Van Nicholas Euros

ledeev

Here's my 4 year old Van Nich that I took out for one last ride today before I convert it to external Ui2. I'd forgotten what mechanical shifting was like after having been spoiled for the last 4 months on electronic.




Frame: Van Nicolas Euros (size 58)
Fork: Deda Black Wave
Bars: Deda Newton (42cm, gunmetal)
Stem: FSA SLK (-10deg, 110mm)
Headset: Chris King
Bar Tape: Fizik

Front Brake Lever: Dura Ace 7800
Front Caliper: Planet X CNC ultralight
Rear Brake Lever: Dura Ace 7800
Rear Caliper: Planet X CNC ultralight

Shifters: Dura Ace 7800
Cables: Dura Ace 7800
Front Mech: Ultegra 6600
Rear Mech: Dura Ace 7800

Seat: Selle Italia SLR XP
Seat Post: Van Nicholas (27.2mm, 400mm, -20mm laynabck)
Seat Post Clamp: Van Nicolas Ti

Cranks: Ultegra 6600
Chainring(s): Ultegra 6600
Chain: SRAM 10s
Cassette: Ultegra 6700
Pedals: Look Keo Classic
Bottom Bracket: Ultegra 6700

Front Wheel:
Rim: Chinese Carbon 50mm
Spokes: Pillar
Hub: Novatec 20h
Tire: Continental Sprinter

Back Wheel:
Rim: Chinese Carbon 50mm
Spokes: Pillar
Hub: Novatec 24h
Tire: Continental Sprinter

Weight: 18.5lbs

Other info: Also used as my summer commuter and training bike but with Powertap hubs on DT swiss R540 rims shod with GP4000s. It rides a LOT better on those wheels, in spite of them being a lot heavier. Looks a lot nicer on these wheels though, hence the photos.

djhermer

I think you should raise your saddle a touch.

declan1

I'll ask it first - how long are your legs?!?

MountainMonster

Nice looking bike, very good spec as well.

imposter2.0

what....the.....

Nice, but the pic is completely dominated by the amount of seatpin showing....

majormantra

Please don't bin those shifters. Someone will love them for you.

ledeev

djhermer wrote:

I think you should raise your saddle a touch.

There's another 60mm until the safe insertion limit line so yes, it'll go up even more!

I have long legs (36in inside leg) hence I need the saddle at this height. This was the largest frame that VN offered when I bought it, I think they do a 61 now, which is a bit 'gate-like'. When I posted photos of my Lynskey set at the same height nobody commented on it, so I think it must the photo that makes it look more than it really is. Anyway, this is nothing, have a search for a photo of one of Robert Gesink's bikes. Despite him being 5cm shorter than me, he's the king of seatposts!

I've got the Di2 kit, but am still not 100% sure I want to convert it until these STIs die. These units are the best I've ever tried, and far nicer to hold than those horrible 'under the bar' ones. Di2 is just so much better though, when I tried the mechanical today, I was shocked how much you have to move the levers.

declan1

Ledeev wrote:

djhermer wrote:

I think you should raise your saddle a touch.

There's another 60mm until the safe insertion limit line so yes, it'll go up even more!

I have long legs (36in inside leg) hence I need the saddle at this height. This was the largest frame that VN offered when I bought it, I think they do a 61 now, which is a bit 'gate-like'. When I posted photos of my Lynskey set at the same height nobody commented on it, so I think it must the photo that makes it look more than it really is. Anyway, this is nothing, have a search for a photo of one of Robert Gesink's bikes. Despite him being 5cm shorter than me, he's the king of seatposts!

I've got the Di2 kit, but am still not 100% sure I want to convert it until these STIs die. These units are the best I've ever tried, and far nicer to hold than those horrible 'under the bar' ones. Di2 is just so much better though, when I tried the mechanical today, I was shocked how much you have to move the levers.

I've also got a 36in inside leg but my saddle looks nowhere near that height! I'm pretty sure my left leg is about 2 inches shorter than my right though...

How high do you have the saddle?

ledeev

Depending on the cranks, I set it at 80cm from the saddle rails to the centre of the BB.

declan1

Ledeev wrote:

Depending on the cranks, I set it at 80cm from the saddle rails to the centre of the BB.

Mine's usually at about 81cm, and I ride a 60cm frame so there shouldn't be that much more seatpost showing! Looks at my Dolan for comparison :shock:

I haven't said it yet but your bike looks REALLY nice...

ledeev

Thanks!

I just compared the VN with my Lynksey. The VN frame is 15mm smaller, but the BB to saddle height is exactly the same, and the bars are at the sa,e height but there doesn't look to be as much post showing. Maybe it's the colour?

declan1

Yeah that doesn't look quite as high. Photos taken with a wide-angle lens pointing upwards always make the subject look really tall so that's probably part of the reason! Both very nice bikes though.

DiscoBoy

I think the saddle-bar drop is greater on the Van Nicholas, which makes it look higher.

Gorgeous bikes

ledeev

Thanks.

The saddle and bars are at the same height on both bikes.

DiscoBoy

Ledeev wrote:

Thanks.

The saddle and bars are at the same height on both bikes.

Must just be perspective and lack of lights & saddle bag then, because the drop looks a lot greater.

limoneboy

based on the picture , a wheel is approx 350mm radius and in scale your seat is at 1000mm bb to top of seat.

i think you might need a new tape measure or i do :?

bike looks great , i am a big titanium fan

ledeev

Thanks for checking my measurements, but it must be a trick of the eye, it's definitely 800mm BB to rails. You'd need to be about 8ft tall to ride 1000mm.

declan1

Ledeev wrote:

Thanks for checking my measurements, but it must be a trick of the eye, it's definitely 800mm BB to rails. You'd need to be about 8ft tall to ride 1000mm.

That's where we're different then. Mine is BB to top of saddle - that's where you should measure saddle height as the distance between rails and the top of the saddle can change between different saddles!

ledeev

Interesting. I've always measured BB to rails because:

a) I only use Selle Italia SLRs on my dropped bar bikes, so all the saddles are the same

b) I ride a TT bike a lot of the time which has a steeper seat angle and non-conventional saddle (Adamo) placement

I've never worked out where to measure on the top of the saddle, the front, back or middle? At least measuring to the centre on the clamp is consistent.

declan1

Ledeev wrote:

Interesting. I've always measured BB to rails because:

a) I only use Selle Italia SLRs on my dropped bar bikes, so all the saddles are the same

b) I ride a TT bike a lot of the time which has a steeper seat angle and non-conventional saddle (Adamo) placement

I've never worked out where to measure on the top of the saddle, the front, back or middle? At least measuring to the centre on the clamp is consistent.

I measure to the top of the saddle at the point where the seat-tube would intersect it. My bikes all have different saddles so I couldn't measure by rails!

ledeev

I used to measure like that, but when I started buying bikes like this...



....it all got a bit too difficult for me, especially when I run a bit late for my start time and need to get the bike set up right first time, so I started measuring to the rails. I know it's not what the bike shops do, but it works for me.

Horses for courses I guess, in the same way some people like Campag.

DiscoBoy

I think we need some pictures of your other bikes, you know, to make sure you have them set up correctly

ledeev

I'll try and post some more photos for critiquing. There just aren't enough Internet-based bike fit services!

I swapped one of the spacers under the stem for a red one tonight and I'm pleased how it looks now!

MountainMonster

Lovely looking!

ledeev

I finally got round to updating my Van Nich to Di2.



I dislike the look of cables on the downtube so decided to run the control wire along the bottom of the top tube, then down the back of the seat tube to be lost behind the rear mech and various other wires. A bit of experimentation with wire lengths and I came up with the following:

Junc A to B: 1200mm
Junc B to RD: 500mm
Junc B to batt: 300mm
Junc B to FD: 300mm

I retained the wires to the frame under strips of aluminium tape. I’m not satisfied with the quality of this job so will have another go at this with someone holding the wires tight while I stick them on.






I’m not a fan of the look of the Shimano Di2 battery, but because I can’t find an easy way of getting the wires inside the frame without drilling, I'm stuck with it. I don’t have the patience to fashion a mount to go under the BB or chainstay like other people have, so mounted it on the seat tube instead. In my opinion, it looks okay there and makes tidying up the wires easier.

I also took the opportunity to swap the cranks for some Ultegra SL ones that I picked up for my Lynskey, but decided to put on this instead. I’m still not sure if I prefer the look, but I’m sure it will grow on me.

I use the bike mainly for training and general riding, so mainly use it with the Powertap wheels shown in the pictures. I quite like the 32h on this bike, it gives an under-stated pre-2000s look that I really like. I can’t say that I’m that blown away by the Powertap. It weighs rather a lot, breaks spokes for fun and after <2000 miles (all weather admittedly), the bearings have gone. Despite the power measurement being consistent and reliable, I wouldn’t buy another one, especially given the performance of the Power2Max unit on my P3C

ledeev

On my way home yesterday, the dreaded flashing red light of pain came on to show that my Di2 battery needed charging. Fortunately it got me home, but it served as a reminder that I needed to do some cleaning and maintenance on my Van Nic.

Whilst cleaning, I took the opportunity to stick on my Carbones with some fresh tyres, Veloflex 23mm slick on the front, Continental GP4000s on the back. Annoying that they didn't match, but they were all I had in my shoebox of new tyres.

I really love the look of the Euros with these wheels on, and it really does bring the ride alive, so much nicer then the 32h DT swiss wheels I rode on in the spring. They aren't the lightest or most aero, but the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLs are superb wheels. I've had these since 2006 and have ridden them a lot. I had the PT fitted 4 years ago, raced a lot on them but have never had to true them or anything.

I'm moving house soon, so that'll be the end of the easy access to sultry beach shots,

Also, I know I have a lot of seat post showing.

carl_p

That's really nice, but then I'm a bit biased. I've actually stripped all the decals off mine now and it does look so much better. Van Nic frames have such nice build quality, it's a shame they haven't come up with a better decal solution.

How did you find the Chinese carbon wheels? I must say your latest wheels look superb against that frame 8)

ledeev

I know, I've never liked the decals and thought they looked rubbish the moment I pulled the frame out of the delivery box back in 2009. Their removal is on my 'to-do' list this winter. At least you can tell a VN from a mile off with them though I suppose. Quite right on the build quality, 6 years, 10,000 miles, no issues. I bought a Lynskey two years ago which was considerably more expensive and the thing cracked open after 18 months!

The Chinese wheels are pretty good for what they cost (£200 quid if I remember right). I bought a set of rims a few years ago and built them up myself, but the ones in the photo I bought pre-built two years later and the build quality of the rims between the two has improved considerably. I don't use the carbon rims on the Euros as a rule, but they're pretty light and roll well. However, the braking surface is quite uneven and they judder with the brakes on down hill. Usually I run them on my P3C on which I rarely use the brakes so it's not really an issue to me. I've only ever bought chinese tubular rims, I'm not brave enough for Chinese clinchers just yet.

The Cosmics are great. Absolutely bullet proof, clincher, alloy braking surface so no faffing about with pads, just brilliant. Am mulling over whether to update the decals on those too, but these ones are quite rare now and I'll never get them applied quite as well as they do in the Mavic factory so don't think I'll bother.

carl_p

I had a SPIN titanium stem on mine for a short while, but it constantly creaked and eventually drove me nuts. I just couldn't stop it making a noise so I've now gone back to a carbon FSA. I've also got the exact same stem as you. I'm currently using a Van Nic titanium seatpost which does look nice but may also get a carbon one just to change the look from time to time.

Had mine 4 years now, still looks great so I won't be parting with it. Shame there's not enough clearance on the rear wheel with 25mm tyres for even Crud Roadracers, otherwise I'd use it all year round.

harry-s

I bought a Lynskey two years ago which was considerably more expensive and the thing cracked open after 18 months!

Blimey Ledeev! What happened? Tell us more, and how did Lynskey respond?

ledeev

Blimey Ledeev! What happened? Tell us more, and how did Lynskey respond?

The driveside seatstay cracked. I suspect that it happened shortly after I built it up as the bike always had an unexplained creak. I only found it when I cleaned the oil off the chainstay.

Photos here: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12943271&start=60

The frame is back with Lynskey being mended and the whole process has already taken a month. Hopefully it'll be back by the autumn, but I won't bet money on it.