Flatulentfox

My current bike is a conversion of an old frame I got for cheap when my other bike was stolen. I like it alot, but it has never fit quite right, its fairly flexy, etc.

So, I am going to build a new bike soon, in the next month or so.

Needs:

Steel, bottle braze ons, threadless headset, front brake drilling. It should come in black and should have very low key graphics, if any. I would love flat black, but i have not found any steel frames available in flat black.

I keep coming back to the Wabi Classic. From everything I have read, its is the best bike for that price range, and up. The only thing I do not like about it is the curved fork. I would really like a straight bladed fork. I just want a more modern, less classic look for this bike.

Other frames I have considered are:

All city big block

leader 722

Eai bare knuckle

cinelli gazzetta

Am I missing anything? I could spend up to $700 or so on a frameset, but so far I have not found anything in that price range that I feel provides any significant improvement over the Wabi.



FWIW, planned build:

H+Son Archetypes laced to All City New Sherrif hubs, 32 spoke (im open to input on hubs)

Cranks will probable be Sram Omniums, perhaps the S300. I know the stock BB is garbage, I will replace it with a king or something when it wears out.

Probably a King headset.

Pedals, Shimano SPD something or other.

Thomson stem and bars.

Nitto RB-002 bullhorns. I have these and love them. I would like something similiar whith a 31.8 mm clamp if anyone knows of such a thing...

Front brake, whatever cheap brake with whatever cheap cross lever.



Anyway, thought?

Thanks in advance everyone!

prooftheory

Stop thinking and do it already. We ain't gonna say anything that is going to change your mind about anything. Your build plan looks sharp. Buy it, build it, ride it, post a picture of it in the pics thread, have fun.

truflip

Im just curious, what does a build like this (your parts selection) cost before shipping?

prooftheory

That is probably a $1200-1400 build all in, which is why OP might consider just getting the complete Wabi at $750 and changing out parts gradually. The Wabi wheelset is known to be of considerable quality.

bbeasley

Do it!

Flatulentfox

I think I am going to. That is a good looking bike.

Yeah, I had figured around 1500. I know mostly what I want, so I might as well do it right the first time. I also have a ridable bike, so I'm in no hurry. Also, I have never built a wheel from scratch before, and have been wanting to for a while. The Wabi is certainly a great deal for the complete...

bmontgomery87

well the 721 is aluminum and doesn't have braze ons for a bottle. so that doesn't really meet your "needs" that you listed.

if i had the cash I'd do the bareknuckle or the all city

Philasteve

I vote Bareknuckle or Big Block, but you can't go wrong with a Wabi. Everyone on here who has one loves them, and I've seen some sharp looking builds with them with a few components swapped out.

Flatulentfox

Yeah, i meant 722. Yes, the lack of braze ones is the main reason i was thinking against the 722.

Jared.

Of the frames the OP listed, only the Wabi and All City have braze ons. If you do not "need" track geometry, a complete Wabi seems like a good fit for the criteria listed.

I have a Wabi wheelset, and for the price (and price points above it) I cannot find anything better. If their other components are of similar quality, they are a great value.

bmontgomery87

The 722 is a pretty cool frameset though, and not very pricey.
I can't imagine ruling a nice frame out just because I can't put a water bottle on it. They make jerseys, bags, etc for that

Nagrom_

That's exactly why I'd rule out a frame.

ThurberMingus

Surly Steamroller maybe?

bmontgomery87

I guess if I were routinely riding 60-100 miles in a single day it might be an issue.
Or during heat waves like this week (90+ and humid every day) it'd be nice to have a bottle.
I welcome the lack of a water bottle, it gives me an excuse to stop often for cold beer

Jared.

I have no water bottle mount on my frame. I dislike it when I'm riding my bike on the road. I don't like putting a full bottle in my jersey, and the seat mounted bottle rack I have does not work at all.

If I only rode my bike on the road, it would be a deal breaker.

Scrodzilla

Life is crazy.

Jared.

Obviously. But wants and needs are different. I need that for my current frame. If I was getting another, I'd want mounts. There are enough frames in the world to chose from where I can be discriminatory in that regard.

rms13

Many options to mount water bottles without frame braze ons. Many

veganbikes

I would go with the Cinelli but I would upgrade and go with the SuperCorsa Pista that thing is sexxx. All lugged and polished. I kind of have a thing for Cinelli, they just look nice and ride well and have some good history there.

If you are going with Wabi I would probably go with the Columbus Spirt version (I think the lightning, maybe?)

For hubs I would step up to Phil Woods, always well reviewed, always high quality and made in the USA. A lot of people say Phil hubs out last the bikes. However All City ain't shabby.

Other than that and going with cheap brake and lever everything looks pretty good.

stryper

Only real thought is that if you're building wheels or having wheels built, why would you go 32h front and rear? Go at least 28h front, if not 24h. It sounds like you're building a nice bike, not some beater, so 24h should be plenty fine assuming you aren't a clyde.

And I don't really see the need for a chris kind headset on a road bike. I've never had an issue with a $30 fsa

IAmSam

I can tell you from experience that SC Pista is a sweeet ride & IMHO is a gorgeous frame…but as much as I adore my bike - it definitely does not match what the OP says he is seeking.

Right now I’m working on getting mine ready for a 300 mi in 24 hr charity challenge ride & haven't got the bar set-up just right yet. You can see that I have a Twofish strap-on bottle cage like Scrodzilla mentioned - which is not an ideal solution as it does slip & twist a little, & I even ripped the strap once trying to get it tight.



I have to go along with the majority here that Wabi is likely the best option...

veganbikes

There are better options than the two fish. At the very least you can go with Tri style seat mounted cages or Problem Solvers makes a handlebar mount and I am quite sure others exist for frames sans braze ons. I know I have seen them.

Flatulentfox

As far as water bottle mounts, it is something I always use. I will always have water with me, so I might as well get something with braze ons. I understand it's not a priority for every one. I will probably order the wabi frame soon. It seems to be the best option for my wants. I'll be sure to post pictures.

As for wheels, I'm certainly a Clyde. I like being able to ride up and down curbs etc. when necessary without worry.

I can go with a cheaper headset, I guess on a road bike it should be fine. I have a king headset and hubs on my mountain bike that have been going strong for 8 years. I guess it's over kill for a road bike.

Any thoughts on sram s300 vs omniums? I have some truvativ gxp cranks on my mountain bike that have held up well. That is why I am leaning towards them. Any big difference between those two other than BCD?

Scrodzilla

Yup, and both of those options kinda suck.

IAmSam - I'm not sure what you're doing but mine doesn't slip at all.

veganbikes

Sorry Scrod but I think the Twofish is the suckiest of the options. Would rather do what Richard Sachs did on his personal cross bike just electrical tape a cage on.