Uncle John - Tourer, road bike, commuter, off-road hoodlum!
themightyw
Posts: 409
After my old Madone was written off I decided to resurrect the parts. I've always loved the idea of the Uncle John - it's never going to be 'best of breed' at anything, but it can be used as a perfectly decent road bike, panniered up for use as a comfortable tourer, or you can slap some great knobbly tyres on there and take it off piste.
Took it out for the first time on some pretty full on trails today and didn't stop grinning all day.
Far from picture perfect, as he's made up of bits and bobs from other bikes, but that's half the charm. Who needs real life friends when you've got Uncle John?
Took it out for the first time on some pretty full on trails today and didn't stop grinning all day.
Far from picture perfect, as he's made up of bits and bobs from other bikes, but that's half the charm. Who needs real life friends when you've got Uncle John?
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Get some pics of the new Madone up as well 8)
Swap those wheels out for a set of Aksiums with Schwalbe Marathon 28s for daily hacking around.
Lovin' that phrase " Who needs friends when......". Sums the bike up brilliantly.
FCN 8 Scott Sportster '05
Yep! Nice and smooth ride. Going to muck about with the bike over the weekend and take one shot of it in 'road mode' stripped down, and one set up as full laden tourer.
Plus negotiating your way drunkenly back from the pub on poorly lit paths?
If you're wondering how I'm getting on with this bike, and how much fun I'm having riding him in his various guises then all you need to know is that my wife now sleeps in the garage to give John and I a bit more space indoors.
Mind you - I did some pretty rocky offroad on them OK today !
The UJ is a great bike.
Also how did it handle with panniers on? Look slike quite a load so was there much flex?
I have a second set of road wheels and was hoping I could put 23c on them, so that I can use the bike on club runs in the winter, etc. However, the hub spacing is 135mm on the frame (according to the planet x website) and I'm not sure whether my other set of wheels (which are 130mm wide at the hubs) would fit.
themightyw, I see that you are using Bonty wheels on your Planet X (they look like Bontrager SSRs ?), is the spacing on those wheels a standard 130mm, and have you had any issues fitting these on the PX frame ?
Thanks!
I RIDE A KONA CADABRA -would you like to come and have a play with my magic link?
Coming from someone who sees London to Paris as a cycling challenge... The ultimate soft boy option.
Anyway. Just ordered a Kaffenback with Uncle John spec kit. Cannot wait to get it. The Perfect partner to my Madone.
Mate L2P was a challenge...... You should have seen the muppets I had to ride with. Right bunch of tossers
mmmmmmmm planet x and trek combo. The perfect bore you to sleep choice of bikes
I RIDE A KONA CADABRA -would you like to come and have a play with my magic link?
Don't forget the Brompton.
That's a lovely looking Uncle John. I'll be ordering one myself shortly, and was hoping for some tips on frame size. How tall are you and what size did you go for?
Thanks
Tom
Not sure if you can change that in the bike build options, but if you can, DON'T go for the Frogs Bollox brakes. The supplied pads are censored , replaced them with Kool Stop salmons which was a big improvement, but still no way near as good as my Tektro 720s on my touring bike.
Thanks for the tip!
I'm 5ft11, which is bang smack between medium and large on the PlanetX sizing guide!
They're actually just Bonty SSRs - and they're the firs part of the bike I'll change once my bank account recovers! Will get some handbuilts.
No problems at all - fitted perfectly.
Haven't actually used it fully loaded - just did a test run. It's never going to be ideal for long touring, but on a short test run it was perfectly stable. Don't take my word for it though, as I've yet to test in earnest!
Listen, bananaman, if that's the case then how come we didn't sleep a wink in the hostel when you were lying right next to me?
Wait, that didn't sound good, did it....?
I'm 5ft 10 / 5 ft 11ish and went for the medium. I reckon you'd be fine with either though.
My only gripe with the bike (and it's not really a grips) is that it's not light. Even with carbon fork, 105 components, carbon stem, etc etc it's a chunky wee censored . That said, though, it's heavy because it's strong and it's great VFM and I'm still delighted with it.
The thing that amuses me is that when I'm out on my out and out carbon racer no-one ever stops to comment. However every single time I've cycled into town on the OJ when I've come back to my bike I've found people staring at it and commenting on it. No joke. Very amused by a thoroughly smashed huge musclelad who staggered out of the pub at closing time and was eyeballing me as I cycled past. Was waiting for him to swing at me as I cycled past, and instead got a huge shout of "Oi! Cracking bike mate!"
No that did not sound good, but at least you did not argue in your sleep (aka African Sunset Child and no 4 in the hostel room from hell, yup i was no 3 !!!!) :shock:
Bikes looking spot on mate BTW !!!