Uncle John - Tourer, road bike, commuter, off-road hoodlum!

themightyw

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?

Leesykoi

Looking good there my friend !!!!

Get some pics of the new Madone up as well 8)

cougie

Nice ! Which Swalbe tyres are they ? How do you find them ?

themightyw

Those ones are Schwalbe 30c CX Pros - probably too skinny for really hardcore stuff, but I took the bike out through some pretty feisty forest trails and they held up well enough. Not too sluggish on tarmac either.

Swap those wheels out for a set of Aksiums with Schwalbe Marathon 28s for daily hacking around.

all show no go

I love these bikes. Uncle Johns are just proper, proper bikes. Do it all beasts. I've wanted one of these for yonks. Yours looks great.
Lovin' that phrase " Who needs friends when......". Sums the bike up brilliantly.

notsoblue

Lovely bike! Is that a carbon fork?

bompington

It makes me think... how about a bike pentathlon event where you have to do (for example) DH, BMX race, road race, track sprint and trials - all on the same bike?

themightyw

notsoblue wrote:

Lovely bike! Is that a carbon fork?

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.

bompington wrote:

It makes me think... how about a bike pentathlon event where you have to do (for example) DH, BMX race, road race, track sprint and trials - all on the same bike?

Plus negotiating your way drunkenly back from the pub on poorly lit paths?

themightyw

Johnny-boy in tourer mode



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.

bencolem

Wow, bet you can pull some kick-ass wheelies in tourer mode!

cougie

Cheers TMW - and are those the A57 wheels ? I ordered some 32mms to replace the 22mm slicks that I've got on at the mo - but the rims are way too narrow.

Mind you - I did some pretty rocky offroad on them OK today !

The UJ is a great bike.

alan_sherman

Is it right that there is no bridge between the chain stays? Good for mud clearance, bad for wanting to fit rear mudguards I guess.

Also how did it handle with panniers on? Look slike quite a load so was there much flex?

Tail end Charlie

That is one proper bike, big thumbs up.

Nack

I have an Uncle John and absolutely love it, it's fast on the road and suprisingly nimble offroad! I put Smart Sam 700 X 35C on my A57s.

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!

fungus_the_muffin_man

It's even shitter than that crappy Madone you pranged up against a car in France

cakewalk

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

It's even shitter than that crappy Madone you pranged up against a car in France

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.

fungus_the_muffin_man

cakewalk wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

It's even shitter than that crappy Madone you pranged up against a car in France

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

cakewalk

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

cakewalk wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

It's even shitter than that crappy Madone you pranged up against a car in France

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

Don't forget the Brompton.

gwillis

lovely looking bike and a really interesting thread, woudl love to have ago at building my own bike just havent got the courage yet to take the plunge. The fram and spec looks spot on ..... congrats

Tom_d100

Hi

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

Nack

Tom - if that helps, Im 6ft1 and went for the large one, which fits me perfectly. Bike is brilliant, you won't regret it!

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 crap, 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.

Tom_d100

Nack wrote:

Tom - if that helps, Im 6ft1 and went for the large one, which fits me perfectly. Bike is brilliant, you won't regret it!

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 crap, 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!

themightyw

cougie wrote:

Cheers TMW - and are those the A57 wheels ? I ordered some 32mms to replace the 22mm slicks that I've got on at the mo - but the rims are way too narrow.

Mind you - I did some pretty rocky offroad on them OK today !

The UJ is a great bike.

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.

Nack wrote:

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!

No problems at all - fitted perfectly.

alan sherman wrote:

Also how did it handle with panniers on? Look slike quite a load so was there much flex?

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!

Anonymous

Looks like the perfect do-it-all bike!

themightyw

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

mmmmmmmm planet x and trek combo. The perfect bore you to sleep choice of bikes

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....?

themightyw

Tom_d100 wrote:

Nack wrote:

Tom - if that helps, Im 6ft1 and went for the large one, which fits me perfectly. Bike is brilliant, you won't regret it!

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 crap, 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!

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 bugger. 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!"

Leesykoi

themightyw wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

mmmmmmmm planet x and trek combo. The perfect bore you to sleep choice of bikes

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....?

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 !!!