Hi Jim,

I've had this bike built up for a couple of months now, but was waiting until the configuration was near final to send it in. This is my build of the Kogswell Porteur/Randonneur frame, configured as a dedicated Porteur. The crowning touch I was waiting for is the custom porteur rack, built for me by Portland framebuilder Ira Ryan ( www.iraryancycles.com ).

Here's how I've built it up:

* Shimano Nexus 8-speed "red band" drivetrain, with 170mm Sugino RD singlespeed cranks.
* Shimano's new R550 cantilever brakes, which I think are fabulous, paired with the R-440 "flat bar road" levers (imo, the only good looking all-silver standard pull levers on the market right now).
* Silver Ritchey stem (thank you, eBay!)
* On-One's Mary sweep handlebars, since a dedicated porteur should have semi-upright bars which don't get in the way of your cargo!

For lighting, I'm running a Schmidt SON28 generator hub with twin Lumotec lights, and the Cateye taillights are soon to be replaced by the blazing Dinotte 3W taillight. Additional little details are a leather mudflap, and leather washers used in the fender mounting to help damp any vibrations (both from the impeccably tasteful Velo-Orange).

All in all, this is the best ride I've ever owned. It manages to be simultaneous very comfortable, fast, and agile, all while comfortably carrying heavy cargo on the front rack.

I've got a great deal more photos of the bike (perhaps obsessively many) in these two flickr photosets:

http://flickr.com/photos/aalpern/sets/72157594391480649/

http://flickr.com/photos/aalpern/sets/72157594223239775/

-Adam

flipping.hades@gmail.com

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