jade408

So it is almost my birthday - and my gift to myself is a custom bike to replace my stolen one.

The back story? Last year, as I turned 40, I thought about getting a custom bike, and decided that it was completely unnecessary. And then my bike got stolen earlier this year. So I guess that was the universe's way of telling me to do it. Combine that with sizing updates on the Soma Buena Vista which would have left me with a crappy fit and a lack of production mixte options.

It's getting pretty close to new bike day - my Sixth Law frame is getting some finishing touches before it is off to powder coat. So I thought I could share a preview. I have a couple more weeks to go!

Here are a few progress pics:

Full Frame


Rear


Front Basket


Rear Rack - in progress

I'll also share the final build here!

malcala622 

Almost Feliz Cumpleaños

JaccoW

Nice! Do I spot internal cable routing and a DI2 8-speed Shimano hub?

DHPflaumer

It's beautiful already! Something about a mixte really speaks to me.

2cam16

Sweet and advanced Happy Birthday!

The Golden Boy 

Whoa!

Sweet!

You first see it and you’re like “that’s nice... wait... are those canti mounts?” And then the custom basket... and then the custom rack and then the internal gear hub wheel...

This bike will dominate.


BTW- Happy Birthday, and sorry your old bike was stolen.

ryansu

Sweet ride ! looking forward to more pics as it gets finished

jade408

It is! Internal cable routing for my dynamo lights (as well as brakes and shifting)

That is a placeholder wheel - and not mine. But I am doing an Alfine 11 IGH. No electric shifting though - didn't want to remember to charge. I am swapping the shifter to the Jtek instead of Shimano's native ones.

jade408

Thanks everyone! I am so excited. Here are some more build details:

• Alfine 11 IGH with Jtek thumb shifter
• SP dynamo hub
• Son lights for front and rear
• Rivet Loveland saddle
• Paul Centerpull brakes
• VO Porteur Handlebars
• Honjo Turtle fenders
• 650b x 42 tires

TenGrainBread 

I figured those were braze-on centerpull studs. If they were canti studs the tire would hit that bridge. Super cool. Those brakes are going to be so smooth.

Did you have the VO Porteur bars on your Soma? I used those bars for a couple years on my mixte (a mid-level lugged Sanwa chromoly mixte) and I loved them dearly. Very comfortable bars.

delbiker1 

Not liking the stem and handlebars.
Nice present to oneself. For my 40th birthday, 9/6/1992, I purchased a brand new Ochsner steel road bike. I still have that bike and just completed a re-build for it about a month ago, my first attempt at that. I really enjoyed doing the work on it, despite some frustrating issues. In my opinion, it came out really well. I am now looking to change the stem and the handlebar. I do not care much for the look of the stem and I believe I would like a modern, compact handlebar, i.e. Soma highway one.

JaccoW

That should be a fun ride. Always wanted to try the 11-speed Am fine. I came across that hub when I was doing research on a ****** R e d d i t question for someone with limited hand strength. Apparently they have an 8-speed, Di2, combined disc brake + coaster brake version.

The Jtek shifters look like quality parts. Looked into it a few years ago when I was thinking of building my own bike on a new frame. Ended up with a C&V addiction.

Any thoughts on what colour you're going to use?

Edit: The Honji brass fenders?

jade408

I had the Soma Oxfords on the Soma. I am excited about the porteurs - which are going to be flipped (or is it right side up?)

noglider 

Wow, this has the best of everything. It's terrific.

Have you seen this? I think she had another post with more details of the frame.

squirtdad

very nice congrats

3speedslow

Let’s hope the lowlifes don’t get this one!

jade408

Awesome! Such a great gift! Every time I see a C&V era derailleur and think about the look of modern ones I think - what the heck happened.

jade408

Her bike is so awesome! I love it, the details are stellar. I was definitely inspired to copy her handlebar setup.

I'm doing the same!

jade408

Definitely. The lowlifes stole my bike from my building - locked in a low visibility common era. I had been parking a bike in that locale for 5 years, so it definitely felt safe.

Now I am to reorganizing my apartment to find space to store inside to be extra vigilant.

I see custom bikes locked up around town often surprisingly. I'll be biking to work and everyone just parks their bike in our office. So I'll feel safe for my commute. And there is a bike valet station a couple of blocks away a long with another secure (membership required) bike storage place - in case I need to lock up near work.

noglider 

I'm glad you'll be able to secure it well. You deserve to hold that bike for a long time.

jade408

I am excited, the last bike had the 8 speed Alfine. I wanted a little more range - so the 11 speed should be a great upgrade!

The only thing I don't like is that it seems to be quite big! I had a Microshift thumbie on my Soma, and I think it is larger! I can understand the C&V addiction. I wasn't patient enough to wait around for a perfect vintage mixte - though it feels like sizing is much better for me on those.

The whole custom thing came up because for what ever reason my proportions seem to lead to a lot of toe overlap (with fenders). When I didn't get the toe overlap either the reach was too far or I had the seat as low as possible and it was a smidge too high.

A metallic purple. I am sort of just guessing - you know how screen renderings in real life differ. Was thinking go getting a sample, but the vendor was out. But I am not super picky about color. There is a wide spectrum of things I like. I had a few colors and used the durability/UV rating to narrow it down. I decided my old bike's burgundy-purple color was cursed.

I thought about those and decided they were out of budget! I had to scrimp somewhere. They are beautiful for sure, and would match really nicely.

I had planned to get VO fenders, but I got a Simworks coupon that pushed me over the edge - it reduced the cost differential. And I had upgraded on my brakes.

delbiker1 

Jade this has been a really good thread. Thanks for your comments. Your build is very impressive, and I look forward to more pictures and detail as it progresses. Great Job!

noglider 

So will this frame eliminate toe overlap? I know everyone has different needs, but I live with toe overlap. I have huge feet, and I have medical reasons to move my cleats back, so my toes are far forward on my pedals. It's really not a problem. I just turn the handlebars, which isn't a problem, because I only bump at very low speeds.

jade408

Hopefully! The toe overlap I had on my last bike was small and rare. I used this BikeInsights site to figure out if I could use the new Soma (before confirming the custom bike) and the wheels were so much closer than my last bike. That is what helped make up my mind. I test rode a few bikes in "my size" and the toe overlap was ridiculous. And I have average sized feet.

But since I knew I was going for bigger tires, it felt meaningful to note. And I wanted a lower trail bike anyway. So those tweaks to geometry should do the trick for me in eliminating the issue. I also had a bit of pedal strike. Anyway I have shorter cranks and the wheels are out a bit more so I should be safe. It felt most noticeable at slow speeds. My roads are full of potholes so there are sometimes a lot of quick maneuvers to avoid stuff - so it felt a little riskier to have toe overlap.

qcpmsame 

Sounds like a really nice build, once you get it back from PC please post build pictures as you assemble everything. Oh, a belated Happy Birthday wish to you also.

Bill