Orbit Romany - Columbus Nivacrom

[PeterPerfect]

Picked this up yesterday.

I first made contact about it a few weeks ago and managed to get it.

26" wheel version.

Drops with bar end shifters.

A little bit of personal tinkering to do to it tomorrow.

I hope my m8 has the bar tape I'm after in stock.

Will have new tubes and tyres as well.

I'll post some pics shortly.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Keen to see that Peter

 

[PeterPerfect]

Keen to see that Peter

Things like this one rarely come up for sale and when they do, I usually miss out.

Particularly chuffed I got this one.

Looks very similar to a Roberts Roughstuff but the top tube has a slacker angle.

 

[danc]

I've been keeping a vague eye out for an Orbit Expedition for a while. Is this basically the same thing but in Nivacrom rather than 531?

Sounds fun.

 

[PeterPerfect]

I've been keeping a vague eye out for an Orbit Expedition for a while. Is this basically the same thing but in Nivacrom rather than 531?

Sounds fun.

Yes, they're quite similar.

The other version of mine was available in Reynolds 853.

I can only assume, despite the name, the Romany is lighter and has longer chainstays.

Also, although mine is disc brake, it has the braze-ons for Cantis. Strange to see both options from new.

The previous owner who had it from new specified it with both.

 

[PeterPerfect]

What is the best lightweight tourer bike that can carry a full camping load? | CycleChat Cycling Forum

But, if you really want to lighten it, consider upgrading to some lightweight components -namely a lighter crank, derailleurs, wheelset, saddle, seatpost, tyres, etc, etc. With a lot of money, you can usually lighten a bike by a kilo. You can then put two water-bottles on it and add two...

www.cyclechat.net

Interesting extract here.

Actually, both of my bikes get a mention.

 

[PeterPerfect]

I'm pretty sure there was a Forum Member that used to work for Orbit. I'm going back some time.

I'd be interested, once I've posted the pics, if he's still knocking about, to get his thoughts.

 

[PeterPerfect]

Bit of a delay for the pics.

Firstly, the brake levers were fitted the wrong way round, I suspect they've been like this from new!

The Clarks disc brakes appear to be the MTB ones and have little or no pull. One of them was on it's way out anyway; so, I've swapped the calipers out for Avid BB5 R.

More fettling needed on the handlebar set up before the new bar tape is added.

Swapped the tyres out for new Panaracer 26 x 2.1. Admittedly, not as much puncture protection as the Schwalbes so I'll see how I get on with them.

 

[PeterPerfect]

At last, it's done.

Why do drop handlebars always look oversized in photos? Despite how it appears, they're not!

Very comfortable and planted. It's built to ride at my pace i.e. slow.

Rolls pretty well. I'll see how the tyres cope as I've never used this particular one before.

I took the front rack off as I'll probably use the bar bag.

Tried this saddle and initial thoughts are very good. If it doesn't work out then I'll swap it out for my Brooks Flyer.

 

[PeterPerfect]

Tyres are quite noisy so I'll play around a bit with the pressures.