Yup.
So .... just in time for whichever holiday .... I don’t do holidays ... but ...
I did finally get my latest Workswell frame on the road.
It is the 093 “endurance geometry” model, built up with 105 (except an Ultegra rear derailleur) which weighed in at 16.27 lbs “showroom,” and about 19 ready to ride (lights, cages, tools, tubes, pump.)
Frame went together well, no problems. I used a Wheels Mfgr. screw-in BB86 because I hate press-doesn’t fit. I needed an extra washer because the hole on the back of the fork was a little bit big for the brake-caliper fixing bolt ... but I have boxes full of random hardware.
I used 28-mm tires (Maxxis Padrone Tubeless Ready Road Tires) with a tube in back because I couldn’t find a compressor and I wasn’t about to not get the bike built because of one recalcitrant tire. I think maybe the valve had issues—I have managed to get three tubeless wheels working by pulling the valve core and pumping vigorously with a floor pump. This one worked once, and seated and sealed, but the leaky valve let the tire drain ... After I replaced the valve I couldn’t get it to seat with the floor pump. So ... so far I am not sold on tubeless.
The frame has clearance for 28s ... but a wide 28 ... not so sure. I will test later with a Conti Ultrasport, because I know they run about 30 mm ... but it Looks like there is 1.5 mm clearance all around with the Maxxis 28s.
The real clearance issue was the rear (this says "Front." It has always said "Front") derailleur—that long-arm 5800/6800 design we all love so much. I had to play around with the derailleur mount and ended up mounting it a little higher than I wanted, because the arm hit the tire in full top gear. I had to fiddle with the mounting position for a while, and even now there is less than a millimeter when the thing is in full top gear. Anyone buying this frame might want to consider all that.
I am happy with the tires, but I know that whenever I need to replace them, I will have to consider carefully the actual versus the advertised width.
Other than that, I love the bike. I wanted something a little less aggressive than my 066—I figured I could take the 066 in a more sporty, longer/lower direction and have the 093 for longer rides where stretching might get tiring.
One last thing—I splurged and got some very nice wheels made by a mysterious person from far away from everywhere ... s/he has asked that I not reveal his/her identity (actually I made that up .... ) but ....
Kinlin rims, Bitex hubs, Laser spokes .... very nice wheels. Round, and full of spokes.
People always say stuff like “They spin up fast,” which to me is like saying “Our beer is always cold” (which I actually heard in a commercial ... )
Wheels spin up fast if you pedal hard. Beer is cold if you chill it. I can make any wheel slow ... just by riding my normal pace.
These wheels, however are light and spin easily (low friction in the hubs I guess) and like any lighter wheelset, are very rewarding in that when you decide to punch it up a little, you can feel an immediate surge.
I have only once did comparison testing, going from heavy to lighter to very light wheels on the same frame, and though I may be fooling myself, the bike did seem to accelerate a lot better with the lighter wheels.
The set I have on the 093 aren’t spindly-light—1430 grams for the pair, but they support my enormous weight—and I did hit one familiar pavement imperfection this morning just to see .... (rather break some spokes close to home than 50 miles out.) I slammed a set of asphalt gouges at a decent pace and the wheels didn’t protest at all.
So ... now I have two favorite riding bikes, two grocery bikes, a trainer bike, and an MTB. I will happily trade the trainer bike or one of the grocery bikes for more time off to go riding, if anyone wants to make the swap.