My new (to me) Brian Rourke bike

sagalout

My Ebay purchase turned up today - absolutely delighted with it - haven't weighed it yet but its definitely lighter than my carbon madone - not bad for a steel bike, although its probably the heavy TT wheels on the madone not helping!

Bike has an interesting provenance, being built for Sean Kelly to ride in the Cheshire Cat Challenge. The finish on the frame is beautiful - really thick paint and incredibly neat welds.

Big drop to the bars but surprisingly comfy - the reach is perfect for me and puts me in a very aero position Only just got it out of the box so not had time to set it up fully - seat is about 1cm too high at the moment.

Info:

Brian Rourke handbuilt steel (dedacciai 1.6) frame
Dura Ace 10 speed Shifters,Brakes,Rear and Front Mech,
Deda BlackDrive Full Carbon Forks
Carbon Profile Design Elite Pro Cranks with Dura Ace 53/39 rings,
FSA Wing Full Carbon Bars
SL-K Stem
Ultegra Wheels
Deda Carbon Seatpost
Fizik Arione Saddle

Anonymous

Like.

petemadoc

Like.

Poulsy

That is really nice. Looks a bit small though...

carl_p

Lovely looking bike. Let us know how it rides.

rajMAN

Nice - Steal is reel.

fizz

Very nice 8)

petemadoc

Carl_P wrote:

Lovely looking bike. Let us know how it rides.

It would be good to hear how it rides compared to your madone

fuzzbear

Nice - quite fancy a Rourke but not sure I'd swap for my carbon frame bike. Am I missing something?

MaxwellBygraves

Love it. Let's have a ride report.

jgsi

FocusZing

sagalout wrote:

My Ebay purchase turned up today - absolutely delighted with it - haven't weighed it yet but its definitely lighter than my carbon madone - not bad for a steel bike, although its probably the heavy TT wheels on the madone not helping!

Bike has an interesting provenance, being built for Sean Kelly to ride in the Cheshire Cat Challenge. The finish on the frame is beautiful - really thick paint and incredibly neat welds.

Big drop to the bars but surprisingly comfy - the reach is perfect for me and puts me in a very aero position Only just got it out of the box so not had time to set it up fully - seat is about 1cm too high at the moment.

Info:

Brian Rourke handbuilt steel (dedacciai 1.6) frame
Dura Ace 10 speed Shifters,Brakes,Rear and Front Mech,
Deda BlackDrive Full Carbon Forks
Carbon Profile Design Elite Pro Cranks with Dura Ace 53/39 rings,
FSA Wing Full Carbon Bars
SL-K Stem
Ultegra Wheels
Deda Carbon Seatpost
Fizik Arione Saddle

Good find, I wouldn't mind taking that bitch up a steep hill!

Get rid of that grass growing out of your drive you lazy git!

sagalout

Took it out for a 30 mile ride the other night

The ride quality is sublime - riding it on the same crappy roads as my Madone its noticeably better at absorbing a poor road surface. Handling is a bit sharper than the Madone - it turns in faster but is still stable on longer turns and descents. There's no noticeable flex in the BB - it was a hilly ride at 2500ft for 30 miles and was out of the saddle a fair bit as its not a compact.

It is marginally small for me (although the seats not as high as it was in that photo). My knees were a bit close to the bars when out of the saddle, but a slightly longer stem should suffice - its certainly not miles away and I felt fine after a couple of hours riding. Love the FSA wing bars, but impossible to attach a light to, so mounted it on my head which wasn't the most comfortable as its quite a heavy light, or practical, as it only illuminated about 2ft in front of me!

Its my first experience with Dura Ace. Shifting felt a lot snappier and lighter than my 105, especially the front derailleur. The only issue is a 'mechanical' noise from the rear derailleur, more noticeable in the lower gears. I've ordered a new chain and jockey wheels which should sort that hopefully. DA brakes felt about the same as the Ultegra ones I have on my other bike.

Overall I'm very happy with it, and I think it was a real bargain at £800 for the quality of kit on it. A couple of modifications and it should be perfect, although I'll probably only use it for daylight rides in future

FocusZing

sagalout wrote:

Took it out for a 30 mile ride the other night

The ride quality is sublime - riding it on the same crappy roads as my Madone its noticeably better at absorbing a poor road surface. Handling is a bit sharper than the Madone - it turns in faster but is still stable on longer turns and descents. There's no noticeable flex in the BB - it was a hilly ride at 2500ft for 30 miles and was out of the saddle a fair bit as its not a compact.

It is marginally small for me (although the seats not as high as it was in that photo). My knees were a bit close to the bars when out of the saddle, but a slightly longer stem should suffice - its certainly not miles away and I felt fine after a couple of hours riding. Love the FSA wing bars, but impossible to attach a light to, so mounted it on my head which wasn't the most comfortable as its quite a heavy light, or practical, as it only illuminated about 2ft in front of me!

Its my first experience with Dura Ace. Shifting felt a lot snappier and lighter than my 105, especially the front derailleur. The only issue is a 'mechanical' noise from the rear derailleur, more noticeable in the lower gears. I've ordered a new chain and jockey wheels which should sort that hopefully. DA brakes felt about the same as the Ultegra ones I have on my other bike.

Overall I'm very happy with it, and I think it was a real bargain at £800 for the quality of kit on it. A couple of modifications and it should be perfect, although I'll probably only use it for daylight rides in future

Sounds good, you've done well there for eight hundred pound.

carl_p

Thanks for posting the review - I've been keeping an eye out for it as a Rourkie is on my wanted list.

You've a timeless classic there, a real keeper and an absolute bargain. Very envious - Enjoy!