pinholecam

Great that you find the info helpful, thats the purpose of a forum like this imho.


<<< Yes but I guess I have to compromise fold size as i think dropbar offers relief in headwinds. Do you reckon having adjustable stem like Richey 4 axis stem will help with the fold/rolling?

>> Yes, I got the dropbar to get relief from headwinds for tours and for faster riding locally.



<<<Ok let me see if I can least get it to around 10 - 10.5 without pedal and accessories, but I am hoping it will at least lighter than the Montague Crosstown.

>> Yes, do try it when you get the bike, I do think you should be able to get there or close.
Official Montague site says the Crosstown is 12.7kg though.
Crosstown | Montague Bikes



<<<Noted! I reckon that when I eventually tour you would have already taken to the road (iceland or somewhere exciting no doubt) and that will help figure out how to get my gear setup.

>> I've done a couple of test rides with the bike loaded to what I'd typically carry, so I think it works for my needs.
Camera bag (big one) on the front bar and panniers, tent, sleeping pad+bag on the rear.
I do have a minimalist approach to clothing and creature comforts, so YMMV.



<<<<<That said I am a little curious though on the reason behind the titanium breakaway build - since you only just finished your ChangeBike build.

>> The quest for N = 1

The ChangeBike does the loaded touring, self paced ride, folding/multi modal tour+commute and the more friendly paced fast local rides.
There are other rides that I found I needed a bike to fill the gap.
These are the fast local rides where no quarter is given by your mates, overseas ride events, light touring
So the custom Ti breakaway bike is more for the latter. Something that I still want to be able to break down to a small size for travelling but generally faster rides when I get there with usually no need to disassemble until I pack for the trip home.



<<<forgive my ignorance but not quite sure what "shim it" means or how it affects the Q. I would love to get to 44T for the chainring but i would similarly probably drop to 38T when I go on longer tours since I dont need the top end gear inches then.

>> Q is just how wide your feet are apart from each other while seated on the bike. So if gets to wide you cycle like a duck... (bad for knees too )
Some have better tolerance to Q differences than others
Since the chainstays are wider than a typical road bike to accommodate wider tires, a bigger chainring will have the teeth rub the chainstays.
The 44T chainring still clears the chainstays a bit, but its better to increase the distance from the chainstays by placing a shim on the drive side BB with a spacer.



<<<I read your previous threads and realised you had spent a lot of time hunting for the SRAM parts - would it be possible to share the links of the online distributors that you purchased the SRAM parts like the Rival shifters? Based on your experience I dont want to patronise the local SRAM distributor if they are not service oriented. Seems to be based on your feedback I should not be overly concerned about the fork, saddle, post, stem, wheelsets, tyres or dropbar.

>> Sorry, but I did not really keep a good list of the sites. But generally :
SRAM stuff - ebay ( I usually opt for the Taiwan sellers for faster and cheaper/free shipping )
BIKE24 - for the tires and some odds and ends
CRC - as usual..
TRP Spyre brakes - Ebay, though recently I found them on Lazada too (and its a bit cheaper)



<<<last questions before i take the proverbial plunge - What are your verdict/thoughts on your brakes, I am aiming for 38mm 650 tyres, whats your sense from your 42mm tyres? What do sort of budgets should i put aside for entire build?

>> TRP Spyre are probably the best cable disc brakes for the money. That said, due to the long cables involved for the bike to fold, it won't be as powerful as its intended.
There is certainly more than enough brake power though and certainly better than the caliper brakes on my other bikes.
Do get compressionless brake housings which I think will help give better braking performance. ( I did not go this route as I only realized this option later )

As for tire width, 42mm imho is a better all rounder in that its wide enough to benefit from the advantages it gives while slick enough pumped up to ride on the roads.
With benefits I mean, damping, tolerance to potholes and grates, taking on light trails w/o needed to think twice about changing tires.
38mm is like a 'in between' option imho. You'd still have more doubts about grates, slots on the road, more uncertainty about getting onto a trail.
So, I just keep 42mm and 28mm as the 2 tires I switch on the bike, though I have almost just kept to the 42mm after a few tires of the 28mm as I found it wasn't worth my time switching them for the riding I do on the bike.