Andybg Red Raven Tour

[Andybg]

And a couple more:

[Andybg]

Just as a bit of information - these pictures were taken around and about Veliko Tarnovo which used to be the capital city of Bulgaria until the end of the ottoman rule in the early part of the 20th centuary.

[Danneaux]

Andy!

The new red bike is looking wonderful in these shots, and I'm so glad to see it being used in such beautiful countryside. The view from the bridge in the first one is fantastic, and I love seeing the architecture in town with what appears to be many terraced buildings. Please, can you tell us the name of the city or where it is near?

How do you find the shifter placement, Andy? Is it proving convenient and ready to hand? Looks good!

Love the look of the lighting, and the bell placement on the left side of the T-bar.

All the best,

Dan. (...who thinks Andy narrowly missed being first to a scene of recent carnage in the last photo on the bridge!  )

[Danneaux]

Ah! Our posts crossed, Andy. Just stunning countryside! I've *got* to see this in person someday. No wonder you enjoy living there; hard to imagine any scenes more interesting or breathtaking on the whole.

All the best,

Dan. (...who thinks adding a red bike makes any scene that much better!)

[Andybg]

Hi Dan

Yes the shifter placement works well. I need to trim the attachment for the cateye light as the extra bit of tab makes seeing what gear you are in tricky but apart from that it works very well.

I have been struggling with a sore back for the last week and on todays ride I played with the saddle position and found that I had to raise the saddle by nearly 2cm to get it to the sweet spot. I set the saddle up to mirror my Nomad so I am not sure if this extra height is due to moving to spd pedals and shoes or is down to some slightly different frame geometry.

The stange thing is that my back never hurt on the bike but just generally for the rest of the time. I always set my saddle height to have my saddle as high as I can get it without my hips rocking and have never had any discomfort before.

[Andybg]

It has been a busy year this year moving forward with work on the house so not much time (or energy) for either cycling or forum participation. For some bizarre reason 8 years ago I bought a derelict 30 room school and started rebuilding it. I am now 8 years into a 10 year project so hopefully soon I will be able to give my cycling a bit more attention.

I have still been predoninetly riding my old derailleur Nomad in preferrnce to the Tour but with winter just round the corner I have been getting the Tour ready to take over duties as soon as the weather turns.

I do not know what makes the Nomad so sweet to ride but it is proving very difficult to replicate.

There has been a few changes made to the Tour and some other options still on the table.

I have converted to straight bars. Although I prefer drops I struggled last year to control the bike in snow so have moved fromm 44cm wide drops to 55cm straight bars. To replicate the reach and my position on the bike I have fitted Ergon GP5 barends which I have used before and like.

Tyre wise I am still tuning a final setting for it. Currently it is fitted with 26X2.0 Marathon Deluxe which are so nice to ride that I have earmarked them to change over onto the Nomad to replace its standard 1.75 wide Marathons. I have bought a set of Marathon extremes in 2.25 for the Tour which should hopefully give me good grip in poor conditions and the ability to go investigate some tracks. As the weather detiorates to snow and ice I will be fitting the Schwalbe Ice Spiker 2.1 which I used to great effect last year.

To make changeover between bikes easier I have fitted mounts for my cateye lights across the fleet and have also installed a carradice sqr uplift system to allow me to move my saddlebag around. I have also fitted monkii nuts to each of the bikes which allows me to move my bottles/cages between bikes.

Saddle wise I have decided on the B17 narrow. I have tried the B17 standard and tried to settle with it as I have two of them but have firmly come to the decision that I am going to have to replace them with the narrow version. Have done this on the Tour (How special does it feel to unpack a new brooks saddle  mmmm) but the tandem and the audax await similar treatment.

I am still considering going to a surly front ring and chainglider but decided to get my use out of the front chainring and see how she copes with the weather this year.

Will post some photos this weekend when I get a chance to get out on her in the daylight.

Cheers

Andy

[Danneaux]

Really interested to read of your new setup, Andy, and all the details. The Tour is a lovely bike, as is your derailleur Nomad.

Seems to me you're making a wise choice to sort of standardize the most-used members of your fleet or at least make the fitting similar to ease transfer of your most-loved accessories.

I did something of the sort with my own bikes and found an unexpected positive side effect: When the goodies transferred over easily -- or each bike had their own -- I was far more apt to ride a given steed than if real time and effort was required to "make it right" before a ride. Amazingly, swapping an underseat bag, bottles, and pump were often enough to make me select another bike where such things were already installed.

Very much looking forward to photos of your new setup, along with some ride reports going forward.

'Sure is fun to refine the existing rides...amazing how each little change can freshen the whole as you hone in on what's perfect for you.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

Andy  you bought a 30 room school house wow that sure will keep a fella busy,so is it nearly completed or what stage is it at. the bike and countryside looks stunning hope you start getting the miles in the legs you sure need a good holiday after that project.
btw is the school going to be turned into a hotel.

[Relayer]

Andy, looks as though you have all your cycling needs pretty well covered, subject to very minor tweaks.  Maybe just as well you have the house renovations to keep you busy once your bikes are totally A1.   

[Andybg]

Thanks for the comments guys and promise to get some photos of the bike - even if the weather here is a bit miserable at the moment. The house rebuild is "almost" done. I am currently working on the library and hoping to get it complete before the end of the month. After that there is just one more room to do which should take me 3-4 months as it is a big room and is going to have a lot of exposed beam work which takes a lot of work. No plans to turn it into a hotel but you are welcome to drop by jags if you are passing.

I think am getting there with the bikes. I will know better after the winter how the Tour has lived up to its reputation.

pics to follow - promise

andy

[Andybg]

I did not manag to get out on the bike during daylight hours but a few photos of the bike in the garage once I got back.

[Danneaux]

Wonderful photos, Andy!

I really like your battery light setup; it is a great balance of "see and be seen". Seems this would allow either a big blast of light or the opportunity to use them sequentially to maximize lighted run-time. I like the bilateral symmetry very much!

The wrapped seatpost is a nice match for the rest and done very nicely indeed.

The SQL uplift surely makes for a neat and tidy means for securely carrying your bag, and this is a hallmark of the whole bike: Very tidy and nicely presented with real care evident throughout.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

lovely set up andy best of luck with everything.