The art of a good touring bike - nearly finished

Agency_Scum":1ceff4ti said:

A Brooks vinyl Glenbrook saddlebag...

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Nobody ever had a Brooks saddlebag it was always Carradice. Usually the Nelson or Camper Longflap. I wish I'd tried to rescue mine when it went all mildewy in the garage instead of throwing it away!

The same goes for Brooks leather 'bar tape and champagne bottle cork 'bar plugs - they never existed in the 80s (in my world).

LGF: I know you've already put Shimano mechs on but my choice would have been Suntour VG or Cyclone. Stronglight 99/100 chainset too.
F.W. Evans made great tourers then, I've got some pics at home I'll add later.

Mark.

I prefer handlebar bags to saddle bags - I found a suitably faded old Carradice but then found this Gilles Berthoud, complete with mounting kit:



Here it is on my Alex Singer:



For inspiration, have a look at the Alex Singer website: http://www.cycles-alex-singer.fr/ Look at "Galerie des machines" in the menu on the left of the page.

@daccordimark,
I totally agree. The vinyl Glenbrook is from the 50s and 60s. The leather handlebar tape is an affectation of a 30s and 40s habit of " make do and mend " when expensive leatherwear was converted to bar tape and other uses. The Glenbrook shrugs off downpours with applomb ( frequently; it's my work bike ). Like it's 50s original, it was deliberately made out of vinyle to avoid leather and canvas's weaknesses in the ( frequent and very British! ) rain. I used my Carradice longflap TWICE before it become white and hairy, stinking to high heaven. A very beautiful saddlebag indeed but quite hopeless in my experience as working luggage.

@Rich34,
PHWOOAARRR!! What a corker! That Singer looks minty lush with that bar bag mate.

Rich34":v48cmooj said:

Here it is on my Alex Singer:

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That's the kind of line I'd like to be able to drop casually into a post!

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=202593

Very nice - I wonder how I managed to miss it before. I had the great pleasure of meeting M. Csuka a few years ago. He was a true gentleman.

For inspiration, have a look at the Alex Singer website: http://www.cycles-alex-singer.fr/ Look at "Galerie des machines" in the menu on the left of the page.

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There are some lovely bikes on show there, but I can't help feeling that (despite the current vogue for French-styled randonneurs and porteurs) LGF's bike is English, and the English and French have always had rather different ways of doing things.

@Agency-Scum: Minty lush? Ah yes, I see you're from Brizzle...! Thanks for the comment.

@One_Eyed_Jim: Many thanks - I'm very envious that you met M. Csuka. Fully agree about the Brit vs. French way of doing things. One of my other bikes is a '76 Galaxy with 27" wheels. Not sure that wheel size made it across the Channel.

@LeGrandeFromage: I love your bike, look forward to seeing some more pics. The only thing I'd change is to go for alloy mudguards instead of the black ones currently on there.

Daccordimark:

The same goes for Brooks leather 'bar tape and champagne bottle cork 'bar plugs - they never existed in the 80s (in my world).

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Mine too, pretty much everyone in the CTC/Audax UK ran the padded leatherette Bike Ribbon, usually white or cream. Comfy, but could be cleaned with a sponge, unlike the cork stuff. The more racing-minded would have the thinner pearlescent plastic Benotto stuff.

I don't remember many Brooks saddles either...Mostly Rolls and Turbos.

How about some screw on tugs for the ends of the toestraps? Cinelli?

All the best,

oooh thats nice....

Bike is built and has a Pashley Guvnor look about it. Pics up when its daylight.

The perfect tourer has to look like you don't care how it looks (IMO) and that's a difficult look to achieve.

Came out much better than I thought. A good mix of mid 1980's parts with some very nice ultra modern Formula hubs on 123 components rims with decals removed.

Spare set of Schwalbe Landcruisers complete the current temporary 'Woodsie' look