Due to continuing increases from Shimano, we regret to announce as from February 2nd we will be increasing the price on our Randonneur and Super Tourist. The standard Randonneur will be £1099.99 and the standard Super Tourist will be £1199.99.
Unfortunately the weak pound is causing havoc to prices right across our industry.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Thursday, 15 January 2009
VAT Sale!!
At the moment in the shop we are having a we pay your VAT sale. This is on all parts and accessories and bikes. It DOES NOT include new frame or bike orders. However we have some stock bikes which are included in the sale.
First we have this sky blue 23 1/2" Randonneur which has a full Tiagra 27 speed groupset including STI levers, mudguards and ITM finishing kit. Its actually slightly better specced than the current Randonneur and is priced at £1049.99 so with the VAT off that is £892.49!
Next We have a 22 1/2" Randonneur in Champagne, same spec as above except with Pro finishing kit. This is also at the same price so with the VAT saving it works out at £892.49 too!
Finally we have a blue 531 road bike with a Shimano Sora 16 Speed groupset, quill stem and ITM finishing kit which was £749.99 which in the sale works out at £637.49! Thats a bargain for a handbuilt bike.
First we have this sky blue 23 1/2" Randonneur which has a full Tiagra 27 speed groupset including STI levers, mudguards and ITM finishing kit. Its actually slightly better specced than the current Randonneur and is priced at £1049.99 so with the VAT off that is £892.49!
Next We have a 22 1/2" Randonneur in Champagne, same spec as above except with Pro finishing kit. This is also at the same price so with the VAT saving it works out at £892.49 too!
Finally we have a blue 531 road bike with a Shimano Sora 16 Speed groupset, quill stem and ITM finishing kit which was £749.99 which in the sale works out at £637.49! Thats a bargain for a handbuilt bike.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Steel is so old fashioned isn't it?
Why is steel a better material than aluminium for our bikes? Its a common misconception that aluminium is a stiffer frame material. This isn't true, aluminium is not as stiff as steel. The reason why aluminium frames are stiff is because of they way they are built and the shortcomings of the material.
Why do you think aluminium frames have big fat tubes? Just for looks? Nah... aluminium is a lot weaker and more flexible than steel. Take a piece of aluminium and bend it a bit a few times and it will break. Do the same with a piece of steel and as long as you don't bend it too much each time it will keep flexing for a very long time. Big fat over sized tubing is stiffer and less flexible than smaller diameter tubing. So when an aluminium frame is designed, if the designer wants the frame to last a few years it needs to be stiff and that's the reason aluminium frames have big fat tubes.
All this over-building has other drawbacks too. Another misconception is that aluminium frames are a lot lighter than steel frames. After all aluminium is 1/3 the weight of steel. But because aluminium frames have to be over-built for strength and stiffness the weight difference is a lot less. Your average high quality steel frame is about 4lb and a quality aluminium frame is about 3lb. So there's not a lot in it.
We build steel frames because they just make more sense for the kind of bicycles we build. They are comfortable, light and with a bit of care last forever.
Why do you think aluminium frames have big fat tubes? Just for looks? Nah... aluminium is a lot weaker and more flexible than steel. Take a piece of aluminium and bend it a bit a few times and it will break. Do the same with a piece of steel and as long as you don't bend it too much each time it will keep flexing for a very long time. Big fat over sized tubing is stiffer and less flexible than smaller diameter tubing. So when an aluminium frame is designed, if the designer wants the frame to last a few years it needs to be stiff and that's the reason aluminium frames have big fat tubes.
All this over-building has other drawbacks too. Another misconception is that aluminium frames are a lot lighter than steel frames. After all aluminium is 1/3 the weight of steel. But because aluminium frames have to be over-built for strength and stiffness the weight difference is a lot less. Your average high quality steel frame is about 4lb and a quality aluminium frame is about 3lb. So there's not a lot in it.
We build steel frames because they just make more sense for the kind of bicycles we build. They are comfortable, light and with a bit of care last forever.
Randonneur Spécial
The new Randonneur is starting to progress a little bit. Well the colour of our first one is. This is our first mock up. Flam Ruby and Ivory.As this will be our stock bike, I wanted something fairly conservative. If you have any thoughts please comment.
Then its just a matter of squeezing one in, in-between customer orders, which could be a challenge at the moment!
Friday, 2 January 2009
Why no Campagnolo?
We often get asked for Campagnolo on our Randonneur Audax bikes. One of the main reason we don't is because Campag don't do a deep brake! Its true that you can just about squeeze a mudguard under a Campag brake but that means you can only really get away with 700 x 23 tyres and the mudguard looks like this!See how the mudguard has rubbed against the tyre? Thats because there just isn't enough room for it. If you look at this other picture of the back wheel, you'll see that the mudguard doesn't
follow the arc of the wheel. This would be unacceptable to us. It makes it look as though the builder never intended mudguards.This bike was built by a popular British framebuilder. I find the lack of attention to detail amazing sometimes.
Some builders get around this problem by fitting Shimano brakes with Campag components, but for me that defeats the whole point.
Happy New Year!
All at Ellis-Briggs would like to wish you all the best for the New Year. Some news and updates are to follow shortly, please check back soon.
Ellis-Briggs
Ellis-Briggs
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