roads.


We've found that most tires perform better when paired with a rim that opens the casing up a bit. These Pacenti's are just about perfect for this tire.


In case you were wondering, this bike is an early prototype of the Rawland Ravn, which is designed around 26" or 650b wheels. Luckily, since it has disc brakes it's possible to experiment with these 700c wheels as well. The front rack is a Soma Champs Élysées stainless steel mini rack, which mounts to the Nitto standard hourglass eyelets on the front of the fork blades.
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Soma Sandworm 650B+ Build

January 13, 2016, 12:58 pm
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It's been a long, long time coming, but the mythical Sandworms have finally emerged from the bled to take their rightful place at the top of the food chain.


We built this one up with 650b wheels and 3" tires for a more "lively" trail oriented ride.


The Sandworm is made with sturdy Tange Infinity tubing, making it stiffer than the other Soma MTB frames. With tires this wide you don't need the frame to dampen the ride much, so we built it for loaded bike packing and rowdier Enduro routes.


Like several other Soma models, the Sandworms feature a splitter for installing a carbon belt drive.


Originally designed as a single speed crankset, more people have been using these IRD Mjolnir cranks on 1X drivetrains. Since the cranks arms need a bit more clearance to wrap around the wider chainstays, we used the Wolf Tooth 94mm offset chainrings to achieve a perfect chain line. Since it's a square taper design, it offers more flexibility for unusual chain lines such as you'll often find on internal gear hubs.


The outer diameter of these wheels is about the same as the 26" fatbike tires that are popular for softer terrain and snow. This allows the frame to accommodate multiple wheel set if you want to change up your riding style. This carbon fork offer plenty of clearance for even wider tires.


The 55mm IRD Sawtooth 650B+ rims really take advantage of the Panaracer Fat B Nimble's added volume, giving the tires a wider contact patch and better cornering performance.


The hourglass headtubes allow you to run both tapered forks, or straight steerers. Even though we began developing this bike before there were any true fatbike suspension  forks on the market, we knew that we wanted to make sure it would accommodate them when the fork makers finally caught up.


For the cockpit we used my favorite MTB bars the Soma Clarence and a Soma Shotwell 31.8mm stem with Palma Sutra foam grips.


In addition to enabling single speed and Rohloff compatibility, the IRD sliding dropouts allow you to adjust the effective chain stay length to suit your riding style and tire choice. There are so many fat tires on the market these days that we haven't had a chance to test them all, but we have yet to encounter any that don't clear it's curvy stays.


Weather you're building up your first fat bike or swapping out a old one, we think the Sandworm offers a great feature set which allows you to build it the way you want.



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Sandworm Marin Test Ride

January 30, 2016, 10:29 am
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We had a little break from the rain this week, so I took the B+ Sandworm out to Marin to play in the mountains before it started up again. Here's some photos from the ride.

Fort Point SF
San Francisco Marina 
Wave Organ

Alcatraz 
Tennessee Valley 
Mt. Tamalpais 



Panaracer Fat B Nimble
Marin Headlands 

IRD Sylvan Brake Lever 
Soma Clarence Bars 

Muir Beach















Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco Bay 

Crissy Field Marsh
Palace of Fine Arts 
Soma Sandworm
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Soma ES 66cm Custom Build

February 2, 2016, 12:41 pm
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American Cyclery is our oldest dealer, and the shop we go to for technical advice. They build a lot of custom Soma frames and test most of the prototype frames we send out. One question that commonly comes up is what parts to use on our super large frameset, so I thought I would share this 66cm ES built for an XXXL rider.


The 66cm frames have a very long headtube, but most of our steel forks are fine for the job. This one was built with our Champs Elysees low trail fork. Normally the ES doesn't need this much rake in the larger sizes, because it already has plenty of toe clearance, but with this build we wanted to use the largest tires we could fit and still have room for fenders. Another benefit of the Champ Elysees forks is their integrated rack mounts that allow it to accept a variety of front racks for Randonneuring, bike camping or even loaded touring.


The ES currently comes with 57mm brake clearance. We are using Japanese made 35mm Soma New Xpress tires on 23mm rims so we needed brakes with maximum room. The Original Paul Racer, modeled after classic Mafac centerpulls, is perfect for the job, and will provide enough stopping power for heavier riders (no offence tall folks, but you need some good brakes).


This generation Champs fork has slightly more tire clearance than the original ES fork does so we have plenty of room up front.


We went with IRD 175mm cranks, which are shorter than some people would use on a bike this large. We feel that due to the wide range of gears on this drivetrain a shorter crank is better as it incentives spinning a high cadence rather than mashing up hills in the big ring.


The hubs are the sealed bearing Suzue High Flange light touring model. They're compatible with 8-10 road cassettes, which we prefer for their longer wear life. Newer models are available with 11 speed compatible freehubs, but 10 speed seems to be the best value for indexed drivetrains these days.


A Shimano 105 GS does a fine job shifting our IRD Elite cassette. MKS Sylvan road pedals and stainless toe cages give this bike a classic vibe. Since the ES has downtube shifter mounts as well this would be a good choice for California Eroica or the SF Randonneurs series. We offer the ES in such a wide range of sizes because it really is one of the most versatile bikes out there. For thousands less than most carbon bikes you get a machine that can take you almost anywhere and will last for many many years longer.


American Cyclery also offers custom paint, along with fitting and maintenance out of their San Francisco store front. Custom built bicycles can be made to order via their website or in person the next time you're in the Fog City.

http://www.americancyclery.com/
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2016 Grand Randonneur

February 2, 2016, 3:59 pm
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The Soma 650b, low trail, randonneuring frame gets a fresh paint job for 2016. Our friend Dean Santos, who always wanted to get one, volunteered to build up the sample frame for our photos.


Frame
Soma Grand Randonneur 55, White
Fork
Soma Grand Randonneur low-trail fork
Headset
IRD Roller Drive Sample
Stem
Soma Sutro Quill Stem
Handlebars
Nitto Grand Randonneur 45cm (Used)
Bar Tape
Cardiff Brown Leather
Brake Levers
Dia Compe Grand Compe 202 Non-Aero
Shifters
Dura Ace 7700 9 speed
Brakes
IRD Cafam II
Front Derailleur
Dura Ace 7700 9 speed
Rear Derailleur
Dura Ace 7700 9 speed
Pedals
Test Pedals
Cranks
IRD Defiant Wide-Compact 170mm
Chainrings
46-30t 94BCD
Cassette
Shimano HG95 11-25
Chain
KMC 9 Speed
Seat Post
Soma Wazikashi
Saddle
Brooks Team Professional Brown
Wheelset
Suzue Sealed Bearing Hub on Araya TX510
Tires
Panaracer Col d'Lavie 650bx38


The Story Behind the Build

By Dean Santos – I’ve wanted to build a Grand Randonneur, ever since I heard the project discussed when I used to work at Merry Sales. I don’t know if it’s the lure of the 650b tires or the low-trail geometry, or even the mystique of riding thin tubes and experiencing planing. There’s just something about this bike that made me want one… really bad. 

The Pondering
While in college, I rode a commuter bike I got from a trade. I had it built up the way Grant Petersen would have: Fat Wald basket up front, leather saddle, a Cardiff saddle bag, fenders, wide 32mm tires, and a Nitto Albatross bar for a nice upright riding position. It was my go to bike for commuting, urban exploration, Bike Party, and general tomfoolery. I often packed the front basket to the brim. On longer rides, I start feeling the fatigue of trying to keep the front end straight under load. I find that after a certain point, the effort needed to keep the front in control goes up as you load more weight. This made me dig more into Jan Heine’s findings on low-trail geometry and its benefits regarding front load handling.

 

The Opportunity

One fateful day, I dropped by the Soma headquarters to pick up some parts and saw the sample white Grand Randonneur laying on the floor. The glossy white with red panels elicited the same kind of excitement reserved for bacon-wrapped hot dogs after a bar crawl in the Mission. It was my size and the stars aligned. I wanted to build it.


The Build
I immediately began thinking about the parts I had in my parts bin. I wanted to go full retro with non-aero brake levers, etc. In my bin, I had a Nitto Grand Randonneur bar that I used on a Schwinn touring bike I rebuilt, a Soma Champ Elysees rack, leather bar tape,and even a randonneur bag from Zugster. And of course I had to use the Dura Ace 7700 parts I had found in the trash behind a bike shop. The build sheet took longer to finalize than I care to admit. 
One of parts I wanted to try out was theIRD Defiant crank with a unique 46-30t gearing, but that choice became a headache when matching it up with the Dura-Ace short cage rear derailleur. The maximum chain wrap capacity of the Dura Ace derailleur is 29T. With a 46/30 crankset, the biggest cog I can use to make the derailleur work was a 11-25t cassette. Even with a 30t chain wrap, I have to be mindful not to use the 30t/11t combination. The decision to keep the Dura Ace derailleur was based purely on its bling bling factor. 
The whole build took about eight hours to complete. I did not cut any corners and I meticulously adjusted and set every aspect of this build.

I’ve been riding this bike as a commuter for the past two months and I’m really happy with the way it rides. On my 10 mile one-way commute, I like how mild-mannered the geometry handles. It’s not as snappy as my other carbon bikes, but the ride quality of the Grand Randonneur is on another level in comparison. It reminded me of why I love steel and why there’s a place for it in my stable. I get more compliments on this bike than my Santa Cruz Stigmata CC.

 Thank you to Passion Trail Bikes (Belmont's premier mountain bike shop)  for letting me borrow a stand and helping me cut and rethread the fork steerer a little shorter.


Cranks, saddle, rack, and front fender installed.
The rear fender is not done yet. This is about four hours worth of assembly.
I like to take my time for proper builds and not cut any corners.
The leather tape I had lying about looked a little dried out.
I revitalized it with some Sno-Seal and finished it off with
a mixture of paraffin wax and beeswax (heated) to waterproof
the leather tape. The wax also gave the tape a darker
color which matched closer to my Brooks saddle.

Chainring spacers were used to space out the fender
The fenders look ugly with having a gap between the wheel
and the fender. I had to drill holes on the fenders to install
it like this.
Water proofing the bar tape.






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