Our customer J.L. had us take a stock Vaya 2 and dial it up with a full kit of awesome accessories in order to make her 2014 ride across the US more enjoyable. Parts-wise, the bike is pretty ready to go, so we were able to focus on things like cargo and lighting this time around. (There’s no need to change out Schwalbe Marathon touring tires, a Shimano 105 group and Avid BB7 brakes) We ended up installing a narrower bar and Brooks Cambium saddle, but otherwise all the fun parts are “the extras.”
Of course we installed a trio of bottle cages, SKS fenders, a PDW taillight and set her up with some good Shimano pedals, but the rest of it is where it gets fun…
This was our first installation of the new B+M Luxos U dynamo light, and it’s nothing short of incredible. Forget “good for a dynamo,” this light is hands down one of the best I’ve ever ridden. The beam changes depending on how fast you’re going, and around 10mph it starts to place more light further down the road, while maintaining very wide and even near-field illumination. It really does light up the whole road. It also has a handlebar-mounted remote switch to toggle between high/low/and off positions. Which would be nice enough, but the light also features a battery/capacitor system to keep the light going while stopped, and a USB port for charging is integrated into the remote switch.
Powering this electrical party is a new front wheel we built around the jewel-like Schmidt SON 28 dynamo hub, with a rim to match the stock wheel and double butted DT spokes.
J.L. plans on using the dynamo to power her light, and help charge her iPhone and Boombotix Bluetooth speaker (not all at the same time) so she can have audible turn-by-turn directions while riding, and listen to tunes while out on those long and lonely country roads.
The phone and speaker will live on/in the Swift Industries Ozette Randonneur bag, mounted to a Velo Orange front rack/decaleur setup. There’s enough room in the bag for a day’s worth of food, clothing, camera and whatnots, so you don’t have to dig in panniers as much.
Speaking of panniers, the Tubus rear rack holds ‘em down low, while allowing the upper rails to be used for lashing a tent/sleeping pad or a rack trunk.
Some purists might be grumbling about the clip-on bars, but we figure that another position, particularly one to keep you out of headwinds, isn’t a bad thing. We moved the armrests and extensions pretty far aft to allow the rider to access the middle of the base bar, so she should have usable positions all around.
J.L. just rolled this out the door a few days ago, and she’ll have a leisurely 4 months or so to break in the bike, tweak her position and dial in her gear list before setting off for the East Coast. Hopefully she’ll be able to send us a few pics of the bike in action- we look forward to hearing about her adventures.