Korina

noglider you should see the one he made last week; in his Cave of Bad Ideas he put a wireless shifter on a Brompton. It's hilarious!

lostarchitect 

Periodically, Johnny Coast does a batch of "semi-custom" rando frames that I understand are priced well below what one would normally pay for a custom, since he does them as a batch and they share most features. His Spring batch is full, but maybe you could get on the list for next season?

https://coastcycles.nyc/semi-custom-frames

I keep telling myself I should sell several bikes that I rarely ride and get one of these... They're not cheap but for what they are I think it's a very good price.

noglider 

@lostarchitect, do you still have your Pass Hunter?

mariachi

@lostarchitect I second noglider I'm curious to understand if my troubles with this frame are due to geometry, quality control or fit.

Also thanks for the John Coast tip, I did not know him! *shame*

lostarchitect 

Yep, I still have mine. Bought it in 2013, I think. It's a 55cm model, which I think means a 55cm top tube and a 53.5 cm seat tube. I like it well enough and it's probably the bike I ride the most.

I haven't noticed any quality issues and the only geometry issues I have are with my own body--short legs, long arms. Probably my ideal size is something like 54 x 57, but this gets the job done. Fit is always a little difficult for me, but I wanted to be a little more upright on this bike so it wasn't as much of an issue here.

I'd post a photo but I don't have anything remotely current, it's gone through several build iterations.

Regarding Johnny Coast, you should email him if you are curious about his stuff. He has always responded to my emails, seems like a nice guy.

lostarchitect 

Actually, I found a fairly current photo. This is more or less what my Pass Hunter looks like now.

southpawboston

Not sure if this is the OP's size, or fits his needs, but this Rawland rSogn frameset is for sale in Vermont. Came up on the 650B list:

https://groups.google.com/g/650b/c/ex2k8-N2QAU

I have a friend who's done years of randonneuring and passhunting-type riding on an rSogn.

pcb 

tl;dr: I'd look for a local dealer who's got a good reputation for fitting, let them see what you're riding now, and see what they'd recommend for fit and geometry to minimize the handling issues you're having.

You said the bike photo wasn't the final build, which makes it a little harder for me to brainstorm.

But needing a very short 5cm stem and short-reach bars to make your reach comfortable sounds to me like your top tube is too long. Unless your seat is slammed all the way back. It's not in your photo, but that's not final. I don't think the Pass Hunter has a 68-/69-deg seat tube angle, so I'm going to guess your top tube is too long.

Combining an overly long top tube and short stem with a large handlebar bag on a med-high trail frame isn't likely to result in smooth, predictable handling.

There's also something I didn't notice before, and your final build may be different, but in the photo it looks like your front rack is angled forward, which would put the weight even further forward from the steering axis. Pitching the weight further forward, especially with med-high trail, isn't going to enhance/encourage steering/tracking stability.

There are always a lot of variables involved, and we can't see how you fit on your bike, what your body/load weight distribution is like. And I'm not a bike fitter. But if somebody asked me what kind of frame/bike they might want to look at, and they love 1-2wk camping trips and long <200km rides and maybe want to do some brevets, I wouldn't start them looking at med-high trail geometry with long top tubes that require 5cm stems for a comfortable reach.

And I suppose it''s entirely possible there's some kind of mfr defect or qc issue with your frame that's contributing to your handling issues, but I think you first need to deal with basic issues of fit and geometry.

bark_eater 

That why I went with a Nitto M18 for my next bike. Its a plumbers nightmare compared to a true integrated rack, but the other one size fits all racks end up high and forward with a tilt unless there's a bunch of fussy bending done. The m18 should be able to tuck right in to the head tube and fender.

mariachi

In the picture the rack does seem angled now that you mention it, but in reality it's levelled. I also think the top tube is too long, but also that the seat tube angle is too slack.
Seat height is 72cm (my inseam is 82cm) which leaves about a fist showing. Bar height is also alright, but the bike feels super long.
In any case, due to all the quality problems on this bike, I think it's not possible to distinguish if something is caused by a bad fit, or bad frame. Even though it is clear that my fit does not help the situation at all, but that's why I've made this thread.

I sent an email to Mercian, curious to see what their response is. My favorite framebuilder in this side of the pond (Meerglas) is taking a break :/

seypat

Here's one. Not in Richmond, however.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/...281569466.html