The tallest randonneur

Marc is one of those riders for whom a custom bicycle is the best option. At 67cm, this bike is at the maximum of what I am capable of building in my fixture. I’ve worked with Marc on other projects over the years and he is a pleasure to build for. He came to me with the vision of a 650B randonneur bike with fenders, racks, integrated lighting, and pump. He also was interested in lots of chrome. It’s not something that I’ve done too much of on my frames but I have a soft spot for Marc. I’m glad I went along with his vision because the completed bike is a thing of beauty.

The bike is built from a special mix of Columbus, Dedacciai, and Reynolds tubes. The Pacenti Artisan lugs are carved into a design inspired by an old Italian city bike Marc liked and classic Rene Herse. The fork is based on a Jo Routens twin plate design. This style of crown adds a bit of length to the fork which gives the illusion of a slightly shorter head tube which can get very long on a bike this size. The paint is an off white with silver box pin striping. I could do an entire blog post on hand painting box lining but I’ll save you from the agony. I’ll just say that is was a steep learning curve and now everything in the shop is lined. The custom Cinelli inspired fillet brazed quill stem, front, and rear rack were all plated to complement the frameset. Marc’s choice in components was top notch with 180mm TA cranks and a 9-speed Shimano Dura Ace drive train. Vintage MAFAC Raid centerpull brakes with custom adjusting hardware have plenty of clearance for the 42mm tires and large Honjo fenders. The Jitensha taillight on the seat tube has a beautiful flowing shape from its mount. That and the Edelux head light are powered by the Schmidt connector-less dynamo hub. A beautiful functional bike and one of my favorites of 2015.

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