At first glance my new Fuso looks like any other race bike; if I were to replace the Brooks saddle with something modern looking and jack the seat post up another 3 or 4 inches, it could sit alongside any other and not be immediately detected.
But the point is it is not a race bike. It is a bike designed specifically for me; an aging ex-racing cyclist who is looking for a little comfort in my old age. It is designed to fit my needs. My body is no longer flexible enough to ride in a low tuck, aero position.
I no longer need to go fast, but I do like to ride fairly long distances. My previous bike a 51 cm. Recherché that I built in 1985 was comfortable to a point, but it had a 3 ½ inch (90cm.) drop from the top of the saddle to the top of the handlebars.
I could only ride on the tops of the bars or on the brake lever hoods; the dropped portion of the handlebars was much too low for me to comfortably ride. The problem is setting up a race bike to do something that it was not designed to do. This was the problem back in the 1980s and is a problem still today.
People see bikes being raced in the Tour de France; they are being ridden by young professional athletes, who have trained their bodies to ride with their backs in a horizontal position at great speed, for insanely long distances.
This is not like buying a set of golf clubs and knocking a ball around a golf course; you will eventually get the ball in the hole, so you are at least playing golf, albeit badly. However, you need a certain amount of athleticism to just ride a road “racing” bike.
When Russ Denny offered to build me one of the new Fuso frames, it would be a one off, custom built for me. Here was an opportunity to have a frame built that would not only fit me, but would match my current needs.
We achieved this by making the bottom bracket height 10 inches (25.4cm.) as opposed to industry norm 10 5/8 inches. (27cm.) This is a considerable amount lower, and by doing so we have lowered the saddle by that amount in relation to the handlebars.
The great thing is that this has not affected the ride at all; and I really can’t tell the difference visually, as you can see by the pictures. The only difference I find is that I can put my toe to the ground while sitting in the saddle when I stop, which I feel is a huge plus.
By lowering the bottom bracket we have lengthened the down tube and chainstays, but the oversize tubes more than compensate for any loss in stiffness. The longer chainstays make for more tire clearance; I am running 25mm. wide tires, but with 40mm. of clearance between the stays at the tire’s widest point, means I could run a much wider tire if I wish.
The other design aspect of the modern frame that we were able to utilize to our advantage was with the sloping top tube, a head tube can be almost any length you wish. By lengthening the head tube we ended up with my handlebars just 1 ¼ inches (32mm.) below my saddle. Compare that to 3 ½ inches on my previous bike; a huge difference. I can now use the whole handlebar, including the drops.
I was a little concerned that the big saddle/handlebar height difference would take me a little while to get used to. This proved not to be the case; the new bike seemed a natural fit right from the start.
The one thing that seemed strange at first was the wider handlebars; 42cm. as opposed to 40cm. I was using before. However, since finishing the build on Friday, I have put over 150 miles on it and now I am used to the difference.
What I do love is the Campagnolo brake hoods with the top of the hood level with the top of the bars, and the large hand rest knob that sticks up above that. My favorite position is to have the side of my hand resting on the brake hood, and my hand lightly around the extension part like I was holding a pair of ski poles. My arm bends naturally, and my forearm rest lightly on the top of the bars.
I went with the Campagnolo Athena group, you can’t beat the quality and the price was competitive when compared with the other two choices. The only drawback with Campagnolo at the moment is availability.
I got the whole group except the rear derailleur, and after searching the whole United States found there were only two black Athena derailleurs available. I got one of them; a crazy situation that Campagnolo needs to get a handle on.
The gears work flawlessly; they are so smooth and quiet that I had a problem at first noticing that it had actually shifted. I have now learned not to listen for the “Clunk” of the old friction shift, but rather watch for the subtle change in the feel and cadence through the pedals.
Speaking of pedals, I am using Shimano double sided mountain bike pedals. As I said at the beginning this is not a race bike, and I am not racing. If I am out on a long ride at some point I am going to have to walk off the road to answer a call of nature.
I tried road pedals, but found on such occasions the shoe cleats became clogged with dirt or mud and do not work properly. Mountain bike pedals are designed to handle mud, and the double-sided feature is nice; I never have to worry whether my pedal is up or down. If I were racing, I would use road pedals.
The same with tires, if I were racing I would use tubulars; I gave these up a couple of years back. I found the cheap tubular punctured easily, often on the first time out. The modern tubular is just about impossible to repair because the base tape seems to be permanently vulcanized on.
I am using Continental Gatorskin clincher tires. I didn’t even buy the ones with flexible beads; I bought the slightly heavier and cheaper wire bead kind.
Finally I could write a bunch of bullshit clichés that one often reads in magazine road tests, but I don’t feel the need here. My new Fuso rides and feels exactly the same as if I had built it, so I really didn’t expect any less from Russ.
When he took over my business in 1993 he could do anything that I could. Since that time he has added another 19 years of his own experience. He has embraced all the new design aspects, materials, and building methods.
I think now he and I both have shown that you can design and build a frame that is comfortable for someone like me who is past their peak of physical condition, and proving that the bike can still look good.
Simply because this bike is designed to have 1 ¼ inch handlebar drop; rather than having a bike designed to have a 3 or 4 inch drop, or more, then trying to raise the handlebar after the fact.
Anyone seriously looking for a new frame or bike, and have similar needs to the ones I have described here; might consider contacting Russ Denny and have him build one for you.
Framebuilding methods have changed since I left the business, and it is now practical to build one off frames to suit the individual. I am happy to help out with design input if needed.
Fri, July 20, 2012 
The Dick Head Factor
Cycle racing is a unique sport; there are few rules for a start. A rider must hold a straight line in a finishing sprint, but apart from that there are few other rules that apply to the race while it is in progress.
The sport is instead governed by an unwritten code of conduct that I remember well from my riding road races as an amateur in the UK; no one did anything that would put another rider in danger. Riders at the front of the peloton or group would shout out a warning of any approaching hazard.
Have you ever wondered how the Tour de France peloton magically splits and goes around a piece of traffic furniture in the middle of the road? It is because the riders ahead call out a warning to those following.
I remember one time I was in a road race when my chain came off. Two riders on either side grabbed my jersey and towed me along while I reached down and put my chain back on. I will admit the race was not in a critical stage, but these two riders, although strangers to me knew that if I had been forced to stop for something as trivial as and unshipped chain, the race would have been over for me and my day ruined.
This unwritten law of fair play was demonstrated in last Sunday’s Tour de France stage. Cadel Evans punctured because some idiot had thrown upholstery tacks on the road. Team Sky, lead by Bradley Wiggins, slowed and essentially neutralized the race while Evans caught up. Soon after the other contender Vincenzo Nibali also flatted.
Let’s face it, if Evans and Nibali had both lost several minutes the Tour de France would have been over for them and over for the rest of us following the event. The sense of fair play shown by Wiggins and the others, not only neutralized the race but neutralized the affect caused by whoever threw tacks on the road in the first place.
The fact that this happened without any prompting from officials of the race is pretty amazing in any professional sport, which is why I say cycle racing is unique.
The fans of bicycle racing are also unique; especially in events like the Tour de France. Could anyone imagine an NFL player running for a touchdown between a gauntlet of cheering fans? Some running alongside, dressed in costume and waiving flags.
In today’s atmosphere of extreme security at all major sporting events; it is amazing that the Tour de France continues to run, and tacks on the road is the most dangerous problem they have. Also last Friday Bradley Wiggins had his arm slightly singed by a fan running alongside carrying a lighted flare.
Fans have always been a problem in the TDF and even affected the outcome of the race; in 1950 French rider Jean Robic and Italian Gino Bartalli both fell when they hit a photographer. Robic remounted and continued, but Bartalli was punched and kicked by French fans.
Italian team member Fiorenzo Magni waited for Bartelli and the two chased and caught the leading group. This effort put Magni in the yellow jersey, two and a half minutes ahead of Swiss Ferdi Kubler. The following day the entire Italian team (Including the yellow jersey.) withdrew from the race in protest of the treatment of Bartalli by the fans. There was also genuine concern for the safety of the Italian team.
Ferdi Kubler went on to win the Tour that year, and this would not be the last time that a fan possibly affected the outcome of the race. In 1975 Belgian Eddy Merckx was chasing Frenchman Bernard Thevenet up the Puy de Dome climb, when a spectator punched Merckx hard in the kidneys. (See video below.) Thevenet took the Yellow the following day, and held it to the end.
The TDF fans are not going away; they are part of the spectacle that is the Tour de France. The race should be about the riders; they are the ones who train and dedicate their lives to bike racing.
Unfortunately there are always a few Dick-Heads in any crowd that feel this event is about them, as they dress in outrageous costumes and do stupid things in an effort to gain two seconds of fame as the cameras roll by.