French Experiments Continue: Belleville Handlebars and Inverse Brake Levers

Spare bicycle parts, a restless spirit, and a willing "guinea pig" can make for a dangerous combination. In her latest reincarnation, Marianne sports VO Belleville handlebars and Dia Compe inverse brake levers - a practice run to determine how a similar set-up would feel on the Royal H. mixte.



Here are the bars and levers in all of their French glory - on a Motobecane mixte with an Ideale saddle.



The Belleville handlebars are similar to the Porteur handlebars shown here. Both are a classic style of upright bars found on vintage French city bicycles. These bars are narrow, with long gripping areas that are nearly parallel to each other - placing the rider's hands in a position similar to holding a tray. The Bellevilles are 5cm narrower than the Porteurs (43cm vs 48cm) and are completely straight across the front (whereas the Porteurs have a slight forward sweep).



It is typical to see handlebars like this fitted with inverse brake levers. My assumption is that this is done to maximise the gripping area of the bars. Because the levers are installed at the ends, there are no interruptions along the handlebar's surface and the cyclist is free to move their hands pretty much along the entire bar.



The inverse brake levers you will find today are most likely either Tektro or Dia Compe. Here I have installed the latter, and you can see that their brown rubbery tips go nicely with twined handlebars. It surprised me to learn that some dislike the Dia Compes because of the brown tips and prefer the Tektro levers instead - which are all-metal. To me, the rubbery surface felt nice, but I suppose it isa matter of personal preference. If you have used either of these levers, I'd like to hear your thoughts.



Braking with inverse levers. I have found that I am able to get pretty good leverage almost no matter where I hold my hand along the bar, with the exception of the very front.



Can't brake from here, near the corners. But if I move my hands 1-2 inches back, it will work. This set-up is amazingly versatile in terms of the hand positions it allows.



The inverse levers are set back from the bars far enough so that they do not interfere with the grip. You can see in the pictures that they are nowhere near my knuckles. Truly a neat design.



If you are curious about this type of French set up, both the bars and the levers are surprisingly inexpensive. You will like them if you are a fan of narrow handlebars, and if you prefer to hold your hands to the sides rather than flared out or straight in front of you. I certainly fit that description, so both the Belleville and the Porteur handlebars feel as if they were made just for me. The super-wide Albatross bars were comfortable enough, but with the Bellevilles and the Porteurs I get that "spot on!" feeling. I also think that they are better match for French bicycles - especially for the Motobecane's aggressive handling.



I will pause and confess here, that this is the last change I will be making to Marianne...because she no longer belongs to me. Yes, I did sell her after all - to a lovely local woman whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making this morning. Riding the Motobecane with the French handlebars and inverse levers yesterday, I finally felt that this bicycle was "perfect" and experienced a calm sense of satisfaction - not dissimilar to how I feel when a painting is finally "finished" or when a photograph looks just right. And after that, it finally felt appropriate to let her go. I hope the new owner enjoys her as much as I hope to enjoy my Royal H. mixte - which I will most definitely fit with a similar handlebar set-up.



Oh - and if anybody wants someNitto Albatross bars (the alloy version) or VO Milan bars, drop me a line. Thankfully, I have no more "spare" bicycles to put them on.

Laptop Transport: Trusting Your Bicycle with Your Precious Machine

There are basically two options for transporting your belongings while cycling: (1) on your person in a backpack or messenger bag, or (2) in a contraption attached to the bicycle itself, such as a basket, pannier, saddlebag, or other fixture. When it comes to most of my belongings, the choice on this is clear: I would rather not carry anything on my back while cycling, especially since my bicycles are fitted with racks and have great transport capacity. But when it comes to my laptop (a large MacBookPro), I just can't seem to "let go" and trust it to the care of a bicycle. I carry it either in the large leather satchel in the photo above, or in the Chrome messenger bag pictured below. The leather satchel is more suitable to my personal style, but the Chrome bag is more ergonomic and feels better on longer rides. Between the two of them, I have pretty much gotten accustomed to carrying my laptop on my back while cycling, even for long stretches.

Still, I am plagued with the question of why I do this, when my bicycles are rated to handle the weight and could make my life so much easier in this respect. There are panniers specifically designed for laptop transport and sturdy wire baskets for the rear rack that will safely do the job as well. Some even strap laptop bags directly to their racks with bungee cords, and some make their own panniers out of handsome vintage satchels using Arkel or Ortlieb attachments. So I suppose for me, it is really an issue of trust and control: Somehow it feels that the laptop is safer with me than attached to the bicycle. I have browsed countless times through all the panniers in the local bike shops, but ultimately I just can't imagine myself cycling with my laptop dangling over my rear wheel and out of my field of vision. Instead of watching the road and enjoying the ride, I'd be thinking about my laptop.

Is this a logical concern on my part? I am not sure. On the one hand, if I should fall on my bicycle, the laptop is just as likely to get damaged if it sits in a pannier than if it sits on my back. Also, the straps and closure of a messenger bag are probably no less likely to fail than the attachment points of a pannier system. However, if the bicycle itself should fall over without me on it, the laptop is more likely to get damaged. How statistically likely any of these scenarios are to actually happen, I have no idea. So I think it really comes down to one's subjective perception of security.

In the end, taking the first step towards trusting my bicycle with my laptop ended up being simpler than I thought. As it turns out, my leather satchel fits quite comfortably into the front basket on my Pashley, and the edges get lodged in the wicker, so that the bag remains sturdy when the bicycle is in motion. It never occurred to me that this could be a possibility, because I assumed that the satchel would be much too large for the basket and also that it would bounce. But there you have it. I am pleasantly surprised that there are no bouncing issues: Once stuck in the basket, the satchel does not budge; the wicker sort of closes in on it and holds it firmly in place. I feel comfortable with this set-up, because I see the bag in front of me at all times and know that it is doing okay. Not sure whether this will be my permanent method of transportation from now on, but it worked splendidly for some errands close to home.

I would love to hear how other people carry their laptops while cycling, and how those solutions are working out for them.

Hoh Rain Forest

We were up and on the go again. Still heading north but with a long side trip into the Hoh Rain Forest. The rain forests in Washington are the only rain forests in the continental United States. And I was disappointed as it wasn't raining. But still it was very enjoyable and beautiful to see. Everything, and I mean everything was covered with moss, and ferns. Everything was green, so very, very green, an almost jewel-like green. It was so different to the forests we have here in New Mexico. I was almost afraid to step off the trails because the undergrowth was so thick and I was sure I would get lost. The trees were so tall and the plants and scrubs so thick it was hard to see the sky and sun, so that you could tell the four directions. Even the pay phone booth and a tool shed were covered in moss and ferns. We followed the Hoh River on a lot of this journey and it was a clear, sparkling river, not running real fast as it was August but neither was it wasting any time.

Quiros City Bike: a Boston Classic

Co-Habitant's friend Erik recently had a frame made by local builder Armando Quiros. I watched the bike being assembled and had the chance to photograph it upon completion. This bike is interesting to me, in that it epitomises the Boston aesthetic of making transportation bicycles with tight, aggressive geometry, yet upright positioning and accessorised for the city. In fact Armando calls this a "city track commuter." It is also interesting, because increasingly I enjoy looking at fillet-brazed frames and this one is a nice example.






One of the young new names that have become prominent over the past couple of years, Quiros Custom Frames are based in Natick, MA and offer a variety of lugged and fillet brazed options.







I met Armando a few years back, when Royal H.and Icarus still had their studios in Somerville, and all sorts of interesting bikey people would stop by that part of town. Later I snapped this photo of him receiving a trophy at the Larz Anderson show, where one of his bicycles won an award. Not bad!






Quiros frames can be recognised by the prominent gothic headbadge






and by the "787" painted above the bottom bracket - the area code for Puerto Rico.






Erik's frame is fillet brazed, using Columbus tubing.






What I like about this method is the seamless, almost liquid look to the construction. The brazed sloping fork crown goes nicely with this.






The British Racing Green paint, silver components, hammered fenders and caramel-brown accessories create a classic, distinguished aesthetic. At the same time, the narrow riser bars and track geometry give the bike a contemporary "fixie" look. It's an interesting and somewhat unexpected combination. Looking at the bike, my mind's eye keeps trying to either replace the cork grips with hot pink rubber ones, or else change the bars to North Roads. But I think the marriage of styles is ultimately what makes this bicycle unique to the owner.





The bicycle is built up witha Phil Wood hub wheelset, an IRD crankset, Tektro brakes, MKS Stream pedals, straight Thomson seatpost, Brooks saddle, and Honjo hammered fenders. Erik rides it as a fixed gear single speed.





The idea behind building a city bike with track geometry is that it is quick handling and responsive in traffic. While personally I cannot handle the tight clearances on a bike like this, I understand the concept and this is certainly a successful execution of it. The bicycle looks very much at home on the streets of Cambridge, and the owner enjoys the ride. Many thanks to Erik and Armando for the opportunity to document this bicycle. More pictures here.

White Oak Lavender Farm

Today I tagged along with Diana, Josh, Austin and Lauren. First stop was at White Oak Lavender Farm. It was a lovely little family owned and operated farm and store. Not only did the have the lavender growing and lavender products galore, they also had some animals we could see. It was a really neat place.

What's the Point?

Obviously the point of a crampon is to make life easier (and safer) on any surface that boot rubber won't.



From the inception of the blog I have harped on crampon fit and crampon durability. Broken crampons frames, broken bails and loosing a crampon mid pitch was a fairly common experience for many climbers. It is less common now with a little conversation in the community and some education as to the cause.



Thankfully this will be ashort blog post and not about crampon failures.



It really is a pretty short topic. About 7.5mm give or take a mm or two.

And thankfully the cause good or badissimple...it is your choice.



Not uncommon for some one to ask me how long I run my front points (think dual front points for the moment). For theuninitiatedthat might seem strange.



On smooth, plastic, late season Canadian ice I like to have a fairly short set of front points. I know the ice will easily supports my body weight and the sticks (boot swing and tools)are easy. Typically the front point I like on winteralpine ice as well. Alpine ice is not water fall ice. It isn't generally as steep or technical. But it is generally hard as old concrete.I don't need any more leverage on my size 45 boots than absolutely required.



A rookie mistake on water fall ice is getting your heels too high and popping a crampon. It is also a rookie mistake to run your front points too short on bad ice and ...you guessed it....pop your crampons every other footplacement.







What you are looking for in a foot placement besides full penetration of your front points is the additional support of the secondary points. Monos offer some additional options here if you know how to use them to best effect. But from what I have seen most don't know how to take advantage of a Mono on ice.







Same crampons and front points shown above on the Scarpa 6000s. Just a different point of view. I am using the back toe bail hole here. But your boot to crampon fit will be defined by your boot sole andwhich hole in your crampon isrequired to get the appropriate front point length. Other experienced climbers run even longer front points that what is hsown here in similar conditions. Monos especially so.




Rookie mistake? Been there, done that. To the point I was wondering if I still knew how to climb vertical ice. Humbling experience. And that was just on atop rope! If I had done that on lead it would be a long time before I would be back for more. It was scary, insecure and really, really pumpy just trying to get and stay on my feet.



It is a subtle call and not one I made a conscious decision on, although I should know better by now. One of the longest nights of my then very short climbing career was a 4000' alpine ice face done of crampons that had been sharpened a few too many times. The overly short front points were making my life miserable with insure feet. I vowed then not to let that ever happen again. But it seems my memory failed me. I did do it again recently on much harder technical terrain...even if it was only a top rope problem.






In typical crappy snow/neve/ice alpine conditions with snow covering anything from rotten air filled snice, to bullet hard, black ice always better to error on the side of caution and have more front point than you need rather than less. But less important on alpine terrainthan on steeper technical terrain...like the conditions you'll find on most water ice.












In the wrong conditions the only penalty is a little more strain on the calf by using longer front points. In the right conditions you gain additional security and solid feet. Always a bonus to have good feet!




The .75mm is the distance between the front an back toebail placement on a Petzl or Black Diamond crampon. Pretty much a .25". Unless you are alwaysclimb on smooth dry and plastic ice or hard mixed (rock climbing) you'll generally want more crampon front point than less. Bottom line super short version? When in doubt, goLOOOOONNNG! You just might be better at this sport than you first thought :)



Mono points? Same deal. Short on rock. Long or longer on bad ice.

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus

There was a small problem with my business toll-free number.

It's fixed.

Some crazy company is still publishing my number as theirs, although apparently not as widely, so the spate of calls from irate Walgreens stores has slowed to a trickle.

And I'm no longer being charged $1 a minute for the insane answering machine ravings of people who don't understand the part where I say "You've reached Natural Impulse Handmade Soap" instead of "This is That Other Company Who Ripped You Off" at the start of the message. (I finally had to just unplug it.)

And it's finally ringing to the right number.

I could have sworn that I heard a little angels' rejoicing.

The Stranger

A little while ago I locked up my bike in a neighbourhood I don't much like and left it there for a couple of hours. When I returned, there were objects arranged on my rear rack: an unfinished cup of coffee and a pair of broken sunglasses. I picked up the paper cup gingerly and threw it in the nearby trash. There was a stain and some crumbs stuck to the cup where someone's mouth had been. The cup was cold, but then the day was also cold; impossible to know how long ago the coffee drinker had left it there. I then looked at just the sunglasses alone on the rack. Reflective and cracked in several places, they reminded me of broken mirrors that could bring bad luck -I found myself not wanting to touch them, and just stood there looking at them for a bit. Finally I removed them from the rack and placed them carefully on the edge of a flower bed.

So... some idiot left some stuff on my bike. What is the big deal? I don't know.I guess I am prone to seek meaning in things where none exists, and sometimes these random ambiguous types of acts bother me more than something more obviously hostile would.I tried to imagine the stranger who left the cup and sunglasses behind.Was it an absent-minded thing, where the person was on their way to the trash bin and suddenly their mobile phone rang? Or was it intentional, and a coin-toss between that and slashing my bike's tires? Was it a message, however unconscious, or did it mean nothing at all?

It's amazingly easy to leave our mark on somebody else's world, and bicycles - being personal objects that we just leave around, exposed - seem to attract that kind of mark-making. Be it a flower tucked into the handlebars, or garbage left in the basket, the gesture makes us aware of those countless strangers among whom we move and most of whom we will never know.

California :: Piedras Blancas Elephant Seals

Near San Simeon, on the Coast Highway, is a special beach. One where the Elephant Seals come ashore for a few months of each year to give birth, breed, and molt. The female and juvenile elephant seals were on the beach beginning the molting process.








More information on Elephant Seals.

My climbing pack?

I have gotten a number of emails asking me to be more specific on my own climbing pack design that Randy sews for me @ Cold Cold World.



These are the specs off the Spectra Ripstop version of the Ozone:





Pack weighs in at less than 1.5 #. Material is Spectra ripstop. Shoulder harness is off a full size CCW pack for the extra padding required on heavier loads. Some where above a 35L in my 21" back size.



Pack weight goes up as you add material weight. Same pack in the redballistics nylon shown in the pictures is 2.5#. Better weigh your own pack if the maker published the weight. I found one of the current manufactures a full 1/2# heavier than advertised on their"2 LB" 210d Dyneema Ripstop, 30L sack with a 17" back panel.I use a quality digital postal scale whichseems to help. My packs have a 21" back panel and the weights published above are thosepack's actual weightsin Spectra and Ballistics nylon. No gimics.



(details)

Custom sizing (which everyone should do if it is available to you)

custom pattern originally based on the Ozone size but with a bigger more oblong bottom

2liter+ water bottle size top pocket

2nd zippered pocket in bottom of the lid with key holder

Zippers reversed on the pockets for use on hanging belays

pull down shoulder straps instead of "pull up"

main bag has azippered "guide book" pocket...I use it for food and a head lamp generally

covered lid buckle which protects it while being hauled

removable foam pad

oversize shoulder straps for the extra weight when required

Perlon haul loop which is easier to clip on and off the anchor in difficult stances

dbl strap patches on lid (which I have yet to use but couldn't live with out)

dbl rope straps across the top of the pack, attaches ropes or tools just as easily

dbl bottom

10" extension with draw string

lid is extendable and or removable

bar tacked daisy chain on the bottom of the lid strap



There are no other attachment points on the pack...everything including, helmet, tools and crampons go inside the pack. You are forced to pack light.



I generally climb with the pack without the lid. If the lid is attached, it is likely stuck down inside the pack while climbing.



I've been using this "same" pack for years in many different and seemingly unlikely places. Randy's version is the best of those packs for my own use.



Sitting on a similar sized pack,during a quickascent of the West Buttress of Denali in the late 70's,usingthree pin skinny skis below 11K.









Bottom patternshape we ended up using for more comfort and volume is the larger orange pack. Shown with an earliersmaller CCW prototype.

Final pattern for the bottom panel of these packs.







Internal, 8" x9" pocket in the main sac. The higher, second zipper is the foam pad pocket.





Sewn on Ozone lid and an the extendable lid version I prefer with Velcro showing on the right.







Loaded and slightly extended, with tools strapped across the top under the lid. The toolsalso easily fit inside the pack as well...as hard as that may be to believe.





In all the pack is very simple. Butit is the detailing and attention to details when it is being sewn thatmakes the pack so awesome for my own use. The internal pocket for a bit of food or gel and a head lamp as an example, the extra thick, full size shoulder straps, the easily accessed and manipulated haul loop, the clean design when you need to haul, the easy extendable or removable lid, the small unpadded wings to give extra support on the hip belt when needed with heavier loads.



who, what and where:



Randy Rackliff @ Cold Cold World603 383 9021



http://www.coldcoldworldpacks.com/