When I first joined the Toronto Randonneurs (now called Randonneurs Ontario) I had noticed some rather spiffy looking bikes out on the rides, among them, Mariposas. I soon learned these were custom built at a shop called Bicycle Sport (later Bicycle Specialties). Over the years I thought it would be nice if I too had one, if only I had enough money. I particularly liked the look of the racks and fenders and how they looked a part of the bike, rather than add-ons. Even the lighting systems were built in to the bikes. I missed the chance to order one during the 30th anniverary in 2000 (special sets of lugs were used), but finally in September of 2002 I took the plunge and placed an order for a Mariposa from Bicycle Specialties and took delivery the following June.

Side view of the new touring bike, all set to go.

I met with Tom Hinton to place the order and discussed what kind of bike I wanted. I had used my Trek 420 for many years for loaded touring and it worked well enough, but felt I would do better with a bike specifically designed for loaded touring. The Trek worked quite well as a randonneur bike, so I decided the Mariposa would be my "camping" bike. I asked that it have front low-riders as well as rear rack, mudguards, and cantilever brakes. I decided to go with Campagnolo Centaur.

The frame was hand-built with Columbus tubing. Front and rear racks were also hand built with light-weight tubular steel, and finished with chrome plating, as were the stays attaching the mudguards. Front and rear lights are internally wired to a Lightspin generator. Although I was told by Mike Barry that aluminum mudguards were available, I chose stainless steel for durability. The headset is an FSA Duron with needle bearings. The Paul Neo-retro cantilever brakes are nice, solid looking and work very well with the Campy Ergolevers. The wheels are 36 spoke, 700C, built around Chorus hubs, with blue anodised Ambrosio Excellence rims (Mike suggest the colour). As luck would have it, those special lugs were still being used (I later found out were from Rivendell, designed by Richard Sachs, but never used for any Riv bikes).

One of the hardest decisions to make was choosing a colour scheme. Dede's Barry's racing bike was prominently displayed in the shop and I was continually drawn to it. I particularly liked the way the Baroque details of the lug, painted a medium blue, were set off against the light blue of the main tubes, and that was the same colour scheme I finally chose for my Mariposa. Much to my delight, the chrome and stainless steel went beautifully with the light and medium blue. I was somewhat surprised to see that Tom had also painted the Lightspin.

The package included a Silca Imperio pump, painted to match the frame, plus two water bottes, a T-shirt and a Greg Curnoe print of a Mariposa bicycle. Nice as the pump looks, I use a Zefal HPX when touring (the #2 fits perfectly). I bought a pair of Nitto stainless steel bottle cages at Rivendell specifically for the Mariposa, with the third cage, also stainless, bought as part of the package. I supplied the Look PP337 pedals.

As expected, it rides as beautifully as it looks. The ride is smooth, predictable but responsive, just what one would want in a touring bike. Unloaded, it is quick and nimble, and climbs quite well, but also handles very nicely with a heavy load (photos of it with a load are one the "A Tour of SW Ontario" page).

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Left side view, with a better view of the Lightspin generator, with the lower part painted to match the frame.

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Close up of the details around the headtube. Headlight wire goes through the downtube (the hole is in the lower head lug, just below the cable stop). Note the flat-topped fork crown with stylised butterfly imbossed on the top and painted red. Front mudguard is held in place by bolts threaded to tabs on the front and rear of the fork crown, and the headlight bracket is bolted to the front tab.

A view from the back. It is a bit hard to see clearly in this photo, but the front of the rear rack attaches to the cantilever brake bosses. The rear light has a circuit that keeps it lit for several minutes after stopping. The left seat stay has three threaded bosses to allow for mounting the generator to run off the tire or the rim. The wire from the generator runs up through a set of brazed on guides to a wire routed on the inside of the rear mudguard. Nice and elegant.