Introducing Feronia

[Triskeliongirl]

Some of you have been following the story of my new travel bike on the maintenance forum, but now that she is done I thought I'd post it here for the rest of you. It all started when my beloved bike friday pocket rocket pro was stolen while locked to a bike rack at work in the middle of 2005. I quickly replaced her with a 2005 Terry Titanium Isis which I love, but taking her on trips was getting *very expensive* with oversize luggage charges. Shortly after I fixed up my old 2001 Steel Terry Classic for commuting, but realized that the new parts I bought for her were much better than her aging frame. Then one day I'm on ebay and a 2003 Steel Terry Isis frame pops up, never been built, for only $100! What's the catch??? This sold as a complete ultegra bike for $2000. The catch is that commerical forks were no longer available for her. I bought her anyway, with the idea to make her into a travel bike. I arranged with a frame builder in Pennsylvania recommended by Georgena (Steve Bilenky, he'd made forks for them before) to build a custom fork, and install S & S couplers. I wanted the bike to be versatile, good for flying into a city and going out hard and fast, or to be able to do light touring, so I also had him install canti bosses and rack mounts for max verstatility. The cantis let her accept tires from 23c-32c to cove the range of fast riding to touring. I can use a carradice bag for light touring, and up to 2 racks for heavier touring. I then switched all the nearly new parts from my classic over (ultegra/XT mix) and voila.... I have a travel bike again that fits in an airline legal suitcase and flys for free! I was gonna do the build myself, but was a little nervous about getting the bottom bracket and cable disconnects right, and was busy at work, so I brought them to my LBS and they had her put together in less than 24 hours flawlessly. So gals on the maintenance forum, don't be mad at me, but I am just soooo haaapy to have her finished. She rides like a dream. The Reynolds 853 steel is nice and stiff yet still relatively light (for comparison she weighs 1.5 lb more than my titanium Isis and 3 lb more than DHs carbon trek, some of that is the couplers and some of that is the steel).

[Blueberry]

Congratulations - she's beautiful!

I'd be curious to hear how the packing process goes once you have a chance to take her apart and reassemble her a few times - I've heard differing things from the Rivendell list.

PS - Thread Hijack - The Fridays are actually going well, and it looks like we're going to be able to keep them/make them work after all - I'm waiting on a new seatpost, but the longer crank fixed 9/10 of the problem.

[DebW]

What a great bike. Smart design. Love the versatility.

[Triskeliongirl]

What a great bike. Smart design. Love the versatility.

Thanks Deb. You helped me design it!!! I am so glad now that I went with the steel fork and canti brakes, the two points I agonized over. I need to ride her more to be sure, but one interesting thing I noticed is how much stiffer the bottom bracket area feels than any other bike I have owned. Could that be the reynolds 853 steel? WHile BFs are great for easy folding, I think you loose stiffness in the hinge design. When I rode her yesterday, in some ways she felt more powerful and comfortable than even my ti isis with carbon fork (by comfort I mean mostly in my upper body, back neck shoulders feel more relaxed). I felt like every watt of energy applied to the pedals was translated into power. My body even felt more comfortable on her even though the fit is identical (she is one frame size larger, so to get an iidentical position I have a 1 cm shorter stem (10 vs 11), and my seatpost and stem are 1.5" less exposed). Do you think that is due to the difference in frame size or frame materials? The other bike is titanium with a carbon fork. All other angles, rake, etc. are identical. It may also be that she was put together with nearly new parts. I really liked the mechanic. This is a new shop (for me) and not only did he take all the parts off my old bike, he put them in this special cleaning machine, and he also rebuilt the hubs on my touring wheels, so perhaps some of what I am feeling is the smoothness of a fresh build. I haven't tried her out yet on hills, where I may appreciate more my lighter ti bike. I'll do that tomorrow.

[Bad JuJu]

What an elegant solution to your cycling needs, and one gorgeous bike too.

I had a Terry Symmetry for about 13 years and the one thing (and I do mean the only thing) that bugged me about that bike was that the fork wouldn't allow for wider tires for touring, so it was probably actually an advantage that you were able to have your fork custom made. But I loved that steel Terry otherwise, and the only reason I no longer have her is that Hurricane Ivan washed her away in 2004.

Enjoy your new steel ride--What a find!

[Triskeliongirl]

I had a Terry Symmetry for about 13 years and the one thing (and I do mean the only thing) that bugged me about that bike was that the fork wouldn't allow for wider tires for touring, so it was probably actually an advantage that you were able to have your fork custom made.

Its interesting that you say that, cuz that also bothered me on my titanium Isis. Like last time I took her to CA I wanted to ride her to Solvang, but had to go a bit off road and really wanted 32c tires. When I first bought my classic in 2001, even though it was a touring bike, the widest 24" tire you get was only 28c but now the terry tullus which is a very nice touring tire comes in 32c. I also noticed that on the Isis bikes when I compared the new bare frame to my built one, is that what keeps me from using a 32c tire is not the frame per say, but the brake style. A 32c wheel hits the top of the side pull brake not the frame, so I got the idea to use cantis. She is really a bit of a cross between the classic and isis now. The classic has cantis, and even more clearance for wide tires and fenders, but then she was made from heavier steel. The cantis also make rack attachment on the small frames easier. But, since Feronia was designed for side pull brakes and rear stays are a bit narrow so I have to deflate a 32 c rear tire to clear the brakes, but that is a minor inconveneience given what a good deal I got on the frame. What I don't get is why more manufacturers don't offer stock bikes for how we really ride, i.e. the versatility of using 23-32 tires, fenders, etc., but also considering lightness and a need for speed. I noticed Veronica's new legolos has a lot of the same features as my bike, but why do we need to go to framebuilders to get what we want? It seems like they tap two markets, the super fast racers, or the heavily loaded tourist, but what about us in between gals? Its also interesting to me that both the classic/madeleine and isis/symetry families, while marketed for touring vs sport riding, both have very similar geometries classifying them both as very adaptable sport tourers.

[Triskeliongirl]

What an elegant solution to your cycling needs, and one gorgeous bike too. ...

THANKS! I was just logging my ride on bike journal and a pic of your bike popped up. I noticed you have a waterford adventure bike and bianchi veloce. BEAUTIFUL BIKES! I am a bit surpristed about the veloce, since compared to the terry geometry the seat tube angle is very steep and top tube quite long, at least in the small frame sizes. What frame size are you? I am also curious about your waterford. Roughly what does it weigh? Did you have it custom made or did you buy it used? Does it have S/S couplers? I have a friend having one made now with S/S couplers and he's curious how heavy it'll be, although I guess that depends a lot on who its built for.

[Triskeliongirl]

I can tell you that my understanding of the packing process is that it is is *much easier* for small frames vs large frames. One issue is how much needs to be removed. On a small frame all you need to do is unscrew the disconnectors (very easy), unscrew the cables, take off the bars (and if you didn't get a pop top stem like me (I wanted a certain aesthetic) you may need to remove the stem and disconnet the brake, but with my small fork I may just by loosening bolts be able to arrange it in the case in without disconnecting as much. Of course you also take off your wheels, pedals, and seatpost. On larger frames you sometimes need to take the fork out, and/or crank. I also think how *easy* it is depends on how mechanical you are. I have aquired good mechanical skills over the years, in part from owning my friday. I think after any bike is packed it requires adjustments, so being comfortable making brake and derailleur adjustments is a good idea for any travel biking, as is being able to make on the road repairs in foreign lands. One thing that is nice is the suitcase is larger than the friday one, so in some ways with my small frame packing looks easier to me than on my friday. My bike came with every inch of the frame wrapped in these nice soft velcro closed rolls, which would not be a bad idea for a friday either since it really protects it. If you go to the S/S site there are good links on the packing process: http://www.sandsmachine.com/index.html#pack. My framebuilder also said that women that go with 650c or 26" wheels have an easier time packing. I can see that now, as to pack my 700c wheel I need to deflate it completely and wedge it in there, although my 24" wheels just drops in anywhere (cases are 26" x 26" xx 10" to meet airline reg). So if I were doing this from scratch I might choose a bike with 650/26" wheels. I also recommend if you have a favorite frame you are considering to modify, to do it when it needs painting, since they have to remove paint to install the couplers. In my case since the frame is new I got the touch up paint job (they kept hte original blue paint and expanded the original silver fade to deal with the paint they had to remove). I will report back after taking her on some trips how I do, but I can tell for my level of packing experience and mechanical know how that it'll be a breeze. I am glad your BFs are going to work out for you. I will say the foldablity is an advantage (which I think is important for you as I recall you wanted to stow them on a boat unless I am mixing you up with someone else). I have also learned that if you are persistent and talk to the right people at bike friday you are well taken care of. You mentioned you were working with Walter, and I know Walter is very good. Lynette is also very good. I mentioned in your BF thread that a friend of mine had his air glide frame fail three times. The first two times they replaced the frame but he lost his confidence in touring with it, so this time, after a bit of prodding and Lynette's help, they made him a very generous cash settlement. I think in his case the beamed bike wasn't a good match for his height/weight/riding style. So, while sometimes it may take them a while to 'get it right' they are good people and do treat their customers fairly. FYI, if you are still searching for a laid back enough seatpost, Wallingford just got his new lot of kalloy uno 374 posts in. They are more laid back than the uno posts other distributers have. If that doesn't work, pm me as I have a used selcolf bi-position post which is very laid back I could sell you. IT worked fine with my butterfly saddle, but not with my brooks.