@@jed7644 Yes, I think they switched over to the 1.9l water boxer in mid 1983. The quick way to tell if it's water cooled or air cooled is to look at the front grill. The Vanagon's with two grills are water cooled. Mine only has one grill. The 1980 model Vanagon was unique too. It can be identified by the sheet metal rear side vents. All the later years (1981-1992) had the removable black plastic side vents, like mine.
Stopped back to wish you and Ms, Cools a safe time during the Bomb Cyclone rains, seeing mud slides. At least the fires will be over. May this find you both well no matter the place it finds you both.
I can sum up this bike in one word. Perfect. No, awesome. No, wonderful. I mean, outstanding. Beautiful? Classic? Masterpieceful? Well, that should be a word. Ok, I can't sum up this bike in one word. I failed but YOU have prevailed with this bike. It is a lovely tribute to your steadfast thinking and to the craftsmanship of Fitz Cycles. Many congrats.
That is one fine frame. The curves, edging and color are fantastic. How you could be so calm was above me. Can't wait to see the build. It will definitely be a thing of beauty. Good luck with the build and take care, Al
The dog always asks himself why is he talking to me all the time and what does he want? Should I sit? should I lay or go to the ground floor? Its always nice to start a new project. Its like a new chapter in life. the details of the frame, especially the lightmount are so amazing and equally simple.
That is another neat looking frame from Fitz Cycles. I like his small bits of attention to detail. The colour was looking nice in your van. I am waiting with bated breath for this build.
@@Henrywildeberry just a matter of time. I have realised what sets Fitz Cycles' frames apart, is that there are these small bits here and there, that don't aggressively draw your attention, but when you notice them, you appreciate them.
Dad Wildeberry asks, "What do you think of the new frame?" Puppy, " It would look a lot better with new matching bike dog-trailer, dad." Congratulations.👊✌🖖
Excited for the build video! Saw this frame on Fitz's Instagram yesterday and thought it might be yours. I'm glad you showed the geo chart briefly. 435 chainstays and 60 trail is very different from the rando, so I'm excited to hear about the difference.
The mid trail will definitely be one of the biggest changes, and the tire size (700c vs 650b). The test bike I rode was somewhere in the 57 mm range and I really liked it. Trail is strange to me, in some ways I like the low trail, but then I jump on a mid trail bike and enjoy that too. Time will tell...
Hi Henry not Spock in a while , what an awesome looking bike it’s a similar colour to what I’ve been using on a couple of my re sprayed bikes can’t wait for the build “keep safe” regards Rick in the uk ……
Congrats on your new frame. The craftsmanship of the frame is very impressive. Very nice colour choice too. Looking forward to seeing it built up. I think a new bike day is always something to look forward too and get excited about.
Officially on the bucket list: Fitz custom frame! Not sure what I want that is super different than the mass produced frames I have now, but I'm sure I'll figure that out. :-) Beautiful frame and looking forward to the build!
Beautiful frame. I love that the bike will have a steel fork. Like the pump pegs on the left seat stay. Should be a sweet ride when you get it built with your choice of tubing sizes.
Wow; looking at a color swatch, I would have been afraid to pick that color but on the whole bike it is beautiful! Especially with the red and black accents. Congratulations on the new bike and looking forward to the build video. It’s fun and I learn a lot. Thank you
The color swatches online are really hard to gage from. I was going back and forth on it, but decided it was worth a try. I’m glad it’s getting a lot of positive feedback. Colors are really hard to choose. Hopefully, it will come together with the components on it.
Frame looks lovely. Looking forward to seeing the build... yes tyre volume,pressure is crucial and seems crazy to me that folk spend huge amount of cash for stiff Carbon Gravel frame with 10 mm of suspension...then run 700x38 tyres!! I did go Carbon Frame and built it with 650x47 tyres. Run around 30psi ,am 78kg and feel very comfortable and ride well both on and off road. Periodically take 29er 700 wheels off my MTB and run 700x43 on the gravel bike.OK but then go back to the 650’s...live in Donegal-West Coast of Ireland so mostly rough mountain(hill!) backroads and forestry.
Always a pleasure Mr. Wildberry and let me add that will be one very classy looking machine from what I can see, I really like the way the air pump will attach. I can hardly wait to see you put it together being much more into it than that fine looking dog of yours ha, ha. Be well.
Will you be able to run a low rider front rack on that fork? Man, the more I look at that frame the more I lust for that exact color and contrast colors. 🙂
Like! Your gonna compete with Ms. Cools for best looking bike in the north Americas! Hope to see it on the road along with your comments! Thanks Henry!
I love everything about the new frame, all the fine details that John Fitz put in. I hope someone like John will stay in the framebuilding business for a loooooong time, absolutely amazing skills and no BS! If you are looking for a custom rig today, John should be on your short list. HWB, I hope you are well into the process of building this baby up...let me know if you need anything, I will FedEx overnight. BTW, I think you made the "right" call in not making this bike overly stiff....or else, it will ride like my Surly Long Haul Trucker...hahaa...bad joke. My LHT was built like a tank to handle heavy load touring and it does that aplomb!
Thanks Wei San! Really glad to hear your thoughts on this one. We talked a little about it, and I think this is close to what I had in mind back then. There's a few things I learned from test riding John's gravel bike that I wanted to incorporate. It's nearly assembled now, and I am just waiting on a few misc parts, cable hangers, spacers, etc.
What are the braze ons above the rear brake mounts? Also no mudguard eyelets? Is this going to be for more outright speed and maybe some cross or gravel racing?!
Thank you for nice compliments. John is a real craftsman and even though this is a Tig welded frame he was still able to put a lot of detail into it. This bike is leaning more towards summer good weather fast riding. I decided not to have too many all purpose bikes and wanted something more specific. The braze on above the rear brake, non-drive side, is a frame pump peg. This bike will be essentially a modern gravel bike, low bb, sloped top tube, wide tires, brake lever shifters, mid trail, 700c, 1 1/8” threadless steerer, a little higher stack and longer reach, but rim brake and one front rack mount just in case.
@@Henrywildeberry She's a fine lady! Although I'm hoping sister Fitz still gets ridden as well? What are the brazes on just above the brake mounts though?
What a great color for a gravel bike. Congrats on the new baby. Can't wait for the build that's the best part. What's the little peg on the ND side rear seat stay ? For air pump ? KB
Thank you, Ken! Yes, the peg is for a frame pump. I have the same one on my other bike. It's nice to have it there at all times if and when you need it.
There looks like there are additional hangers or brackets on the left seat stay, near the top and bottom of the stay. What are they for? The looks like more than a decorative element.
Thank you! To get it on the road (trail) it’s going to be a Frankenstein with a mix of Campy and Shimano. I have a mix of stuff in my parts bin I want try, but this will be an evolving project.
@@Henrywildeberry sounds good! I have just built up an All City Gorilla Monsoon with XT rear derailleur and campy veloce front derailleur shifting 10 speed 11/40 cassette with Microshift bar ends on friction. Crank is the velo Orange 🍊 46/30 one. A bit Frankenstein’s drivetrain but really smooth and easy to live with!
Beautiful! I love all the little details John built into the frame, as well as that color. Did you go for ultra thinwall tubing again for the top tube, given the OS downtube? Anyway, happy riding!
Yes, I decided to stick with the ultra thin top tube and gain the extra stiffness from the oversized down tube. I was afraid to go too far and over stiffen it with an oversized top tube. When I test rode John's it was pretty near perfect as far as I could tell. The only changes John made here are the seat tube angle on this frame is 73.5 (73 on the other frame), and slightly longer chain stays (43.5 cm compared to 42.5 cm). This really opens up the tire clearance. He also raised the top tube / head connection height and increased the head tube length. The top tube slopes a little more, which, I think will look nice and give a little more seat post for extra flex. The frame has an effective top tube length of 57.5cm, one full centimeter longer than my other rando bike (but similar to my road bikes). We also lowered the bottom bracket down by 3mm to 78mm. The fork length might be a touch longer too, but I'd have to go back and check. This one is 395mm axle to crown. John also used a slightly different chain stay, these are the cyclocross versions. The frame should clear a 2.3 inch tire with room for a narrow Q crank with a double chain set! No dropped chain stays or metal plates.
@@Henrywildeberry 2.3” tyres, front derailleur and narrow q-factor sounds impossible, especially without dropped chainstays. The chainstays aren’t extremely long either. Anxiously awaiting further episodes. 👍
Do all cycling people love dogs too? I am very curious if this is a rule or a coincidence? I am asking because I am a committed cyclist and I also love dogs very much 😊 Warm greetings from Poland! 👍
@@Henrywildeberry BTW, your new frameset looks AWESOME! You can see the heart and love put into its creation. Thanks to people like you, the world seems a little better. Thanks for this!🙂
The top tube is 747 (pretty thin) and the down tube is 858 (pretty tough). I'll have to watch the top tube, but I have the same one on my other bike and it's been holding up well so far.
@@Henrywildeberry Such a great comback, Henry, love it and I am glad you got my joke and it could be a thing, mellow flexing by Northern Californians. And I enjoyed living in Santa Rosa for a couple of months in early '79--we had lived in Pacifica until moving to West Germany in October '74 and then I returned to the States after high school in June '77 to get into Top-40 radio and I did that in Ohio until my parents returned to California and asked if I'd live closer to them. And sure, I got on a Greyhound in the middle of winter and rode it all the way to the coast in January '79. And I soon moved away to Vallejo, where I got a gig at KNBA the Mighty 1190, but I did work for two days at KPLS in Santa Rosa as a telephone salesman selling sponsorship tags to public service announcements. I hit my numbers, one out of ten, and the general manager was pleased about my work, but I couldn't bother people like that, just calling them up to get them to advertise. And my favorite call was to Joe's Texaco. I did my little song and dance when the gentleman told me to hang on and then called out for Joe to come to the phone. And then I'm hearing boots walking across the service bay toward the phone and a hearty "Joe speaking." And as soon as I began my pitch, he said, "I ain't interested!" And slammed down the phone. And I totally understood Joe. No mechanic wants to be interrupted like that. But it was the gig and KPLS was kind to give me a shot. And the general manager was disappointed when I said I couldn't work that Rolodex anymore. Oh, and I have to say that while my parents split up in '79 and my Dad moved to San Francisco, my Mom stayed in Santa Rosa until '85 and drove the family car. And it was a microbus, same colors and model as the Little Miss Sunshine microbus except ours had just one backseat and a fold-out bed in the back. So if anyone saw a yellow-and-white microbus in Santa Rosa back then, it was probably my Mom. :)
