Hi Jim,

Another for your collection.

Purchased four years ago from The Urbane Cyclist in Toronto. The frame was fabricated in Taiwan, sadly without lugs but with very neat TIG welds, tidy cable runs and lots of braze-ons..Urbane offer a variety of recommendations as to components but it is possible to customise virtually anything.

I chose Shimano LX derailleurs and hubs, Sun CR18 wheels shod with IRC Avantage 700 X 38cm rubber, Zefal fenders, Cinelli bars with Ultegra bar end shifters, STX cantilever stoppers, Kalloy stem and Terry saddle. Somewhat unusual is the Sachs crank with 44-34-24 "Power Glide" chainwheels. The two smaller rings are steel for heavy duty hauling. The rear cluster is 8 speed Shimano with 11-28 range. The rear mounted Radical Explorack is standard spec.

An excellent all round bike and completely trouble free. However, I have found that my original spec is too much bike for my use. I have done less loaded touring than I had hoped but it has served me handsomely through four Canadian winters as an all purpose bike without noticable deterioration and has done numerous day tours. Some changes from the original include 700x32 Panaracer Paselas with SKS fenders to suit the narrower gauge. I hava also "gone Brooks" with a honey coloured B17 Champion Flyer and an admirable Greenfield propstand.

One shot shows the original build and the rest the current spec. including one taken on a recent ride with my grandson Ethan. He insists that I tell you that he rides without training wheels and is only 4! Not bad eh?

(It is obvious - Ethan ROCKS! - ed.)

Cheers,

Roy

araby@rogers.com