Rourke 853 Audax build ... pictures.

[samsbike]

It is lovely. Does it have bottle cage mounts on the bottom of the dt and what is that rear light it looks huge?

 

[zigzag]

love the frame and wheels! i do like sti shifters though, they give an option to change gears whilst out of saddle and during braking before the corner. many happy miles!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Love the colour coordination, especially the cable to the rear derailleur, top marks to you. Great to see down tube shifters as well, the mark of a connoisseur.

 

[Drago]

That looks extremely pleasant.

 

[Fab Foodie]

It is lovely. Does it have bottle cage mounts on the bottom of the dt and what is that rear light it looks huge?

Yes there is a bottle cage under the DT, but space is tight. I will put an Ahearne Spaceman hip-flask there!
http://www.ahearnecycles.com/shop/spaceman-bicycle-flask-holster

The rear light is not as big as it looks, but is excellent and has good weatherproofing and a reflector:
http://road.cc/content/review/55378-pdw-radbot-1000-rear-led

The long one is a Fibreflare:
http://road.cc/content/review/99682-fibre-flare-single-tail-rear-light

Ultimately I'll wire a rear dynamo lamp.

 

[Fab Foodie]

First impresssion - very smooth indeed, I mean really smooth over Oxfordshires shitty road surfaces. Nice and stable too, not staid, light and precise but not twitchy. This was not a day for wild descending or cornering, but the handling does seems very confident. The tyres seem to roll well.
With the steel fork and the heavier build wheels/dynohub, she's doesn't accelerate like a scolded cat, more like a 'Gentlemens express' a GT rather than a sports car.
The DT shifters were beautifully smooth and precise and the brakes very positive.
The overall fit is pretty damn good, racier rather than touring, I can ride comfortably on the drops as well as the hoods and the power goes down well. A little idiosyncratic tweaking required yet.
Having mudguards is ace!

Swift, smooth, sure.
Fab!

 

[biggs682]

@Fab Foodie if you need to go away you could always park it at mine to be ridden whilst you are away !

must admit does look good , i bet the old Holdsworth had its nose put out of joint

 

[Drago]

The more I look at that the more I appreciate a well thought out spec list. You got a friend ready to serve you well for several decades there.

 

[Fab Foodie]

@Fab Foodie if you need to go away you could always park it at mine to be ridden whilst you are away !

must admit does look good , i bet the old Holdsworth had its nose put out of joint

Ha!
The Holdsworth will get some TLC and the summer wheels ... it's not all bad for her, she'll no longer have to endure all the shitty weather.

 

[Fab Foodie]

The more I look at that the more I appreciate a well thought out spec list. You got a friend ready to serve you well for several decades there.

Thanks. I spent a lot of time researching. The Bespoke bicycle show was a great place for ideas as well as people here and yacf. The devil as always is in the detail. Today people commented on the special tabs on the inside of the fork leg for the dynamo cabling!
The continuous rear brake cable outer will provide the support for the rear light cable etc. The rear hub dismantles without tools (and kinda matches the front hub), useful for fixing a drive side spoke in the middle of nowhere for example .... Small details.

 

[P.H]

Very, very nice, great colour, but I would say that I've just had a frame painted a similar shade.
It's good to see the frame make full use of the brake drop, too often you see the pads half way up the slot. Also good to see proper room in the rear triangle for guards without leaving big gaps. Those Rourkes certainly know what they're doing
Odd choice to go for a full cable outer to the rear brake, your idea? I can't see any advantage, just more to compress, though even that would be minimal.