Originally Posted by
bluenote157
Is it super hilly where you live?
Extremely hilly. I live/commute in the foothills area of Mission Viejo and Foothill Ranch, Ca. Some of the hills are borderline ridiculous in how steep they are. I also commute with a load of some kind. Either Carradice filled with work essentials, lunch, and snacks...or a trailer + daughter.
Originally Posted by
zoltani
Have you built a bike up from the frame before?
I've done a few builds from the frame up on a few bikes for myself and for friends. Most of them have been a mishmash of older, decent quality parts and newer, cheap as hell parts. My favorite build was my Bridgestone 400 built up using mostly Suntour GPX parts of the era along with a few modern parts. It was stolen a few months ago and the CC is going to be its 'replacement'.
This is the first build using all new components.
Originally Posted by
megalowmatt
That's funny - I was just going to post that a lot of your component list was what I used for my recent build then I noticed the link. I'm glad you got something out of it.
I think what you've got there looks good. Keep an eye on Jenson for sales and the free shipping deals. I also think the Tektros are a good choice.
Ultimately building yourself may be a little more expensive than buying a complete stock bike but for me I gained a lot of experience and knowledge...I don't plan on ever using a bike shop for service now and I know every inch of the bike.
Good luck!
I really appreciated your post(s) in that thread. Its actually what got me thinking 'wait a darn sec, let me see what I can do here'. It also gave me some good ideas that I never thought of before (like using the Dremel for cutting housing). I knew I would be switching out the saddle, tires, and a few other things right off the bat if I went stock so I figured that the price wouldn't really apply if I bought the stock bike.
Originally Posted by
Andy_K
A MTB crankset with Aksium wheels will give you a bad chainline. MTB cranksets expect a 135 rear wheel and put the chainline out accordingly.
The 520 brake levers are meant to work with linear pull brakes, and you should take advantage of that. Get some Avid Single Digit 7's. You'll like them much butter than the CR720s.
I personally think your gear sounds way too low for the type of riding that makes sense for a cyclocross bike. You either need a mountain bike or higher gearing, IMO.
Unless you've found a really good deal on the XT stuff, I'd just use the new M590 Deore components. You'll be surprised how well they work. Espcially in the front where you'll be using friction shifting (or a road FD) the extra expense of XT won't get you anything but bling.
I've got an older set of Aksiums and have been very happy with them. They're tough wheels. I don't know if the new ones are better or worse, so I'd check reviews on that. Mavic quality seems to fluctuate as they come out with new designs.
Consider a second set of wheels and tires so that you can use slicks on road.
Otherwise, it sounds like a great build.
Thanks for the insight! And some good food for thought.
I switched out the canti's for v-brakes.
The gearing issue is a tricky one that I don't have an easy answer for. The Deore crankset is offered in 48-36-26 which gives a little higher gearing.