It's all about the bike. Robert Penn
Pure chance, I came across a BBC 4 programme about Rob Penn
specifying his own bike. He chose the components and had them built
into his own bike. I watched it again on iPlayer but became annoyed
when I couldn't pick the parts up. Then I found he'd written a book on
the same subject, It's all about the bike. This page is an
attempt to capture some of the parts. Rather than moaning, I've tried
to list them.
Update 2010-08-04
Table of Contents
Frames
- Harry Quinn. Established 1909, Liverpool. Great frames, many still
about. No longer in production Echo article
- Jack Taylor. Stockton-on-Tees. A bit of history. No longer in production
- Lee Cooper
Cycles. UNIT 4, THE SIDINGS, BIRDINGBURY ROAD, MARTON, CV23 9RX,
- bob Jackson Cycles Bramley, Leeds. Still building frames according to the website.
- Mercian Cycles, Derby. Since '46. Still building frames.
- Brian Rourke Cycles. Very much still in business. Have a look at these
- Argos Cycles, Bristol. Columbus & Reynolds tubing.
- Roberts cycles Croyden, Surrey. Touring specialists?
- Sacha White framebuilder, Portland, Oregon
The bike
Gathering what I can from the book and the video, this is what I
believe the parts of the bike are
- Frame. Reynolds 953, made up by Rourkes
- Headset. From Chris King. Specs here. Portland, Oregon. Size 1⅛, No threadset.
- Bars, Cinelli
Ram bars 42cm wide, though he'd set out to buy the Columbus
carve. Cinelli are in Milan.
- Stem. Also from Cinelli? 120mm. Possibly the NEO CK ? Details?
- Forks. Not clear. Perhaps Columbus Carve, bought from Cinelli,
though made in Taiwan. Shown
here
- Campagnola Record groupset. Chainset,
chain, 11 speed cassette, bottom bracket, both derailleurs, levers and brakes. Pedals too?
Link is to Record , not super record. Look out though, close to
£1300-1500, depending on where you buy
- Steve
Gravy wheel builder. Fairfax, Marin County
- DT-Swiss rims,Possibly R520?
28|32 holes. I think Rob used the DTRR 1.2, in silver, no longer in production?
Wrong.
. ETRTO compatability size: 622 x
15... That's European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization, see Sheldons site
- Spokes, from Belgium. Race model, 2mm ends
to 1.8mm middle for the front, 'Strong' model, 2.3mm ends to 2.0mm
centres for the rear. How's that for detail? 0.55 and 0.45
each. £28.00 for spokes then, plus £5.60 for the nipples. Laced with
three crosses.
- Royce
hubs. New Milton Hampshire. No model mentioned. Possibly Venus Rear
Cassette hub and Mid Flange Front hub?
- Tyres. Continental
Grand Prix 4000s. A clincher race tyre.
[Used t&c
on his big ride]
- Brooks
Team Pro, copper.
Other detail:
- 39-52 cassette
- Both hubs have 28 spokes, though he wanted 32. Weight issue (of rider!)
- Cranks 170mm
- Head angle 73 °
- Rake 45mm
- Seat angle 74°
- Seat tube length ??
- Top tube length ??
- Trail ??
- Tyres, 700x23
If you're stuck with the terminology, do as I did. Visit Sheldon Brown
Rough costs
I was interested, though I realised these will be outdated pretty
quickly. Supplier chosen from first page on Google. No other
bias. Initially researched Aug 2010
That's as I see it. If you know better, please let me know and I'll correct it.
Rob sums it as 3500 on page 186 of the book. Freebies perhaps? Good deals?
2010-09-19. Rob is writing in the Sunday Times and lists the following items
- a Reynolds steel frame;
- handmade, bombproof wheels with Royce hubs,
- Sapim spokes
- DT Swiss rims;
- a Brooks leather saddle;
- a Chris King headset.
I think I have most of those. Noted, just in case