# The Banjo is built.



## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

It only took a month... not bad. Come spring or whenever the ice finally leaves the streets, it'll be my go-fast do-all bike. Ended up going with a Campy Centaur UT crank, 53/39- it's what I usually ride and when I was completely honest with myself, I realized that 99% of the time I will not be camping on this bike. So I set it up for the kind of riding I do most of the time. Plus, the UT crank required no trip to the bike shop for installation. And I got the crank and BB for $70 at the bike swap. 










All told right now with fenders, heavy tires, bags and racks it weighs right around 26 pounds. Not too shabby for a 60cm frame. It's funny- I know it's bigger in almost every dimension than the rivendell it replaced, but it looks tiny. Those skinny steel tubes will do that, I suppose. 










Decent size front bag- I like front bags. This one came from VO. Geometry is what might be best described as "medium trail"- not super low, not high. The geometry actually matches that of italian racing bikes from the 50's... Handlebars are Grand Bois Randonneur bars- so far, so good. I like that they don't flare out like the Nitto Rando bars. The shallow drops are nice, too.










MAFAC racers and honjo fenders. That's a pretty mix. And other than being a total pain to set up at first, they are pretty amazing. Stopping is everything I'd hoped and they are incredibly light.










And a brooks swift titanium- slightly used but nice. I cleaned up at the Bike swap this year.










The custom stem is surprisingly light. the bell is my daughter's favorite part of the bike. 










Local beer, local bike.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I like it. I like it alot!


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Beautiful, and you even painted it Carolina Blue. I'd be going crazy if I had a new custom bike and couldn't ride it until the snow melted. Fortunately we don't have that problem around here.


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## PBike (Jul 6, 2007)

That is absolutely beautiful! Great work!


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Very elegant.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

tarwheel2 said:


> Beautiful, and you even painted it Carolina Blue. I'd be going crazy if I had a new custom bike and couldn't ride it until the snow melted. Fortunately we don't have that problem around here.


Yeah, I'm hoping that I'll be able to get it out for a short shakedown next week. Everything on the bike is still pretty rough- haven't dialed in the drivetrain at all, front brake is awesome but the rear brake is still rough, headset is just hand tightened... 

The roads are pretty ice-free and I was able to take it for a very short spin around the block but it'll be a while before I trust the roads enough to see how it corners.

The fit is awesome.


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## rcnute (Dec 21, 2004)

Schweet! Needs to be posed next to the wienermobile.


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## MerckxMad (Jan 22, 2004)

Bravo! I dig everything about it; paint, component choice, fenders and rando bits. I really like the Mafac brakes. Those are keepers. Why 700c over 650b wheels? I just put a similar VO bag on my Kogswell P/R, and I'm finding that it's a little short. You need a decaleur to keep the bag in place, but if you hang it on the decaleur, the bag does not sit on the rack, and the head headtube on my bike is not nearly as tall as yours. Did you bend your decaleur down so that the bag sits on the rack?


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

MerckxMad said:


> Bravo! I dig everything about it; paint, component choice, fenders and rando bits. I really like the Mafac brakes. Those are keepers. Why 700c over 650b wheels? I just put a similar VO bag on my Kogswell P/R, and I'm finding that it's a little short. You need a decaleur to keep the bag in place, but if you hang it on the decaleur, the bag does not sit on the rack, and the head headtube on my bike is not nearly as tall as yours. Did you bend your decaleur down so that the bag sits on the rack?


Thanks!

I picked 700c over 650b mainly because all my other bikes are 700c- makes wheel swaps a breeze. Plus there's plenty of awesome cheap tires available in 700c and to my eyes once you get up to a 60cm frame, 650b starts looking a little goofy.

Got the VO stem-mounted decaleur- I had to bend it back a little but it was just long enough to reach the bag on the rack. I tried their head-tube mounted decaleur and found it to be way too short, even with bending. Shame, as it's a lot better looking.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

Like the others said, very nice color and parts choice. I'm just wondering if you'll rethink the bar plugs if you snag on them, tearing a hole in your shorts or ripping your gloves.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

what is the drop on those bars?


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

I like it.......tighten everything up and have at her............... supposed to be a sloppy mess tomorrow, might be a perfect day for your shakedown ride.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Jesse D Smith said:


> Like the others said, very nice color and parts choice. I'm just wondering if you'll rethink the bar plugs if you snag on them, tearing a hole in your shorts or ripping your gloves.


I've done bar plugs like that before with no problem- they're just bottle caps stuck over velox-style rubber plugs. They'll come off before they cause any problems. Then, I just have to go through the trouble of making a new one...


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Touch0Gray said:


> I like it.......tighten everything up and have at her............... supposed to be a sloppy mess tomorrow, might be a perfect day for your shakedown ride.


Yeah, I'll be stuck at the office all day. Then out of town 'til the middle of next week. I knew I shoulda sprung for the s&s couplers...


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Looks great.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Very sharp bike, $1.50. I love perforated quill stems! Only 26 lb all decked out? When I read stuff like that, it really makes me wonder where the weight comes from on my road bike. It`s around 25 with no fenders, rack, or other goodies and it looks like the same tires as yours. 32mm Paselas? Anyway, good looking ride and I`m sure you`ll enjoy it.


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

Very nice rig, thanks for posting photos. What's all that white stuff on the ground?


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

dang....I don't how missed this 3 days ago....... very sweet.....


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Very sharp bike, $1.50. I love perforated quill stems! Only 26 lb all decked out? When I read stuff like that, it really makes me wonder where the weight comes from on my road bike. It`s around 25 with no fenders, rack, or other goodies and it looks like the same tires as yours. 32mm Paselas? Anyway, good looking ride and I`m sure you`ll enjoy it.


it's 26.5 pounds with the bag filled with spare tires and the usual fix-it stuff (tools, pump, a couple granola bars).

Part of the reason it's light is that it was purpose built to be light- Again, there's not a lot of fat on it. The wheels are 32 spoke XTR hubs with swiss 1.1 rims, those brakes are insanely light and I asked to builder to save weight wherever possible. It's a mix of NOS reynolds 531 and Dedacciai zero. The grand Bois bars are fairly narrow and don't weigh too much, the brake levers and DT shifters weigh less than most brifters, I only used a single wrap of cloth tape around the bars instead of my usual double wrap, the seatpost is cut way down, the stem is amazingly light- lighter than a similarly sized nitto pearl. 

The honjo fenders weigh a fraction of what my old stainless steel fenders weighed (far les durable as well...) 

I was (as was the builder) inspired by "the golden age of hand built bicycles"- When I first got the bike, I was amazed that sport touring bikes with racks could weigh 25 pounds or less. Heck, they've got a couple in there from the 50s that are sub 20 pounds with fenders and racks! So, that's what we were shooting for. Fast, light, not a whole lot of cargo-carrying ability, but then, I'll not be using it to tour the country, just simple overnights and light weekends. Figure my backpacking gear is already pretty light...

All that's left for me to do is build a set of ultralight panniers.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Nice!


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

That's a great looking bike. And I love front bags as well.


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

Nice!


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## gomango (Aug 30, 2006)

That is a beautiful bike. First class all the way through. I'm going down a very similar road with my Chris Kvale touring frame. Same color even. At the rate I'm going though, it won't get done this season.That's why I coughed up for a Trek 720 yesterday. Ready to roll, for CL prices! Not in the same league as yours, but it will work for knocking back some very big miles this summer. Thanks for the inspiration.


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## HokieRider (Oct 6, 2005)

That is a sweet looking bike. I love the brake/fender shot. Those fenders are awesome. 

Wanna build me one?


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## cs1 (Sep 16, 2003)

Why is it I didn't see this beauty when it posted? That is everything a bike should be. You should be proud. Good job!


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## SantaCruz (Mar 22, 2002)

So how about a 6 mo update. Maybe a pic with greenery instead of snow. Who is the local builder? I need to get some nice looking fenders instead of black plastic. I'm a bit jealous as it's just my size.

edit - searched Banjo so don't need info on them. Shame I can't justify a new bike - maybe next new job.


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