Almost Done!
 

I know, I already posted one of these in the sticky thread, but I'm like a proud parent. Here are some more pictures of my nearly-completed bike.

It needs: A Look Ergostem, yellow handlebar tape (I have some modolo tape waiting for the stem!), and optionally, some black spokes on that front wheel (radially laced).

Check out the sweet seatpost! My LBS rocks.

I must say that is a beautiful bike. As far as I'm noticing, they,re nothing missing, and the colors will match too once you get some yellow on those handlebars.

I've been looking for a funny bike for a year now, to no avail. Kinda hard to get in a 64 size.

is that a 24" front wheel? if so, you might want to rethink those radial spokes. radially spokes tend to make wheels radially stiffer (duh), and a 24" wheel is already pretty damn stiff to begin with, provided it was built right...but then, i suppose it also depends on which hub/rim combo you're using.

when i was building up my DA high flange hub to a 650c cxp33, the guy building my wheel said i shouldn't go with radials because the wheel was already going to be super stiff...his exact words were "it's gonna be stiff...in the bad way." i dunno....3x generally does people right for normal, every day use. radial wheels look super sexy though.

thats pretty extreme. what kind of seatpost is that?

Nice bike! I like the seat post. that is a very steep top tube. At least for me.

Thanks. I've spent a lot of time/energy getting this this just right. It accelerates like nobody's business, and makes climbing pretty darn easy. The top tube is DAMN long. That's why I need such a short stem. I'm guessing someone on the nationals team was like, 6'3", but had most of it in their torso. I was a total color weenie with this bike. My current gripes? My stem, and the spokes. I'll probably magic marker or spraypaint the spokes.

My LBS said the same thing. That's why he laced it 3x. I'm wondering how much of that is true. If radially laced wheels are supposedly stiffer due to spoke length, that's ridiculous. I should look at the usenet archives for jobst brandt's rants on that sort of thing.

The wheel IS SUPER stiff. With tubulars, it's a nice ride, but when I ride over some road grime, it makes the spokes sing. It's awesome!

Corima Ellipse. I had scored a Deda carbon seatpost on ebay for $60, not realizing it was totally the wrong size. I traded my LBS for that (not a bad deal, considering the corima is $150 new). The cool thing is, it's reversable, so I can get an EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE position.

Dunno, dude. With the stem up that far, it doesn't LOOK that aggro. :D

yea man, you got to lower that stem. its like a rivendell interpretation of a pursuit bike.

i concur

that stem would not even be so bad if it was not up in the air all the way.....drop it down as far as it go....now that will be a real man's bike

What kind of bars are those. they look pretty sick

Xtreeeme!!!

thanks. I looked it up on the net. Its REALLY thin seen from the front. Do you think it hold up
in street riding?

Great, now I need to clean my coffee from my math notes, thanks a lot!

Same question too, what are those bars?

yeah, get some bars with zero drop, that way you can lower the stem. its going to be a sweet ride.

I don't think you realize how amazingly long the top tube is. I'm a rather proportionate 6'2" guy (like, I usually ride a 57/57). With that 57cm seat tube, it has a 61cm virtual top tube, 66cm actual (yeah, it's REALLY ****ING LONG). I originally had a 95mm 3ttt stem that didn't go up very high, and it was like riding with my head between my knees. Now with that 70mm, the reach is better, but it's still really droppy. I can switch the seatpost around and have it be all forward-tri-like. That might also make it better.

Also, that technomic just won't go any lower. I think maybe the drop on the bars is what's killing me. I want to wait until I get the Look Ergostem before I chuck the bars, but I get the feeling like that's the problem. The bars, by the way, are old Syntace bars (made by modolo) called X-tenos. They're not available anymore (I got mine from ebay).

I think I need a new set of bars. The bicycle co-op near my house has already called dibs on the bars, though. Any suggestion on non-ugly bars? A lot of the stoker bars are kinda fugly, I think.

Well, carbon fiber less thick than that is used in wheels and stuff. I would imagine that wheels come under much more lateral forces than a seat post.

This bar might be kind of cool on that bike. Any other suggestions?

are you set on that small front wheel and fork? obviously a 700c wheel would give a more reasonable drop.

again, sweet frame.

Congrats, dude. If I can get these fit issues resolved, I'll likely never go back to a traditional geometry. It's a BLAST to ride (even if the stem is too damn high). The fun thing is being able to spin bigger gears (I used to ride 42/16, but since it's easier to accelerate, I can spin 48/16 pretty easily), so busting out at an intersection is more fun.

Who's making your frame?

BUT, it'd kick the top tube up into the boys... furthermore, it'd slack the geometry into beach cruser territory. the bike's not designed for that...

I think the stem and the bars are your biggest problems. The bike isn't that long - if you're 6ft 2ins I'd be putting you on a frame with a top tube somewhere in the 59cm (horizontal) realm with a 120mm stem anyway for a road setup. ( Ignore the 'actual' top tube length, that figure is meaningless ).

Now, as I've always said, funny/pursuit bikes whilst looking cool, are not appropriate for urban fixie use. They're uncomfortable, position your hands too low, put too much weight on the front wheel, and generally suck all round. Having said that, I'm guessing you're not going to sell that frame anytime soon, so we need to look at your positioning. First up - new bars. You need to find some without drop or with minimal drop. Not that hard to find those. Next, Stem - Ritchey makes a pivoting stem that's not super expensive and only weighs 200g. Might be work a look (haha). Alternatively, you need to find something with 10-15 degrees of rise. Again, not hard to find.

These two things are a good start. Basically, you need to get your hands up and back.

Right, I think the primary problem is the 50mm drop on my bars. They would make GREAT bars on a road conversion, which is why I'll probably keep them. I'm considering either the Syntace bars with the backsweep (which is cool, mine have that sweep now, and it's nice to be able to have the hands there for like, adjusting my bag, or eating a cliff bar), or the visiontech base bar (primarily looks/theme of my bike. The bars are ridiculous and aero, sort of like every component on my bike).

I'm debating about the rise of the stem. I generally like to get pretty darn low, and I think a regular road stem might be okay. That look stem on ebay shot up to nearly $100, which is WAY too much money to be spending on a stem. There's a 70mm 3ttt for $20. A deal I can't pass up!

In any case, I think I have to agree with you about the stem/bars being the problem. The stem is too damn high, and the bars are too damn low. If I get a normal bar, and a normal stem, I think I should be okay.

Thanks for the input though!

What are you talking about? I called dibs on those bars!!!

the syntace bars rock. I've got the meduim drop version. not only do they sweep back but the ends are swept in a little to give a more natural position for your hands.

tim

and I called dibs on the bars like 10 minutes before junioroverlord did.