You never get a second chance to make...

A first impression

Read the entire story of the research, acquisition and assembly of my new Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier v2.

The new Velo Routier has finally arrived from Calgary. I've inspected the frame and weighed all the parts and everything made it in one piece. It is a lovely frame/fork and I'm sure it will build out to be a fine looking bike. So now it's time to roll up my sleeves and start the assembly process. First, let's lay out the parts on the bench and think about how they're going to work.

My first impression is that the components have been selected with the usual balance between quality and economy. The kit comes with a Neco roller bearing headset, which is recommended for low trail bikes to reduce the chance of shimmy; the bottom bracket seems to spin smoothly and the wheels are highly polished, easy spinning and seem strong. I am pleased to find that they chose 65mm crank arms for the 51cm frame - a sensible choice to adjust proportion for the smaller rider. Trek did not scale the crank arms to either of the bikes I've bought from them - I got the same crank length as a six foot rider would get. So, score one for Cycles Toussaint!

The Cockpit

The handlebars seem to be 42cm hung on a 100mm stem. They have what I would consider a gigantic drop, looking to be around 150mm. I might have preferred a slightly shorter stem, and a bit less drop, but I'll ride what they sent me before I decide I have to swap. These "fit" things are very personal so they were very much to be expected. And who knows? Maybe I'll learn something by trying Cycle Toussaint's choices.

Shifters

Thumb shifters on a Road bike?

Bar ends?

A picture is worth a thousand words, and in my experience usually carries more weight in the brain than text. So, while the description on the website clearly read, "microSHIFT 10 Speed Thumbshifter SL-T10 (quantity 2)", the photo of the DIY build shows what looks like bar-end shifters (photo left). I think I got it in my mind that they were selling "thumbies" along with bar-end pods so they could be converted. What I got (photo right) seem to be straight up dedicated bar-top thumb shifters that won't fit into the fittings for downtube or bar-end shifter bosses. I have sent an email to my new buddy Angus asking if the levers can be made to work with bar-end pods. He promised to look into the issue, and ultimately offered to send me some replacement shifters and throw in "a couple of chain quick links as well for good measure." Try getting that kind of response from Specialized! At the time of this writing I'm not quite sure what they'll send, so you'll have to wait for the Dummy's Guide to Screwing Up Bicycle Assembly episode to find out.

Fenders

Front fender L-bracket

One of the improvements to Version 2 of the Velo Routier frame is a better attachment for front fenders. As the site explains, "the front fork crown will now have an underside 5mm threaded fitting to allow fenders to be attached to the crown directly." But with the DIY build kit, the front fender is set up with a riveted L-bracket for mounting the fender to the back of the fork using the brake bolt.

As brake bolt mounting solutions go, the riveted tab is probably more secure and rattle free than the admittedly more flexible crimp-on fender bracket provided by Velo Orange, but it's obviously less than optimum, as evidenced by the fact that the company went to the trouble to re-design the fork for direct mounting to the underside of the crown. Not a deal-breaker, but inquiring minds want to know...

Fender hole inches from the bridge

There is a hole drilled in the rear fender, presumably where it is supposed to mount to the seatstay bridge. But the location isn't even close. I'm going to have to drill a hole in the right location to make it work. Not a big deal, and I wouldn't have been surprised to have to do that anyway But having a hole in the wrong location is a bit of a pain. I'm sure I'll want to plug it up so my brakes aren't sprayed, but I'm not sure how best to do that. I may just glue a hiking stick medallion over the hole and pretend it is an intentional ornament. A fairly minor detail, but if I was hoping to be able to just bolt together a bunch of parts and have a fully functional bike, this would probably be a seriously annoying. 

Details

Alright, well now I'm just niggling. But hey, details matter. The kit came without ferrules or cable end crimps. The build can be done without them, and they are easy to pick up at the local bike shop or online, but little parts like this give a bike a truly finished appearance. Still, I have to forgive this oversight because what looked like cheapo white cable housing in the website's photos turns out to be plastic coated metallic braided housing. That's just plain elegant.

Caveat emptor

Some of my impressions of the DIY build kit above are obviously less than flattering. They are meant as constructive criticism, and to help potential buyers make their own decisions about whether and how to invest in a new bike. But I want to also acknowledge that I understand the context in which this company, and this bike exist. Cycles Toussaint is obviously a passion project to produce an affordable version of an unusual style of bicycle. I suspect it's being run out of the basements of a couple of enthusiastic guys who are fitting this in on evenings and weekends. And given the bike's low price and the very low number produced, I would be astonished if Cycles Toussaint was making any money on this endeavor, or even covering their costs. So I forgive them, even for the thumb shifters.

With luck, these bikes will help popularize this style of bike, or at least some of their characteristics, and if that happens maybe the company will grow and prosper. But it's just as likely that the entire enterprise will fail, as has happened with similar attempts before (see Kogswell Cycles). The whole idea of selling budget low trail 650b bikes is probably a fool's errand. And I commend the fools who have invested their money, time and passion in the attempt. If the bikes, or their components aren't perfect, that's to be expected. When I decided to purchase the DIY kit I was absolutely expecting that parts of it wouldn't work for me. But I bought it anyway, because this is my first time building a bike and I figured Evan and Angus would, at a minimum, provide the essential parts to get me headed in the right direction (which they certainly did!). You may decide otherwise, particularly if you are mechanically minded and/or have a substantial "Parts" bin.

Okay, so enough kvetching for now. Please join us for our next episode in which an enthusiastic but mechanically inexperienced guy tries to put all these parts together to make a working bicycle.