Monthly Archives: January 2015

Fenders and Tire Clearance

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We’ve had some questions about fenders and tire clearance so thought we would write a quick blog post. There is an ongoing debate “out there” about the balance between safety, tire clearance and aesthetics. Lower clearance between the tire and the fender looks slick but the chance of a piece of debris lodging between the two increases. We have set up the Velo Routier with a the higher clearance but with an eye to good aesthetics. Our current bikes come equipped with 38mm Pacenti Pari Moto 650B tires under 46mm wide fenders. The clearance between fender and tire is approximately 10mm. The tires also have no problems fitting between the chain stays. We have had enquiries about fitting 42mm Grand Bois Hetre 650B tires. These tires will fit. We have tested a set on the Velo Routier on the country back roads of Alberta Rockies without problems. The clearance will only be about 5mm under the 46mm fender. A 50mm fender would probably be better for clearance but it would be a very tight fit on our bikes. See the attached photos. Please feel free to send us your pictures if you ride our bikes with 50mm fenders. As we finalize our 2015 design in the next couple of weeks, we are considering “squishing” the chainstay a touch more. The final decision will be based on practicality, ridability and safety. Enjoy the journey, Angus.

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New Years Update

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I spent the last two weeks with my family; Christmas travel and cheer, pond hockey, skiing, reading, board/video gaming and doing personal bike builds which I will try to report on soon.  We are back to business and we will try to respond to your orders and e-mails as soon as we can.

Before the holiday break, my business partner and friend, Jason Wall decided to leave Cycles Toussaint for personal reasons. Running a super-niche bicycle business with him has been great and I wish him all the best.

With Jason leaving, I had to defer re-ordering frames while I re-appraised how to carry on and I had a reasonable stock to carry through the spring. Or so I thought. The review in Bicycle Quarterly’s Autumn 2014 Vol. 13 No.1 issue of Velo Routier resulted in flurry of late season sales in December that has left us sold out of all our 54 and 57 cm frames, all of our Citie bicycles, leaving a few 51 cm and 60cm frames and 60cm Velo Routier bicycles in stock. On a positive note, Angus Cowan has joined Cycles Toussaint as my business partner. The thought of running Cycles Toussaint solo was a daunting proposition and I am excited to have Angus on-board. Angus is active in the local racing scene with the ABA and is in Milton this week with his son Alec who is riding with Canadian national team at the Track Nationals. He will be back in Calgary with me next week and we hope to report on our plans for the next batch of Velo Routier frames; proposed changes and expected availability.

Coincidentally after almost two years of back-and-forth and out-of-the-blue we just received word that our Reynolds 931 stainless steel 700c road frame and 650b Velo Routier prototype frames have finally been fabricated and should be ready for road testing at the end of the month. Look here to this blog for full specs, photos and a first ride review in early February.

Happy New Year and Ride Your Journey!

Evan