speaking of expensive new bikes

My husband and I decided we'd do a tour of the Canadian Rockies while the
kids are at summer camp. Someone asked me, "are you going to do that on your
old Novara?" and suddenly, I decided, "no, I'm not". I have been thinking
about getting a new bike for while -- my thought was I was going to decide
some time after RSVP. That was RSVP 2004, ie, at the beginning of last
August. So, I did a little bit of test riding, and some looking around,
and...

....it looks like I'm going to buy a custom Co-Motion Nor'Wester
(http://www.co-motion.com/norwester.html). I'm going for the Ultegra road
option, with a triple.

Modifications to the basic spec:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!
o Probably a Terry Butterfly seat
o fenders, naturally

Questions:
o Should I also consider a rear hub/light?
o It comes with long reach calipers and Ultegra caliper brakes. Should I
consider cantilevers instead like the touring model has?
o Other things I should consider that I haven't?

And then...colors! OMG! What should I pick?

I'm thinking maybe:
Kelly Green http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...greensmall.gif
or Sunrise Pearl http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...pearlmocha.gif

What do you think?

I'm all freaked out! I can't believe I'm getting a new bike!


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:

My husband and I decided we'd do a tour of the Canadian Rockies while
the kids are at summer camp. Someone asked me, "are you going to do
that on your old Novara?" and suddenly, I decided, "no, I'm not". I
have been thinking about getting a new bike for while -- my thought
was I was going to decide some time after RSVP. That was RSVP 2004,
ie, at the beginning of last August. So, I did a little bit of test
riding, and some looking around, and...

...it looks like I'm going to buy a custom Co-Motion Nor'Wester
(http://www.co-motion.com/norwester.html). I'm going for the Ultegra
road option, with a triple.

Modifications to the basic spec:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!
o Probably a Terry Butterfly seat
o fenders, naturally

Questions:
o Should I also consider a rear hub/light?
o It comes with long reach calipers and Ultegra caliper brakes.
Should I consider cantilevers instead like the touring model has?
o Other things I should consider that I haven't?

And then...colors! OMG! What should I pick?

I'm thinking maybe:
Kelly Green http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...greensmall.gif
or Sunrise Pearl
http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...pearlmocha.gif

What do you think?

I'm all freaked out! I can't believe I'm getting a new bike!


Congrats on the new bike, and especially on your tour! Co-Motion bikes are
beautifully crafted, probably the nicest welded steel bikes I've seen.

About brakes -- unless you need the extra clearance, I suggest staying with long
reach calipers. Calipers are easier to set up and maintain, because they don't
change geometry with pad wear, like cantilevers do. That said, if you use
cartridge pads, and just slip in some new ones periodically, you shouldn't have
to adjust your cantilevers much. Perhaps Sheldon, Jobst, etc., would have more
to say about this.

The hub generator is a good idea. I wish I had one myself, so I wouldn't have
to worry about batteries. I wouldn't bother hooking the rear light up to it
though, unless it comes that way to begin with. LED rear lights use so little
power that they might as well be self-contained with batteries. I think mine
will go over 40 hours steady on two AAAs, or 200 hours blinking.

Matt O.

On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:44:55 -0800, Claire Petersky wrote:

My husband and I decided we'd do a tour of the Canadian Rockies while the
kids are at summer camp. Someone asked me, "are you going to do that on your
old Novara?" and suddenly, I decided, "no, I'm not". I have been thinking
about getting a new bike for while -- my thought was I was going to decide
some time after RSVP. That was RSVP 2004, ie, at the beginning of last
August. So, I did a little bit of test riding, and some looking around,
and...

...it looks like I'm going to buy a custom Co-Motion Nor'Wester
(http://www.co-motion.com/norwester.html). I'm going for the Ultegra road
option, with a triple.

Modifications to the basic spec:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!

Since you are going to be investing big bucks anyway, consider the Schmidt
instead of the Nexus. Less drag at only twice the price.... It's the
favorite of my brevet friends, who regularly ride through the night.

Questions:
o Should I also consider a rear hub/light?

Nah. Battery-powered blinkies are perfectly fine. No need to mess with
running a rear light off of your generator hub.

o It comes with long reach
calipers and Ultegra caliper brakes. Should I consider cantilevers
instead like the touring model has?

I don't think so. The difference in "power" depends really on the
combination of levers to calipers. Cantilever brakes are not from an
engineering standpoint, as strong as sidepulls, when mated with the right
levers. This is because the angle of the pad motion against the rim is
much further from perpendicular than with sidepulls.

And then...colors! OMG! What should I pick?

I'm thinking maybe:
Kelly Green http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...greensmall.gif
or Sunrise Pearl
http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...pearlmocha.gif

I vote for the yellow.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | When you are up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember
_`\(,_ | that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. -- LBJ
(_)/ (_) |

Glad you have the option for a new bike. However don't ask us. Why? Go with
what you want. Decide and enjoy. You will get an infinite number of
possibilities asking the NG. We will all add doubt to your selection.

Buy what feels right for you and dismiss all the opinions. We will provide
with numerous options and confuse you.

Buy what you FEEL content with. Enjoy it. If you need to upgrade, then do it
in time.

NO ONE in this NG can provide the perfect answer. We all have different
values, likes and opinions. Yours is the most important. Buy your ride and
enjoy it. Yeah, I am high end on the bike side. There are others who are
more frugal. We will never come to agreement.

Color, that's yours. Do not pay attention to any of us. The bike is an
expression of you. It has nothing to do with Tom Sherman or anybody else. I
appreciate your questions, but in the end, you ride it. Therefore, GO FOR
IT.

B

"Brian Wax" wrote:

Glad you have the option for a new bike. However don't ask us. Why? Go with
what you want. Decide and enjoy. You will get an infinite number of
possibilities asking the NG. We will all add doubt to your selection.

Buy what feels right for you and dismiss all the opinions. We will provide
with numerous options and confuse you.

Buy what you FEEL content with. Enjoy it. If you need to upgrade, then do it
in time.

NO ONE in this NG can provide the perfect answer. We all have different
values, likes and opinions. Yours is the most important. Buy your ride and
enjoy it. Yeah, I am high end on the bike side. There are others who are
more frugal. We will never come to agreement.

Color, that's yours. Do not pay attention to any of us. The bike is an
expression of you. It has nothing to do with Tom Sherman or anybody else. I
appreciate your questions, but in the end, you ride it. Therefore, GO FOR
IT.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but I was very happy
to have the input of the ng as I went through my last bike
purchase....

Claire Petersky, Queen of the Road, wrote:

My husband and I decided we'd do a tour of the Canadian Rockies while the
kids are at summer camp. Someone asked me, "are you going to do that on your
old Novara?" and suddenly, I decided, "no, I'm not". I have been thinking
about getting a new bike for while -- my thought was I was going to decide
some time after RSVP. That was RSVP 2004, ie, at the beginning of last
August. So, I did a little bit of test riding, and some looking around,
and...

...it looks like I'm going to buy a custom Co-Motion Nor'Wester
(http://www.co-motion.com/norwester.html). I'm going for the Ultegra road
option, with a triple.

Modifications to the basic spec:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!
o Probably a Terry Butterfly seat
o fenders, naturally

Questions:
o Should I also consider a rear hub/light?
o It comes with long reach calipers and Ultegra caliper brakes. Should I
consider cantilevers instead like the touring model has?
o Other things I should consider that I haven't?

And then...colors! OMG! What should I pick?

I'm thinking maybe:
Kelly Green http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...greensmall.gif
or Sunrise Pearl http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...pearlmocha.gif

What do you think?

I'm all freaked out! I can't believe I'm getting a new bike!

Claire,

32-sopke wheels?
Generator hub?
Fenders?
Long reach calipers or cantilever brakes?

Fabrizio Mazzoleni would be mortified if he were ever seen of such a
"Fred" bike!

What's next, a dinosaur suit? A recumbent bicycle?

--
Tom Sherman - Earth (Downstate Illinois, North of Forgottonia)

Brian Wax wrote:

...
Color, that's yours. Do not pay attention to any of us. The bike is an
expression of you. It has nothing to do with Tom Sherman or anybody else. I
appreciate your questions, but in the end, you ride it. Therefore, GO FOR
IT.

It is considered rude to comment on posters that you have kill-filed.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth (Downstate Illinois, North of Forgottonia)

Claire Petersky wrote:


...it looks like I'm going to buy a custom Co-Motion Nor'Wester
(http://www.co-motion.com/norwester.html). I'm going for the Ultegra
road
option, with a triple.

Modifications to the basic spec:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!
o Probably a Terry Butterfly seat
o fenders, naturally

Questions:
o Should I also consider a rear hub/light?
o It comes with long reach calipers and Ultegra caliper brakes.
Should I
consider cantilevers instead like the touring model has?
o Other things I should consider that I haven't?

Looks like a nice bike! I like the idea of the rack bosses, etc.

Regarding your question: How much modification will they do? For
example, custom braze-ons?

I ask because I got tempted into subscribing to Vintage Bicycle
Quarterly, a magazine praising comfortable, efficient (& mostly French)
touring bikes of the 1930s to 1960s. The editor, Jan Heine, is very
impressed by the "constructeurs" (sp?) who designed and specified or
built not only the frame, but the racks, lights, fenders, braze-ons,
etc. The entire bike was planned as a unit, so to speak. Sometimes
they built their own stems, cranks, etc.

And interestingly, the magazine's current issue tests a Co-Motion
"Nor'Wester Co-Pilot!" Simultaneously, the current issue of Adventure
Cycling also tests the same bike, with John Schubert doing the testing.


Jan Heine prefers cantilever brakes. He's a fan of wider fenders to
_really_ keep you dry, and says they'd be easier to fit if the bike
didn't have the sidepulls. Schubert tested one with cantis, but made
no remarks about the brakes. Personally, I go through brake shoes so
slowly that cantilevers' more complicated brake shoe adjustments aren't
a worry to me.

If I were having a custom or semi-custom bike built, I'd consider
internal generator wiring for the aesthetics and lack of snagging. And
I'd consider a braze on to hold a head light and (if you decide on it)
taillight. To me, the standard light brackets are clunky and less than
trustworthy. Besides, they tend to scratch paint. And yes, I'd allow
for a generator taillight (which might mean two light brackets, if you
wanted a blinky for redundancy).

Congratulations. You're going to have fun!

Thu, 24 Mar 2005 20:56:17 -0500,
, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!

Since you are going to be investing big bucks anyway, consider the Schmidt
instead of the Nexus. Less drag at only twice the price.... It's the
favorite of my brevet friends, who regularly ride through the night.

Having a Nexus, I'd second that. Especially for a small increase it
represents in the bike's final price.

Two votes for yellow.
--
zk

"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
...
My husband and I decided we'd do a tour of the Canadian Rockies while the
kids are at summer camp. Someone asked me, "are you going to do that on
your
old Novara?" and suddenly, I decided, "no, I'm not". I have been thinking
about getting a new bike for while -- my thought was I was going to decide
some time after RSVP. That was RSVP 2004, ie, at the beginning of last
August. So, I did a little bit of test riding, and some looking around,
and...

...it looks like I'm going to buy a custom Co-Motion Nor'Wester
(http://www.co-motion.com/norwester.html). I'm going for the Ultegra road
option, with a triple.

Modifications to the basic spec:

o I'm having 32 spoke wheels built for the bike, with a Shimano Nexus
Generator Hub -- free from batteries at last!
o Probably a Terry Butterfly seat
o fenders, naturally

Questions:
o Should I also consider a rear hub/light?
o It comes with long reach calipers and Ultegra caliper brakes. Should I
consider cantilevers instead like the touring model has?
o Other things I should consider that I haven't?

And then...colors! OMG! What should I pick?

I'm thinking maybe:
Kelly Green http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...greensmall.gif
or Sunrise Pearl
http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/th...pearlmocha.gif

What do you think?

I'm all freaked out! I can't believe I'm getting a new bike!


Excellent choice, Claire. Co-Motion is a good company. Of course, I'd
recommend a new Rivendell Atlantis, but I'm kind of a retrogrouch.... :-)