My brother and sister in law are moving back to the twin cities after 10 years abroad. They'll be living in a spot where everything is accessible by bike paths, and I'm building them commuter bikes as a housewarming gift. I tried to make the nicest bikes I could as cheap as I could, getting a lot of stuff used and from my parts bin. This is the one for my brother, right after I took it out for it's first ride.



It's a Soma ES with Vuelta 36-spoke wheels. I really like the frame-- I'd heard a lot of praise for Soma, but I'd never ridden one. I like the subtle slope of the top tube and long head tube. Even without much stack height I was able to get the bars up to what I consider a comfortable height. On my bikes I often end up with a comically large number of spacers! I found the frame used on Ebay.

Gearing is 1x8, with a surly stainless steel chainring, a 105 derailleur, and a bar end shifter. The 105 derailleur has a really short cage, and is stretched to its limit with this cassette. I wanted to use this derailleur because it's a nice one, but I'm not sure. I might change it out. It can hit all the gears though.

Tires are panaracer pasela, and it's a Blackburn EX-1 rack. All together it weighs 27.2 pounds. Overall I really like it. It's fast and reasonably light, and I like the look. The frame really softens out bumps in the road. I'll post my sister in law's bike when I finish it.