Ridefreemc

I like the looks of that, and I know its silly, but I like their graphics. I watched on of the videos (girl with cat) and it's great to see someone ride somewhat off road with the road looking bike (really looked like a cross bike). Will watch the rest later.

Ridefreemc

Hmmmmmmm.....I put them on my Vaya (adjusted them then), I squeeze the little brake levers when I need to stop, and I stop (or slow as needed), and have done so for 2 years now.

Edit-My bad - I didn't see that you were referring to the road version.

Ridefreemc

This may end up as a double post and if so sorry.

If you don't mind sharing, what made you go for the KVA? I like the bike and it appears as though the ss is well thought out for use as bicycle frame material. I love the Seven, but if one can get a great quality frame for a reasonable price why not? $3,600 for the Seven frame is hard for me to justify - even for an "ultimate" bike.

I had a Litespeed and although they did a nice clean job on the frame I went back to a full carbon Trek and loved the difference (road bike - 5200).

acidfast7

Tt_sr_gt

DX-MAN

OHH, I get it -- because other brakes are better, BB7's are crap, and are resting on old laurels. Bullpucky.

Avid's Elixir line has shown some serious issues with reliability; some have been traced to a bad rotor, but others are simply erratic quality. I've looked hard at the Codes, Code R's, Saints, and Hope M4's, but I'm still on BB7's. Near-effortless 1- OR 2-finger stopping, rare maintenance needs, even rarer noises. Right now, the only shortfall I have with them is the absence of ceramic pads, since I wore the last set out. But I have a line on more.

Like what you like, use what you use, have whatever OPINION you like; just keep it real.

Ridefreemc

NICE! What is it? I cannot enlarge it enough to read the frame.

jeffpoulin

That's a Tout Terrain Silk Road GT. Despite the French name ("tout terrain" means "all terrain"), it's actually a German bike. Very good quality, innovative, durable, and on the high end of the cost spectrum. As you can see, the rear rack is an extension of the frame. For touring, these bikes are on the same level as, say, a Co-Motion or a Thorn.

https://www.en.tout-terrain.de/bicycl...d-silkroad-gt/

Sixty Fiver

For commuting my Moulton hits all the right buttons... it is the perfect all rounder and is fast, comfortable, and rides beautifully.



If I was to tour on it I'd be looking at using a wider range hub but I built my P20 for that... it will soon be getting a new 8 speed wheelset and hub generator.



But it is a good thing that one does not have to limit oneself to one, or two, or twenty bikes as tomorrow we are going to go and hit the trails and for that you need different tools.

spare_wheel

my 775s are better than my 765s which were better than my deore lxs. bb7s, on the other hand, have not seen anything other than cosmetic updates for almost a decade.

ninevictor

I decided on the KVA because I already have a Seven Ti frame. I knew I wanted a corrosion resistant material and I liked what the builder had to say about the KVA's hardness, stiffness and weight compared to a comparably equipped 3.5AL-2.5V Ti frame so that is what made me decide on the KVA SS.

Ridefreemc

Ooohhhh, now you have really peaked my interest in this "Ultimate Bike" thread! Or, maybe you can help me narrow my ideas. (I got your PM so no need to go into too much detail unless you want to keep others up to speed).

I like the idea of a Seven Ti because of the care in putting the bike together. It feels good to ride something that is put together well - - not sure why, but it does. That is somewhat like when you clean and wax your car if seems to run better I liked that about my Litespeed (although the Seven is much higher on that scale), but I didn't like the way the bike felt when I rode it - just didn't feel good to me (hard to describe). I much preferred my carbon Trek.

I don't have a "road" specific bike anymore and ride my Vaya mostly, which I would consider much more versatile. If I go with a new bike it will have similar versatility - that is, the ability to go touring (not fully loaded), do some trail riding, some longer recreational rides, and take me back and forth to work - all in a comfortably, but lively fashion. When I found a KVA SS and Reynolds 953 SS builder that said their "all-round" bike was popular I saved his website. However, his prices are similar to the Seven prices - ouch!

I like the idea of larger tires as I run 40mm wide Schwalbe Supremes now and would probably go with 35s next, even though that might hurt my riding in light sand. Therefore, the bike would need to be a little more robust than the typical touring bike (that usually only allows up to about 32 or 28mm). I guess much like my Vaya, but only nicer

acidfast7

tout terrain

https://www.tout-terrain.de/

AusTexMurf

Right off the bat, don't have bb7's myself.
Do run AP Racing hydraulics, Juicy7's, and Magura hydraulic rim brakes, though.
The advantage to the bb7's ?
Two points to adjust the tow/set. Very adjustable, in mechanical disc brake world.
Cable pull. No hydraulics or lines to deal with. Sticky pistons, etc.
More than enough stopping power for the real world.
Pads are cheap and easy to find at any LBS.
My most expensive disc brakes, AP Racing, are the least adjustable and most prone to drag.
Thought of switching them to bb7's, actually.

spare_wheel

I owned a juicy and it had the same pads as my now retired bb7. And I did a little happy dance when I retired those pieces of junk.

I never adjust my hydraulic disc brakes. Never. I simply pop out the old pads, push back the calipers, pop in a new pair of pads, and squeeze the brake levers. 2 minutes and done. When I owned bb7s I had to constantly adjust the two little knobbies. Bb7s also warped my rotors over time.

And it blows me away that someone would talk about cables as an advantage. Having to change brake cables is a pain -- especially if you have internal routing. I never change hydraulic fluid on my brakes. Mineral oil is inert, heat resistant, and I figure I'll probably upgrade in 5-7 years anyways.

I buy semi-metallic pads for $8-10 a piece online but just about every bike store carries new and old shimano deore/lx/slx/xt/xtr pads.

I've never heard of ap racing brakes for a non-motorised vehicle.

KonAaron Snake 

I have a lot of bikes I like for different reasons - my most versatile...and the one I'd keep if I could only keep one...is probably this one:

ninevictor

For all you cable "brifter" equipped disc brake lovers, check out TRP's HY/RD calipers. I upgraded to those from Avid BB7S Road calipers and absolutely love them.

DVC45

Nice!
I might try it. Maybe after the coming Holidays.

Sixty Fiver

Considering how nice a collection of bikes you have, this speaks well of the Koga and they really are some of the nicest bicycles I have ever had the pleasure to play with.

If I was going to keep one bike it would have to be Forrest (my custom P20) as I put a lot of blood, sweat, and gears into that bike and he has carried me a long ways.

KonAaron Snake 

You know the rules - photo please ( though I know that bike well and love your build).

I've ridden a bike or two, and I very much love Miyatas. I could get by with just the Koga, one roadie and a tandem.

Bike Gremlin

Once a car hit me and rack was busted - but the frame was OK. So this is not an extremely good idea, is it? Hmm?

Ridefreemc

I've taken my inquiries about the "Ultimate Bike" a bit further, and thanks to ninevictor I have gotten in touch with a very responsive frame builder. I love the looks of the stainless steel frame and the idea that they would be very durable (as compared to a painted frame). After talking with the builder I probably won't consider SS for me though, mainly due to the statement that it is a stiffer material and probably not what I'm looking for in ride characteristics. Great for other purposes, but not for mine.

The suggestion was to go with Ti as it has the characteristics I'm interested in, along with the durability factor. I really like my CroMo Vaya and take great care of it so it is in perfect condition. However, I do fret about it a bit and would not like to get that first big scratch on it. In fact I don't ride it certain places that don't have safe places to sit it (because of the possibilty of it getting beat up against a metal sign for example). With the larger Schwalbe tires it does not fit into certain bike racks so I have to look for other options (until I get my kickstand!, but that's another thread unto itself). It's not that I'd abuse a Ti frame, but I wouldn't worry about it quite as much.

One thing that it holding me back on going Ti (well, besides the cost) is my previous experience with a Litespeed Ti frame (road bike configuration). It was a beautiful bike, but it just didn't ride great in my opinion. This could have been due to the wheel selection or the tires or any combination of factors, but I attribute the ride to the Ti in my mind and therefore have some hesitation.

Can those of you that have Ti, or have ridden Ti chime in? Should I stick with an awesome build in steel? Maybe powder coat instead of paint?

I'm still looking at a IGH, belt drive, and discs though - love the looks and simplicity.

aadhils

At this point in time; the ultimate bike is my Brompton. Mostly because it doesn't give me an excuse not to ride anymore. I can take it inside stores, ride to work, do longer rides when I feel like it and most importantly, transport it very easily when I have to.

KonAaron Snake 

I've owned 5 ti bikes and currently own three...my two Litespeed built ti road frames were total dogs and very flexie (both sold). My Merlin is an absolute joy. The De Rosa Titanio is somehere in between. It's the builder, not the material.

Which era of Litespeed was this? Lynskey or post-Lynskey? People make too much out of materials - it's all about the builder matching a tool to your preferences. You can undoubtedly get a fine bicycle from steel or ti.

The advantages to ti are:

No paint chips - no worry about leaning it and parking it.
Slight weight savings - not significant to me.
Great as rain/winter bikes because they're totally immune to oxidation.

The disadvantages are:

Cost.
Harder to cold set (though some steels also can't be cold set).
I prefer the aesthetics of lugs.
Fewer builders working in it.

I think because ti is newer, and because it can be more difficult to work with (and less forgiving of errors) I'd be very limited with who I bought a ti frame from. I'd really stick to the big names - Moots, Firefly, IF, Seven, Spectrum...and that's about it. I know that I left one or two off.

Ridefreemc

You don't look like your avatar

Ridefreemc

Not sure which build the Litespeed was, but the year was probably about late-2005. I guess I'm glad to hear you say that though and now I probably don't need to discount the material because of my experience with the Litespeed.