In a time of more & more carbon and ever-changing wheel standards, it’s always nice to see classics like affordable 700c steel tourers being built with modern touches. UK-based bike maker The Light Blue is one such company building modern steel bikes, with a long history stretching back to the late 1800s. They still make some classic, retro throwbacks, down to those 1″ headsets that’ll outfit you for the next L’Eroica, but we’re more interested in a pair of contemporary tourers. Two of their most modern bikes are the Robinson & Darwin that still carry over a lot of that heritage in a package ready to head out on anything between a quick-moving sportive or months-long tour…
Robinson
The Robinson is built to be the most versatile bike in The Light Blue’s line-up with quick road geometry, but big clearances and a host of braze-ons. The TIG welded Reynolds 725 steel frame with its bi-ovalized downtube and butted 4130 unicrown fork have space for 32mm tires, or 28s with full coverage fenders which you get mounts for. It’s a disc brake only bike and sticks with a 1.125@ headset, threaded BB, and quick release axles. The frame uses slider drops though, so can be upgraded to a thru-axle rear if desired, or of course single speed setups. It gets modular bolt-on external cable routing for various setup options, plus rear rack mounts for more touring.
The bike is available in a few different single and double ring builds, with this SRAM Rival 1×11 selling for 1800€. The claimed 1800g (56cm) frame and 1050g (uncut steerer) fork are also available as a frameset for 660€ in this Volcano Orange or a dark Airforce Blue and five stock sizes from 50-62cm.