The best bike company?

I've spent a fair bit of time waxing rhapsodic about my two Crust Cantilever Lightning Bolts. Best bikes (of their kind) in the world. No offense to the great Constructeurs, past and present, but though their bikes are undoubtedly more beautiful, prestigious and coveted, I can't believe they perform substantially better than the Lightning Bolt, the best production version of the classic Rando bike.   

https://crustbikes.com/blogs/builds/black-bolt-in-bethesda

https://crustbikes.com/blogs/builds/peggy 

Bikes are supposed to be fun, aren't they?

But buying, assembling and owning a "special" bike like this means more than the average consumer acquisition. I've owned Treks, Specialized, Fuji and Giant bikes. In the process of owning these bikes, I have had the good fortune to form relationships with folks at local bike shops, which I would generally recommend over direct-to-consumer purchasing, though LBS folks run the gamut from helpful to scornful, and in some cases, seem increasingly to be shills for the company store (I'm talking to you, Trek). Still, I've found these companies to make good products and generally back them up through what sometimes seems like their increasingly short lifespans (I'm talking to you, carbon fiber). 

I once snapped the derailer hanger on a USA-made Trek Madone Project One, and was amazed when Trek covered the entire repair under warranty, along with shipping to and from Wisconsin. No questions. No hedging. Kudos to Trek. A great consumer experience, facilitated by my local Trek dealer. 

Despite these positive experiences, I have never felt a sentimental, personal attachment to the designers and builders responsible for making the bikes. John Burke? Mike Sinyard? Undoubtedly interesting guys with rich backstories and impressive credentials, but even owning several of their products, I've never gone to any trouble to learn a thing about them or their companies. Likewise Fuji and Giant. Crust is different. 

Maybe I'm just biased toward small, quirky, boutique companies that make niche products (I am). Perhaps I fancy myself an iconoclast who resists popular trends (I do), or I'm too easily influenced by the cool kids who go against the grain (I am). Or maybe I have fallen completely under the mesmeric sway of the vélo-Svengali Jan Heine, the über retrogrouch Grant Petersen or Sheldon Brown, patron saint of fun, practical cycling. All true. Nevertheless, I maintain they are all correct in their assertion that the mainstream bicycle industry places too much emphasis on the "sport" cyclist, at the expense of all the rest of us who want bicycles that are practical, fun, durable, inexpensive and easy to maintain. In short, against the enshitification of bicycles. Examples:

• Does your bike use proprietary parts or standards supported by only one or few companies? Shitty
• Does your bike need batteries to operate? Shitty 
• Does your bike need hydraulic fluid to stop? Shitty
• Do you need a mobile app to tune your bicycle? Shitty
• Is your crank limited to a single gear? Shitty 
• Does your bottom bracket make incurable, ungodly creaking sounds? Shitty 

There are a few small companies still making non-shitty bicycles, and though Rivendell is probably the preeminent example, Crust is among them. Unlike Rivendell, most Crust bikes are designed for disc breaks and 1 1/8 inch head tubes, and all the appurtenances that go along with them. And of course you can choose to put electric shifters on any multi-geared bike if you want. And carbon fiber forks are starting to work their way into the lineup. But they also still make all-steel, rim brake bikes designed to use technology that has stood the test of time and will likely survive much longer than proprietary press-fit bottom brackets or battery-powered shifters. And they'll be cheaper, more comfortable and look better doing it. All hail the analog metal bicycle! And thanks to the companies that still make quality versions of them. How can you not form an emotional attachment to such non-conformist characters?     

As you know, I recently assembled my second Lightning Bolt (Peggy, short for Pegasus - above). I had planned to get a set of Pacenti Brevet wheels for the bike, as that's what I have on my other Lightning Bolt, but while personally picking up the frameset at Crust International Headquarters, I spontaneously decided to pick up one of Crust's dynamo 650b wheelsets. What I didn't recognize was that the wheelset I got was for 135mm rear spacing, while the Lightning Bolt has 130mm spacing. Apparently Garrett didn't notice either. Even Travis Evans from Just Riding Along Bike Shop, who did some of the initial assembly on the bike (headset, bottom bracket, etc.) didn't notice; or at least didn't say anything. At first I thought, well, whatthehell, I'll just leave the wheel in the frame and eventually it'll cold-set to the new size. What could it hurt? That was just me being lazy. But it was also me being stupid - why modify a brand new bike because I bought the wrong wheels? 

Crust 135mm rear wheel

I had no intention of actually cold-setting the frame, and the wheel was wedged into the rear triangle so tightly that removing it to fix a flat was damn near impossible and took a lot of paint when I tried. So I resolved to reach out to Crust and see if there was any way I could resolve the situation without having to buy an entirely new wheelset. They only sell assembled wheels as complete sets and I only needed the rear wheel. So I reached out to Garrett who immediately responded, "Woah, dang, really!? Could you send me a photo of the hub???" We went back and forth a couple of times, but ultimately, he sent me a new wheel and a return label for the old wheel. Just like that. Another satisfied customer. 

So I have two very satisfying experiences. One with the megabike corporation and one with the little boutique company operating out of a cinder block hovel in South Richmond. Why do I feel affection for Crust, but not particularly for Trek? Partly it's to do with how I came to discover Crust and my subsequent identification with the personalities at the company and my growing affinity for the "alt" bike online community with which it is often associated. 

Of course, it all starts with Grant Petersen. He's been floating around in my consciousness for so long, I can't possibly recall when or how he got there. But he was there long before I could afford a Rivendell, and has remained a guiding light of sanity as I made my way through what I presume to have been a necessary infatuation with bicycle racing and racing bikes (call it my 30's and 40's). The next catalyst for my transition away from racy bicycling was Eben Weiss, the venerable BikeSnobNYC, whose writing I almost certainly encountered first in his column in Bicycling magazine, a publication that used to mysteriously show up in your mailbox after joining the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) or making certain bicycle related purchases. Back in the late oughts and teens, I was also reading Lovely Bicycle which was covering the low trail/650b trend. I'm pretty sure that lead to a subscription to Bicycle Quarterly and Jan Heine, godfather of the trend. 

I was riding a Trek Madone Project One at the time, but starting to dream about these curious, classic steel cyclotouring bikes with fatter tires and the ability to carry more stuff - it was a return to my original dream of traveling by bike - should've bought that Trek 520 when I had the chance! I was skeptical about having a bike custom built (and wouldn't have known what I wanted anyway) and there really weren't any inexpensive "production" options available. I fiddled around with an '86 Fuji Allegra I bought on Craigslist, but really only managed to assemble a bike that looked like what I wanted. It's geometry was still a typical Bike Boom sport bike's and I wasn't enough of a mechanic back then to do a proper conversion to 650b. 

1986 Fuji Allegro

Then came the BQ review of the Cycles Toussaint Vélo Routier in 2014. It wasn't exactly a glowing review, but more of a, "want to try low trail/650b without spending a lot of money?" type review. I hemmed and hawed long enough to miss out on the first version, but snapped up a DIY build when v2 came out. It helped that I had just destroyed my Madone driving into a parking garage with it on the roof rack. So that was my first foray into this exciting new world of unconventional, Randonneuse bikes. I liked it, but the Vélo Routier still didn't rise to what I was beginning to suspect were the unrealistic expectations Heine created in describing the classic mid-century Rene Herse bikes and subsequent custom frames he was advocating. It was good, but not great. Then came his glowing review of the funky looking Crust Lightning Bolt. I mean it was an uncharacteristically positive review. And of course, if you were looking for a second opinion online, you were definitely going to run into the piece by the Radavist. This is where shit got weird. How could it not, encountering Ronnie Romance for the first time in his speedo.      

I bought a bike from this guy? Ronnie Romance puts the Alt in Alt Cycling.

Meanwhile, I had been watching YouTube videos from Path Less Pedaled. Party Pace? Sounds right to me. I'm not likely to be found riding a bike wearing Crocs, but the reminder that riding bikes is supposed to be fun was exactly where I was in the arc of my cycling life, and what has come to be known as Alt Cycling was, and is, really appealing to me. A couple of versions of the Lightning Bolt came and went and then came a model in glittery galaxy black. It took me about 10 minutes to pre-order one. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Details

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

Okay, so I know in my last post I insinuated that the next post would have a ride review. I lied. Well, not entirely. I did take the Velo Routier on her maiden voyage, but it was somewhat short lived. I did get in just over 20 miles, but despite a bunch of fiddling around, I couldn't get the brakes to stop rubbing. I'd get them situated, but then each time I would brake they would get off center and drag a bit. As Phillip Cowan noted in a comment to my last post:

The stock Dia-Compe straddle cable is hopeless. It's too short and too stiff to allow the yoke to find center. You'll be crazier than a BB stacker before you get the brake arms to pull evenly. I replaced them with CNC'd ones from Tektro. They have set screws so you can slide the yoke towards the tight shoe and lock it down to force the arms to equalise. They also come with nice long replacement straddle cables that are much more flexible and allow you to set the draw at a more acute angle. They only have a knarp at one end so I had to make ones for the other end in the lathe altho I think you can buy them ready made.

BB stacker. That cracked me up.

Stock Dia Compe straddle hangers

Tektro Cable Straddle Hanger

He's talking about these doohickeys (photos left and right). I stayed with the stock straddle cables and will see if I can make them work. Manufacturing a "knarp" may be easy for Phillip, but I haven't touched a lathe since high school. If the stock wires don't work, I'll look for something ready made that might fit the bill, or you know, buy a lathe. At a minimum, the "cable screws" should make it so the brake pads on both sides contact the brakes at the same time and reset properly when released. That will be an improvement over the current, BB stacking situation.

Metal valve caps? Of course!
Can't have too much shiny silver stuff.

The derailleurs still need some adjustment. I haven't yet gotten the rear to get up on the 36 tooth cog, and the front occasionally jumps to the outside of the big ring. But both amount to little more than fine tuning, and much of the adjustment might be done while riding.

I should now be ready to actually ride the thing. After a long, cool wet week, Sunday looks like it may bring some fair weather so I hope to get out on a 50 miler. I'll take the Allen wrenches and hope to get back with some initial impressions.

By the way, did I mention that I got some aluminum Presta valve caps? I couldn't resist. It was just the thing to play off the braided cable housing and those fenders. A bike like this invites just this sort of vanity. Maybe I'm a romantic but I think a bike like this has a sensuous quality. The way it looks is important. Its lines and colors and various accents invite you to admire it beyond just the function it provides. In truth the Velo Routier does not have the heart stopping aesthetics of a classic French randonneur or a vintage Italian racer, but there is a loveliness to its form derived from its geometry. It has timeless proportions that deserve to be appreciated and accentuated by this type of minor accessory.

In fact, I also have installed a solid brass Crane Suzu bell. I could have used the lighter weight silver bell that came with the bike, which admittedly would look great with all the other silver bling, but the Crane sounds infinitely better. Where most bike bells emit a timid, short lived "ding" the Crane's tone sustains like a musical instrument. My bike not only looks great; it sounds great! Now if I can just make it smell like lavender...

Finally, inspired by Evan's Madonna del Ghisallo medallion, I have mounted a medallion featuring the seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia to the top tube. Made for walking sticks, it fits perfectly around the tube and the color works perfectly with the frame. A little bending to the perfect shape and then a thin layer of silicone glue and voilà! Instant personalization. This is my bike. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Astute observers will note that I live in Maryland, but I am originally from the Old Dominion and am nothing if not a loyal son. Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Okay, join us for our next episode in which I actually spend some time riding the bike and give you my initial impressions. Stay tuned.

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.

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.

And the winner is...

The Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier V2!!

or...

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

Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier V2 with braze-ons

After a somewhat painstaking consideration of the three most popular entry-level low trail 650b "randonneur" style bikes, I ultimately decided to purchase the second edition of the Velo Routier from Calgary's boutique Cycles Toussaint. The order has been placed, a couple of emails have been exchanged with Angus Cowan (one of the two partners running the company), and the bike is on its way. Now I just watch the CanPar/FedEx notifications and impatiently await the arrival.

Everything sounds better when you say it in French. Velo Routier. Ooo, la, la. It just rolls off the tongue, smooth and elegant. It basically translates as "road bike". Cycle Toussaint Velo Routier sounds so much better than All Saints Road Bike, don't you think?

Though there are many reasons for choosing this frame over the very worthy competitors, the primary reasons I went with the Velo Routier probably boiled down to these:

• Jan Heine's review of the V1 in Bicycle Quarterly was quite favorable, essentially implying that the Velo Routier is the reincarnation of the famous Kogswell Porteur/Randonneur he helped design back in the 2000s. If it's good enough for Jan, I'm hoping it's good enough for my first low-trail bike.
  
• I love the way center-pull brakes look and I really want to try them with dedicated brazed on bosses. I'm given to understand that direct mounted center pulls offer some of the best modulation in the business. I'm eager to test that assertion. 
• The Velo Routier is sold as a more or less complete bike* (see caveat below) while the Grand Randonneur (my second choice) and Polyvalent are sold only as framesets. I tinker a bit with bikes, see to it that the brakes work and futz with the gears to keep them from making too much noise, but the idea of figuring out which headset, bottom bracket and derailleurs fit on the bike is a bit daunting to me. I may not find the package ideal, but this way somebody has at least chosen a "starter" set of components on which I can build. And who knows, maybe the Toussaint guys have put together a package that will suit my needs perfectly. 
• Braze-ons, baby! Look at that seatstay bridge. And what a lovely brake cable stop. Pump pegs? Fuhgeddaboudit. Look, there are certainly more beautiful examples of the welding arts at the NAHBS, but on a production frame? I haven't see anything better. 

*At present the company isn't offering complete, assembled bikes. Presumably they don't have the labour to assemble them. But they are selling un-assembled bikes, providing all the necessary components in a do-it-yourself kit. They ship everything but pedals and a saddle. You do the assembly.

Velo Routier V2 DIY Build Kit

My intention is to build the bike as designed and see what works and what doesn't. If it's perfect, I'll go with it as-is. If not, I'll modify it until it suits me. I will probably start out with the Brooks Cambium C17 saddle and see if that works. I currently have it installed on the Fuji, which has primarily been used for fairly short rides. I haven't yet tried it as a long distance saddle. So we'll see how I like it. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably try the Specialized Avatar from the now defunct Madone or my trusty old Selle San Marco Era Pro. I'll go with "modern" pedals, moving my Speedplay Frogs from the carbon fiber super bike. Once I've had time to evaluate the standard build, I'll decide if I have to make changes. Having said that, here is a listing of stuff I may want to change.

What, me worry?

I've placed the order so I must feel confident that this is the bike for me, right? Oh that consumerism were so simple. It's an inexpensive mail order bike of a design that is new to me, with components I
have never laid eyes on. So no, I'm not entirely sure it's going to live up to expectations. Which is the exact reason I'm buying an entry-level bike, rather than having one custom tailored to my specifications. I can afford to have this one not work out and chalk it up to experience. I've done my homework as best I can and hopefully all will be well, but here are some of my concerns and lingering doubts.

Reviews of the Dia Compe 750 brakes have been mixed, with Jan Heine particularly referring to them in his Bicycle Quarterly "first ride" review as "mushy". I have found the same issue with the Gran Compe 610s I have on the Fuji, though they are mounted to the fork with a back plate and rear bolt rather than directly to the fork bosses. Should Jan's assessment prove true, I have a set of 1974 Mafac "Racers" I can scavenge from an old Urago a buddy passed down to me. Based on what I've read on the forums they should fit and I think they're pretty close to the vaunted Mafac "Raid" brakes that Jan loves so much.

The drive train is a MicroSHIFT 10 speed friction set-up, with bar-end shifters powering a lowish (46/30) double up front and a super wide (11/36!) chainring in the rear. I'm really hoping it works out because I increasingly need that wide range for climbing. Remember, I'm transitioning from typical Shimano Ultegra 50/34, 11/28 brifters, so the change could be significant. I've got Suntour down-tube shifters on the Fuji, and it's mostly fine once I get used to it; I'm looking forward to trying the bar-ends where shifting should theoretically involve a bit less awkward reaching.

Courtesy Lovely Bicycle

My biggest worry about bar-end shifters is about the swoopy cable routing and the front-mounted bag. Builds I've seen online have looked extremely kludgy and inelegant. If I can't make that work to my satisfaction I may go to mounting shifters on the down-tube which makes everything a lot simpler. Or I may even be dorky enough to try a stem-mounted solution, which frankly makes a ton of sense to me, despite being almost unheard of since the bike boom. We'll have to see.

Speaking of front mounted bags, the Velo Routier has a bit of an issue with front racks. The first version of the frame came with a custom-designed rack that was an obvious last-minute kluge (Evan admitted as much in the BQ review). To get around the brazed on center-pull brake arms, the rack struts rose steeply from their connections on the fork crowns. This leaves the rack's platform hovering way too high over the fender, which both looks stupid and probably compromises performance by having the weight of the handlebar bag higher than necessary. I'll do a little measuring when the bike gets here and see if I can make a Velo Orange rack work with the brakes. Just eye-balling it, I'm guessing it's possible and I'm not the first to try, so...

VO Randonneur Front Rack

Some folks on the forums (fora! okay, I'll stop doing this now) have noted that the Kalloy KL-100 Alloy quill stem and handlebars are a bit flexy, so I'll have to see how that works out. I can bring over the Nitto stem from the Fuji and there's a really neat looking Pivo stem on the aforementioned Urago that might work. But I may just have to replace the handlebars with a new set, possibly some Nitto B132 Randonneurs or the equivalent from Velo Orange. I'll have to see once they get here.

The low gearing in the front causes some anxiety too, but most of the 650b's are set up with the 46 tooth chain ring, so maybe it's the right thing. I'm coming from 52/42/30 and 50/34 chainrings, so the thought of losing four or more teeth on the top end causes me just a bit of pause. But I'm open to the possibility that this will be a positive transition to a slightly less stressful way of riding, less concerned with top performance and more aligned with comfort and distance. I just hope the stuff isn't junk. I rode some MicroSHIFT brifters on a vintage aluminum Pinarello Galileo on a trip to Italy a few years ago and they worked just fine. So, that gives me some slight comfort. Fingers crossed.

The VR is currently winging its way across the North American continent!

Join us for the next episode of MondoBlahBlah, when the Velo Routier arrives!!!

Supple-mentary Readin'
In the mean time, see what others have been saying about the Velo Routier.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/04/18/cycles-toussaint-fast-comfortable-and-bit-bling
https://rideyourjourney.com/2015/02/23/velo-routier-frame-v-2/
http://www.brooklynrandonneur.com/2015/08/
http://www.brooklynrandonneur.com/2016/03/cycles-toussaint-velo-routier-v2-ride.html
https://stonehog.com/2014/03/03/initial-velo-routier-notes/
https://stonehog.com/2016/01/06/trail-riding/
https://stonehog.com/2015/12/23/new-toussaints/
http://www.cycleexif.com/cycles-toussaint