Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.jhaber
08-10-08, 04:27 PM
Hi BFSSFG forum! (please keep the hate out of the thread pls)
My build is finally (well almost) done. It's a really rainy day here today so I thought I would post a few quick pictures of the bike and also write down some thoughts on the process I went through building up my first bike.
First off the specs:
52 cm Green Bareknuckle Frame (only frame left in my size from EAI when I purchased it)
Thomson 100 mm X2 stem.
Thomson elite setback post
Profile T2 42 cm Bullhorns
Selle Regal Saddle (bought from off a forum member, thanks)
Truvativ Omnium Track Crankset 165 mm
Truvativ GXP BB
KMC K710SL Chain
15 tooth DA cog soon to be replaced by an 18 tooth cog (lbs ordered the wrong one so using my old cog)
Cane Creek Solo Headset
MKS Gr-9 pedals
Dimension Double Straps with Toshi Buttons
Cinelli Gel Cork Tape
Velocity Fusion Non-machined rims laced to HF Formula Hubs
Still have to change the cog, might blacken the steerer tube, have a reload pad on the way, and have some mks alu chain tensioners to throw on (which for some reason didn't seem to fit with the current cog but hopefully will fit with the new cog, thanks to the forum member that sold them to me)
The blue tires are from my old bike. I know it might look a bit tacky/tarcky but less than I expected. I wasn't about to replace perfectly good tires because of color. I will wait till they wear down and replace them with black tires.
It built up to 19.02 pounds.
Pics:
http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im001967dx6.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im001971cn4.jpghttp://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2286/im001967dx6.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2286/im001971cn4.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im001969ch7.jpghttp://img181.imageshack.us/img181/680/im001969gl7.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9732/im001971zi3.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7849/im001970sm4.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6466/im001972gf8.jpg
-----
So as a newbie bike builder I learned a lot. I thought I should share what I learned in case anyone else out there is going through the same thing and can learn from my experiences.
Building up a bike is expensive! The wheels/seat/pedals I had but everything else had to be bought. I planned out how much it would cost and still went over what I had planned. However, there is something about picking all the parts that made the build special.
Actually buying the parts can be difficult. As a Canadian I had to do a lot of my shopping via mail across the boarder. I ended up ordering parts from Ottawa and Cambridge (Ontario, Canada), California, Milwaukee, where ever Performance bikes is, and Niagara Falls USA. The service I got from most shops was pretty bad. It was a struggle to get people on the phone, to answer emails, to basically just sell my products. The key was patience and lots of phone calls. I also learned not to trust a shop when they said they were ordering parts for me. I also learned that with most shops to expect to wait a long time for things to actually arrive at my door from the time they were first ordered. I started ordering parts at the beginning of July and the bike was just built up last week.
I learned what facing and chasing were. I have been on this forum for over a year and only learned about chasing and facing the week I ordered the frame. I think its probably really important for any new frame and I surprised I didn't know of it sooner.
I learned that the little buttons on the end of toe straps didn't just come with toshi straps but could be bough separately. I liked the way they looked and for me they are purely aesthetic. They way I have them set up on my bike makes no functional sense as I have my strap ends tucked in. I think they look cool and truth be told I never adjust my straps (I bet there is a collective groan being uttered by many reading that last statement). I wear the same shoes every time I bike and have them set so they are snug to those shoes. I know that this is not the way the straps are meant to be used but I like them this way and I like the way the buttons look.
I didn't know about setback seats before this build. The set back was recommended to me by a lbs.
Before I put down the money to order the frame (no shop in town would order one for me) I went to a lbs and got measured up. This gave me a lot more confidence that I was ordered the right size. Using the online calculators was not a substitute for a knowledge real life person.
Going to a trusted shop to have the bike build up (steerer cut etc. was important). I went to the same guy that measured me before I ordered the frame and got him to fit me properly on the bike as to get the stem height adjusted correctly.
Just because something is carbon fiber doesn't make it any better. It is also not always lighter.
People on this forum get upset if valve stems are not lined up with tire labels and get upset about other people's toe straps.
Toe Overlap is gonna take a bit to get used to.
The flat oval shape on the top of these bullhorns is nice.
I know I wanted a track frame and that is what I got. I wanted something fun and different than my conversion that I had been riding for a year. Knowing what you want can be the hardest thing. I struggled between getting track geo or road. I am happy with my choice.
Researching and asking for advice on parts lead to me spending much more than I had planned. Everyone has a different opinion of what is best. It is easy to get caught up with names. That said I am glad I saved money by not getting a sugino 75 crankset, I think the crankset I got is fine.
People on this bike forum can be really helpful esp over pm'ing. In the same way finding a good LBS is probably one of the most important things one can do as a person putting together their first bike.
I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing this project. However, unexpectedly I already know the next bike I want just a few days after finishing this bike. Bikes are addictive.
My build is finally (well almost) done. It's a really rainy day here today so I thought I would post a few quick pictures of the bike and also write down some thoughts on the process I went through building up my first bike.
First off the specs:
52 cm Green Bareknuckle Frame (only frame left in my size from EAI when I purchased it)
Thomson 100 mm X2 stem.
Thomson elite setback post
Profile T2 42 cm Bullhorns
Selle Regal Saddle (bought from off a forum member, thanks)
Truvativ Omnium Track Crankset 165 mm
Truvativ GXP BB
KMC K710SL Chain
15 tooth DA cog soon to be replaced by an 18 tooth cog (lbs ordered the wrong one so using my old cog)
Cane Creek Solo Headset
MKS Gr-9 pedals
Dimension Double Straps with Toshi Buttons
Cinelli Gel Cork Tape
Velocity Fusion Non-machined rims laced to HF Formula Hubs
Still have to change the cog, might blacken the steerer tube, have a reload pad on the way, and have some mks alu chain tensioners to throw on (which for some reason didn't seem to fit with the current cog but hopefully will fit with the new cog, thanks to the forum member that sold them to me)
The blue tires are from my old bike. I know it might look a bit tacky/tarcky but less than I expected. I wasn't about to replace perfectly good tires because of color. I will wait till they wear down and replace them with black tires.
It built up to 19.02 pounds.
Pics:
http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im001967dx6.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im001971cn4.jpghttp://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2286/im001967dx6.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2286/im001971cn4.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im001969ch7.jpghttp://img181.imageshack.us/img181/680/im001969gl7.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9732/im001971zi3.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7849/im001970sm4.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6466/im001972gf8.jpg
-----
So as a newbie bike builder I learned a lot. I thought I should share what I learned in case anyone else out there is going through the same thing and can learn from my experiences.
Building up a bike is expensive! The wheels/seat/pedals I had but everything else had to be bought. I planned out how much it would cost and still went over what I had planned. However, there is something about picking all the parts that made the build special.
Actually buying the parts can be difficult. As a Canadian I had to do a lot of my shopping via mail across the boarder. I ended up ordering parts from Ottawa and Cambridge (Ontario, Canada), California, Milwaukee, where ever Performance bikes is, and Niagara Falls USA. The service I got from most shops was pretty bad. It was a struggle to get people on the phone, to answer emails, to basically just sell my products. The key was patience and lots of phone calls. I also learned not to trust a shop when they said they were ordering parts for me. I also learned that with most shops to expect to wait a long time for things to actually arrive at my door from the time they were first ordered. I started ordering parts at the beginning of July and the bike was just built up last week.
I learned what facing and chasing were. I have been on this forum for over a year and only learned about chasing and facing the week I ordered the frame. I think its probably really important for any new frame and I surprised I didn't know of it sooner.
I learned that the little buttons on the end of toe straps didn't just come with toshi straps but could be bough separately. I liked the way they looked and for me they are purely aesthetic. They way I have them set up on my bike makes no functional sense as I have my strap ends tucked in. I think they look cool and truth be told I never adjust my straps (I bet there is a collective groan being uttered by many reading that last statement). I wear the same shoes every time I bike and have them set so they are snug to those shoes. I know that this is not the way the straps are meant to be used but I like them this way and I like the way the buttons look.
I didn't know about setback seats before this build. The set back was recommended to me by a lbs.
Before I put down the money to order the frame (no shop in town would order one for me) I went to a lbs and got measured up. This gave me a lot more confidence that I was ordered the right size. Using the online calculators was not a substitute for a knowledge real life person.
Going to a trusted shop to have the bike build up (steerer cut etc. was important). I went to the same guy that measured me before I ordered the frame and got him to fit me properly on the bike as to get the stem height adjusted correctly.
Just because something is carbon fiber doesn't make it any better. It is also not always lighter.
People on this forum get upset if valve stems are not lined up with tire labels and get upset about other people's toe straps.
Toe Overlap is gonna take a bit to get used to.
The flat oval shape on the top of these bullhorns is nice.
I know I wanted a track frame and that is what I got. I wanted something fun and different than my conversion that I had been riding for a year. Knowing what you want can be the hardest thing. I struggled between getting track geo or road. I am happy with my choice.
Researching and asking for advice on parts lead to me spending much more than I had planned. Everyone has a different opinion of what is best. It is easy to get caught up with names. That said I am glad I saved money by not getting a sugino 75 crankset, I think the crankset I got is fine.
People on this bike forum can be really helpful esp over pm'ing. In the same way finding a good LBS is probably one of the most important things one can do as a person putting together their first bike.
I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing this project. However, unexpectedly I already know the next bike I want just a few days after finishing this bike. Bikes are addictive.