BBC4 Tuesday 2100

[Hard-Drive]

Programme about some bloke touring the world buying bits for his ultimate build. Looks quite good...sky plus is set!

[itsnotarace]

Set it to record yesterday, in fact there are a bunch of programmes about cycling on tonight from 8:30

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/programmes/schedules

[Man-At-Arms]

he's at Brian Rourke's
my LBS

[NRS13]

Thanks for the heads-up well worth watching.

[Mars]

Why has he chosen a steel frame for his ultimate bike?

[3216]

Mars said:

Why has he chosen a steel frame for his ultimate bike?

Because steel makes fantastic bike frames, particularly the 953 used for that particular frame.

[Al Wyn]

Good little watch that thanks for the heads up...those old hippies down hilling

[Mars]

3216 said:

Mars said:

Why has he chosen a steel frame for his ultimate bike?

Because steel makes fantastic bike frames, particularly the 953 used for that particular frame.

I've no doubt it's durable - I have a steel one myself that's 15 years old - but I'd like something lighter. Having a custom CF frame would probably be very expensive but I'd have thought a custom aluminium frame wouldn't be terribly costly.

To be honest, his selection of parts showed me that I know very little about bike components. His choices were not the ones I am seeing over and over when looking at decent-spec bikes, In fact, the sort of bikes I'm looking are influenced by racing rather than touring (assuming the TdF is a race despite its name).

In the end though, I thought his bike was a bit of a mish-mash. The Campag groupset is something most people would choose for their ultimate (I assume) but even though I loved the saddle (in particular) it seemed out of place in the company of a pair of CF handlebars. And the wheels didn't have any particularly special hubs on them (did they?).

Regardless, I really loved the guy's enthusiasm and the way he interacted with people.

[neilski]

The wheels had DT Swiss rims & Royce hubs, like these I think.



His choices for each component came across as being something that had been made by hand by a craftsman rather than the latest Japanese gadgetry. Not keen on the paint job but otherwise a nice bike.

[mowog]

I can confirm they were Royce Ti hubs. Overall, not a single piece of ShimaNO thankfully ....

[mowog]

I can confirm they were Royce Ti hubs. Overall, not a single piece of ShimaNO thankfully ....

[mxspyder]

Great show that thanks. Loved the guys enthusiasm, not sure about his bike. I thought Brookes saddle with Carbon Group set and handle bars all fixed to a steel frame rolling on Aluminium wheels was a bit odd. I suppose it was his "dream" bike and not mine!

[son of a vette]

neilski said:

The wheels had DT Swiss rims & Royce hubs, like these I think.

I have one of these on my road bike, I bought it 2nd hand and it must be 20 years old now, the bearings are still the original set, and they are still the smoothest bearings I have ever felt, just stunning pieces of bike jewellery. Good choice that man!

[Mars]

son of a vette said:

neilski said:

The wheels had DT Swiss rims & Royce hubs, like these I think.

I have one of these on my road bike, I bought it 2nd hand and it must be 20 years old now, the bearings are still the original set, and they are still the smoothest bearings I have ever felt, just stunning pieces of bike jewellery. Good choice that man!

I'm glad you said that. As I mentioned above, I just don't know enough about the high-end stuff, and only have exposure to the same old stuff that keeps getting trotted out.

Definitely saw he'd picked up on craftsmen rather than brands. I loved that, and really appreciate someone's choices based on that.

[Fourmotion]

I watched the program last night, and it wasn't until I saw the barn where he kept his bikes that it twigged. We stayed at his cottage a couple of years back and did a bit of biking.

Rob pointed us in the direction of his favourite routes. He was a bit of a bike nut, and was out with different groups of people each morning. He knew the area like the back of his hand. I thoroughly recommend a trip down there. This is his cottage.

There is some stunning scenery around that area.



Thought his bike was well engineered, but couldn't help but think it was an odd mix of new and old in terms of styling. I was also surprised by the final cost, I would probably spend that on just wheels!

[Man-At-Arms]

Fourmotion said:

This is his cottage.

on his website :


so that's how he's paid for his bike !
and BBC pays for the travelling

[itsnotarace]

Well he got pwnt on the prices for most of the components, especially 1800 euros for a Record groupset. Ok so they let him collect it from the factory but still....

[GreatGranny]

See here for another custom made bike in steel.

http://static.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/ro...

Lovely looking thing.

[Chicane-UK]

Thanks for the heads up. Just caught it on iPlayer and it was a really good watch

[hullbilly]

I watched this on the Iplayer too.

Was a great watch, I think he wanted to use hand made specialist components that are going to last forever, this is why he didnt go down the complete CF route.

I think it was a lovely looking bike, well built and using components that meant something to him...