Originally Posted by Barchettaman

Lovely build and beautifully documented. Hope you enjoy the bike for many years to come.

Originally Posted by kiltedcelt

megalowmatt -

Nice build! I just built up one of these Nashbar frames about a month ago. In fact I even have the same Easton EA50 bar that you do, although I'll be swapping it out for a Ritchey Biomax bar. I don't like the drops on the EA 50 - I'd rather have the drops be more shallow like they are on the Ritchey bar. I even used a make-do headset cup press the same as you did. Mine was made with a 3/4" threaded rod and big hefty washers. I used a 10" adjustable wrench to tighten the bolts to snug the headset cups into place. I too used a screwdriver and hammer to tape the fork bearing race into place. The green color looks gorgeous on these frames and I did not have any real gripes about the welds. One of these days I'll get around to posting pics of my finished build - once I get that new bar installed and a front rack. I was riding a road bike as a commuter before this and I feel that it felt twitchy with all the weight on the rear. The Nashbar frame rides so much better. Even for aluminum it feels way more compliant going over bumps which is probably somewhat due to a longer wheelbase. Also, those longer chainstays allow you to get your rear panniers closer to over the rear axle versus way behind it. All of this makes for a much better handling, far more stable bike when loaded with gear. Speaking as a fellow Nashbar tourer owner, you're really going to love this new ride.