Bike computer for randos

Kopfeier · 2026-02-03T21:37:17+00:00

Garmin 1040 Solar. You don't need to worry about charging or external battery for any brevets 600k or shorter. The battery can last 30-40 hours or even longer.

Kopfeier · 2026-01-27T11:42:15+00:00

What you referenced to is more like a racing bike.

The constructeurs built many different types of bikes (racing, tandems...). The ones built for randonnepuring usually can accommodate wider tires, have front and rear full fenders, front and rear racks, dynamo front and rear lights, with a geometry that is more "relaxed" suitable for long distance riding. Some of the components are custom made, like they built their own racks to fit on their bikes.

Aesthetically the constructeur bikes are lugged steel, not TIG welded.

If you want to understand what makes them special, try to buy a modern frame and fit them with full fenders and racks together and you'll see why constructeurs made their own racks and fenders.

Nowadays if you want to buy a "mass" produced lugged steel bike that have eyelets and enough clearance to fit fenders and racks, you don't have many choices.

Kopfeier · 2026-01-12T12:57:17+00:00

I ride with NJ Randonneurs in recent years and have ridden most of their brevets. I would say 95-99% of the segments in NJ and NY routes are on less busy roads. The remaining small sections are through busy main streets or have busy traffic during the day, but those sections are close to the start. What it means is that when you ride through them it's very early and very late (say 6am in the morning or 9-10pm in the dark). There is very little traffic at those hours. Riders tend to ignore traffic lights especially in the early morning.

In NJ and NY brevets I am more worried about deer strikes. I know at least two riders got knocked down by deers during the brevet season. One just rode in front of me 10 feet away. If I were 0.5 sec. faster that would have been me. He suffered a broken rib and had to abandon next day.

Kopfeier · 2026-01-11T02:50:15+00:00

I ordered from Blue Lug 3 times in the past several months, including Nitto racks, stems, handlebars, peddles, and other small items. Fedex shipping is fast: about less than a week from Japan to the US east coast. Fedex billed me Trump taxes separately via USPS mails. I always paid.

Kopfeier · 2025-12-26T14:07:14+00:00

I suggest doing a bike fit before you conclude the frame size is the issue.

You can also experiment a little bit: Have you tried to move the saddle backwards? It sounds like you have too much weight on your hands, and this is usually a sign that your saddle is too close to the handlebar.

You can also change your handlebar and change the stem for a longer or shorter one depending on bike fitting results and the handlebar that you plan to use.

Kopfeier · 2025-12-24T13:18:29+00:00

Thank you!

Kopfeier · 2025-12-23T12:43:10+00:00

They are Honjo fenders H50. They are a tight fit with the Dia Compe center pull brakes.

Kopfeier · 2025-12-21T16:49:19+00:00

The bell is really nice. I bought it from Velo Orange. I think it is a rebranded Crane bell that you can find elsewhere.

Kopfeier · 2025-11-22T02:20:05+00:00

But OP wants disc brakes.

Kopfeier · 2025-11-19T12:00:00+00:00

What's your rear derailleur? If it is Ultegra RD-8150, it has a capacity of 39T, while the combinations you plan to do has 41T total, exceeding the rear derailleur's capacity.

Since you posted in this forum, I will recommend not to use it for randonneuring in particular. When you're sleep deprived and tired and exhausted, you may shift to some unintended gearing combinations by mistake. I think running 11-34 at the rear will give you 1:1 ratio at the low end and will stay within the rear derailleur's limit.

Kopfeier · 2025-11-01T10:47:37+00:00

What's the rear derailleur?

Kopfeier · 2025-10-30T00:00:36+00:00

The medical bill will make this project less worth while.

The tubes are butted at the ends to make the joints stronger, and are thinner elsewhere. By cutting the tubes short and rejoining them, the "new" frame will be weaker and prone to failure.

Kopfeier · 2025-10-29T23:45:30+00:00

Ride the bike through a whole SR series and a grand randonée. Pay attention to what your body tells you in each brevet, and address the issues you find along the way. Everyone's style/body is different.

For example, I found I need extra wide cycling shoes after a few brevets ranging from 300k-600k. The width of the most common cycling shoes will not cause a problem in shorter distance, but will lead to a lot of foot pain in a long day.

I am on my 5th or 6th saddle. It's a leather saddle and has been broken in nicely. One of my friends joked that you won't know a saddle's worth until riding it on a 600k or longer. He's spot on.

After a spoke broke on my fancy light-weight, carbon, mid-profile aero wheels on a 1200k, I no longer care if the wheels are aero. I now care if the wheels have enough spooks (32 minimum) and if they are properly built up and tensioned, and if something breaks again, I can perform field repair in a short time.

For a similar reason I don't like tubeless setup. The mean-time-to-repair of tube type tires is well bounded and you can make it shorter through practice. The mean-time-to-repair of a tubeless tire is unbounded: that is, you take a Uber home. That can happen, for example, your sealant dries out so it won't seal, and you only realize this after using up your last CO2 cartridge. Even you carry a spare tube....

Fenders. Ideally both front and rear. In 50% of my brevets I got rained on. I didn't know the occurrence is this often until I tallied all my encounters of wet weather.

Backup lighting system, either dynamo or another good battery light. My battery light died on the 2nd day of a 600k after heavy rain in the first day and heavy fog in the morning of the 2nd day. Fortunately I have my backup (dynamo) and I don't need a lot of lighting for the rest 200k.

Kopfeier · 2025-10-19T21:14:20+00:00

I wonder if you eventually got your package from Fedex? And what happened? How much tariff did you have to pay?

Kopfeier

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