All together now

Previously on MondoBlahBlah... or...

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

When last we met, I had assembled a lot of my new Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier 2.0. I had help  installing the headset and bottom bracket from Big Mig at the local Bicycle Place. Of course I just jammed the seat post in and hung a saddle on it. I got the cassette and crank set on the frame along with the derailleurs. I got the stem and handlebar worked out. I got the front rack, fenders and brakes all attached with reasonably satisfactory results. Nothing left to do but attend to the final details of connecting all the moving parts and actually making the thing work.

Ta da!

So at last the build is more or less complete and the bike is rideable. I haven't yet had the chance to ride it, and I still have some tinkering to do to get the brakes and front derailleur fine-tuned, but the build is essentially complete. What follows are some observations about the bits and pieces of Cycles Toussaint's DIY build kit.

Shifters

Alright, let's hear it for the good guys. After I pointed out to my buddy Angus that bar-top "thumb" shifters just don't belong on a road bike, he sent me a completely new set of MicroSHIFT bar-end shifters. And really nice shifters they seem to be, right down to the red anodized accents that reinforce the red in the Cycles Toussaint logo. Thanks very much to Cycles Toussaint. And I note that one of my readers, phillip Cowan noted in the comments that CT sent him both styles with his order. I'm totally going to take credit for that.    

Brake Levers

I tried using the supplied Dia Compe brake levers, but I couldn't get them to work right. After futzing with them for a while I gave up and put on a pair of Origin8 Pro Force aero levers I bought a couple of years ago with the Fuji in mind. They went on fine, though there's no barrel adjuster; I tried and tried, but I couldn't figure out how to gracefully insert an "in-line" adjuster in the set-up, so the rear brake has no adjuster, which will probably drive me crazy eventually.

I'm also not too happy about the way the "Pro Force" levers look. They're pretty clearly modern Shimano knock-offs and look a bit chunky on the bike. I suspect I'll leave them for a while as I get used to the bike and swap them out for something more aesthetically pleasing (like the Origin8 Classique Sport model) later on.

See the little thingy on top of the lever?
Barrel Adjuster - the kit didn't come with them.

After having installed the Origin8 levers, I figured out what was wrong with the stock Dia Compe levers. They were missing brake lever ferrules which act as a "stop" for the cable housing as it comes out of the lever, producing the tension the cable needs to pull against the brakes. Without them, the brake levers just don't work. Looking at every picture I can find on the internet, I see that every image of the "stock" Velo Routier features nifty looking barrel adjusters where the cable exits the lever housing - I think they were these: https://velo-orange.com/collections/brake-parts/products/dia-compe-cable-adjuster-for-gc202-and-dc204-levers. But no such thing came with the DIY kit, rendering the brakes useless or forcing me to seek out these exotic little parts.

This is just one of the "small parts" irritations with the DIY kit. Cycles Toussaint eventually provided me a handful of shifter cable ferrules and some cable end crimps, but they didn't come with the package - I had to ask for them when I whined about the shifters. I know, niggling details, but the site does say, "We package and ship a complete frame set and build kit to your home (only exclusion is seat and pedals.)" There seems to be some room for interpretation of the word "complete".

Chain

I only mention the chain because Cycles Toussaint sent three, count 'em, three of them. At an MSRP of $36 each, I consider that quite generous. It may be a while before I need a new one. And without prompting, Angus threw in a "master link" when he sent the replacement shifters. Very thoughtful, as it makes it a whole lot easier to install the chain.

Front Derailleur / Crankset

The front derailleur went on without a hitch, but the tolerances were super tight. When the chain gets clear of the derailleur, the crank arm rubs it on each revolution. When I back the derailleur off so the crank arm doesn't rub, but chain grinds against the inside of the derailleur. And every so often the chain gets thrown off the big ring to the outside. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the parts. I think I just have to do more fiddling with them to get them set up just right.

Rear Derailleur / Cassette

Matching the shifters and front derailleur, the bike comes with a MicroSHIFT rear derailleur and cassette. On the surface it seems like a nicely integrated 2 x 10 drive train with a nice wide gear range. And mostly that's correct. But the rear derailleur (see photo below) doesn't match the big cog cassette (36 teeth). Basically, it just doesn't shift to the lowest gear. Not a huge deal. A 30T x 34T low gear is still plenty low. And 9 speeds in the rear s more than anyone should need. But still - tempt me with a 10 speed / 36T and then give me a 9 speed / 34T, and I'm bound to feel a little cheated. Again. No biggie. Just seems a bit "close, but no cigar."

Various and Sundry

Pump Pegs

A useless appendage - pump peg
forever to remain empty. 

So despite all the really positive aspects of this bike, not the least of which is that it exists at all, there is a really glaring issue I have with it, and that concerns what might be among the most inconsequential details; the pump pegs. One of the truly coolest, quirkiest details on the Velo Routier's frame, the thing that most explicitly pays homage to the constructeurs whose work inspired its design is the dedicated pegs for a frame pump on the left seat stay. Not that single bump on the head tube that some "retro" bikes have, but serious, elegant top and bottom pegs for a classic "pencil" pump. When I saw them I just flipped out - that's a sign of just how seriously these guys at Cycles Toussaint are taking the design of this bike, I thought. What a shame then when I find that they will never fulfill their purpose because there's no such thing as a pump that fits the pegs.

It's not that there are no pumps designed to fit such pegs. In fact Zefal makes a really attractive one, the Classic Lapize. But it doesn't fit. It measures 375 mm or 14.8 inches. The distance between the pegs is 14 5/16 inches or about 363.54 mm. I could conceivably squeeze in a small HPX pump, but it looks like stupid and the connection points just aren't right. It's designed to fit in the spaces of the frame, not between pump pegs. So I'll probably carry a mini-pump in the handlebar bag or use a full size frame pump under the top tube and ride with an empty space between the pump pegs, a forever aspirational void, an unfulfilled longing for elegance and purpose. Pity.

Well, okay, enough with the build. The real question is, how does this low trail 650b bike ride? Stay tuned faithful reader, for my initial review in the next post.