Creamy, Dreamy 650B Conversion

With his latest project, our neighbour Somervillain is quickly establishing himself as Vintage Bicycle Refurbisher Extraordinaire. This dreamy creature began life as a 1984 Shogun 1500 - a good, yet unremarkable touring bike. It has now been transformed into something quite exquisite.

The 25" frame was stripped of its original paint and powdercoated a creamy "almond," the lugwork then outlined in copper.

I think that it's pretty difficult to get the perfect shade of cream: If it's too pale, the bicycle looks bland and if it's too saturated the bicycle looks yellow. This shade looks just right to me: classic, soft and a little mysterious.

The Shogun frame had a high bottom bracket and sufficient clearance for wide tires with fenders, making it a great candidate for a 650B conversion. However, the cantilever bosses had to be relocated in order to accommodate the new wheel size. Both this and the powdercoating were done by Sugarcoat/ Geekhouse. Notice also the internal routing for the dynamo lighting.

Internal routing exit for the tail light. I will not even try to describe the routing, but Somervillain shows the step-by-step process here.

Rear cantilever bosses, Mafac brakes, KoolStop brake pads.

The headlight is the Bausch & Mueller Lumoteq IQ (I have this light on two of my bikes and love it), and the DIY bracket is fashioned out of a caliper brake.

The tail light is a vintage Soubitez converted to LED with Bausch & Mueller innards.

Tires are the red Grand Bois Hetres, with Zeppelin fenders from Velo Orange. I have this same set-up on my Rivendell, only with the cream version of the tires. The Grand Bois Hetres are absolutely magical in their cushiness and a 650B conversion is worth it just for them alone.

Shimano dynamo hub (which Somervillain says causes slight vibration at high speeds when the light is on, so he is considering changing it to a Schmidt SON).

Huret rear derailleur. I forgot the details of the cassette, so perhaps Somervillain will remind me or post the specs.

Huret front derailleur.

Beautiful TA crankset.

VO Moderniste bottle cages.

Belleri Randonneur bars, VO Pass Hunter front rack, Ostrich handlebar bag.

And Brooks B17 saddle.

Perhaps Somervillain would like to go into further detail in the comments, but one interesting thing about this build is that many of the components - or at least the manner in which they are installed - are modified in a way that makes them better integrated with the frame. The result is an exceptionally clean and harmonious look.

Having tested this bicycle out on a metric century ride last weekend, the owner is well pleased with its comfort and performance. Sadly, I am not tall enough for this 25" frame, so I will have to take his word for it. Given that Somervillain has other beautiful bicycles, I am curious how this one compares and what role he ultimately sees it occupying. Will it be his long-distance tourer? Time will tell. Either way, this project was a major accomplishment in its marriage of vintage and custom elements. The frame, the modifications, colour, the components - simply dreamy.