Le Cirque du Cyclisme is one of the longest running classic bicycle shows in the country. It started back in 1998 and has remained very well attended every Spring by hundreds of vintage bike enthusiasts. Bikes are entered in a concours based on their date of manufacture to compete for best in their date category and best in show. There are also four separate categories for current frame builders also referred to as the KoF (Keepers of the Flame): Best Road, Best Randonneur/Touring, Best City/Utility, and Best Track/Single Speed. This year in Leesburg, VA, I brought two bikes and was fortunate enough to win the two categories in which I entered them—Best City/Utility and Best Randonneur/Touring.
The dark red bike that won Best City/Utility bike was an experiment with silver fillet brazed True Temper S3 tubing. The goal was to make the lightest fendered upright bike possible. The total weight ended up being a little over 20lbs. The weight was kept down by using a lightweight Pacenti 650B wheelset, a Brooks B17 saddle with titanium rails, and a lot of titanium hardware.
The other bike that won Best Randonneur/Touring was the one that I used to enter the 2011 Oregon Manifest. This time around I fabricated a single wheeled BOB style trailer painted to match to show with it. I have been dreaming of trailers for a long time now and still have some crazy ideas that I’d like to experiment with! This trailer has a lightweight chromoly frame with a unique attachment mechanism that integrates with a standard BOB skewer. The cargo is held in a large black bag (not pictured) that fits on the black wooden platform.
Le Cirque du Cyclisme
September 19, 2013
Le Cirque du Cyclisme is one of the longest running classic bicycle shows in the country. It started back in 1998 and has remained very well attended every Spring by hundreds of vintage bike enthusiasts. Bikes are entered in a concours based on their date of manufacture to compete for best in their date category and best in show. There are also four separate categories for current frame builders also referred to as the KoF (Keepers of the Flame): Best Road, Best Randonneur/Touring, Best City/Utility, and Best Track/Single Speed. This year in Leesburg, VA, I brought two bikes and was fortunate enough to win the two categories in which I entered them—Best City/Utility and Best Randonneur/Touring.
The dark red bike that won Best City/Utility bike was an experiment with silver fillet brazed True Temper S3 tubing. The goal was to make the lightest fendered upright bike possible. The total weight ended up being a little over 20lbs. The weight was kept down by using a lightweight Pacenti 650B wheelset, a Brooks B17 saddle with titanium rails, and a lot of titanium hardware.
The other bike that won Best Randonneur/Touring was the one that I used to enter the 2011 Oregon Manifest. This time around I fabricated a single wheeled BOB style trailer painted to match to show with it. I have been dreaming of trailers for a long time now and still have some crazy ideas that I’d like to experiment with! This trailer has a lightweight chromoly frame with a unique attachment mechanism that integrates with a standard BOB skewer. The cargo is held in a large black bag (not pictured) that fits on the black wooden platform.