I's Bicycle visit report but not because JH went there, just because I'm a bit lazy and, well, because.

my boy approaching all hallows
be warned these are the BIGGEST pics I've uploaded yet
so click away

ive had his blog pinged to the sidebar for a while now
realised there are some good pics from visiting his shop last year
Mr I of Grand Bois fame
pic of Ernest Csuka of Alex Singer fame on the wall behind
Mr I is the one we have to thank for the lovely tyres

 

and now

in no particular order

some highlights

 

Barra's integrated lever front derailleur

the brazing is flawless

and despite my dislike of aluminium as a frame material

probably the single, sexiest bike I've ever seen

sexy in exactly the same way my blue, woolly socks in the mandatory shop slippers

aren't

 

Lefol Le Martele mudguards

they are not fenders

Cyclo rear derailleur

you can see the massive step between the big and small rings

 

the cover star of my blog

not spoke-wire instead of cable for the cantis

 

the cute little streetcar/tram/train/light-rail from Hanazono station 

which is the way to get there

 

this frameset was lying around

dunno if it was newly-made

or more likely

something old 

stripped bare

like the bride by her bachelors, even

 

as soon as I saw it 

I knew

it fitted my inner template for a new bike

brake bosses at centrepull

not canti

height

twin plate fork crown

fillet-brazed

 

bit fuzzy 

sorry

 

internal brake cable

love to know what it was

unfortunately there was some tool in there

who was monopolising Mr I's time with dumb questions 

and I had to dash

 

 

house upstairs

shop below full of steamy bikes

living the dream certainly

 

the ceiling

a Herse with my favourite mudguards:

Lefol Le Paon

and various bits of Italian shit

 

more Italian rubbish in the FG

although there may be some English lightweights down the back

I think I spied a vintage Mercian when I was there

noticeboard with participation medals from the Poly Japon
which I suppose is a randonee
as well as their custom catalogue
and a whole swag of medals from TOMs over the years
TOM = Toei Owners' Meeting

 

the packages by the door are

I would guess

their main business now

 the meilleur of fillet brazing

 

another massive step between small and big ring

proprietary Routens front mech

cable operated from below

 

Barra frame has ovalised top and down tubes

but they start as circular section where they join the head tube

that's some virtuosity in metal-forming

considering where talking 1940s or 50s

 

the whole sexy beast

with price tag visible

10 grand is reasonable I reckon

people pay more for shit like this

 

Jo through the window in the winter light
I's Bicycle is called
Cycles Grand Bois
in the online
go there and buy stuff
not a sponsor of this blog

Dunno what I'll call this post until I pick a photo

there you go

wilson's prom ride

from january this year

loveliness

photo is extra bloody big just for you

Pacenti Pari-Moto 650 x 38B white gumwalls by Panaracer

just got these from Canada of all places.

Cycles Toussaint get them made

and I suppose Kirk Pacenti gets them made as well

since they've got his name on them

but then they've also got Panaracer's name on them

because they actually made them

pretty much just like they make a slightly wider, white 650B tyre

and another tyre the same width but black

for a different company based in Japan.

So they say 38mm wide but Vern Gauge says they're really 36mm wide.

Nevertheless they fit really well inside Gilles Berthoud's rather dumbly-sized
mudguards, being as they are 40mm wide.

So loving that really.

JPR decaleur

after reading JH's post on
"bump-proof" decaleurs
I had a look to see if I had posted a pic of the wonderful
jpr decaleur
made by Jo Routens' son
Jean-Paul:
hadn't
so here 'tis.

immune to bumps as the bag slides on sideways
the two steel sleeves are bolted to the handlebar bag's internal aluminium stiffener

sad to say
I've lost the lovely little occy strap that held everything in place
it must have pinged off without me noticing
but even so
the systems still works beautifully
and so much simpler than this.

new drivetrain for Jo

Natural wonders

Signs on the road to Beauty

yeah it's only 26 km.

but 7 of those took me 45 min

obligatory shottie abuse

great bit of bronze casting

Spot the King of the Mountain...

He took a cut in pay but was immortalised on a plaque

and a testimonial.

Which made it all worthwhile.

cyclists face many risks on the road, and now we have a sign that recognises that fact.
pissed pogo-ists and skiiing kangaroos wouldn't have been in my top three however.

bogong is right in front of you

the hospital is straight ahead actually
see the stripey building?
that's the hospital

romantic lens-flare because Bogong Ave is drenched in nostalgia

a failed, albeit rather lovely, tourism experiment, repeatedly for sale.

the experiment was they thought there might be tourists

now it's just fodder for this blog.