Anatomy of a Custom Bike: Rodriguez Rainier Travel

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Beau Hart

This post is part of an ongoing series profiling Rodriguez bikes that have been taken the extra mile by the customer. Today’s is a Rodriguez Rainier travel bike with impeccable aesthetics.

This Rainier has a gorgeous classic look

This customer had a clear aesthetic vision when they pulled the trigger on building this bike. Designed as a light touring road bike, it hits all the visual notes of a classic bike. Built with a few modern upgrades, it’s a beautiful expression of vintage bike style. As we go through the details, you can see where some compromises were made, but the overall look stayed true.

Let’s start with the drivetrain. The MicroShift derialleurs were an easy choice. They come in silver and work dependably with Shimano shifters to shift triple chainring reliably. This is also why the bike is 9 speed instead of 11. (see our post about drivetrains if you want to know more about gearing configurations) Silver parts go in and out of fashion in the bike industry and can be easy to find one year, hard the next. We’re glad companies like MicroShift help keep silver parts available for bikes like this.

Hard to beat the look of a DaVinci crank arm

These DaVinci crank arms really round out this drivetrain configuration. When our customers want a triple crankset that’s both light and pleasing to the eye, DaVinci is our go to option. The square taper design and modular spider allow us to fine tune both Q-factor and ring spacing so that we can get everything just right for the customer and their needs.

At the heart of this bike, and influencing it’s look, are the stainless steel frame couplers from S&S Machine. Not only are they essential to the travel aspect of the bike, they’re a component that meshes well visually with a classic style bike. The honey leather Brooks saddle atop a Velo Orange extra-setback seatpost are a look unto themselves. The post is essential for most riders that want a Brooks but also want a standard seat tube angle. This post gets the Brooks in exactly the right spot for most people. Velo Orange also supplied the retro style woven metallic cable housing used on the bike.

The brakes are silver Tektro R539 long reach calipers, which is our stock brake for the Rainier. Using stainless steel Sheldon Nuts to attach them gave us perfect mounting points for the Velo Orange smooth aluminum fenders. Velo Orange leather mudflaps accent the more prominent leather components of the bike while keeping the rider’s feet and friends dry.

The owner chose to put a significant portion of their budget into a very lightweight set of wheels. High polish White Industries T11 road hubs laced to Stan’s Alpha 400 rims with DT Swiss butted spokes and 7075 alloy nipples. The lacing pattern is also weight saving, with a radial laced front wheel and a rear with a radial non-drive side and a two-cross drive side. The rigidity of the Stan’s rims made building with these lacing patterns a no-brainer and allowed us to build a wheelset just over 1400 grams. That weight savings made it worth the aesthetically incongruous use of a black rim instead of polished silver.

There’s also a nice weight savings with our Rainier carbon fork. While not ultra-light, our fork offers a lighter option to a steel fork with the resilience of an aluminum steer tube. Fastened with a set of the Velo Orange skewers that resemble the old Campagnolo skewers, it’s a visual package that works well.

The cockpit is a mix of classic and modern styling

The handlebar setup really helps tie together the whole bike. The black Shimano Sora shifters, honey leather Brooks tape, and silver Soma HWY One bars work as color touchpoints to the rest of the bike. The Crane E-Ne brass bell is a lovely flash of gold on an otherwise silver outfitted bike. These shifters were chosen for their ability to shift a triple, but ended up working visually with the bike. They match nicely with the black rims that would otherwise look out of place.

This bike is a great lesson of how to get what you want while spending your budget where it matters the most. Helping our customers maximize their budget while still getting the bike they want is one of the skills we’re happiest to share. For the curious, here’s a complete parts list:

shift/brake levers – Shimano Sora 3×9
derailleurs – MicroShift triple
brakes – Tektro R539 dual-pivot caliper
crankset – DaVinci aluminum triple
chainrings – Shimano 50/39/28 triple
bottom bracket – Shimano UN-54 square taper
cog set – Shimano 11-32 9 speed
chain – KMC 9 speed
hubs – White Industries T11 road
rims – Stan’s No Tubes Alpha 400 700c
spokes – DT Swiss Competition 14/15g double butted stainless
nipples – DT Swiss 7075 alloy
tires – Panaracer Pasela PT kevlar bead
skewers – Velo Orange QR
headset – FSA Orbit X 1-1/8″
stem – Dimension alloy silver
handlebars – Soma HWY One shallow drop alloy silver
bar tape – Brooks leather
seatpost – Velo Orange extra setback silver
seat collar – Dimension silver
saddle – Brooks Swift leather
fork – Rodriguez Rainier long reach carbon – custom painted
fenders – Velo Orange smooth aluminum
couplers – S&S Machine stainless
cables and housing – Velo Orange metallic braid
cable splitters – DaVinci
bell – Crane E-Ne brass
mud flaps – Velo Orange leather

For the really curious, here’s the fit drawing:

We’d also like to thank Sockeye Cycle in Haines, Alaska for connecting us with this customer. If you’re looking to ride Alaska, they’re a great place to start.

Anatomy of a Custom Bike

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Beau Hart

What really makes a bike custom? Sometimes it’s the geometry. Sometimes it’s a special paint job. Sometimes, though, it’s literally everything. Some customers come to us with a good idea of what components they want, how they want the bike to handle under specific conditions, and what overall aesthetic they’re aiming for. These kind of customers want to make sure each component of the bike it optimized to fit their vision of the bike, and helping them fine tune their vision is one of the most satisfying parts of our job. When you help someone craft a bike that’s just right for their needs it’s a great feeling.

This blog post will be the first of many detailing the entirety of a bike like this. Not just a parts list, it will explain the logic behind each decision and hopefully serve as an inspiration for those who want to build just such a bike for themselves.

Today we’ll be taking a close look at Gary’s Bandito. Gary is a randonneur and he built this bike in large part to ride the 2019 Paris-Brest-Paris ride. For the uninitiated, that’s a 1200km (750 mile) ride that must be completed in under 90 hours. It’s the kind of ride that requires a trained athlete and a reliable bike. Gary also wanted a bike that was as gorgeous as it was functional, so it got a beautiful paint job as well. Let’s take a look at some of the details.

Let’s start with the wheels. Gary chose DT Swiss 180 hubs, so named because the rear hub weighs only 180 grams. These hubs come standard with high quality ceramic bearings which reduce both weight and rolling resistance. The rear hub is equipped with the DT Swiss patented Star Ratchet system freehub, which provides excellent engagement while being incredibly reliable and easy to service. These hubs may be the best combination of lightweight, reliability, and performace available. Perfect for a grueling long distance ride.

The rims are also DT Swiss. They’re the 700c XR 331 model, which is a well balanced disc-only rim that offers stiffness and strength in a lightweight package at only 380 grams per rim. The spokes are DT Swiss Competition double butted spokes with the DT Squorx nipples. Rounding out the package are a set of Compass (now Rene Herse) Stampede Pass Extralight tires. These are some of the lightest and fastest rolling clincher tires on the market and provide a famously supple ride. Overall, these wheels are very light without sacrificing durability or ride quality. They’re as light or lighter than most wheelsets with carbon rims and less expensinve. They’re also easily serviceable at any competent bike shop. They’re as close to “worry free” as a high performance wheelset gets.

The crankset and bottom bracket on this bike follow a similar theme, combining lightness, durability, and function. The Easton EC90 SL cranks are some of the lightest and stiffest cranks on the market. Gary went with a chainring combo of 46/30, which is a popular combination for randonneurs. The real prize, however, is the bottom bracket. The Enduro TorqTite with XD-15 bearings is one of the toughest, lightest bottom brackets on the market. Ultra smooth ceramic cartridge bearings that are nearly indestructible, it holds up to heavy use and abuse.

Believe it or not, this bike did not have an unlimited budget. Gary chose to save a little bit by going with Sram Rival instead of Sram Red shifters, derailleurs, and hydraulic brakes. This saved a bit of expense with only a minor weight penalty. That same thinking led to the choice of Shimano PRO alloy handlebars and a plain alloy stem. Some of that weight was mitigated, however, by using a traditional 1-1/8″ headtube and straight steertube Whisky No7 carbon fork. This setup saves a bit of weight over a tapered headtube and matching fork. The FSA Orbit X headset weighs about the same as a Chris king but at half the price so that was an easy choice for Gary.

All of this is to complement the Rodriguez Bandito frame we built for Gary. Made of our ultralight steel tubing blend and custom fit to Gary’s measurements, it’s the perfect frame for a rider that spends long hours in the saddle. The supple ride quality of a steel frame is legendary for a reason and is still the go to choice for many serious riders. We’ve been building custom steel frames since 1973 and we’ll be happy to keep doing it well into the future.

Gary’s bike is a good example of what goes into a fully custom bike. Every piece of the puzzle was considered as to how it fit with Gary’s overall vision of the bike he wanted. When Gary wasn’t sure about a component, he was able to draw on our experience and find the right choice from his many options. This kind of project can be deeply satisfying for everyone involved and in the end, we produced the bike Gary envisioned. To us that’s a job well done. In future blog posts, we’ll look at other dream bikes and see what decisions brought them to fruition. For a full gallery of Gary’s bike, go here. You can see a full list of Gary’s parts below:

shift/brake levers – Sram Rival 22 hydraulic
derailleurs – Sram Rival 22
brakes – Sram Rival hydraulic
rotors – Sram Centerline CL 160mm front 140mm rear
crankset – Easton EC90 SL
chainrings – Sram 46/30 double
bottom bracket – Enduro TorqTite w/XD-15 ceramic bearings
cog set – Sram 11-34 11 speed
chain – Sram 11 speed
hubs – DT Swiss 180 ceramic w/11 speed freehub
rims – DT Swiss XR331 700c alloy
spokes – DT Swiss Competition 14/15g double butted stainless
nipples – DT Swiss Squorx
tires – Compass (Rene Herse) Stampede Pass Extralight 700×32
skewers – Loaded Xlite titanium
headset – FSA Orbit X 1-1/8″
stem – basic alloy – custom painted
handlebars – Shimano PRO Vibe
bar tape – black cork
seatpost – FSA Energy alloy
seat collar – Salsa
saddle – Fabric Scoop titanium
fork – Whisky No7 1-1/8″ straight steertube carbon – custom painted
fenders – Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders Road Plus

Spring Checklist

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Beau Hart

It might still be winter, technically, but we can all feel spring approaching in our bones. Now is the time to start getting ready for your 2019 summer riding season. Depending on what your plans for the summer are, there’s a lot of steps you can take now to get your season started right.

Repairs

Is your bike looking a little rough at the end of winter? Maybe it’s just been sitting since the rain started last year? Now is the time to get a head start at the repair shop. Pretty soon everyone is going to have the same idea and you’re going to end up waiting a week or two just to get some minor work done. Here’s what you should be checking for on your bike:

Brake pads – Are they worn out? Glazed? Misshapen?
Disc rotors – How thin are they getting? Are they warped?
Rims – Is the brake track getting worn? Is the wheel true?
Drivetrain – A stretched chain can ruin everything.
Shifting – Is it crisp and smooth? Need new cables and housing?
Tires – How worn are they? Is dry rot causing cracks?
Headset – A loose headset can cause permanent damage over time.

Upgrades

Maybe a repair is just the excuse you need to upgrade a few parts, or maybe you just want to get that shiny new set of lightweight wheels. Upgrades can be a lot of fun when it makes your bike feel fresh and new again. This is the perfect time to start picking out parts. Special orders can take a while and new wheels have to be built, so always factor in that extra time. That’s not including the actual installation process. Here are some upgrades that give good bang for the buck:

New wheels – This is by far the most impactful upgrade you can get. Rotational weight matters more than static weight so saving a small amount on the wheels can really change the performance of the bike.
New tires – Tires affect ride quality more than anything else. A light, supple tire can smooth out bumps and decrease rolling resistance. This not only makes you faster, but decreases overall fatigue.
Better brakes – It’s easier to go fast when you have confidence in your ability to stop. Sometimes all you need is a nicer brake pad or disc rotor to make a big difference.
New bar tape – It doesn’t sound like much, but some new springy bar tape with a grippy surface can both reduce hand fatigue and give your bike a nice clean look.

Check your fit

This is the one riders don’t think about until it becomes a problem. Getting a professional fitting can get your riding season started on the right foot and prevent unnecessary injuries that might keep you off the bike. If you’ve been having issues with numbness, tingling, or especially knee pain, you probably need to have your fit looked at. We’ve never heard of anyone regretting a professional fitting.

A new bike

Is it time? Is the old steed just not meeting your needs? Do you have new cycling goals that require a different type of bike? Do you just have N+1 fever? Few things match the joy of a new bike. Don’t wait until the week before that big ride you want to do. Bikes take a bit of time to break in, so keep that in mind. A handmade bike from R+E takes weeks to build and that wait only gets longer as the season heats up. Let us know if you’re ready to take the plunge.

The first day of Spring is less than three weeks away and time gets away from all of us. Summer will be over before you know it. Make those plans. Map that ride. Schedule those cycling trips. Get that bike ready. We’re here to help with you any way we can so give us a call or come by the shop. We’ll be here.

Some articles and links that might help:

Are Dynamo Hubs For You?

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Beau Hart

The dynamo hub has made a resurgence over the past decade. For those unfamiliar, a dynamo hub is a hub that uses a small internal generator to produce electricity as the bicycle wheel rotates. This electricity powers a light system and can charge a small electronic device with the right setup. Advances in magnet technology and the rise of efficient LED bulbs have made dynamo hubs smaller, lighter and more effective than ever before. Quality hubs are being made by Schmidt, Shimano, Shutter Precision, and others. If you’ve been considering a dynamo system, there’s never been a better time.

The three types of riders that most often use dynamo hubs are daily commuters, riders that do multi-day bike touring, and long distance Randonneur riders. For the commuter, dynamos provide a near maintenance free lighting system that they don’t have to think about. It’s just always there, never needing charging or fresh batteries. You can grab your bike and go with one less thing to worry about. Touring riders use their dynamos as a charging station that keeps their devices charged no matter how many days they’re on tour. Very handy when you’re using GPS as your guide or your phone is your only connection to civilization. Randonneurs can’t afford to have a light battery die in the middle of a 1200km ride so the dynamo hub system gives them a reliable, battery-free system they can depend on for the long haul.

This system with a Schmidt SON Delux hub and B+M Luxos U headlight provides both light and charging capability

There are some trade-offs for all of this convenience and reliability. Cost is one factor. The high end systems can be quite expensive, but there are entry level hubs and lights available as well. You must have a dedicated wheel built for the dynamo hub itself, then lights and wiring must be installed. While not terribly difficult, setting up the system can be time consuming. Adding a USB charger into the mix can add cost and complexity, depending on how you choose to do it. The good news is that you only have to do it once. There’s also a bit of a weight penalty, since dynamo hubs are heavier than a standard front hub. The dynamo magnets also produce a slight amount of drag when rolling, The amount of which depends on the hub and whether the light is turned on. For example, the Shimano Alfine dynamo requires 2.2 watts of additional force at 30 kph, while the Schmidt requires 1.2 watts at the same speed. That is with the light or charger turned off. Both hubs require between 6 and 7 watts when the light or charger is switched on at that speed.

Modern dynamo hubs are meant to be mostly maintenance free. Manufacturers require the hubs to be serviced by professionals and hubs must be shipped to service centers. Attempting to service any dynamo hub yourself is a dicey affair. Most require proprietary tools and also have delicate electronic parts that are easily damaged by inexperienced hands. This is where the longevity of a hub comes into play. As a general rule, the higher end hubs can travel farther before problems occur. Schmidt, for example, says you should get tens of thousands of kilometers out of one of their hubs before any maintenance is required.

Much of the best bicycle lighting available comes from dynamo specific lights. Companies like Busch+Mueller, Schmidt, Supernova, and Herrmans have headlights that provide wide, evenly illuminated light fields that cover a large swath of the road ahead while not blinding oncoming riders. Compared to the focused round beams of most battery powered lights, it’s almost no contest when it comes to road visibility. You can see some nice beam comparisons here.

This is just an introduction to dynamo systems. If they interest you, we’d love to help you put a system together. Our expert mechanics can have you up and running in no time. Whether you want a reliable lighting setup, or a full charging system, we can help you select what will fit your needs best.

For further reading we recommend the following pages:

Here’s a Rodriguez with a Schmidt hub and light system

Peter White’s page is a deep well of information on dynamo systems

Cycling About has some good info about chargers

Sheldon Brown has some dynamo history

Jan Heine’s blog has lots of different posts on this subject (mostly Schmidt-centric)

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Beau Hart

For something invented in the Victorian era, bicycles sure do change a lot from year to year. New materials, engineering advances, and the changing demands of riders keep the bicycle in a constantly evolving state. Economics can also play a role in this, for good or ill. Bicycle manufacturers need to sell bikes to stay in business. This can lead to some design decisions whose sole purpose is to drive future sales. This is called planned obsolescence. The idea is that the design will be obsolete within a known time frame and the manufacturer will be there to sell you a new model just in time. You see this in lots of electronic products, like cell phones or pop stars.

How do you know the difference between an improved design versus one designed to become obsolete? This can be tricky, even for those of us doing the manufacturing. Some real advances, like hydraulic disc brakes, seem here to stay and a benefit for many riders. It gets trickier when you look at bottom bracket designs, axle standards, or headsets. Of the dozens of designs out there, which one is going to stick around? Is it the right one for our customers? Should we switch now and risk pouring resources into a passing fad? Should we stick to our current design and risk falling out of step with the industry? This is the position many small builders face regularly.

Those of us at Rodriguez like to think we have a leg up on this question. After all, we’ve seen lots of designs come and go over the years. A lot of the time we can tell if something is going to be a lasting change because we can see how it’s going to play out over time. Or it’s possible that we just think we can and we’re guessing like everyone else. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

The advent of carbon bicycles has thrown a lot of these questions out the window. Does it matter if the design is any good if the bicycle itself is only designed to last a few years? Those of us building in steel or titanium are often expected to use the same components as carbon race bikes even if no one has any idea if the designs are going to stick around. (For example, the new T47 threaded bottom bracket design might eventually become the accepted standard for non-carbon bikes, but it’s hard to know now how that’s going to shake out until it does.) These can be difficult decisions. Some companies avoid this question for the most part by sticking with older designs and a classic aesthetic. We build a lot of high performance bikes that use state of the art components and sometimes it’s difficult to strike the balance between longevity and cutting edge. We’ve always built our bikes to last a lifetime and we don’t want that to change. It’s part of our ethos as a company and we still make the wrong choice sometimes.

When you come to Rodriguez for a bicycle, know that we’ve considered all of these decisions quite deliberately. We will try and build you a bike that meets your needs and will keep meeting them for the long haul. In a culture of disposability, we want to be the thing that stays true, year after year.

Brake Talk: Flat Mount vs Post Mount Disc Brakes

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Beau Hart

The bike industry is an ever changing beast. Evolving technologies are always redirecting the state of bicycle performance and aesthetic. Sometimes this is a real benefit, like threadless headsets, but some things don’t hold up over time. Remember Octalink bottom brackets or U-brakes?

A more detailed article explaining the differences between flat mount and post mount can be read here

One newer piece of equipment causing some confusion is the flat mount disc brake caliper. Developed by Shimano and introduced in 2015, the flat mount caliper is supposed to be simpler and sleeker than the post mount caliper that became standard on mountain bikes. Intended for road bikes, the flat mount caliper sits directly on the chainstay or fork blade, taking up less space than a common post mount caliper. For aesthetic minimalists, mounting the brake inside the rear triangle is better looking. What are the mechanical benefits, if any?

A Sram flat mount caliper on a Rodriguez Bandito. The smaller size and less conspicuous mount allow for a more traditional rear triangle

Modern disc brakes started out using IS (International Standard) mounts, often called “disc tabs”. These have two threadless holes running parallel to the hub axle that are used to mount an IS caliper or an adapter for a post mount caliper. The lack of threads meant users were less likely to damage their frames accidentally during maintenance or installation. Post mount calipers are often adapted to IS mounts because the variety of adapters allows for tremendous flexibility in rotor size. A post mount caliper affixed to an IS mount can use any rotor size between 140mm to 203mm, depending on the adapter used.

Post mount calipers, like this TRP Spyre, require more room in the rear triangle. Note the taller dropout style that creates space for the caliper inside the rear triangle.

Flat mount calipers are designed to look cleaner. There are only two small adapters and flat mount calipers are limited to 140mm and 160mm rotors. This is reasonable since these are the standard sizes used on road bikes. Adapter plates are small and sandwiched between the caliper and the frame, saving space. There are weight savings, but they are somewhat negated by the frame and fork being beefed up to provide mounting points and withstand the braking forces incurred.

You can see these two approaches to disc brakes here at Rodriguez Bicycles. Our Phinney Ridge uses post mount calipers adapted to IS mounts for the greatest range of flexibility. Our Bandito disc road bikes have a focus on road performance and light weight and we use a flat mount caliper in the rear triangle. The Bandito often uses a post mount front brake due to limitations in fork design availability. We prefer a straight 1⅛” headtube because of the significant weight saving it offers. However, this currently limits us to carbon forks that use post mount calipers. This is one area where we feel the weight savings is worth it.

Disc brakes have become a dominant force in modern cycling. They have opened up frames to ever wider tires and brought hydraulic braking to more riders. For those of us that ride year round in the Pacific Northwest, they have given us a reprieve from excessive rim wear caused by the wet grit that coats our wheels in the winter. While not perfect for every application, they are a technology that has proven itself a valuable option for many riders. If you’re interested in a bike with disc brakes, we’d be happy to discuss which options are right for your cycling goals.

To see more examples of Rodriguez disc brake bikes, check out the Phinney Ridge and the Bandito. The Makeshift is also available with disc brakes.

Here’s an older article about the history of disc brakes in the cycling industry from 2012.

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