How would you spec the build on a custom frame??
 

I am slowly getting closer to putting my name in the queue for a custom frame (down to one more of my personal pre requisites to be met)

I know what I am thinking for a build (Ultegra mechanical group, Nitto cockpit, brooks swift or selle flite saddle.......probably tubular wheel set chris king headset) but it would fun to see what other people would do.

I am especially interested to see peoples thoughts on hubs and dual pivot vs disc brakes

If nothing else a bit of fun fantasy for all

I have been toying with the same idea. The problem is that I don't know the answer to this question: will it be nicer than bikes I already own?

I want to pick every part - custom frame with MY personalizations, custom wheels, MY saddle, MY stem and bars, MY component group.

No packaged build kit because it wouldn't be MINE.
Disk brakes and one-by and electronic wireless, because gravel, and I want something very different from what I already have.
It's also more fun to have a spreadsheet of items to pick and choose from.

So, for me, Reynolds 953 (stainless) or titanium frame. Haven't "picked" a builder yet. juuuusssstttt enough room for 700cx32s.or 35s Maybe with Fenders, not sure.
Probably a SRAM Force mechanical drivetrain (somehow "charging" or "changing batteries" on my bike feels wrong, but I haven't ridden eTAP either, so maybe it's awesome) I prefer SRAM to Shimano. Never had Campy.
fancy handbuilt wheels, Chris King hubs, maybe Velocity rims (I grew up in Grand Rapids) and skinny spokes! maybe bladed Titanium?
Thompsen Masterpiece post
whatever seat feels right, same for bars and stem.
Bikes always look good painted blue! But if its stainless or Ti, maybe just bare.
can't decide between disc brakes or the Force sidepulls. the more I ride my bike, the more I wish it had discs. So much confidence in braking on my mountain bike, so little on my road bike. (way less on my C&V Raleigh, but that's not for speed :))

i've fantasized enough for a lifetime over what i'd build if i do a custom and i'd really like a knock off of riv's 26" all rounder built by symond cycles of fayetteville, ar

true temp ox-plat tubes
geo would be effectively the same as my favorite sized miyata triplecross...with a BB height appropriate for the smaller wheel size (55mm as with the old 26" hunqapillar)
decked out with NOS deore dx drivetrain (or XT, but dx is so bomb proof)
- simple 2x8 with 9spd bar cons (46/30.....custom cobbled 12-34)
- no discs since the frame/fork would necessarily be more rigid
- 36h dx hubs w/ silver atlas rims, instead
- paul touring canti's, silver ano'd
brooks b17 in brown or black, or an older san marcos touring saddle
nitto quill, post, and bars (rando or noodles)
a nice needle bearing headset
some nice comfy aero levers
all top tube cable routing
pumpkin orange wet paint
no decals...just a head badge and fun stickers here and there

i wouldn't have it built for heavy loads. more along the lines of up to moderate loads bikepacking style. so, it'd be light and speedy enough with fat tire/off road capability
plus, i'd have bottle mounts on the fork blades so i could run a frame bag instead
:)

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6a0bd93d3.jpg
With the matching trailer please.

to add some more detail on my personal vision/dream

Mission statement: the one bike if I had to do bikes = N where N = 1, ride all day, commute, deal with some degree of not perfect roads, do a triathlon, even if slowly (ok probably dreaming there)
Preferred builder: Dave Kirk
Steel frame/fork both custom with room for 32mm tires (enough to do gravelish roads), eyelets for fenders and rear rack (for bad weather, commuting and super light credit card 2-3 day tours, 68mm BSA BB, Threaded fork, chris king head set Bright to the level of obnoxious paint
would do Nitto seat post, stem and bars (noodle 44)
Ultegra mechanical group (with different brakes to cover the 32 mm tires, unless go disk)
Brooks Swift saddle
My leaning is to rim brakes rather than disk, seems disk are more fiddly, especially if you take wheels off and on, but would really like input from people who have done both
My leaning is to ultegra or durace hubs, 32 spoke rims, tubular vs clincher TBD. hubs is another area where I would value input

I'm built too average to justify a custom frame, but when I did build up from a frame I'd snagged on Ebay, I put the kit together piece by piece. I did go with one groupset for most of it (Chorus, except the rear derailleur, because Chorus had gone to the black parallelogram by then), but I got a Chris King headset and Phil Wood hubs. Also, custom built wheels with White Industries hubs, Velocity Fusion rims, and Sapim spokes. American Classic seatpost, 3T stem. It is one bike of all my stable that's completely MINE, because I had it repainted the color I wanted, I chose every component, and I personally put on every single thing except the headset and bottom bracket, which require tools I didn't have.

If I had a custom built, it would have to have a triple crank. After that, everything else is negotiable. I've never really been a matching group kind of guy, so it might be a frankenbike custom. Or, a Johnny Cash special.

I have three bikes with disc brakes (one mechanical, two hydraulic) and a number of bikes with rim brakes. I personally will not buy another new bike without disc brakes, preferably hydraulic, and even more preferable would be Shimano hydraulics as mineral oil is nicer to work with. I find changing brake pads easier on discs and adjusting the pads similar effort to rim brakes. I have done lots of work on both rim brakes and discs and have had disc brakes on at least one bike for the last 17 years. I personally do not find disc brakes to be more effort once you are familiar with them. I know you have to bleed them occasionally but to me this takes no more effort that new cables and housings. What it really comes down to is performance, especially if you ride in mixed weather. Double acting rim brakes work great and I have a few keeper bikes with them, but going new I am disc all the way.

I'll jump in here and know there are many great builders but would encourage you to look at Dave Levy's TiCycles. Absolutely nothing he cannot build, fabricate, repair or envision. And very little he has not built, he has done it all at a very high level.

He built my Strawberry that turned out fantastic, his ability to turn my vision into reality was nothing short of amazing.

32mm tires, 700c were one of my specs as well and with short reach brakes, fork crown that was in the way too, done and done.

Here's the thread,

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ou-decide.html

Suntour Superbe Pro - done, boooom!

Many here including the OP were in on the discussion of mine but for those who weren't, here it is.

We had quite a bit of good discussion about many aspects of the build and I would encourage having a look.

The build and final result are fantastic, worth every penny and all the agonizing, wrangling and sussing Tx to Dave Levy at TiCycles, Andy at Strawberry and despite all my misguided nonsense. ;)

Here's the thread,

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ou-decide.html


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d6e264cec7.jpg

Already got the True Temper OX Plat tubing stashed? :twitchy:

You know what I think about this. ;)

i know you're joking around, but i don't understand. is that tubing not available/made, anymore? if not, whatever top notch tubing they have will surely do the trick. i know you're not a fan of trek, but i had '94 520 made of true temper. loved the ride :)

Off the rack Jack!
 

I too am a perfect and pretty boring 56cm frame. So, I decided to make that an advantage by building up several bikes with old steel frames that I find interesting. I am currently thinking of building a retro mod with the SRAM etap so that I don't have to cut or alter the old frame. Is it possible that we all walk around with the ultimate custom build in our head? Thanks for the starting the thread. I am getting ideas! And good luck on your build @squirtdad

When I built mine back in 2007, since the frame was at least 15 years old, I guess it was a resto mod because I used then-current components with an old frame. Now the whole thing is vintage!

This is the bike i immediately thought of !

Sadly...

https://www.handbuiltbicyclenews.com...le-tubing-line

Its your bike, - i would look at it also as --

"What do i want to be riding in 5 years? " also

2 years ago, i got retail fever when i came across a demo version S-Works carbon at a price i couldnt resist -- Disc brakes, Di2 -- light weight -- the bike was a dream . But - being built for the likes of Cavendish and Sagan, the limits of a 26 or 27c tire meant this was a dedicated road machine (as it was designed to be )

I enjoyed the ride and it was a bike that answered the "Why choose carbon ?" question effectively - a lesser Cannondale Synapse i rode for a few years did not.
Alas -- a pure road bike just does not interest me much anymore- i got buzzed by a few iphone using auto users and my full tilt boogie race bike was now relegated to bike paths and river trails in my area -- not exactly my intended use when purchased

I told myself numerous times i wished i had put that money towards an updated mountain bike or E-bike

So i sold it and did just that - as i wrote about here

New bike day ! - Bike Forums

Spoiled by high end machinery , my spoecifications were it had to be as nice a replacement as my Di2 Tarmac was -- mission accomplished. - If i want to ride gravel on this thing, i will just pump up the tire and suspension pressure and clip on some underslung aero bars, but until then - , my needs are met

In your case, i would evaluate the type of riding you do now - AND plan for the next 5 years --- having a sleek frame now may be a pain later if you want to mount some bags -- and the braking standard is now disc brakes with 135 mm back end and ion many cases a 1x drivetrain (The Campy 13 speed version is epic, and the Shimano GRX stuff is cool too )

So if i had a fantasy dream build -- i would spec something steel that is similar in vision to Salsa's touring bikes with disc brake mounts and built around a simple 1x11 or 1x12 drivetrain - the extra tire clearance may not be needed now but may save from buying another bike later too

Enjoy thje process ! I just did it speccing out my mountain bike frame - fun stuff

Oh and in case my log winded bloviating above about my personal bike journey in the response above wasnt clear enough --- definitely build around the use of disc brakes and a modern 1-by drivetrain ! - Would still pair nicely with the fattest file tread comfy riding cotton casing tubulars you can find -- but even the old Paris-Roubaix spec 28c tubulkars might seem pretty narrow and harsh compared to the modern tubeless technology that has erupted around the gravel world

c'est la vie!! :(

Nope, not joking. ;)

True Temper stopped tube production back in 2016.

Not sure what to recommend, when I built the Strawberry, Dave explained how different tubes can be mixed and matched for the desired result.

I was adamant about 531 which he worked in for the 3 main tubes, some of the others were dictated by the other parts being used, rear dropouts, front and rear crowns.

He was a little leery about the 531 and wanted to use an oversized DT or TT for being to noodly for the size but I explained I was fine with that as I like the springy ride.

It turned out fantastic which is where the builder makes the difference, probably more than the tubing or at least as well.

https://www.handbuiltbicyclenews.com...le-tubing-line

;)