After another very busy year, we’ll be taking a break over Christmas & New Years. We’re working right up to Christmas though, so there is still a week to get your bike sorted before we go riding.

We’ll be closed from mid afternoon Christmas Eve to Sunday 6th January, re-opening at 8am on the 7th.

There are still bookings left for the week before Christmas so call ahead to lock in a spot and a courtesy bike.

Finally, we keep getting asked if we do gift vouchers – the answer is yes.

We’re very glad to be stocking some new bar tape made in Melbourne by DiPell. DiPell have been making leathergoods for a long time, including pieces for RM Williams shoes, but have only just entered the handlebar tape market. We’re really glad they did. We love Australian made but don’t just stock something for that reason alone – it has to be as good or better than the other options in some significant respect. Fortunately when it comes to DiPell tape, not only is made locally, but it’s better in most crucial respects than the competition.

Read on to hear what’s so good about it.

(Read the rest of this news…)

Gilles Berthoud makes some of the nicest parts and accessories for Randonneur and touring bikes.  His saddles are the best-made leather saddles we’ve seen, his bags are terrific and his fenders are tough and beautiful.

We’re putting in our first order directly from Berthoud and we’re looking for pre-orders.  Read on to hear about some of the products.

(Read the rest of this news…)

We’ve been opening Saturdays for a few weeks now, and none of us have keeled over from exhaustion, so now we’re calling the trial a success.  Saturday openings are here to stay, as are the new hours.   So now our hours are officially:

Monday – Friday: 8:00AM – 6:00PM

Saturday: 9:00AM – 1:00PM

As of the 17th of September we will trial opening up on Saturday mornings from 9AM until 1PM.  The idea is that we’ll take drop-offs and pick-ups, do retail, and deal with emergency punctures and so on, but we won’t be in a position to do any big same-day jobs.  Similarly, we won’t be able to offer courtesy bikes on Saturdays either.  If you’ve been meaning to drop by to check out something out, but can’t make it during the week this is your chance.

For the duration of the trial our week-day opening hours will be shortened slightly to 8AM until 6PM.  For those who need to drop their bikes off before 8AM we’ll have a drop-box and some envelopes which you can put a key in with your name and phone number, and you can lock your bike out the front.  Please do not use this in the evenings though, since the bike will be unattended over night and theft is a real possibility.

The trial will run until the 22nd and we’ll work out whether or not to make it permanent.  Because it’s a trial we’d love to hear whether these hours are more or less convenient for you.

For the kick-off we’ll do a BBQ and coffee from 10AM.

A customer called from Canberra the other day and ordered Nitto Noodles, a Porteur rack, fender parts and Brooks tape.  he just emailed us a to thank us when they arrived and included a few photos of his bike.

He said:

“Attached are a few hurried shots of the build as requested. The Surly I’ve had for some years in this current config, the addition being the Honjo fenders, VO Porteur rack and stem, Nitto bars, Tektro levers and Brooks tape. I average 2-2.5 commuting hours a day with a couple of rear Brooks panniers to keep the transport weight honest. The Porteur rack will aid significantly in the purchase of ‘on the way home’ groceries.”

It’s a really cool set-up and we’re always pleased to get photos of nice bikes, especially if you’re out of town and we can’t see it in person.

We’ve been stocking Velo Orange stuff for a while now, and we’re really impressed by their gear, as well as their philosophy in general. They do a wide range of parts that are typically inspired by old French touring gear. Everything is well-thought out, well constructed, and a nice mix of old-style looks and modern construction and sizing.

Most of the VO products are versions of old French designs that haven’t been available for years, which they modernize and get made in Taiwan. They are reliably nicely finished, tend to be silver and embody a real understanding of the uses to which they will be put. They also make little parts for really specific purposes that provide elegant solutions or neat ways of mounting things like mudguards, racks and bells. For instance, they make nice little spacers that sit in your headset to mount a bell, and fork crown darumas to mount mud guards under the fork crown when there’s a brake bolt. They also make French headsets and bottom brackets, which have traditionally been the big stumbling blocks for people reconditioning old French bikes.

At any given time we have a good range of VO bells, handlebars, stems, bottom brackets, mud guards, water bottle cages and headsets in stock. We also have bits and pieces of the rest of their range, and we regularly order more, so if there’s something you want we can get it in for you pretty quickly.

For more, check out our webshop - Constructeur.com.au.