Heron Owners Gallery - Road Model

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I wanted a fast road bike but I didn't want to give up the comfort of the older road-sport or sport-touring geometries. Early on I knew I'd have to make some compromises for comfort and riding ease: a Brooks B-17 saddle, a Rivendell Banana bag, a stem that allows me to place my handlebars level with the saddle, and a 110 BCD double crankset that gives me a reasonable range of gearing. However, unlike my other bikes, my build decisions took weight much more into consideration. The finished bike weighs in at just under 20 pounds, though an earlier version built with a lighter saddle, bag, pedals, and sans frame pump came in under 19. Interestingly, I'm no faster on this bike than I am on my other, heavier bikes, but it's a fun bike to ride. The specific criteria I wanted my road bike to meet were: - lugged steel frame (Heron, Waterford, Rivendell, etc.) - light ( < 20 pounds) but strong (I'm a 215 pound rider) - comfortable (more relaxed road-sport geometry, handlebars even with Brooks saddle) - quick (shorter wheelbase, approaching "road" geometry) - wide range gearing and a realistic top end with double chainrings What I built up: Second generation 58 cm Heron Road frame with 2003 Easton EC90 fork (Heron Heritage tubing, vertical dropouts) 7700 Dura Ace rear derailer, downtube shifters, cassette (12-27), and brakes FSA Energy Compact 110 BCD 172.5 mm crank (36/48 chainrings) with 108 mm FSA Platinum Pro ISIS bottom bracket 7400 Dura Ace front derailer and brake levers 7700 Dura Ace hubs on black, 32 spoke Mavic Open Pro rims, 14/16/14 gauge DT spokes Michelin Pro Race tires Cane Creek C-4 headset, Salsa stem, Icon handlebars, Deda dark blue bar tape Forza carbon seatpost and British racing green Brooks titanium-railed saddle Speedplay Frog pedals Nitto bottle cages Zefal HpX frame pump Rivendell dark green Banana bag

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