Monday 29 August 2011

What's that bike?

Has that bike got smaller wheels than normal? Yes, they're 24" or 520 size, for which you can get some pretty good HP tyres. The frame is an Airnimal Chameleon which is designed in Cambridge, all welded aluminum alloy. There's about 40mm suspension movement at the rear (elastomeric) and a carbon front fork. The idea is that the bike folds down to airline carry-aboard size with the wheels removed. A pretty compact size is achieved with only the front wheel out. The seatpost comes out and the seatpost tower hinges forward, whilst the handlebars and stem also come off easily.

I wanted to build up the bike myself rather than buy off the shelf so I could decide which components to use. I got started on the idea of using stuff from the Northern hemisphere as much as I could. Not from any particular motivation, given that the frame was built in Taiwan! After a fair amount of research I decided on SRAM Force as the groupset; the quality of this is better than Shimano Ultegra but much lighter. The main deciding factor was the deal I got, it was best VfM  compared to Ultegra, CampagnoloTriple, and SRAM Apex. Anyway turns out the groupset is made in China. So much for the Northern Hemisphere!

Rims came from Velocity (Australia), double butted spokes from Sapim (Belgium) and hubs from Hope (Barnoldswick, England) as did headset and seatclamp.

The bike rides stiff and fast, comparable to a good steel diamond frame (I should know). It is a bit limited on top speed because gearing was selected for hill climbing/touring. I've got a range of 20 gears from 37 to 108 inches. For weight weenies it is not comparable to a carbon frame bike by any means, but I value comfort and durability on long rides. The Chameleon does well on Sustrans type paths too.

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