The rear mech cable run along the chain stay (well kinda near the chain stay, probably in the same postcode) makes baby Jesus cry.

I think its sweet. A cable and a hose are going to lie, to some extent, where they want to lie so some bends will remain. Remember theyve probably been sat in a box coiled up for the last 8 months on a shelf somewhere. If the photograph had been taken from a different angle they wouldnt be visible and they def wouldnt be visible to the rider as theyre well out the road.

Then they should have taken the photo from a different angle. Whilst I don’t disagree I don’t get how folk can coo over ‘the wonderful detailing’ on a frame that has worse cable routing than a £99 Argos bike! Why not internal? even the front hose looks a bit crap. Why has it been coiled in a box for 8 months? They’re selling a high end product, this is their promo shot, it’s all showing a massive lack of attention to detail. Why would I then want to give them a chunk of my money?

I like it as a nice classic looking hardtail. Based on Shand’s reputation I would assume the paint finish is perfect and the welding underneath is just as good. Given it is handmade then £1k seems about right to me, same price as a Niner Sir9 after all. I assume it’s built using a mix of tubing to get the best ride for the purpose. That said the cabling is untidy, I suspect largely because of the front mech cable and it would look a lot better as a 1x. Also not a huge fan of downtube cables as it creates hassle with crud catchers which, as a UK built bike, surprises me. It was one thing I always hated about my swift. A set of bottle bosses for the crud guard is always welcome imo.

Are the drop outs shand use interchangeable for singlespeed ones? Edit – just read the website and it uses an ebb.

I like it, wouldn’t have the dropper nor the bouncy things on the front either. Of the colours I’d choose either the fluro green or the dark green from the samples in the second row from the left.

Does the frame have a wee split at the dropouts?

Porn is rarely grey

bit ageist

The internal stealth routing looks a bit of a gaping hole, why not use something like this to tidy it up? The additional cost can’t be much. In fact i’m sure I’ve seen the little ports below on another shand bike at some point.

Internal routing port

Not porn. That cable routing is all sorts of wrong. From a purely practical angle if not from an aesthetic viewpoint, it’s ugly and busy and your going to be picking clag out of that lot every time you’re out on it.

Should all be routed along the top.

Not for me.

Is internal routing common on steel bikes? Would have thought extra holes in the frame was less appealing than for aluminum /carbon.

What’s the point of top tube routing for totally sealed cables?

It’s a lovely looking bike, and a bargain for a handmade British frame.

^^^ because it makes it easier to clean the bike and gives you space to stick a crud catcher on there.

not exciting, kind of like a readers wife who is a bit average.

Porn is rarely grey, unless The Pinkster is the target market.

😛
😆

TBH it looks like my bFe in Grey and with bigger wheels, except my bFe has more porn due to the XTR crank.

I like it. I’d go for the orangey brown or the spangly blue. Although I don’t need this. No, what I really need want is a skinnymalinky.

Is internal routing common on steel bikes? Would have thought extra holes in the frame was less appealing than for aluminum /carbon.

English manage it. IMO they’re drool worthy steel frames, don’t get Shand, least of all this frame. Very nice. Nothing remotely special though. But maybe I just don’t get it.

Looks nice. Looks like a classic MTB to me, which is always good in my book.

Looks nice, but for me the only improvement over the Solaris I have is the finish of the welds and paint.

Also, there’s something impossible about the geometry figures, the reach can’t possibly be right for those top tube lengths and seat tube angles. You’d be able to see in the photos if it was THAT long.

Doesn’t do it for me. I like a neat hardtail but the curved DT and awful cable run, which looks like an afterthought

Njee, internal routing for 3 or 4 cables leaves 2 or 3 holes when you SS it, or 1 or 2 if you 1x and don’t use a dropper. You can get cable clips like this for 1-4 cables.
It depends on whether adaptable with external or neat in one set up with redundant plugged holes and a potentially heavier frame (fittings, may use brass tubes internally etc) to cope with it is your thing. I expect you could have either.

Completely agree with Njee (for once)!
It NEEDS internal cable routing to be special and warrant the price tag in my opinion.
I think it could of done with either sliding dropouts and no EBB or EBB and built in rear.

A bit more work and it would be on top of my list.

I think its already been mentioned(!) but the cable routing does look pish.

The bolt on cable guides are a nice touch but the routing layout looks like an afterthought.

For the money it leaves me feeling a little meh.

Wouldn’t you spend the extra and go fully custom?

Is that 26, or just a large frame?

BB cable routing makes sense for an ‘adventure’ frame since it’s (slightly) easier to carry without cables on the top tube.

It’s also easier to use a frame bag if the cables aren’t run inside the front triangle.

Looks good to me.
Price seems very reasonable for a handbuilt semi-custom frame.
Cable routing makes sense for a few reasons.
I’m not a fan of downtube bends aesthetically, but as the default is straight, there must have been enough good reasons to move away from it.

bencooper – Member

What’s the point of top tube routing for totally sealed cables?

It looks a billion times nicer?

Did someone mention bike porn?

http://pedalitout.com/post/104751569450/stunning-bling-fireflybicycles-moser-inspired

I think the routing is probably based on changing between derailleurs and a Rohloff. I was vaguely thinking of a custom frame recently which would have to be able to run both and running the cables the way Shand have gives the best aesthetics in terms of not seeing unused cable guides. I also figured I’d want bolt on guides and space them on the down tube to also accept a crud catcher and a third bottle cage.

Works for me. What’s the issue?

That road bike’s horrible! Really nasty colour scheme. The OP hardtail’s OK, though nothing special.

I think my issue isn’t necessarily just the routing, I understand the practicalities associated with that. It’s more that it looks like it’s been done badly – the cables are lumpy and aren’t sitting flush to the tube at all.

Straighten them first, pull them tighter, photoshop it for all I care, but it jumps out and makes the bike look untidy.

Works for me. What’s the issue?

Works OK for me too, but it’s better to pull the bag tight against the tubes than against cables that move. Full outers make it less of an issue but they still shift about. Hardly end of the world stuff but among the reasons I like DT>BB routing.

I think my issue isn’t necessarily just the routing, I understand the practicalities associated with that. It’s more that it looks like it’s been done badly – the cables are lumpy and aren’t sitting flush to the tube at all.

Straighten them first, pull them tighter, photoshop it for all I care, but it jumps out and makes the bike look untidy.

Fully agree, just looks carelessly done, which shouldn’t be the case for a professional build put together for a photoshoot.

Ditto the missing valve cap, and personally I’d have put the tyres on with the writing the correct way up.

I realise a lot of folk really don’t care, but if you’re doing the ‘semi custom built bike porn’ angle, and they seem to elicit those feelings, then that really matters IMO.

I bet in the flesh that looks the nuts!
Where else can you get a frame like that for that price??

Where else can you get a frame like that for that price??

Here? Well, that one could have whatever cable routing you want, and whatever geometry you want.

But I won’t say Shand, so not as valuable.

Can someone please point out what is so exceptional about this frame for the price? It’s an off the shelf, £1000, steel frame with swapable dropouts? Ignore the name, what is it that makes it so incredible?

@njee20 you’re a cheery bloke aren’t you?

Immensely!

I’ve said that your bikes look great, just don’t understand what makes them exceptional and worthy of the cooing? Genuinely don’t understand. But I’ve got respect for anyone who comes onto the forum to talk about their own products, so you’ve just moved up in my estimation, which I’m sure will please you greatly!

@njee20 well, I had removed you from my Christmas card list but I’ve just put you back on. So we’re all good.

Next step, a Shand sponsored team for Njee to race under 😉

But I’ve got respect for anyone who comes onto the forum to talk about their own products

Must’ve missed that bit, looked like he just came onto the forum to call you grumpy 😉