650B Frameset News Part 2 of 2
On a related note, I received news last week that VO Imports, the distribution arm of Velo-Orange, will be selling their Polyvalent 650B frames through dealers. I had a long talk with Tom at VO Imports about the frames and they sound like they’ll ride very much like the G2 Kogswell P/R’s, except they’ll have proportionally longer top tubes for swept back bars and threaded headsets. I don’t think these framesets will work well with drop bars because of the long top tubes. Frames should be in around the first week of December, and I’ll put them on the site then. They be $450 and as with all frames I sell I’m happy to build them up not only with parts that I regularly stock, but also special order parts or parts you send me as well. Being small has some advantages.
I would recommend choosing a frame with as little standover clearance as possible when picking a Polyvalent. The top tubes are level, so if you like your bars roughly level with your saddle keep the toptube high and tight or you’ll need a very, very long stem.
Hi Anthony,
Your post got me wondering about the tubing. The description on the VO site says “The tubing is all double butted CR-MO in traditional, not modern oversize, diameters. This makes for a supple and comfortable ride (not to mention the whole planing issue).”
This makes me thing the frame is meant to be flexy, so Tom’s “stout” surprises me a bit.
Neil,
Glad you noticed the difference. I just talked to Tom again, and we talked tubing specs. Either he misspoke or I misheard in our earlier conversation. The bicycle is made with tubing gauges similar to the G2 P/R’s, so I wouldn’t characterize it as stout. Perhaps the “stout” referred to its intended use of carrying a large load. Dunno. I’ve corrected the entry above.
Will they also be selling their rando frame through dealers? And if so, will you carry it given the news that you will now be producing the next generation of P/R’s?
Todd,
The rando frame will be 700C as far as I know and they will sell through dealers. As long as I like what they are producing and there isn’t too much overlap with a Longleaf frame I plan to offer the VO frames.
Gonna be handling their saddles?