Originally Posted by late
Hi Al.canoe,
I have a Carpe Diem, this is my 2nd year with it. I made some good decisions putting it together, and some bad ones. I was wondering what you picked out for wheels,and fork. I have a Surly fork on it now, and it weighs a ton (over 1K grams). Next year I am putting a different fork on it, just not sure which one. I like my wheels, they have survived, which is saying a lot. But I sometimes wish I had wheels with a nicer ride.
Hello late. I had bought the wheels about 8 months before the CD to use on my old clunker. They're Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra hubs and 25 mm tires. I limited myself to the Airborne fork as they are specially made to be about 15mm taller than standard forks. A standard fork would effectively increase the head tube angle and make the bike too twitchy for me. I like the standard 72 degrees. Airborne uses their Aileron carbon fork now. It's not light at 780 gms (measured), but I like rugged. It does have eyelets for fenders, but no facility for a front rack. The price is reasonable @ $175.
I've indulged myself with a TA Zephyr Crankset, out of production for a few years, so I can use a 22 small ring. I'm using XT deraileurs, STI, V-brake front and cantilever rear; similar to my old clunker.
Still putting it together. So far so good.
How are your welds? Mine are about as good as I've seen.
Al