The One and Only 'Constance'! a Mixte by Royal H. Cycles

Trying to write a definitive post about the completion of my custom mixte (whom I have named "Constance") has been overwhelming, but I am forcing myself to do it before too much time goes by. Perhaps it will help if I try to cut down on the sappy stuff and just write about it briefly, matter-of-factly. After all, it's just a bike forgoddsake... Right! 

In September of last year I met Bryan Hollingsworth, who is the framebuilder behind Royal H. Cycles, and asked him to make me a custom mixte frame in the tradition of the French constructeurs. The frame was finished on my birthday this February. One by one, I purchased all the components, and the Co-Habitant put the bike together for me at the end of the summer. The bicycle was complete in September 2010, exactly a year after its inception. If you are interested in the step by step details of the process, you can read all about it by scrolling through these posts; they document the bike from the initial stages of frame design to tweaking the component choices.

To start with a basic description of the bicycle, it is a classic, fully lugged mixte frame with twin lateral stays. The tubing is eclectic, designed with comfort and strength as the main priorities: The downtube and seat stays are Columbus. The seat tube is Nova. The chainstays are Vitus. And the twin stays are domestic 4130 straight gauge.

For those interested in numbers, they are as follows: 52cm seat tube, 54cm virtual top tube, 73° seat tube angle, 72° head tube angle, 53mm fork rake, 54.5mm trail, and a bottom bracket drop of 65mm.

The liquid paint and lug outlining were done by Circle A Cycles in Providence, RI - as is standard for a Royal H. frame.

The colour was matched to a swatch I provided. It is somewhere between a mint green and a sage green, depending on the light. I chose it because it is my favourite colour. The Royal H. insignia and lug outlining were done in copper.

As far as construction goes, several nifty features make the bicycle special. To start with, it is nearly impossible to have a fully lugged mixte built nowadays, because the twin headtube lugs are no longer made. These were procured new old stock.

The "bullet" style seat stay caps were the framebuilder's idea and I was not sure I wanted them at first, but they look spectacular.

The flat-top fork crown has a small custom embellishment, and notice the little lugged braze-on for the shifter boss. I should mention that this bicycle has clearances for 35mm+ tires plus fenders...

Everything that could possibly be lugged on this mixte, is!

- including these amazing triple sockets on the rear dropouts. Read more about them, and other aspects of the lugwork here (not to mention the custom stainless steel kickstand plate!). 

There are braze-ons for both front and rear racks, and the bicycle was built to accommodate reasonable front and rear loads.

If you are interested in a full technical description of the components, you can find that here. But for those who just want the main points of interest, I will describe a few.

The 700C wheels were built by Peter White, with a Schmidt SON dynohub to power the lights. The headlight and tail light are the same as on my Rivendell, and you can read about them here.

Braze-ons along the inside of the fork accommodate the wiring for the headlight.

The handlebars are the Velo Orange Porteur bars, used with a 10mm stem, inverse brake levers, and Silver shifters inserted into Paul thumbies - which were heavily modified for the purpose.

The bicycle was built to accommodate centerpull brakes, as this is my preferred style of brakes. The  brakes are Dia Compe centerpulls from VO - which function great, but had to be slightly modified to fit properly (which, as I understand, is a problem other have had as well).

The crankset is a Sugino Alpina double. You can't tell in this picture, but there is a neat braze-on for the front derailleur.

The rear derailleur is the Shimano XT "Shadow". I love this derailleur, because it tucks in closely to the wheel, so that it is less likely to get dinged if you are riding off-road, or even if the bike gets slammed by a door. Given that I have nearly destroyed the rear derailleur on my Rivendell in half a year's time, I think the "Shadow" was made for me. Oh, and if you are wondering what that monstrous-looking cassette is, that is a Sheldon Brown custom touring cassette. Please be honest about this one: how bad does this look? I considered switching the biggest ring (currently a 34t) to a slightly smaller one, so that it blends in with the others visually - though over time the weirdness of it has grown on me.

The bicycle is fitted with the beautiful Honjo "Le Paon" fenders (similar to the VO "Zeppelins" I have on my Rivendell, but shinier and somehow more elegant), and the front rack is a VO Randonneur.

The rear rack is a VO Constructeur, which is small but can nonetheless fit a standard Dutch-size pannier. Oh, and the tires are (big surprise!) Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, 700C x 35mm. And I think I will stop now with the components, before I put everybody to sleep! If you have questions after reading this post and the spec list here, please ask in the comments and I will be glad to answer.

My impression of the mixte is multi-layered, but all the layers can be placed firmly in the category of "love". The bicycle handles differently than I had imagined, but only because I had no way of imagining something I had never experienced before. It is freakishly light, and luxuriously, almost abnormally comfortable while at the same time being faster and more responsive than any upright bicycle I have ever ridden. It is more responsive than the vintage mixte, "Marianne," I used to own, which I had complained was "twitchy". Somehow, on the Royal H. the responsiveness does not feel scary; I can control it. No idea how this all works, but I am certainly happy about it!

The fit of the mixte is just perfect for me, and I can feel that my proportions have been taken into consideration - everything just feels "right". The bicycle handles best with a 10cm stem, with the handlebars close to level with the saddle, and with the saddle pushed back a bit.

I have ridden the mixte all over town since early September, and have taken it on two longish rides (40 miles and 30 miles). Everything is beyond perfect and there is zero pain. I have tried to describe the ride quality here and here if you are interested in the details. One thing I love that I would never have expected to love, is the high bottom bracket. I feel almost majestically tall on this bicycle, even when leaned over and holding the front of the bars.

Given that this is a custom bicycle, I should probably conclude with a few words about the framebuilder. Bryan Hollingsworth is a young builder with considerable experience working for the world-famous Seven Cycles.  He is a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, easy-going, and genuinely nice person. I knew that Bryan was the right builder for me, because he immediately understood the kind of bicycle I wanted, and got excited about building it. He was surprisingly pro-active about design solutions and pointed out possibilities that even my detail-obsessed imagination had not considered. As a result, my frame has some unique features that I cannot take any credit for what so ever; they were Bryan's idea! Additionally, now that I am actually riding the bicycle, it is clear that Bryan had put a lot of thought into making it comfortable for me, while, at the same time, giving it a degree of fiestiness that I had not expected.

I will also address price and affordability, since some have already been asking about this.  I would rather not disclose the cost of my frame - mainly because that figure will no longer be of use to anyone. When I met Bryan, he had only just begun building custom frames under his own name, and that is how I was able to afford the project. A year later, Royal H. has taken off like a rocket, and, naturally, the price structure has changed somewhat. As for affordability, my advice would be to find a frame builder you like, and then discuss the possibility of breaking up the payment into several installments. This makes paying for the frame considerably easier. Furthermore, no one says that you must buy all the components immediately, and all at once. I saved up for them gradually, which is why it took nearly a year for my bicycle to reach completion. And yes, it was worth it!

I named this bicycle "Constance", because I hope she always remains in my life. Thank you to everyone who made my custom mixte possible, both directly and indirectly.