The Path Less Pedaled Channel Reviews our Grand Randonneur Disc Frame

 

Russ Roca's Path Less Pedaled channel embraces the non-competitive side of bicycle riding...especially touring and gravel riding.
We sent him a 49cm partially built bike with gearing he is partial to on his rides in Missoula. We weren't able to get him a set of wheels, but Russ was nice enough to swap in DT Swiss set off of his personal Crust rig. With the wider 50mm tires Russ used, the trail number was about 41mm. Trail can be low as 34mm depending on the tire and frame size you get. For comparison, the average trail on a performance road bike is 55-60mm. 

Check out the video to see what he thinks of the GR as a road bike and gravel bike.

The Grand Randonneur Disc is one of our most unique frame offerings. Its tubing is skinnier than our other 700c frames. It is designed for 650b tires, not 700c. It requires a quill stem, which is consider antiquated by some. But it is also designed for more wet weather capable disc brakes and modern thru-axle hubs. 

Even with the updates, it still aims to replicate the classic randonneur bicycle with its low trail geometry(higher fork offset) designed to carry a front rack bag or bar bag efficiently and comfortably on randonnées -- timed, but not competitive, long distance, self-supported road ride events. While these events have unique rules and restrictions, these days you can ride just about ANY road-capable bike you choose. It doesn't have to be steel or look vintage. Your gear doesn't have to be carried in the front. The bike you choose can have rim brakes or disc brakes.

So does that mean the classic rando bike is obsolete?
Hardly. We think it is an awesome day-ride set up where you carry snacks, small lunch, rainshell and other gear in a front bag which gives easy access without dismounting your bike. And with the Grand Randonneur's low trail geometry, this set-up works exceptionally well. That is not to say normal road bikes cannot carry a front load safely and efficiently with practice, but on the Grand Randonneur steering with a front load is less jerky and more pleasant.

Some highlights of the review:
- Found the 1" headtube/quill stem set added some comfortable flex over common 1-1/8" headtube/threadless stem set ups
- Low trail handling not as noticeable as on other low trail bikes he's owned/tested.
- Low trail handling was noticeable on climbs where the steering wandered less than higher trail bikes.
- "The perfect road bike (not racing bike) for most people"

Disclaimer: Soma sent the bike at no charge to The Path Less Pedaled. The Path Less Pedaled does not take payment for reviews. Soma does offer a store discount to "Team Supple" Patreon supporters of the Path Less Pedaled channel.

Our Randonneur Frame Set Gets More Grand

 

It took years of requests from our customers, but the Grand Randonneur frameset finally gets the disc brake treatment. We went with the IS disc mounts front and rear, because at the time we did not have a good looking flat mount solution for the curvaceous 65mm rake fork. But don't fret, there are still a few good road brake disc options in IS/Post Mount and since we went with a new modular rear dropout system made by Tange/Long Shen, it can be upgraded to Flat Mount and potentially future standards.

We have tried to keep the all the things GR riders liked about it.

• Front load bias geometry for better handling when using a front rack, bar bag, or basket.
• Traditional 1" threaded fork with investment cast crown
• Three sets of bottle bosses
• Front mini rack and pannier rack compatible
• Slender and lightweight CrMo tubes. We lightened the seatstays, but are using a larger diameter, but thinner gauge tube for the downtube for more bottom bracket stiffness.

Other updates:
• Thru-axle hub compatibility for improved handling and stability in corners
• Improved tire clearance. While optimized for 650b x 42mm tires with fenders, the frame easily fits most 650b x 47mm tires
• An additional size: 46cm

This all adds up -- we hope -- to a more premium, more modern package worthy of the Grand Randonneur name.​

New Albion Privateer x Champs Elysees Low Trail Fork

I've had a few questions about the bike we featured last week, so here's a few more detailed shots.

The New Albion Privateer is my daily driver. This build is what we in the biz call a "mechanics special". Aka, the bike that I ride every day, but rarely service.

The great thing about having a bike like this is any time I have a new prototype or sample part I just throw it on. That gives me an excellent base line for comparing iterations of products that aren't ready for mass production.

For instance, this bike has seen every version of the Tanaka Decaleur. As a result it's slowly evolved into an almost flawless commuter bike. The tape is Soma Thick & Zesty in Camo Brown. It's a little funky, but it's growing on me.

The Champs Elysees Low Trail forks were designed to fit a variety of frames, but paired with the Privateer's 72mm headtube it yields 45mm of mechanical trail. This works out nicely for larger handlebar bags that tend to hang over the front hub.

The blades on these 65mm offset forks are a bit springier than the 45mm Classic Curves, but that certainly doesn't preclude you from loading it down a bit. I typically use 2 front panniers in addition to my Ostrich bag.

While it adds a bit of extra, weight I love that I can slap on pretty much any rack I happen to get a hold of due to the selection of mounts.

I have this prototype Gamoh Japan mini rack. It's similar to the Nitto M-18 and the Soma Champs Elysees, but it's made from sturdier CrMo tubing. I'm putting it through it's paces, but I doubt there's much that it can't handle, especially mounted directly to the mini rack eyelets.

Looking forward to more new racks from Gamoh this year.

I've been using this Ostrich rando bag for a couple years. I've tested a few other front bags, but this is the only one I bought outright. It's a modest, cotton bag with front closure. It has small rear pockets and a map case on top. This style of bag works great for commuting and photo shoots, because it comes off easily and can be carried with the shoulder strap.

These new Sun XCD crankarms are one of the newer parts I'm trying out. They're similar to the classic Stronglight and TA style cranks, which utilize a direct mount large ring and a 3 bolt inner chainring. We've sold these crank arms for a while now, but the introduction of these new chainrings makes them far more compelling in my opinion. I'm currently using a 44t large ring and a 30t inner ring, but I may swap the inner ring for a lower climbing gear at some point.

I have use a lot of derailleurs over the years, including road and mountain options from Sram and Shimano, but this Sunrace M40 is the cheapest derailleur I've ever used. It retails for about 20 bucks, and is equal parts aluminum and plastic. But you know what? It works great. Seriously. Paired with ENE Ciclo friction shifters it can push a 34t cassette with capacity to spare.

After riding the Cazaderos and then the Gravel Kings for the last few months I decided to try out a set of the super light Soma Supple Vs.

So far I've only had one flat in about 400 miles or so. These tires are noticeably faster than anything else I've ever ridden (340 g in 700x42c), but they're definitely a road oriented tire. Not that you can't use lightweight tires on dirt, but you need to be a little more conservative when you choose your line. I'm going to get my money's worth from these, but I'll probably try some of the upcoming skinwall Gravel King SKs when they show up.

So that's my bike. Not a particularly fancy build, but it's a great ride for the money and the most reliable steed in my stable.

Kogswell 650b

Pictures from last weekend's campout are in the works. In the meantime, check out this classic Kogswell build submitted by Greg in Seattle. 38mm Soma New Xpress tires FTW.

For the uninitiated, the Kogswell P/R was one of the first modern low trail production frames built around 650b wheels. Based on experimentation by Bicycle Quarterly using vintage French touring bikes, it offered an affordable way for people to experiment with the then "obsolete" wheels size, and it's flexible configuration allowed it to be set up for touring, randonneuring, or commuting with an internal gear hub or as a single speed.

Like most Kogwells, Greg's wife's P/R is built up with a mix of classic MTB parts and modern throwbacks like the mammered Honjos, IRD Defiant triple crankset and the Nitto M-12 mini canti front rack. The untimely demise of Kogswell was what originally inspired us to develop our own 650b frame set, the Soma Grand Randonneur. These days the options are plentiful in 650b land, but we still appreciate what Kogswell did to kickstart the low trail market way back in '06.

Supple Vitesse SL

I mounted up a set of 33c Supple Vitesse SL tires on Pacenti CL25 rims to try them out on some local trails.

While they're not the most aggressive tires for offroad riding, the grippy Japanese rubber compound and ultralight casing make them extremely fast rolling on hardpack and slick rock surfaces.

33mm is a bit narrower that what I normally ride offroad, but for a bike that stays primarily on the road its a good size.

The Supple Vitesse has the advantage of a recessed file tread pattern, which doesn't pick small peices of rock and other debris like many retro tread patterns. The ribbed sections make the rubber softer and allow it more purchase on uneven surfaces, but due to the support provided by the solid areas they don't add much drag when in contact with smooth roads.

We've found that most tires perform better when paired with a rim that opens the casing up a bit. These Pacenti's are just about perfect for this tire.

In case you were wondering, this bike is an early prototype of the Rawland Ravn, which is designed around 26" or 650b wheels. Luckily, since it has disc brakes it's possible to experiment with these 700c wheels as well. The front rack is a Soma Champs Élysées stainless steel mini rack, which mounts to the Nitto standard hourglass eyelets on the front of the fork blades.

Grand Randonneur via Saturday Cycles

We recently built this sweet Grand Rando for our customer Anna.

Highlights: 

- Berthoud fenders

- Dynamo with Schmidt headlamp

-Soma Wingmann Light Mount

- Sella Anatomica Saddle

- Grand Bois Hetre 650b x 42mm

- Sugino XD Triple Crankset

- Rivendell Silver Shifters

Mark Kennedy

Saturday Cycles

Salt Lake City, Utah

Alex's G'Rando by Back Alley Bikes

Hey there,

I just wanted to share the Soma Grand Randonneur build I've been rolling on the past six months or so. Special thanks to Back Alley Bike Repair and Swift Industries of Seattle for getting me set up!

Rubber side down,

Alex

Soma Champs Elysees Mini Racks

Many of you probably haven't seen these yet. It's a smaller version of the classic stainless front rack we introduced last year, designed to support a handlebar bag or small basket.

They mount to standard Nitto style eyelets, which come on a number of models from Rivendell, Rawland, Soma and many Japanese bicycles. P-clamps are also included for forks without braze-ons.

The platform angle is adjustable so you can keep it level on bikes with different head tube angles. There are various mounting points for a flashlight or dynamo headlight.

With many Dynamo lights it is necessary to orient the light upright so that the beam pattern is not distorted. For optimal positioning the light should be mounted in front of the bag/tire to avoid casting a shadow on the road.

This can be achieved a number of different ways, either by attaching the light bracket to the forward fender mount, with a M.A.P. fender bracket, or a Soma Wingmann mounted to either side. A disc brake spacer can be used to keep the fender blade in line with the tire when mounting directly to the forward tip.

If your fork only has eyelets at the dropouts, or you want to carry heavier loads, the full size Champs Elysees racks are another good option.

For those of you who've been waiting for news about the 65mm offset forks, they are now in production. We expect to receive the first batch in the next couple months.

(the production forks have a slightly larger bend radius)