I think I finally have the bike of my dreams...a Stanforth

[Apologies for the change in font size. I don't know why it's happened and can't seem to correct it.]

In my search for a bike that would take me on something akin to the sort of cycling adventures I had begun to read about in 2014 by authors such as Josie Dew, Anne Mustoe and others, two years later in 2016 I bought an Oxford Bike Works steel step-through tourer - which I did not keep, for reasons which you can read about here. Then, as a replacement, I bought a Koga aluminium mixte tourer here in 2017. I had come across Koga bikes through my blogging friend Brenda, who, along with her husband, rides Kogas. It wasn't that easy, at the time, to find any other step-through or mixte style tourers. So I compromised on the steel and bought a Koga. I changed the handlebars, the saddle, the pedals, and the seatpost (because some washers broke on the original and I couldn't get replacements) and although it took a while to get comfortable on it, I finally did, and had some good day and multi-day tours on it. 

However..... I always felt a sense of disappointment that I had never got that beautiful steel bicycle that I had hoped for, and when, a couple of years ago, I came across Stanforth Bikes, who sell custom steel tourers of various descriptions, I  was instantly smitten. I started following them on Facebook, thinking - 

"I know I'm being silly, but maybe, one day..."

Then earlier this year Husband took severance pay and slightly early retirement from his job, and when he mentioned he was thinking of getting a new paragliding wing, I of course leapt at my opportunity! I don't think we're the only couple where a bit of negotiation sometimes goes on in the form of - 

"Well if you're having a new such and such then can I have a new such and such ?" 

 Anyway, I cautiously mentioned that I'd been thinking about getting a new bike, and was pleased to find that he didn't dismiss my idea outright! In fact, surprisingly soon after that he agreed that we could go down to Hove, where Stanforth Bikes are, and get me measured up for one. And, even better, he was soon surprised with a new bike himself, in the form of a retirement present from Eldest Son! Youngest Son had brought it in his van, and when his 3 year old daughter said -

"Daddy's got a bike in his van" 

- we didn't take much notice, though we had wondered why he had come in his van and not his car. But there really was a bike in there, and not his either! It was a brand new one in a box. Husband was gobsmacked!! And our lovely children also bought him a new tool (a multi tool of some sort) and a voucher with which he bought himself a new Garmin.

I admit to then feeling not nearly so bad at the thought of getting a new bike myself!

So at the end of May we went down to Hove, and I was measured up for a custom built Skyelander by Simon Stanforth. I chose the colour and various other bits and pieces and Simon emailed me a day or two later with the geometry of the bike. I was quite surprised at the measurements - it seemed smaller than my other two bikes - and I emailed him with my thoughts, to which he replied in detail, putting my mind - more or less! - at rest. I have to admit I was still rather nervous - would this bike really fit me as well as I'd hoped? Would I like it better than my Koga? Was I being stupid buying this new bike at my age?! Anyway, I sat back and waited.

It was actually ready in about 10 weeks or so - less than the advertised lead time of 12 weeks. I was so excited about getting it, and pleased that Eldest Son, a keen cyclist, as is his wife, would get to see it when they came to visit later that month. But I was also very nervous, for the aforementioned reasons. We drove down to Hove again - and there it was, and there I test-rode it, and then we brought it home.

After bringing it home, we had one or two queries, and emailed Simon, who could not have been more helpful and generous in his replies.

And my verdict?

I have now ridden it several times, yesterday's ride being the longest, up to the Ridgeway, at about 27 miles, and I can honestly say that it is all I hoped it would be, including being very beautiful!! I was almost disappointed to reach home yesterday, wishing I could go further! It is much easier on hills - the gearing is the same as the Koga, so it must be the weight (it's lighter) and the geometry that make the difference. Eldest Son and Wife both had a go on it when they were here, and were very complimentary about it. I feel as if I've waited since 2016 for this bike, but it's been worth it! 

Here it is - 

And here it is, up on the Ridgeway (Harwell in the distance) -

And now I go in the garage and think -

"What a beautiful bicycle!!!"

(And by the way, Husband got his new wing...)

I like my Koga again. And meet Bob....

 It's been a long time since I posted. I have continued to cycle but not very far, and mainly just to go shopping. Sometimes events happen in life that cause you to take a break from things, even things that you love doing, and to think about why you do them, and indeed should you do them. Undoubtedly events of the past 3 years or so have caused me to do just that - to take that break, both from longer cycling trips and from blogging, even though I didn't really do it intentionally. However, I feel as if now it's time to get back to more cycling, and back to blogging. Part of my original intention when I started the blog was to help other people, because I had found other people's blogs very helpful (and I still do), and I do feel that in my own small way I have something to offer, so here I am again!

In my last post I wrote that I was going to sell my Koga. Well, I didn't get any interest, so knowing I was going to be keeping it after all I decided to spend a bit of money on it (again!) and try and sort out the problem with the saddle not being in quite the right position, by buying a more laid back seat post. Previously I had found that my choices were limited because of the size of the seat tube, but then I realized that if I used a shim I would have more choice. So that's what I did.

This is the seat post I bought. It is probably only a fraction more laid back than my previous one but it's enough to make a difference. As a result the bike is much more comfortable, and is now my favourite bike to ride, and because the saddle is so comfortable I have just bought another to replace the one on my Trek. It's wider than the Bontrager one that's on there which has served me well for many years. Perhaps one's rear end has widened with age.... It didn't take too long to wear in the first Brooks - about 100 miles - so here goes with the second....

With Carradice panniers

I also bought these Carradice panniers to replace the expensive Ortlieb ones I'd bought. I think I made a mistake in getting the larger size - I wished I hadn't, and sold them and bought these. I think they were about £55, a very good price for what you get. I realized that I really don't like not having outside pockets on my panniers, which these have. The panniers are not waterproof but that doesn't bother me, and anyway they have waterproof covers tucked inside zipped pockets. The only thing I don't like about them is the fact that when you lift up the flap to get to the inside, the flap doesn't stay up (like it does with my old Karrimor ones) because it is not flexible. I need to find some method of fixing/hooking it in place while it is up.

So, I am really enjoying riding this bike again!

And now, Koga has a baby brother, called Bob. It's a Brompton!

I have long wanted to take my bike on a train, in particular to enable me to get to our daughter's in Devon, without having to have a lift to the station at this end. I hear stories about people taking their full size bikes on trains (in this country anyway) and having problems, so have been reluctant to try.  When I was young you could just put your bike in the guard's van and that was it - easy  - and I did it on more than one occasion. I began to think about a folding bike, and about how much easier this would make travelling by train, or bus. One person who finally inspired me to get one was Wiltshire Man on YouTube. Husband and I both love his videos, and often watch them together. He's not far from us, in Swindon. I also got some opinions from our local CUK group on folding bikes. I'm not a member any more but still keep in touch with them on Facebook.

So a few weeks ago we went to Warland's Cycles in Oxford, I tried one out, and the next day picked up a C-Line Explore. I'd expected to have to wait for one, but they had several in stock. I'd highly recommend this shop. It's really old fashioned but up-to-date at the same time. I also bought a Brompton Borough bag to go on the front, and got them to change the chain ring to a smaller one, to make climbing hills easier. There are 6 gears, a combination of hub and derailleur. The stem bag which you can see in the photo I made from a chalk bag; it does the job of holding a water bottle beautifully. The rack bag was donated to me by our Eldest, and has small zip-up drop down panniers, which I'm delighted to say work with this bike. 

We are slightly nearer to Didcot station than Swindon, depending on the route, so I had a few short local runs to get used to the bike and then decided to to do a test run of a ride to Didcot. I used part of the Science Vale Cycling Network to get there, and also some of NCN Route 544 to go a bit further afield. This was a fairly flat and easy to follow route, plus Husband works in Didcot so I could come home with him. I have to say I am absolutely delighted with the bike! One or two bits of the route have quite a rough surface with loose stones, and another would have been very muddy if we hadn't had a couple of days of dry weather. I think that the surface could be much better in these places, and it's a shame that having spent what must have been a lot of taxpayers' money on this route that it has these bad spots. 

On the whole I was amazed at how comfortable the bike was. Even the saddle is remarkably comfortable! Although I've ridden to Didcot in the past, doing it on this quite different bike gave me a real sense of achievement and when I got to the station, I thought - "Wow! I've done it! What possibilities lie ahead...!" And by the way, the bike is very easy to fold and unfold. 

Butchering my Brooks B67 saddle

 Here's the result of that butchering -

and here's the story behind it -

I haven't ridden my Koga much this year, owing to the Brooks saddle becoming uncomfortable again. When I first had it, once I had got the tilt and height correct for me, it was extremely comfortable, and I could ride long distances on it without needing any padded underwear. Then I had some trouble with it last year when it became very uncomfortable, and also creaked a lot, and on that occasion tensioning resolved both issues. Did it now need more tensioning? I tightened it up a small amount while it was on the bike, but it didn't really help. I was a bit mystified as the change seemed quite extreme. I had read one or two cases of people finding their Brooks saddles uncomfortable after having been comfortable, so thought that perhaps I was unusual in this, but maybe not unique.

I decided to take the saddle off, and have a good look at it to see if I could see any reason why it might have changed. Amongst other things I found that underneath it wasn't quite symmetrical, and that the tensioning bolt didn't run parallel to to the rails, but I couldn't see why this would affect it now and not have done in the past, unless perhaps the extra tensioning that it seemed to need now just wasn't happening due to this. I had tightened the nut quite a lot more  and tried it out again, but although the creaking was much improved, probably due to my having given the saddle clamp and seat post a good wipe (though they weren't very dirty) it was still uncomfortable.

Tension bolt not parallel to rails

I should explain that the discomfort was at the front of me (that's quite enough explanation...). At the back under my sit bones was fine. Another important thing to take into account was that the saddle on my Trek, which I have had for years, was also not quite as comfortable as it had been, so I was beginning to think that maybe it was me and not my saddle that had changed. So I started to look online at saddles with cut-outs, thinking that this was what I probably needed. In the end I bought this Bontrager one from my local bike shop, as it was only £20, had good reviews online and I knew I could get a refund after 30 days if I didn't like it -

Bontrager saddle

According to the width measurement, 167mm, it wasn't as wide as I needed, but with the 30 day comfort guarantee I thought I might as well try it. As it turned out, it was surprisingly comfortable, but in the process of tightening the two bolts, which I should add I had always found very fiddly compared to adjusting the saddle on my Trek, which has one bolt, I managed to break one of the washers, although I didn't realize what I'd done until I went to adjust it more - 

Broken washer and underside of seatpost

I contacted Cyclesense where I bought the bike and asked if it was possible to get new washers. The answer was no, and the only solution was to buy a whole new seat post, for £30. That seems to be the case with a lot of things these days - you can't get a tiny replacement part for something and have to buy a whole new one. My local bike shop hadn't got any similar washers either. However, Husband is very handy and cleverly managed to fix the saddle back on by using a different washer and a bit of wood. Very Heath Robinson. It worked, but although I had made sure it was in the right position before he finally fixed it in place, I could no longer make any adjustments to it at all should I want to, or swap the saddle again, without having to ask Husband's help again. Although this new saddle was pretty comfortable - and on the whole I'd recommend it - I knew the Brooks was more comfortable under my sit bones. I really sit "in" the Brooks, rather than on it, which someone somewhere on the net said was what you should be doing. Maybe, maybe not! Not all experts agree, as we have all been finding lately.....

After some more weeks of thinking (slow thinking is good sometimes...) I wondered what I would now do with the Brooks saddle. Sell it? Probably hardly worth the bother. Keep it and maybe try it again at some point in the future? Or - have a go at butchering it, which I knew some people had done? I really wanted it back on my bike, for the comfort under my sit bones, so I thought I might as well go for the latter, and after reading anything I could find on the subject (not a lot to be honest) I got out my Stanley knife..... I made a stencil of the cut-out bit on the Bontrager saddle, drew inside it on the Brooks, and then began to slowly cut through the leather.

Just in case you're wondering, Husband had written "Haven't seen cat"

I was expecting the cutting to be difficult, but it was quite easy. Once done I skived off bits to make sure it wasn't too rough. I did a bit of filing as well using the emery board (I'm not a nail filer - it came with  corn removing stuff!!) and the grater that came with a tool kit -

After this photo was taken I did enlarge the cut-out slightly at the front.

Now I had to try it out, which of course I couldn't do on the Koga, so I put it on my Trek. I did a bit of riding up and down the road, and it seemed pretty comfortable, so a few days later I rode it a few miles. Still seemed good, so after another few days I rode it about 14 miles to go shopping, adding on more miles to give it a better trial. I also altered both the height and tilt of the saddle en route. I was very pleased! The next step was - put it on the Koga..... but to do this I'd have to ask Husband to go through his Heath Robinson thing again, and I wouldn't then be able to adjust the saddle further. I decided then to bite the bullet and buy a new seat post, not the £30 one from Cyclesense but a Bontrager one I had looked at earlier in the year (£22) but which I had decided against partly because it did not have as much setback as the Koga one. This was important to me as I had had the Brooks set back as far as it would go and even that at times didn't seem enough - a common problem with Brooks saddles owing to their short rails, and the position of them on the saddle. I looked at seatposts online with more setback but there wasn't one that would fit my bike (31.6mm). However, knowing that I had possibly not had the saddle as high as I needed it, which would give me more set back - as you raise the saddle, it goes back further -  I decided to buy it and hope for the best. Here it is back on the Koga, higher than it was previously -

It actually makes adjusting it easier, as you can see what you're doing from the top -

Note the trendsetting combination of Keen sandals, socks, and rolled up jeans...

I rode it up and down near our house and am now pretty confident that all will be well. That's as much as I can say at present as I haven't been able to ride it more this week as my lovely little granddaughter kindly gave me a present of a cold last weekend, since when I have done very little, but am now on the mend and am looking forward to trying out the saddle properly.

Just for comparison, here is the Bontrager saddle on top of the Brooks -

Actually, now I come to look at them both, there doesn't seem to be much difference in the length of the rails, but if you imagine that the Bontrager saddle were set as far back as it would go according to the rail markings, then you can see that the rider would be sitting further back on the bike.. It's not just the rail length that counts, but the position of them on the saddle.

So hopefully I have now got an improved version of my Brooks saddle! I wonder why Brooks don't make a version of the B67 with a cut-out as they do of some of their other models? If this really works for me then I'll suggest it to them.

I would love to hear of anyone else's experiences and opinions of butchering their Brooks, so if you have any please let me know in the comments!

And here, for your delight and delectation, as they used to say on some old TV programme, is another little bike bag I made from a rucksack I got from Freegle. Not at all waterproof, but useful on dry days! I might try a waterproof version.

 

My new bike, a Koga Traveller, mixte version.

Finally, after a long wait, I have a new bicycle! And here it is....

I'll give the details in a minute, but first a brief look back at last year, when  I bought a step through touring bike from Oxford Bike Works. After a month or so I returned it and had a refund as I thought it just did not fit. I felt it was too small, and wondered if I had in fact been given a smaller size than I had originally been measured up for. This was the bike -

To add an update to that story, just before going to buy the above bike, I thought to myself that the OBW bike really had been a nice bike - it was just such a shame that it didn't fit me. And then I happened to look again at the original quote for it, which believe me I had gone over and over when I got the bike and wasn't happy with it. And then, for the first time, I saw, literally writ large....... the letter "L". I had been pretty sure that I had originally been fitted up for a size Large (I got a Medium) but thought I hadn't got any proof, but here was the proof, which for some reason I hadn't seen before. When I read that I felt so cross with myself for not having seen it, and also rather sad because I had, essentially, liked the OBW bikes very much.

That was September, and I knew that it would be sensible to wait until the spring of this year to do anything definite about getting another bike, as we had another grandchild on the way, due in January, and I had promised to go down to Devon to help look after daughter and baby while Marines husband was away soon after the birth. I did however spend time looking at my options. To cut a long story short, there aren't that many options in the UK if you want a step through, or mixte, touring bike. So I had whittled it down to two choices - either a German VSF Fahrradmanufaktur or a Dutch Koga, both mixte frames.

I should say here that it was another blogger, Brenda, at Cycling in the Sixth Decade who had first put me on to Kogas. She also put me on to  Cyclesense in Tadcaster who are one of the only three Koga dealers in the UK. I rang them and had a good chat to Dave there about aluminium, steel, sizing and other things. That's another thing about the Kogas - the bike I originally would have gone for was their steel Randonneur, but by the time of my phone call they had stopped making them, so if I bought a Koga it would be aluminium. I'd been convinced by everything I'd read that steel was not only real but better, but I was prepared to listen to other opinions....

On the question of size, Dave reckoned that going by my height of 5' 6 1/2" (I've since discovered that I've shrunk half an inch since I last measured myself, so am actually only 5' 6"!!) I would need the 50cm frame.

I couldn't make my mind up without actually seeing, and hopefully riding, these bikes. Given that the VSF bikes were much cheaper than the Kogas, the sensible side of me thought that it would be money well spent if I went to the only shop in the country that has a stock of these to try one out. That shop is in Cambridge, two or three hours by car from here or a bit of a trek by train. But I quite like treks, and I had been given a Senior Railcard for my birthday so off I went, having rung the shop first to see exactly which models and which sizes they had in stock. They didn't have any of the exact models I'd have bought in stock in my size  but I still thought it was worth going. Again they reckoned I'd need a 50cm.

Pause a minute to discuss size of bike - my inside leg measurement is 31", plus I know I've got long arms. Both shops had thought I'd need a 50 cm (that's the seat tube measurement by the way) but my instinct, plus what I'd read up about sizing, told me that I'd need a bigger size than this. This was partly based on one of the most useful things I've read about frame size, on the Wiggle website, where they say that if you are between two sizes, then measure your armspan. If it is greater than your height then go for the larger size, if it's smaller, then go for the smaller size. That seemed to explain my feeling that I needed a bigger size, as my arm span, though not greater than my height, is equal to it.

Well, my present bike seems to fit me pretty well. The seat tube, by my measurement, is 508mm (the frame is actually a 20") so a little more than the 50cm I was being recommended, and I knew I could probably quite easily handle a little more "reach", so all in all I had feeling I could do with bigger than 50cm. I know it is said that a small bike can be made bigger but a big one can't really be made smaller, but I somehow think I just tend to prefer a bigger bike.

Back to the Cambridge shop - I saw the 50cm but knew even before riding it that it would be too small, and it was. Another model in 52cm fitted much better, but they only do this size in a man's, which I didn't want. Actually they don't do women's frames any bigger than 50 cm which seems a bit daft to me. The mixte frame only comes in 55 cm, which could well have been too big, but the shop wasn't prepared to order one in for me to try unless I was going to definitely buy it.

The bikes themselves were fine, but somehow I wasn't as impressed as I had thought I might be. I was also slightly put off by the fact that the owner was thinking of shutting up shop for the winter!

So, back into Cambridge I walked, got on the train and later walked back across busy London, wondering why on earth people want to drink outside at the side of  busy Marylebone Road. Not far away there is one of those pollution monitoring things!

So, Koga it was. But by the time I rang Cyclesense to ask them to order me in a Traveller in the mixte ("Women's Sport Model") version, they had all sold out! However I decided that having waited all this time, I might as well sit back and wait a bit longer for the 2018 models to come in. However, I got some good news not long after, which was that Koga had built a few more Travellers. Cyclesense sent me the details and I jumped at the chance.

So a couple of weeks later Husband and I were on our way to Tadcaster for what turned out to be a very nice three day break. In the days beforehand my nerves had been quite wracked by thinking - have I made the right decision here? I didn't really want to go all that way and then find the bike wasn't what I wanted. I had asked them to order in a 53cm - was I right about that? What if it really was too big? And how was I going to get it home? On the train? That would have meant riding it to York, not far away but I haven't put a bike on the train for many a long year and I didn't really fancy doing so for the first time in decades with this new bike. However, Cyclesense are used to sending bikes and this was what we arranged would happen if I bought it. One problem ticked off the list. Things also worked out well as Husband had a few days off and we decided to go up together for three days.

On day two there we visited Cyclesense and I had a decent length ride on the bike round Tadcaster. Here I will point out that if you look at the Koga website and then at the Traveller (which they're not doing any more so why is it still there????!!) you'll see that my bike is not the same as the women's version, which is because, and this is where even I get confused and it's my bike - !! - what happened was that Koga took a Signature frame and built a Traveller......... I think...........so I've got a better frame than I would have got but it cost a bit more.

I knew I had been right about the frame size, and the bike was beautifully smooth to ride, but was it "the one"? Was it perfect? How can you tell without riding at least, say, 20 miles? My back felt slightly uncomfortable as I rode - a bad sign? I had read enough about the make to be convinced that they made very good bikes, and in the end I was convinced enough to buy this one. But I still wondered if I'd made the right decision! When it arrived the next week I took it for a very short ride. A few days later I took it for an 8 mile ride and thought - "Am I going to make it home?" as I was so uncomfortable! But I knew it was just the saddle...... I swapped the saddle for the Bontrager one on my Trek and that was tons better, partly because the rails were longer and so I could get it further back, which I needed to. We also altered the trekking/butterfly handlebar position until it felt about right. I wasn't at all convinced about these bars, and actually rigged up a wire coat hanger into roughly the same shape as the Thorn Comfort bars on my Trek and placed it in position on the Koga, to get an idea of what it would be like with those bars. But I decided to be sensible and patient and give them a decent trial before changing them, which would be more expense.

Regarding saddles, I would love to try a leather one again, either a different Brooks (i.e. not the B17 that the OBW bike had on it originally at my request) or the Selle AnAtomica Titanico reviewed on Lovely Bicycle and elsewhere, but for the moment funds won't allow, so I decided to be very sensible and patient (again!) and simply get another Bontrager. I have had mine for several years and am 95% happy with it.  The 5% bit is mainly "I wish it were leather!" It is the Bontrage Nebula Plus Womens in the 180mm size (I'd been measured up for the first one on the shop's ingenious tool for measuring sit bone size)  and I paid £40 for it in my local bike shop, Ridgeway Cycles. Once I had put that on I thought - "Right, that's all the tweaking that needs doing for now - time for a decent ride!"

So that weekend I took it out on a 43 mile ride, on a familiar and fairly flat route so that I could just concentrate on how the bike felt and not have to worry about the route. After about 9 miles I began to feel some discomfort in my rear end and also in my right thigh, but I thought I'd just take it easy, stop now and again, and see how things went. I stopped after about another 3 miles in Bampton and had a look in their art gallery, and after this break the discomfort seemed to have gone. I then cycled on another mile or so to Aston, where I had coffee at the Pottery there - they have a lovely indoor cafe with delicious food and also a big seating area outside, where there is room enough to take your bike if you want to have it within sight. An Americano (and it was a good one)  in one of their lovely mugs was £2 - that is cheap for Oxfordshire!

After that the bike was feeling good, so having set out thinking I'd probably do 30 miles or so, I felt confident to do 40. I got more used to the handlebars, and was glad I had given them a chance, although having said that I'm not 100% convinced about them. I find the main position at the front rather too narrow and straight, and it feels like I have less control (less stability) than with my wider riser Thorn Comfort Bars. The other positions are useful, but then it seems to me that you need them because of the inadequacies of the main position. Personally I'd rather have bars with fewer positions but where the main one is more comfortable. I know that Thorn says of its Comfort bars "There are two positions - cycling and not cycling!" I think that once funds allow I will probably change them.

One thing I do find incredibly good about them though is the leather and padding - it was very comfortable to hold,  and it was also a hot day but my hands didn't get sweaty at all. The synthetic grips on my Trek have done me well, and are still going strong after 20 odd years, but I did find on a recent trip in May in VERY hot weather that by the end of the day my hands were black and tacky, although that's the first time that's happened. So that's a preference now for leather grips.

Despite reassurances from Cyclesense that the good quality aluminium Koga uses would give me as comfortable a ride as steel, I had still been concerned that it wouldn't. Whether the bike sails over the bumps in the UK roads as comfortably as a high quality steel bike, I really can't say. But I can say that I am happy with it, and certainly think it is as comfortable in this respect as my steel Trek.

The forecast for the next few days is good. I've just been given a big sewing job but that can wait! The bike is calling.......

Lizzie

PS 19.7.17 Forgot to add that Husband did a video of the bike and put it on his YouTube channel. Click here to watch it.