All about my 2019 Woodrup touring bike:

The photos are so far:
[ set 1 ] [ set 2 ] ... [ .?. ]

Other possibly amusing data: [ frame colour ideas sheet ] [ frame & bike build ideas 2016.09 ]


Sort of abandoned page (and an excuse for blinking text, ow!), March 2019: bike done, but haven't added to this page since ..

Here's everything about my new Woodrup touring bike, for reference if anyone interested, but mostly because writing all this into HTML and making the photo pages is sort of fun for me.

n.b.1. - In honour of this English frame the spellings here are propour English.

n.b.2. - In honour of my 2005 Long Haul Trucker build that this bike supersedes, I use the same rather clunky & verbose format of the original LHT page.

How this came about:
The last 'unfinished' bit from my 2005 touring bike, built with the Surly Long-Haul Trucker (LHT) frame, was the frame itself. Back in 2004 I'd considered a custom frame, but since the Surly LHT seemed to have essentially the same geometry I was after and because they were about to change its original 'pea green soup' color, I decided to give the LHT frame a try.

The LHT has served me well (despite some problems with shimmy coasting above 27mph on the 2006, 2007, and 2009 tours - but mysteriously not on the 2015 tour - did the Marathon tyres I switched to then change it?). But the Taiwan-made tig welded mass production frame never seemed to be the right match to my nice Suntour, Campagnolo, Sugino, Nitto, etc. componentry and 1980s look and philosophy.

It had also been about 20 years since I'd considered any 'new' bicycles, having been riding my 1983 Cannondale ST-500 with few modifications since new. I hadn't noticed the many changes, many in my opinion for the worse; or neutral but annoying 'newness'. After riding the LHT bike on a few tours & better understanding what I didn't like about these 21st century bikes & parts, I decided that I ought to 'finish' the LHT by replacing the LHT frame! I had found I wanted something other than the mass-produced tigwelded LHT - as in a proper brazed, Reynolds 531 frame.

My idea had been to 'eventually replace the frame with a 1980s English touring frame'. I was thinking of something like my old 1960s 531 plain gauge Dawes frame (which was my first 'good' frame) but fully 531 DB. I remembered the advertisements I'd seen in early 80s Bicycling Magazines for famous English frames like Dawes, Bob Jackson, Woodrup, Holdsworth, and maybe fancier builders I'd more recently heard of like Wester Ross, Tony Oliver or the like.

In 2008 I bought a used 1985 Woodrup Giro Touring frameset without thinking about the geometry enough, only deciding after I'd bought it that it wasn't the 'heavy tour' geometry I was looking for... Since the LHT was the geometry, I toured again on that in 2009.

After a few years of no tours (because of my work schedule and location - botanist busy in fieldwork all summer and post-field into the autumn in Alaska = expensive to get south and bit much time in touring seasons) I planned another UP tour for fall 2015.

In the build-up excitement that spring, I revisited the idea of finding a frame 'replacement' and started feeling around for something suitable and British. Before long I was convinced that a custom built new frame was what I wanted rather than a second-hand 1980s frame. Because of wait times for good builders it wasn't possible to get a frame finished in time, so I toured that fall on the LHT again.

That was OK, since it gave me the chance to review one more time what I liked and didn't like on the LHT, consider frame geometry and sizing, think about what I'd like different while on tour, and consider various other frame bits and gears that'd be good.

So after 4 3-5 week tours on the LHT, I had a better idea of what I wanted and could communicate it to the builder. After discussions with a few potential framebuilders, I decided to use Kevin Sayles, builder at Woodrup in Leeds. He had the most enthusiastic response to my inquiries, his reputation is great, plus he's been framebuilding since the early 1970s so is one of the longest-serving English framebuilders - and he'd built my 1985 Woodrup frame, together with Steve Woodrup.


Details on the frame
The Frame is mostly Kevin's design based on my body 'dimensions' and use, with some input from me on chainstay length, braze-ons, etc. It's a pretty standard English loaded touring design with no significant 'post-80s modernisms', other than perhaps the larger diameter top & down tubes & head tube extension.


Some frame specifics:
Reynolds 725 tubing [slightly oversize] with 853 chainstays.
Top tube 08/05/08 x 28.6 dia, 57cm,
Down tube 08/05/08 x 31.7 dia,
Seat tube 09/06 x 28.6 dia for standard 27.2 seat post, 58cm center to top of lug,
Chainstays (Reynolds 853 because no 725 long enough) 46cm,
16mm seat stays with semi wrap-over stay tops.
Long[ish] point lugs,
Top head lug with 20mm extension to offer more stem height.
Vertical dropouts with double eyelets.
31.7 headtube for a 1" threaded headset.
Forks are 1.2/0.7 x 27.5 x 20.
Fork crown is "the popular Pacenti 'Paris-Brest' twin plate style" (link to Pacenti page), nice and wide too.
72?° head angle....72.52?° seat angle
Fork rake 'to be determined but with the nice Hurlow curve' (Kevin inherited the fork bander from Bill Hurlow).
There's a diagram of the geometry on the first photo page.


Parts on the bike:
Other than the frame, most of this bike I'd intended to transfer from the LHT build (see above how this frame was 'the last bit' on that LHT). Early ideas were to transfer the wheels, derailleurs & shifters, crankset & bottom bracket, seatpost & seat, pedals, fenders, brake levers, and a few other parts to this frame.

A couple things I wanted to swap out, like the Suntour XC Pro cantilever brakes (one of the few Suntour things ever I didn't get on with; maybe I'll try them on some future bike more satisfactorily), and the bars were a bit bent from hard use, so needed replacement. Some things were a little worn out - the pedals, for instance, and very needed new brake hoods (worn out, cracking), and new Mirrycle mirrors (loosened & cracked from falls & storage).

Of course a few things weren't transferable at all because of completely different configuration, esp. the stem & headset. So a quill stem & threaded headset (thank goodness-what a relief!!), and of course the new bars needed new Grab-On grips with my new standard of 4 rolls of cloth tape over.

But as things moved along and I gained access again (by moving south) to my vast stash of bike parts (in storage in the UP), I gradually changed the parts list as I dug out long-forgotten parts and declared 'now that's a nice piece' and it'd be fun to try this or that part so that little remained from the LHT.

So what has remained from the LHT?
Only the wheels, mudguards, racks, shift levers, bottle cages, toe strap end pulls, and toe strap side pads! (the Paul brakes I used on the LHT for the first tour before swapping for the Suntours.)


Here's a list of the parts: [see codes below]

Part:
 Model:
 Commentary
Frame Woodrup custom, 58 cm See above!

Wheels:
(from the LHT!)
Rims Velocity Dyad 40 hole, 700c These are great, handsome, well-made rims.
(the only Australian part on the bike!)

[n, aeb]

Hubs

Phil Wood FSA touring;
135mm freewheel threaded (r);
both 40B0

From the start I didn't consider anything but these! And, despite Sheldon writing me:
"... nobody needs a 40 spoke front wheel on a single, unless you are a VERY abusive rider."
... I built both front & rear with 40-hole (because I got a deal on the front hub) as well as, in my thinking, for aesthetic balance of the bike and weirdness and toughness - anyway, 'the fuck's the weight difference, like 2 ounces?? This started a sort of 40/40 fetish; did that on the Kibo too, maybe next the Skyelander?

[n; r (r) and nos; eb (f)]
QR skewers Suntour Lucky I was able to find a set of late era Suntours including a 135mm rear; fairly unusual to find such a spacing in Suntour.

[nos, r (f) and used, eb (r)]
Spokes DT? Wheelsmith?

(can't remember; must've been DT butted 15ga.)
Spoke guard Suntour! With Wheels Mfg. 2mm spacer to provide mech space between 34t cog & this nice chromed steel 'dork disk' (I bought few of these NOS; used the same on the Kibo).

Though these are widely disdained (like half the other stuff on this bike and most all the other stuff I like!), I'm in favor of them. Especially on rough stuff bikes, since derailleurs can sometimes get out of adjustment or a stick or something might get up in the mech, and if not checked can have loud, or even disastrous consequences when it gets to the spokes! So for 4oz of pretty shiny chrome backlighting your freewheel, you get a ton of precaution. And they look good besides!

[nos, eb]
Tyres Schwalbe & Nokian During the build (January 2019) I had the same Nokian Hakkapelitta 700x35 W106 (TR1110) winter tyres that I had on the LHT first few months of 2005, since when there's no orange corrosive slush on the road I thought might take it for a little winter test ride. I was pretty pokey on the build, so never got around to riding it on ice or snow...

I'll use either the 'Schwalbe Marathon Dureme Evo Tandem Folding' 40mm or the 'Schwalbe Marathon GG RLX Wire Bead' 35mm installed on the LHT before the 2015 tour.

Marathons are good durable tyres, but have a very confusing & overlapping naming and model numbering system, and the only way to tell them apart is to look at the 'item number' on the tag - plus they change slight wordings in their tyres all the time. This confusion I have found also extends to retailers, so check thrice when buying because everybody's confused, and a $100 tyre might actually be a $65 one with the almost exact same name!

On the 2006, 97, & 09 tours I used Panaracer Paselas - I never got a single flat on the LHT with any of these tyres! (they also have a confusing overlapping naming scheme almost as bad as Marathons)
Tubes Michelin I have the best luck with Michelin tubes.
Rimstrip Zefal cloth Apparently so similar as to be indistinguishable from the good old Velox 'Fond de Jante' rim tape, which is now my standard, but I was less dogmatic when built these wheels in 2004.

Drive:
Chainset Sugino AT My favourite all-time crankset (and in my opinion better looking than the XD that I had on the LHT; as in more graceful, less 'fat', engraved rather than inked logo, 5th spider arm not integral with crank arm, and plenty strong).

In the final building a Suntour XC Pro 'appeared', and as I sort of had my eyes out for one of these for a while- it being the last of the Suntour cranks (made by Sugino of course) I bought and installed it (changing the BB to 123mm). However despite the fact that it looked new, and the pedals installed fine to my normal hand torque, in the first 100 feel of riding it the threads on the RH pedal stripped, collapsed, or something and the pedal loosened up and pulled out! I haven't looked at it yet, but it was either a major manufacturing fault or major scam. Just as well, the AT is still my favourite!

[nos, list]
Chainrings 24/36/46 24 (Sugino stainless),
36 (Sugino aluminium),
46 (Willow aluminium)

[n, list & eb]

I changed the rings from the LHT because some were worn and my preferences have changed since 2005.

With old Sugino lettered chainring bolts from AT.
Bottom Bracket Phil Wood

SS rings, 123mm

 The one from the LHT a bit narrow, but this one came my way with the XC crank.

[u, list]

With Phil Wood BB Mud Guards, gun metal gray. These are another part I 'discovered' during the build, and immediately bought several for this and other Phil BB'd bikes...
Crank Bolts Sugino Autex
 Old and now rather elusive, these auto-extractor sets are on several of my 'tour-y' bikes.

[nos, eb]
Chain Sram PC-870 The Sram PC-8xx chains are successor to the Sedisport, the greatest chain of the old days in my opinion. The Srams are sort of their descendent since Sachs bought Sedis, and Sram bought Sachs. Even though the chain design is a little different - the Sedisports had flanged inner plates, the Srams have flanged outer plates.

All I can say is thank goodness Sram is still a bike parts company - the buyouts haven't resulted, yet, in many bike part companies becoming 'investment portfolios' (Mavic is one recent casualty though).

Now the Sram chains are easily my favorite current chains - good shifts, not too expensive, long-lasting, no breaking (unlike the Wipperman I tried on the 2006 tour!). These chains are now/still made in Portugal (my only Portuguese parts on any cycle).

Once again glad to be using 1983 technology because the super narrow chains of nowadays look to be hellishly expensive and doubtless less reliable or long-lived.

Gearing:
Block (Freewheel) Suntour winner pro 13-34, 7 speed I said Suntour! I like the Suntours and how they work and look. See notes on LHT page for freewheel supply; I just (November 2018) bought another dozen NOS Suntour freewheels, mainly to have an even better cog selection and some normal-spaced 6-speeds. I already have a lifetime stash of NOS Winner Pros (and others), but now I have a better set of cogs & spacers too!

[nos, eb]

For this bike I have finally 'freaked' my block - swapped a few cogs to get 13,14,15,17,21,26,34 - mostly because I can, but I also like the nice evenly progressive spacing. Note the pretty narrow spacing between the lower cogs, increasing to the higher.

I think this is what I decided I wanted to try based on 2015 tour notes .. which I took in detail but now can't find them! Can always change later - I've a good stock of available cogs.

I'm the type of bloke who, (to quote Tony Oliver), rides the 36 chainwheel "most of the time ... the outer ring (46) is there as an overdrive and the inner ring (24) is a groveling gear... using the cogs for fine-tuning.

This was, in the old days, called 'crossover gearing' by those who used such terms. I believe this is similar to the present style with 10-12 cogs on the back (double or single chainrings seem to be the fad; triples apparently now unfashionable for some reason, groupthink methinks), but I'm flexible enough to change my cadence a little (after all, we do it walking!) in exchange for less complication (in the days when 5,6,7 were common 'half step' gearing was all the rage, but I never bothered).

Here's a gear table:

24 50% 36 28% 46
13 50.4 75.7 96.7
8%
14 46.8 70.3 89.8
7%
15 43.7 65.6 83.8
13%
17 38.6 57.9 73.9
23.5%
21 31.2 46.8 59.8
24%
26 25.2 37.8 48.3
31%
34 19.3 28.9 37.0
(Gear Inches, 700X38 tyre, & 170mm cranks)

Shifting:
Shift Levers Suntour Barcon Ratchet Friction shifting is much better all round in my opinion (I ignore click-shifting, 'brifters', and the like). It's so incredibly not complicated to shift that any 'benefits' from click shifting, brifters, whatever are 101% inconsequential, so I keep it simple (and better looking).

And these are the famous touring bike shifters!

[from LHT; nos, eb]
Front mech Suntour XC pro Originally had planned to use the Campagnolo Racing T from the LHT, but decided this Suntour was a better match to the rear mech. Thus it's got the same derailleurs & shifters as the Kibo (and was to have had same crankset until I swapped the AT for the XC).

[nos, bb except the 1.125" clamp, offa a used one, eb]
Rear mech Shimano RD MT60 When first installed on the Kibo this was a departure from my previous Suntour-only shifting (there was no Shimano at all on the LHT!).

But this is a nice derailleur, made after Suntour's slant parallelogram patent expired so has that and Shimano's sprung main pivot. It's silver, and matches the front Suntour mech fairly well.

Boulder Bike had some of these at a good price a few years ago; I bought one, I approved, so bought 3 more! (another one is on my Kibo)

[nos, bb]

Also considered Suntour Cyclone (off the LHT), Superbe Tech, Huret Duopar (more) [nos and u, eb], other Suntours, etc.
Pulley Wheels Suntour Sealed bearing (Both upper & lower-no need for the Shimano sliding upper since not click-shifting). These are usually a grey colour, but I bought two sets of these shiny 'chrome' ones (still plastic) which look good new & I hope this beauty lasts.

[nos, eb]

Brakes:
Brake Calipers Paul 'canti-combo' I'm trying again the Paul cantilevers I had originally on the LHT before switching to the Suntours.

The 'canti-combo' setup-a Neo-Retro on front, and a Touring Cantilever on the rear.

[n, aeb]

The Pauls are nicely-made (and $#@! expensive), and worked fine, but I thought they looked heavy & a little over-built (as CNC'd does). So trying again for a while. So after the first tour in 2006 I replaced them with the Suntour XC Pros. After a couple of tours with the Suntours I found (surprisingly) that I didn't like them so well - they're hard to adjust partly because of a manufacturing or design fault that makes the spring holder on the brake arm slip out of it's holding because of an angled bend. With much effort I managed to bend the spring end a little closer to 90B0. Also the finish isn't that nice, and I'm not a fan of low-profile cantis.

So I'll see on the Pauls again - maybe I'll swap later for some nice old Dia-Compe (e.g., 981), Tektro, Frogglegs, Shimano, or whatnot.
Brake Shoes Kool-Stop V.2, 2-colour Criminy these were hard to find! But wanted: KS pads with 2-color compound, replaceable pads in alu holder, longish, and thicker than the KS 'thinline' original to the Paul brakes (with like 3.5 mm of pad material; don't want those wearing out on a dusty muddy tour and start grinding my rims down!).

[n, eb]

I miss the old Matthauser ones with 'cooling fins' .. but I see that a new version's now made by Yokuzuna!
Brake Levers Dia Compe 157 I like brake levers that have cables that come out the top! For one thing, it seems to me a little like a safety shield if you ride the drops a lot like I do, but most importantly I can use the old style mirrycle on them!

And second in importance/absolutely must have are Modolo 919 'anatomic' brake hoods.

So after long consideration of what worked with the Mirrycles without needing tapping (see below) and would take Modolo 919 hoods (the answer to this 'and' question is apparently nothing) and what's available new and old, I decided on the 157 levers and the, newly again available Dia Compe, 204 hoods.

The 157 lever has important qualities:
1) the front of the body isn't slotted for 'easy cable insertion' like most so is stronger for the Mirrycle attachment (see again below),
2) it's got handsome slotted levers, and
3) it fits the Dia Compe 204 hoods reasonably well (though they're apparently an even better fit for Campag/Modolo style levers!).
And I found a used set in good shape.

[u, eb]

I considered using the old Campag SR brake levers off the LHT. But that style lever (Campag, Modolo, Superbe) need tapping the cable exit hole for threads to attach the Mirrycle mirrors. That mod is imperfect, and the mirrors tend to loosen over time, because the brake body is slotted and thus the threads open up with use. Eventually that would cause the lever threads to strip too much or even the body to break (pun here I guess). With these levers getting rarer and much more expensive I decided that it'd be unethical to keep using them this way! So the Campag levers found their way onto the 85 Woodrup with NOS 919 hoods and a bar-end Mirrycle mirror instead of lever-attached version.
Brake Lever Hoods Dia Compe 204 I like the Modolo 919 ergonomics best, but my small NOS stash of those should be saved for Campag & Superbe levers.

These are almost as 'anatomical' as the Modolo 919s and fit the 157 levers almost perfectly (with a little too much length) - but most importantly are still made - thus less sacrificial to cut for Mirrycle attachment! After installation with the bar padding the hoods have a little 'space' in front, which I plan to fill out between the lever & hood with silicone. Call it a sort of boob-job for bicycles.

[n]

Over the years I've been thinking about making my own leather ones too, and if the 204s weren't available may have had to...
Brake Cables Something ...from my parts box, braided stainless cables
with Porkchop BMX silver translucent housing.

[n or nos]

In 2011 I found some nice old-style translucent housings similar to those I liked in back in '83, available in silver but sadly not green at the time so never made onto the LHT...)

[n, pcbmx]
Cable Hanger Shimano QR (F & R) An odd bit of 'un-invention', the QR cable carrier. Necessary so you can get enough clearance to unhook the straddle cable and get the wheel off anything other than the narrowest, loosest adjusted brakes.

Dia Compe ones are again available new for 1" steerers (but not the bigger ones), and none at all for rear. Lucky me - I've got a good NOStash.

[n, eb]

This frame, and the Kibo, and the Skyelander now in design are all specified to not include the normally standard (and non-QR) braze-on hanger on rear so I that can use these! I've also got them on my 84 Trek 830, & on the cantis on the Longstaff. The Univega has a braze-on hanger, but the also clever QR levers.

Not having these was a great hassle again and again on the LHT; with my 35-38mm tyres and well-adjusted brakes it was impossible to 'unhook' the canti straddle cable to get clearance to release the wheel, and always meant I had to loosen the cable from the straddle carrier (also a PITFA item I never perfected on the LHT) just to get the clearance to unhook the straddle!

Lucky me I didn't get a single flat on any of the 4 tours, but even for general maintenance, bike shipping, etc. it was still completely unacceptable.

See my treatise on bicycle un-invention for a little (a lot) more on this!)
Brake Cable Carrier Suntour, from XC Pro A vast improvement over the ones on the LHT (one of the bits I never got right on that). Not super fancy, but good enough.
[nos, eb]

May swap for Tektros like on the Kibo later.

Also considered Dia Compe roller.
Cable End Tips silver aluminum Are you kidding me, cable end tips!??! Yes - I mentioned my pleasure getting into the details on bikes disclaimer right??
[n, ls]

Headset
Stronglight A9
roller bearing

I was spooked because the LHT suffered shimmy, and roller bearing headsets allegedly minimize the possibility, and people have raved about the A9 forever and lamented its demise since, and I found a NOS one, so I decided to go with that.

[nos, eb]

Of course there's no reason to believe that the Woodrup frame would shimmy but the mysterious and unsolved phenomenon of frame shimmy, well, why not? Plus, an excuse for another French part, plus another hard to find 'trophy' item (for the very few who notice).

Stronglight now sells an entirely different headset still called the A9, with cartridge ball bearings - confusing but probably a fine headset nonetheless more like a Levin.

But besides all that, the pure luxury of an easily adjusted threaded headset is most important.

('Threadless' headsets are also of course held in place with threaded parts, they're just much further away from the bearings. I admit I've read that some people find them more easily adjusted and the whole concept of them superior in every way which I just can't comprehend, feeling the exact opposite! Well, I got mine!)

Handlebars:
(Obnoxiously, many web-weenies now call this 'cockpit' referring to the bars & stem, probably because they have a bunch of i-phones etc. on them and imagine it's a spaceship or subconsciously disdain bikes)
Handlebars Nitto Grand Randonneur B-135 45cm Had to be Randonneur bend to be 'right' for touring. Bought these new back in 2009 in initial stockpiling for 1985 Woodrup (that one finally built simultaneously with this bike 2018, but trying 'noodle' on that).

[n in 2009, b]

[Engraving on bars still mis-spelled 'Raundoneur' as in the older LHT ones - I wonder if they've gotten around to fixing that... I've noticed that web autotranslation from Japanese sometimes spells it the same - phonetics, or did someone 'train' it as such based on this misspelling??]
stem Nitto Technomic, 25.4, 100mm One of the biggest 'reliefs' as mentioned again & again is a graceful quill stem!

[n, b].
Bar covering grab-on maxi! Still the only choice for me since the early 80s.

[n, pcbmx].

Still for some reason little used & harder to find than 2005; in the 80s you could get them at every decent bike shop. Now 'unfashionable' but few under 45 have ever tried them... for some reason little used & harder to find than 2005; in the 80s you could get them at every decent bike shop. Damned kids these days know nothing, NOTHING!

Definitely to be a heavily pushed item when I start my velocult.

Bar tape Newbaum's brown, 4 rolls over the Grab-ons.

Last few bikes I've been covering the Grab-ons with cloth tape for better looks, slightly denser feel, & more durability. Four rolls about does it. Have been buying Newbaum's lately since so many colours; but have used Velox, Tressostar, or Cat-Eye elsewhere...

May try using shellac, one coat, to darken the tape.


Pedals:
Pedals MKS Sylvan touring 'prime' ,
With MKS pedal flips.

The MKS Sylvans, in particular the Touring Sylvans, are my all-round favorite pedal - well-made in Japan, serviceable bearings (added fun is that new from the factory they really require adding more grease and adjustment, which is an easy pleasure), handsome, and cheap!

I changed the LHT's pedals, though still usable though very worn flat on one side, to this slightly fancier version with a little more polish to the frame and allegedly bearings (both are fine already).

The only thing I've noticed is that I've bent more than a few spindles on the sylvans on different bikes, and wish they'd come out with another 'fancy' model (there are now a few, all focusing on polishing and anodizing rather than spindle durability) with some sort of super-tough spindle. Maybe cro-mo is the answer.
Toe Clips Christophe special The old standby; hard to find in 2004 but easier in 2016, and as good as any but most of all Still French! I think these are NOS ones; the lettering is a little different vs. the newer ones, else the same nice shiny chromed steel.
Toe straps Christophe, brown
with ALE side-pads		 Since the LHT clips & straps were a little scuffed & worn, and I have good stock, and the 'match' colour is now Brown...

Like the clips, hard to get 2005, easier now, though I think the leather is not as durable as old.

[n, px],

I stole the side-pads from the ALE laminated straps on the LHT (pad black, but straps were yellow with my crude attempt at 'greenification' thus wrong colour)
Strap End-Pulls Campagnolo A little scuffed, but may as well 'keep' them from the LHT! (I have more in stock)

[nos on the LHT, LS]

Seat:
Seat Brooks Flyer, Brown Had planned to use the green B17 off the LHT, but the frame turned out to be a gold color rather than green, so my previous fixation on green complimentary colours made the seat 'off'. But I had this nice brown Brooks Flyer on the Univega... I like the extra springs on the Flyer (which is about the same as the B17 otherwise) so a good touring saddle.

[n in 2011 originally on Univega GT]

I was swapping seats some recently: the 'old' green B17 now 'matches' on my green Kibo (which for a while had the brown Flyer), and the Univega got a black B17 - until I swapped it for the black Flyer on the 85 Woodrup because it looked better that way, esp. the seat posts on those bikes with their seats - until the next round of swap and switch I guess.
Seatpost Nitto S-83 'frog' I had this one that came with the 85 Woodrup frame, and it seemed a better aesthetic and technological match than the LHT's Campag SR; so swapped - the 85 now has the Campag as a better match to its many Campag parts, and the Nitto looks better here.

[u, eb (on the 85)]

Also considered SR Laprade, my overall favoritest-ever based on price, design (a copy of Campag SR), and quality (but that one hard to find too these days). To me the Laprade is the 'proper' seatpost for a 1980s touring bike. Maybe I'll get a good one in future. I remember when they were $12 new!

Other bits:
Mirrors Mirrycle, original, one per side I needn't go on about this brilliant item because I am sure I have elsewhere - in brief, the only mirror that really works, gives the proper view, doesn't interfere with anything, is well-made, looks decent, etc.

[n, mfg]

One on each side comes in very handy, esp. on tour.

I may change the right (wrong; American verge) side with a wider view mirror I picked up to see how that goes...

See also notes on brake levers for relevance here.
Bell Lion, brass, headset mount. Bent the mount and reversed bell to maybe make it a little more ergonomic to ring from tops.

[n, mfg]
Chainstay Slap Protector Stainless steel These used to be for sale in any decent mail-order catalog or shop. Now one of the rarest items and haven't seen one for sale even on eb in years, but I have a small stash bought in 2006 & 2016 - the two times I have seen any! - so lucky to have found enough for all my current cycles.

[?nos or new?, eb]

See again my charming treatise on bicycle un-invention!
Racks Surly "Nice Rack" (f & r) These are heavy, overbuilt, and expensive - so I bought a set for the LHT!

Only drawback for me is that the paint was not very good: soft, a dismal leaden gray, and sort of melted when I tried to car-polish them. They were also a little scuffed with a few small rust spots after the tours, so in 2019 I had them sandblasted & powder coated whatever the first 'silver wheels' colour that were being done at the shop, now are much better looking and durable. Total cost for sandblasting & coating both racks: under $35!

[n on LHT, s]

Also considered Nitto, Jandd, Tubus... It came down to what would fit the odd mounts on the Woodrup forks, and only the super-adjustable Surlys have the ability to mount without extra clamps & general 'sovietisms'.

I still have a new Nitto 34B front - which is about the ultimate front rack by my standards - that I can't fit on anything!
Mudguards Gilles Berthoud Stainless steel, with GB leather mudflaps F&R
These stainless steel French beauties were on the LHT and do the job well and with panache.

[n, pw; mudflap: n, b]
Bottle cages Ciussi 'Elite' Stainless (x2) and aluminum (x1). Off the LHT. Italian-made (when the were); very well. Stainless have tubular construction, so bought the probably slightly stronger aluminum rod version for the underside of the downtube. On that one I also fasten the bottle with a velcro strap to be sure on bumps - I don't take chances there!
Pump Zefal HPX Frame Fit My favorite.
[nos, yj]
Wheel reflectors Rivendell "Acme"

A nice velcro-on wheel spoke reflector, light enough to balance the weight of the valves pretty good. They haven't had these in ages
[n on LHT, r].
Odometer Vetta C-15 While the Sigmasport 1600 on the LHT was OK, this is older, smaller, better looking, and simpler.
[nos, eb]

I guess everybody else uses their i-phones now, but 1) I don't use I-anything, 2) all I want to know is distances, and 3) the battery on this lasts like 1,000 times longer (3 years vs. a day). And it makes no sounds.





Luggage:
Panniers Carradice 'Super C',
F&R.		 In my Anglovelophilia that came on especially strong after the 2015 tour I decided I 'needed' to start using English Canvas instead of the American & German nylon, despite the fact that the latter has served me well.

Since I haven't toured with them yet, they're embarrassingly square, stiff, & smooth. Wish I'd've got this idea in time to have gotten & worn them in a little on that 2015 tour!
[n, lx]
Handlebar Bag Carradice 'Super C' Sort of wished I'd've gotten the more traditional 'Keswick' handlebar bag to match the saddlebag, but the Super C is good and matches the panniers.

[n, lx].
Saddlebag Carradice Camper Longflap. [n, pcuk]

Or may try a Carradice rack trunk or a smaller saddlebag.

Or could use my old Lone Peak rack trunk as on the LHT - it's handy for carrying a 6-pack of beer or other incidentals.
Did I ... forget... anything?

Codes: In my little scheme above, 'N' means I bought the part new, 'nos' means I got an old piece of unused equipment (New, Old Stock), 'uu' is unused, as in some stuff I got on ebay-not new in box, but unused and undamaged, 'u' is of course used (but in good condition).

Sources of parts:

The place where I bought the item follows:
'mfg': Direct from manufacturer, 'list': seller via one of the bike enthusiast forums, 'bc': Bicycle Classics, 'b': Ben's, Milwaukee, 'bb': Boulder Bicycle,, 'px': Planet X (UK), 'pcbmx': Porkchop BMX, 'pcuk': Practical Cycles (UK), 'lx': Laxzo (UK), 'ls': Loose Screws, 'eb': somebody on ebay, 'r': Rivendell, 'aeb': Alfred E. Bike, 'yj': Yellow Jersey, 'omo': other mail order place, etc.


What about the Surly frame? Since it's proven to be pretty sturdy and is the '1st' color, I'll hold onto it for now and maybe make some sort of commuter bike with it in future (though as of 2019 I have more than enough bikes for all foreseeable needs). Some stuff that's on the LHT now can stay and serve on that - esp. the $#@! stupid threadless headset & stem. The mostly similar geometry (besides fork rake) would make it ok for all sorts of useful riding.


Put this here so nobody sees it: Tiny addition April 2022 .. A few typos fixed, slight layout fix. Since I moved from WI back to the UP over two years ago, the bike's been in storage mostly (short rides spring & fall 2000), now in my garage. Garage mostly too full of boxes of books & relatedly disorganized to make bike storage/retrieval convenient, so has (along with all others besides 84 Trek 830) remained static since. Hope to get library rooms done spring 2022 (or summer or), then garage then bikes organized. This is how 'barn find, excellent condition though dusty' things happen if I don't get it & its comrades on the road this summer...

The photos, so far:
[ set 1 ] [ set 2 ] ... [ .?. ]


2022.04.26 (Chernobyl day)
Location: rjl.us/velo/woodrup/2016Woodrup.htm
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