ordered one of Nashbar's cross frames this week;
 

and i'm looking forward to building it up. but i'm also looking for some help with finalizing the build.

what i either have (or have on order) so far:

FSA crank (48/38), with matching bottom bracket (square-taper). 12-25 9-speed 105 cassette and chain. XTR M-952 rear derailer. Nashbar frame, fork and stem. CK headset.

i plan to use 9-speed Campagnolo brifters (probably Mirage or Xenon) with a Jtek Shiftmate. also have the bars and saddle already picked out. seatpost will be whatever i can get cheap - as i'll probably break it.

where i'm stuck:

front derailer. anybody have any recommendations? Shimano, Campy, FSA? i've kind of been planning on using a Campy Mirage double, but if anybody has any better suggestions i'd appreciate the advice.

rims. hubs will probably be either Shimano XT or WTB, unless i get a deal on something else. 32 or 36 hole, 3x lacing. since this is going to be a "fun" bike, not a race bike, i'll probably go disc (unless i throw the NOS Onza canti's i've got lying around on it). that said, has anybody got any suggestions on rims? black with machined brake surfaces is my only real criteria. and clincher or sew-up? i've never owned a bike with sew-up tyres, but i've always heard good things about them - and there seem to be plenty of sew-up 'cross tyres available...

any front dr. will work with the 48/38 combo.

barely two hours after my first post, i managed to snag a nice Centaur double FD for less than ten bucks on eBay, so that's settled.

still looking for input on the rim question, though.

<Watching this thread with interest.>

I'm looking at building up (mostly) the same thing, and I was wondering if you're building the wheels because a) you want to, or b) like me, you can't seem to find disc ready 700c wheels. All the Nashbar ones appear to be 27". I'm making a commuter, so I'd like sturdy 700c wheels for the speed and I'd wind up putting fatter tires on it.

yeah, i can't find disc 700c wheels. that's pretty much the whole reason, though it is kind of a niche market.

Easton Sagitta - Not light but disc ready 700 wheels with 130 spacing...

http://www.eastonbike.com/PRODUCTS/W...l_sagitta.html

cool. but the Nashbar frame has 135 mm spacing. d'oh!

priced a set of wheels by a local builder, figure that that's the path i'm going to take ($150). probably get a snazzier set later in the year after my savings get replenished.

frame came today, btw:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/newframe.jpg

With 135 any mtb disc hub should work for the wheel build. Nice looking frame. Looks nice without all the logos (only one on the headtube?) Have fun building it up!

Try Mavic A719 rims, with an XT hub...

Here is an option

http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=RM7540

Sounds very nice so far. Why the Campy/Shimano mix though? IMO go with either Shimano or Campy. I am a Campy user but in your case Shimano might be your best bet. I would also use barcons instead of brifters. Shimano 9 speed barcons are cheap and totally bullet proof. A set of brake levers and barcons are a lot cheaper than good brifters. Plus Shimano makes those really nice BR550 cantilevers. Good luck.

Tim

I am curious about the campy/shimano mix too. I have a campy 8 speed cassette that I use a suntour barcon in friction mode with a Shimano LX RD. But I did not know that you could use campy brifters to change on Shimano cassette.

--- OK I just saw the Jtek Shiftmate thingie that you are using on Sheldon Browns site. It looks pretty cool. Report back on how it works if you dont mind...

Check out this link: http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3946
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3946

There's a lot of ways to mix and match this stuff. I put my bike together totally on the cheap using 9s Mirage to shift ebayed Shimano der and cassette. It works great and cost almost nothing. When I've got a few more bucks I buy a Campy rear der and a 9s Shimano cassette and that combination will also work.

Ron

i'm mixing Campy and Shimano because of disc hub availability, the fact that i prefer Campy, and the why the hell not factor.

i'm using brifters instead of barcons because i prefer brifters. i'm using Campy brifters because i can't stand Shimano brifters.

post office attempted to deliver (but didn't) the headset and front derailer yesterday - picking that up at the post office sometime this afternoon. also wondering where the rest of my Nashbar order is (fork, some tools, etc.), since everything was ordered at the same time...

well, more parts and tools came today:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...a42/parts1.jpg

$7 Centaur 10-speed front derailer, $35 crank (included UN-72 bb, 105 cassette and HG-93 chain):

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/jhota42/fd.jpg

$30 XTR rear derailer (these things are expensive!):

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/rearmech.jpg

headset (having the LBS install this, as i don't have a reamer, facer, race driver or press):

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...42/headset.jpg

getting closer every day...

update time:

well, i kind of cheaped out on the wheels. but i'll probably end up getting a nicer set built to mount road tyres on anyway. had my LBS build me a pair with Deore disc hubs, Sun CR-18 rims and DT Swiss straight-gague spokes. $150 for the pair. what made it a better deal was the shop selling me a set of Avid Road discs at cost. less than $300 for wheels and brakeset. they still haven't finished building the front wheel yet, but i've got the back.

also ordered a set of Centaur brifters from 11speed.com - $136 shipped. another deal i couldn't refuse.

ordered tyres at the LBS, too: 700 x 32c Continental Twisters.

almost ready to ride! yay!

Cheaped out on wheels maybe but they are hand built and for $150 you cant beat that.

those conti tires look great. i might have to give those a try when my speedmax's need replacing. i've been wanting some fatties and i see they come in 42c! nice.

your build looks great so far. i look forward to seeing the results. any reason you went with a long cage rear derailleur with a 12-25 cassette? just had it laying around i suppose?

i wasn't originally planning on a 12-25. that was just an eBay extra that came with the crank and bottom bracket. i did, however, want to use an M952 rear derailer from the start.

do you know how rare short-cage 952 derailers are? i was bidding on a used one on eBay, and lost out - because it ended up going for more than a new long-cage. i'll probably eventually change out to a 11-32 or 12-34. unless i eventually decide to go all Campy.

almost done. just need tyres and to re-route the rear derailer cable.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...42/newbike.jpg

it shifts o.k., but the standard Campy cable was really too short to run through the Shiftmate and the derailer with a decent housing run, so i chopped the housing a bit shorter than i would like. need to get a short piece of housing and a longer rear cable.

mmmm, Campy goodness...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ewbikebars.jpg

Hah, we have very similar bikes, except I went with the XTR short cage. Nashbar also had a set of CXP-22 with disc-compatable hubs that match the bike perfectly for $120 after coupon. Will post pics of my build soon!

qqy, is there a duty to be paid in buying mailorder bikes from the states, or is it just the exchange rate. I know that every time I buy carparts from the US, I get dinged for about 20% of value.

With the loonie looking as good as it does, it seems cheaper than buying locally

p.s.: I know all the LBS boosters will be upset with me, but think about it... they're just passing high wholesale manufacturer prices onto the consumer. A $1900 bike in the US should not cost $2500 here, even with dealer mark-up.

I've been running the shift-mate this winter with 10sp Campy Ergo brifters, Centaur R-der, SRAM 9spd cassette, and a single chain-ring up front. The shiftmate set-up works pretty good. I was using a AC conversion cassette with a wipperman chain but I only got 2300mi out of the cassette. Parts for the 9sp Shimano drivetrain are a lot cheaper and I expect them to last a bit longer too.

The wheels are Salsa Degado cross with XT hubs from bikeman http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/c/CXWHL the wheels aren't listed any more but they now show the FSA disc ready and Cane Creeks. Easton is making the Sagitta disc 700c plus Mavic has the Speedcity wheels. The Eastons have 130mm spacing but the disc ready frames I've seen are all 135mm. More and more wheels should start to become available with the combination of Disc CX bikes and 29ers.

I believe that extra duty is only applied to assembled bikes, not bike parts. I just pay GST & PST, which along with shipping is still far cheaper than anywhere in Canada.

jhota: what is the verdict? How do you like the bike? It looks like a winner.