FlyTier

I bought a Windson Clockwork Plus online about four months ago. Since then I have been using it to commute to work every day. Love getting back into biking as I used to be a big MTN biker back in the day! Unfortunately the frame on the Windsor I think is too big for me. I am six foot two and settled on the 61CM bike because a friend had suggested that size for me. I think the frame is too big because sometimes I experience pain in my knee when riding it to work which is about five miles one way. My other bike is a mid Nineties Specialized HardRock that is a little too small for me frame wise and is in desperate need of a tune up.

I have been thinking about buying a Surly Ogre frame and using what salvageable parts I have from my Hardrock. Would this be a decent way to build up a Fall commuter bike? Although I love the single speed I wouldn't mind getting a geared bike so that I could easier transition to different rides/club rides. Eventually over time I would like to upgrade the Ogre to a Touring light trails bike.

One last question is how easy do you think it would be to assemble the Ogre build for someone who is fairly mechanically inclined and has the appropriate parts and tools available?

Thanks anyone everyone for the suggestions! I am looking for ways to justify this new purchase to my wife who doesn't want me to get another bike

PatrickGSR94

Unless you just really want to get rid of the bike, you might look at various adjustments to seat height, handlebar stem length and the like to try to make it fit you better. Since you ordered it online and didn't have it fitted in a bike shop, a professional fit service would be money well spent.

My road bike was fitted to me when I bought it, and then I came back home and discovered my MTB saddle had been WAYYY too low for so many years (also slightly too small frame for me). I raised it up, actually ended up getting a new, longer seat post, and it made a world of difference for me!

ShortLegCyclist

When you say you have the tools, do you mean you have the tools to properly face the bottom bracket and headset? Those tolls are not cheap and have no other real uses.

If that sentence didn't make immediate sense to you, then you aren't ready to build a bike from a frame without local bike mechanic help, IMO.

You also need tools to install the bottom bracket, cassette and cranks, but lots of home mechanics own those, problem is you have to have the exact one you need as there are many different types of bottom brackets, cranks and cassettes and not all use the same tool.

FlyTier

SLC

You are right after some research I discovered that I do not have the proper tools and or skills to build the bike. I could probably use more help then I am aware of after further research...

Tundra_Man 

I rode my Windsor Clockwork today too. I'm 6'1 and I bought the 58 cm.

How much seatpost is showing on your bike? And have you put a shorter stem on? Mine came with a crazy long stem and became much more comfortable after I swapped it.

Also, being a single speed/fixed gear, the knee pain could also be gearing. Perhaps swap out the rear cog for one a tooth or two larger?

RubeRad

Don't be too scared FlyTier, you can do it. Stuff like facing bb/headtube are not always necessary, and if it is you can pay a shop not much to do it for you. I bought a Surly CrossCheck frame and built it up from scratch. I didn't get the bb/ht faced, I just installed stuff and it was fine. The only thing I relied on a shop for was to remove the headset from my donor bike. To press them in I used legendary framebuilder Dave Moulton's diy tools. Other than that my tools are standard (screwdrivers, wrenches) and the Nashbar "Essential" kit, bought on sale.

Knee pain: front or back? Rule of thumb is front = seat too low, back = seat too high. Don't give up on your bike just yet, 61cm for 6'2" sounds very reasonable to me. I'm a hair under 6' and I'm doing fine on a 60cm ChrossCheck.

Also, if your pain is in the IT Band (look it up), then you are probably like me with out-turned feet. When I force my feet to rotate inwards and be straight, I get IT Band pain. When I don't, my heels are hitting the cranks all the time. So I got pedal extenders to give me more room and I set my cleats to give me a foot angle which is natural for my feet, and now I'm great.

PatrickGSR94

I'm currently building up a bike from a bare frame using parts from a different bike. But the frame is used (but looks brand new), and had previously had a headset and BB installed in it. My existing BB and a new headset went right in without issues. I made a homemade tool to press the BB cups in, and I already have tools like a Shimano square taper BB tool on hand. So far so good. Only thing I may have to get the LBS to do is put their rear derailleur alignment tool on it, depending on how the RD acts when I get it hooked up.

Building a bike isn't that hard. I have tons of tools from auto mechanic work over the years, and slowly have built up a collection of bike-specific tools in the past 3 years.

FlyTier

Tundra

Not much seatpost is showing at all and I will have to look into the gearing. Luckily a new custom bike shop is opening across the street from my apartment on Monday. I just spoke with the owner and I think I am going stop by next week to talk with him.

Ruberad the pain is in the front of the knee but only on my right knee. As tundra mentioned I might want to look into new gearing.

Thanks everyone for the encouragment and suggestions. Looks like a great group of people here!

e0richt

I have never had a "professional fit" service and haven't missed it... If I was racing then maybe, but you can use the normal approach to fit a bike without having to get bike shop people involved...

EllDC

Bicycling and Pain

Try giving that a once over.

Darth Lefty 

I've got a few bikes that I've put together. It can be fun but it's hard to argue that it's time or cost effective. I've paid for professional help for things I don't have tools or qualifications to do.

Also, I'm with the crowd here saying first adjust your bike before giving up on it.

PatrickGSR94

Yeah well, I just saw this posted in another thread:

So I think there might be some merit. I spent about an hour with the shop owner when I first bought my bike, but that was 3 years ago, and I've got a couple of nagging issues that I think could be sorted out with something like a Guru or Retul fit. Guru starts out about $100, but the closest place that has it is a couple of hours away from me.

e0richt

yes anything is possible but i am not quick to join a cult. i would also recommend research on youtube. you can find a few videos on bike fit to at least see what is involved.

cooker

A quick way to check if the seat height and frame size are more or less right, is to look at whether your knee is slightly bent at the farthest part of the pedal stroke (straight down the line of the seat post tube), and if your leg is more or less straight if you put your heel on the pedal at that point. That's just a rough check, but if the answer is yes to both questions you probably don't need a new bike, just perhaps some minor tweaking.

tjspiel

Got you covered: https://www.amazon.com/Dimension-Peda.../dp/B001CK0R9Q

FlyTier

Tanks again everyone for all the suggestions! As it stands now it looks like an Ogre isn't in my future. I did go to my LBS and found out much won't be salvageable from either the clockwork or the Hardrock I have. I did end up finding out the Hardrock has 26" tires. The LBS also said that my bike was too big for me which could be arguable.

As as of right now I am still thinking of selling the clockwork on Craigslist and putting money into another bike. Either way I'll still be biking to work daily on something.

Today i I am going to stop in to another LBS to see if they are more helpful and in the mean time try learning as much as I an about bikes.

Anyone think ink it would make sense to build something off the 26" was thinking of changing over to a flip flop hub single speed mtn bike.