[url=https://flic.kr/p/pv323T]Shand Stoater Rohloff[/url] by StoooPotter, on Flickr

So, it has finally arrived… the bike I’ve been waiting for, for years. I should clarify that a little… I ordered it in Autumn this year, but I’ve been thinking about spec and planning this bike for a very long time. The bike that can take me anywhere, the bike I can ride whenever I want, the bike that was built for me, that I would never sell, that could see me through anything.

When I first discovered Shand cycles over a year ago, I was struck by the care and attention that went into their bikes. The incredible attention to detail, and the focus on function, without loosing the form… leaving you with something that is exceptionally versatile and practical, while still being beautifully elegant. I loved their ethos of building bikes for adventure, for exactly the kind of riding I like to do.

In the summer, I decided that they seemed the logical choice to make my dream bike and work circumstances meant that I could finally justify spending money on the bike of my dreams, so I started speaking with Steven and Russell at Shand, with help from their spec expert Fraser, and refining my ultimate spec.

*Shand Stoater Rohloff, with custom liquid frog paint scheme… with Argyle detail on seat tube and fork legs
*S&S Couplers, to allow for easy transportation for over seas expeditions
*Velocity A23 Rims, with Rohloff rear and Schmitt Dynamo front hub
*Middleburn Cranks, and Gates Carbon Belt Drive
*Salsa Cowbell bars
*TRP break levers and Avid BB7 disc brakes
*The Plug steerer mounted USB charger, connecting to the front hub
*Thomson collar and cuffs.

I’m super pleased with the finish, it looks like everything I hoped for… can’t wait to see how she rides and start planning the adventures. First on the list, 3 day Scottish coast to coast, Aberdeen to Applecross.

Very nice. Enjoy 🙂

Needs more pictures

Proper lovely !

I’ll build up a wee album of pics… but I’d like some of them to be outside in beautiful scenery, once I’ve ridden it (fingers crossed for a nice forecast on Friday, my next day off)

That looks really nice. Just received a copy of The Bicycle Artisans, it’s got to see Steve and Russ among them.

That’s a great wee book… was put together by Rickie Feather (of Feather Cycles) and Matthew Sowter, who built my other road bike, an Enigma steel frame, based on the Ethos… before he left Enigma and started his on company: Saffron Frameworks. (who make really rather lovely stuff too)

Daft question.. If it’s custom made why the lay back post and long stem?
Lovely looking bike BTW.. Just needs better brakes

I’d be quite concerned with that cable run rubbing on the top of the forks, as for ride anything there’s a long time belt drive user on here who may disagree, looks nice though,

Beautiful. That is pretty much what I’m building in 5 years when I retire. Perfect bikes for pootling around Scotland. Enjoy it and post up lots of pics.

Love the colour. Seat tube angle looks ‘unconventional’.

The geometry is pretty much their standard Small, which fits me perfectly. I like a layback post and the stem length gives me the handling I like.

Fraser, at Shand, put frame protection tape on any area where the paint was vulnerable. I’m likely to trim the Rohloff cables down though. There was a wee challenge when I collected it and had forgotten to tell him that I ran front brake on the left so he swapped everything around for me, but it left the cables a little less tidy that they started. easy fix.

I’ve no plans to ride muddy off road with this, at worst, I’m going gravel road touring. Steven Shand has been running his belt drive single speed for the last year, including last winter, through some pretty grim conditions and on some pretty rough roads and has not had to touch a thing on the bike. Sounds good to me. but, we’ll see. I am willing to switch back to chain drive in future if I don’t get on with belt.. but I had to give it a try. Love the idea.

Daft question.. If it’s custom made why the lay back post and long stem?

swat i was thinkng, those thomson laybacks jut look wrong itn a “my frame doesn’t fit” kinda way

Um, so every bike which doesn’t have an in-line post is wrong? Okay 🙄

^^ I thought they were quite long ETT to start with ??

The saddle is positioned in a way that puts me in the perfect spot over the bottom bracket. If I were to want an inline post, then I’d need to have the seat tube tilted back a bit, which would mean extending the chainstays, to keep the clearance the same.

The top tube is the perfect length to put my hands in the right place with those bars and a 100mm stem, which gives me the exact handling and feel that I like.

I actually quite like the Thomson seatposts… more than anything though, they’re sturdy and the finish doesn’t diminish over time, so the bike should always look shiny.

It’s not to everyone’s tastes, but then it doesn’t need to be… this is my bike, built for me, exactly the way I wanted and should last me a lifetime 🙂

Lovely looking bike! Lucky sod. Enjoy 😀

Mmm, lovely!

Mind if I ask: how much?

looks bloody lovely that. enjoy it mate.

ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Um, so every bike which doesn’t have an in-line post is wrong? Oka

I was just curious as to why.. Just something I wouldn’t have expected on a custom bike
But if stoo achieves his best riding position this way then.. That’s the best thing to stick on there.

That’s lovely. Enjoy.

Offset seat posts are standard, and that’s what seat tube angles are designed around. Thomson achieve the offset in a different way from others with a bend rather than a set back clamp, but the geometry is similar.

Cy said as much about the 650 Soul – he slackened the seat tube to account for inline dropper use to achieve the same seating position as with a standard offset post.

Don’t know why people get so hung up on it.

Pretty bike by the way.

bencooper – Member
Um, so every bike which doesn’t have an in-line post is wrong? Okay

If it’s a bent Thomson it looks wrong, ^

Very clean and tidy, top marks from me.

Niice. 8)

I hope that rides as well as it looks. I really want something very like that.

That looks like a lovely bike, very nice indeed.
I was hoping when I read ‘argyle detail’ that it would be a bigger chunk of the tube that looked like my favourite socks though!

were you 15 minutes late for your meeting yesterday morning ?

someone on my facebook posted this and said – look what i found being carried up the stairs at the office 😀 – cant be many of these about.,

looks good.

Graet looking bike looks like it’s been specced by someone who knows what they want it to do and is really going to get some serious riding done on it.
Makes a refreshing change from seeing yet another freak bike built to pander to the latest whim of some beard wielding nichemeister.

With the coupling joints – when you ‘break’ the frame is there enough slack in all the cables to essentially fold it in half so you end up with the rear axle next to the forks? Always been curious as to how these work.

“With the coupling joints – when you ‘break’ the frame is there enough slack in all the cables to essentially fold it in half so you end up with the rear axle next to the forks? Always been curious as to how these work.”

maybe there is BUT i have spec’d these in the past for customers and also used splitting cables.

We built up a co-motion S&S tandem that split in 3 places and would fit into 3 individual suitcases for travel – so the cables had to split. the only thing i had to mod was – rubber bumpers on the frame side of the splice kit – as sometimes it would contact the frame and make a ding.

“anything is possible” (its just a case of having enough money and time)

Great looking bike especially with the silver finishing kit. How fat can you run with tires?

maybe there is BUT i have spec’d these in the past for customers and also used splitting cables.

If money is no object, there is also such a thing as a hydraulic splitter 😉

Daft question.. If it’s custom made why the lay back post and long stem?

sighs, shakes head, cries a little, looks around for bottle of port….

Answers to questions:
Trail-Rat… yep, that’ll be me. You must know Graham at Blyth & Blyth then?

Velosam… Steven Shand says I should be able to get a 45mm in there, with no guards, I’m currently running 30mm Marathon Racer, which suit the distance-at-speed-in-comfort brief that I had.

Gotama… Bencooper… yes, there is enough slack there, and it’s also super easy to detach cables as they fix to the frame with bolt on cable guides. It’s spec’ed with full front-rear cable hosing, to keep it a mostly sealed unit.

On that note… I’ve gone with cable discs as I don’t need to ultimate stopping power of Hydro and I want something that’s easy to repair in the middle of nowhere. I can replace a cable easy enough, but a damaged hose means a trip to a suitable mechanic. I may, however, give the TRP HyRd calipers, that are on my cross bike, a go.

Nice.. so where are you hoping to head off to to make the most of the couplers? Pretty bombproof travel bike, looks great.

bencooper – Member

If money is no object, there is also such a thing as a hydraulic splitter

I`ve been using staubli dry-breaks on trick Cars / Bikes for years….. you are right though, they are lovely but not cheap

If money is no object, there is also such a thing as a hydraulic splitter

A few $ a bike for the quick-connects becoming available from Tektro etc. Reconnect a fair few times at one end or other w/o air getting in.

First ride thoughts…

Went for a chilly 70km yesterday and, despite being wowfully underdressed, I thoroughly enjoyed the stoater.

I’m really happy with my spec list and the bike fit me perfectly, as one would hope.

My first experience with a Rohloff, and I was really impressed, it never missed a beat. I’m riding 50:19 ratio, which gives me a similar gear range as having a traditional 9sp mountain bike tripple on there. I found myself in gears 9 and 10 most of the time on the flat, doing around 25km/h. Gear 7 is the strange feeling one, where lots of planetary cogs kick in to play, but you soon learn to ignore the odd noise. Climbing under load seemed absolutely fine and my concernes over the belt drive have gone. The whole thing felt very positive and reliable… exactly what I was after. I love the fact that I can go grab the bike from the garage without worrying about what state the chain and drive train is in… similarly, I can put it back at the end of the ride, when my hands and feet feel like their falling off, wihtout worrying about having to clean and lube everything for fear of it rusting to bits or ceasing up.

The position on the Cowbell bars and the feel of the Brooks Cambrium saddle were perfect. I also like the feel of the TRP leaverrs and breaking wiht hte BB7s seemed adequate. I may still try my set of HrRd calipers on there.

Mostly, I was very impressed with the handling and ride quality of the Stoater frame… it feels a little vague at low speed, compared to race geometry, but that soon turns into incredible stability when you speed up, or when you get tired. The feel through the BB is fantastic and there’s no worrying flex when honking out the saddle in a big gear, yet the rear triangle just seems to soften nasty road surfaces beautifully. I’d have no concerns taking it along farm roads if I stuck some fatter rubber on there.

You could say, I’m very happy wiht my purchase. Thanks Shand