New grail bike acquired – a 1960’s Jo Routens randonneuse bicycle. Jo Routens was the father of Jean-Paul Routens, who built a 1970’s “cyclosportif” bicycle I featured recently.
I bought this bike from a French seller on eBay France, and these are the original auction photos. I’ll have my own up in future articles, but I wanted to post these now to show it in the original condition I received it in. After re-assembling and servicing the bike, I’ve been riding it daily. Read on for more…
Cycles C.N.C. is a fairly obscure French brand that hand made exquisite custom bicycles for over fifty years, starting in the 1930’s. This particular example is one of their finest, with an all-Reynolds 531 frame and crisp lug work. I restored it over the holiday season, taking my time to get all of the little details correct. Read on for more information and history on this gorgeous bike! Continue reading
This lovely bicycle is a 58cm Routens “cyclosportif” with a Simplex Super LJ group set. It’s one of the finest machines I’ve had the privilege of restoring, although it needed very little actual work to restore. A “cyclosportif” is sort of like the French equivalent to “sport touring” where a bike may have fenders and a handlebar bag, but is not meant to carry panniers. Read on for more info on this classic steed and its famous namesake.
Every bicycle enthusiast has a certain bike that's their "holy grail" – that perfect combination of builder, vintage, design, and of course rarity that makes it both sought-after and difficult, if not nearly impossible, to find. Recently, I finally found mine: a 1970's vintage Zunow randonneur.
The Zunow brand, founded in 1965 by Japanese master builder Takeru Kageyama, is better known for his wilder road and time-trial designs like my Z-1. But Kageyama's earlier efforts were often in the style of the French touring and randonneuring bicycle that were popular in Japan through the 1960's and 1970's. Japanese brands like Toei, ALPS, Holks, Zunow, and Watanabe built beautiful and refined interpretations of the French designs, making use of a mix of French and Japanese components. Read more… Continue reading
The Surly Long Haul Trucker is considered one of the best modern, non-custom touring bicycles on the market these days. Introduced in 2004, it quickly became the “go-to” bike for riders looking for a reliable, no-nonsense machine for long, multi-day travels. It can also do double duty as a solid commuter or errand-runner around town, perfect for hauling camping gear or groceries.
This one is a 2009 model in their beige “Truckaccino” color, size 52 with 26″ wheels. I scored it off of Craigslist from a guy who won it in a radio contest and then never rode it. It came stock with a set of Ortlieb panniers and Blackburn racks. Since I’ve never been one to leave a stock build alone, I changed almost all of the components out.
Highlights of the build include a Gilles Berthoud “Aspin” touring saddle, Schmidt SON28 Classic generator hub with Supernova E3 light, BioLogic Reecharge system for the iPhone 4, Schwalbe Marathon tires, Deore XT derailleurs, Suntour Command shifters, Tubus racks, and a LOOK ErgoStem. More details and picture gallery after the jump…