Bicycle Mechanics - Build plan - help with choosing parts!

My LHT is a nice bike and all, but I've reached the point now where I want a dedicated road bike.

Since I want to build it myself, and I live where I live, and don't want to buy anything used, Surly's Pacer frame+fork is the only reasonable choice for my budget. And they just came out with the new Silver Bullet paint which looks stunning! I love it!

So, Surly Pacer is the frame. I've compiled a list of parts which is based on both budget and availability (in Sweden, we don't have as much to choose from).

My main concern is the brake reach. The 105 brakes I've listed are 39-49 mm, while Surly recommend 47-57 or thereabouts. There is that overlap (47-49) which could save the situation, but I'd like to know for sure. Has anyone here built up a Pacer with 105 "short" reach brakes successfully?

In case you're wondering, "Biltema" is a local mega-cheap store with the occasional good stuff.

The stem is very expensive, but it was the only silvery stem available. It will probably be replaced by a much cheaper stem later in the process.

The weights are as reported in specifications. Could be both more or less in the end. I've guessed on a couple of occasions, such as the brake pads, but I don't think I'm that far off.

Misc is supposed to cover all unknown margins of error for weights.

The number in bold lettering below the "weight" column is the sum of all weights.

The total cost, as the list stands now, is between 1900 and 2100 US$.

So, what do you think? Any likely problems, major or minor?

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/4779/pacerpartslistvm4.gif

GVH Bikes (http://www.gvhbikes.com/) has a 105 build kit (everything but the frame) for $865. That leaves $1100 for a frame - something like this?

http://www.gvhbikes.com/photo/Pinarello/56PinarelloGalileoYel.JPG

http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/love0082.gif


Check out their KitBuilder page for specifying the components in your build kit.

Thanks, that is a very good price, but I'm afraid I live about 5000 miles from that place, and ordering from the US isn't that easy.

International shipping (which the site doesn't even mention, BTW), customs duty and VAT all get added to the price once I get it (in this case, the $865 would most likely end up at around $1300 for me), and then there's the risk of shipping damage and having to return faulty or damaged parts. That's a mess I don't want to get into. :(

Using the 10 speed front Derailleur with a 9 speed setup will make it more difficult to adjust the trim.

That said you might want to consider the new Tiagra 9sp brifters... they are hella comfortable.

I know it seems like you're trying to match it up as a whole group but I really prefer the feel of the new tiagras/105s to the old 105s/tiagras. But it seems like you're trying to stick with 9 sp so you can't do new 105.

Using the 10 speed front Derailleur with a 9 speed setup will make it more difficult to adjust the trim.


Ok. I had no idea that the FD was 10-speed - the online store where I plan to buy from didn't provide that information for this part. Doesn't matter, though. I can just go with the Tiagra FD instead - that's still 9-speed, right?

How much more difficult? When you say "trim", do you mean each time I shift or just the initial setup during the build?

I've never used this kind of shifter before. I plan to test ride a friend's bike before I go too far ahead with these plans, though. I built my current bike with bar-end friction shifter for the FD (RD indexed), so FD indexing adjustment is something I haven't messed with for a couple of years.



That said you might want to consider the new Tiagra 9sp brifters... they are hella comfortable.


Will look into it, but they're ugly... :)



I know it seems like you're trying to match it up as a whole group

I'm not! I just pick what's available from the online store. I do try to stay roughly at the same level to make sure I won't have any major incompatibilities.

Moreso initial setup. You will probably have to use your trim 'minishifts' more often as well too but that's probably not a huge problem.

I know they're ugly. Especially the new Tiagra and new Ultegra (New 105 seems somehow passable.) But they're definately more comfortable than they are more ugly, if that makes any sense. Try the newer style brifters and see what you think...

Tiagra is still 9sp as a whole. NEW tiagra has the nicer shaped brifters, a 2 piece crankset (I don't think it's hollow armed though,) and fancy graphics. The new model series is 4500, by the by, if that helps you shop.

Ok, I've made a few changes to the list.

I also discovered that I had mistakenly entered the weight for the brake pair as the individual brake weights... :)

Once the bike is built, the steerer tube will probably be cut down a bit, shaving a bit more off the total weight. Not that I'm much of a weight weenie, but ending up below 10 kg (22 lbs) is a definite goal. Might go with lighter tyres in the end, and complete bike weights are often quoted without pedals, so that brings it down to 9.5 kg (21 lbs). Which isn't that bad for a steel road bike. :)

I have another concern, though. The wheels. I've read a lot about how the WH-R550 are very prone to breaking spokes. I've gone with the WH-R561 wheels in my plans, but they don't look very different and they are about the same weight and price. Is the spoke breaking a matter of uneven and too-low spoke tension in the wheels? Because if that's the case, I could always put them in my truing stand and balance tension better.

Wh-561s are nearly identical... If you're worried about breaking spokes I would suggets looking into either the lower end WH-R500s, or the higher end R600s. The reason I mention those two specifically, I have put a lot of use into my R500 wheelset and it's good and solid, and the R600s supposedly are better designed; i.e. they have an offset rim in the back to make them stronger against spoke breakage.

You may also want to look into just getting a set of wheels built. Might be a little heavier but a lot easier to work with. Spare parts for botique wheels are expensive. (That's another reason I like the R500, standard spokes...)