Chris Kulczycki wrote:
> In case anyone cares to look, I just posted some photos of my, now
> completed with NOS components, new bike on the VO blog:
> http://velo-orange.blogspot.com
>
> If you click on the pics they get bigger.
>
> More photos are in the Photo Bucket <album:http://
> s39.photobucket.com/albums/e200/ChrisKulczycki/Velo%20Orange%20Frame>
> or
> http://tinyurl.com/
Chris, Great choice of single decal on top of downtube; seldom seen nowadays, but my favorite for a non racing bike. <http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e200/ChrisKulczycki/Velo%20Orange% 20Frame/vo6.jpg>
From the blog, "Johnny and I have been talking about the frame and
decided to make two small changes. The seat stay caps will be changed
from the long flutes to a flat semi-wrap style which will give the bike a more French look... We will also eliminate the cutouts on the
fork tangs of the Richard Sachs fork crown; they just look too Italian."
Good ideas that make a lot of sense. One change I'd suggest is to make the way the stays join the drop out even more in the French style. Currently the tube ends on your bike has the thickness of the
tube wall showing: <http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e200/ChrisKulczycki/Velo%20Orange% 20Frame/vo21.jpg>
Typically, the French thinned down the thickness of the tubing wall
so that the edge wouldn't be seen and the brass could form a more
prominent concave form inside the tube end. Some examples:
http://www.pianosromantiques.com/
The photos don't show this real clearly, but you can kind of see the effect they were trying to get. Only my opinion of course... the Velo Orange Randonneuse looks beyond great and I'm sure it's going to
sell like le chaud crêpes!
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)