cs1

135mm would go a long to explaining why some of us are having a hard time with getting a good chainline. Maybe it needs to be set up with an eye towards the MTB or 29er side, ie a wider BB. Still, for the money it looks like a good deal.

Bruzer

You guys with the 135mm rear spacing are very lucky, you can use any mountain bike rear wheel (read strong) either 26 inch (as in one of the above images), or 29er (700c) with disc or not. It is true that 130mm spaced wheels are the road standard, but there are very few road hubs with disc mounts.

When I got mine in August 2010 it was 130mm and I contacted Nashbar customer service about trying to return it for a 135mm version. The customer service person made me believe that they "only" had 130mm and I was very disappointed! I had planned to use mine with disc brakes, and 130mm spaced rear wheels are harder to come by. I wish Nashbar would figure out the rear spacing issue and offer a choice to us so it is not a big surprise.

If I have not already set my bike up, I would have traded anyone a Medium 130mm for a Medium 135mm and paid shipping both ways. It is too late now I have everything set up and figured out.

Holden McNeil

I ordered and received one in early November (2010) and it has the 130mm spacing. FWIW, I purchased a Small and the label on the box had a manufacture date of "2008". I'm not planning to run disc but I agree with the above thoughts about wheel selection. Mine's completed but I'm not happy with the MTB riser bars so I'll post pics once the drops/brifters and graphics are installed.

mr.smith.pdx

So the question all of this raises is WTF? What benefit is there to Nashbar to offer a frame with unknown dropout spacing?

I guess in the long run, you can probably make a 135mm frame work with a 130mm wheel and vice versa (I wedged a 135mm wheel into an old Aluminum Trek 1400 with 126mm dropout spacing years ago and after some time it "cold set" my frame to about 130mm). Do they have so little pull with their supplier that they can't demand 132.5 spacing and then we could run either one? That seems rather sad.

momo15

Great, I bought that same headset and took it to my LBS to install. I am going to look like a ****** when it doesn't work.

mr.smith.pdx

I emailed Nashbar Customer service and they replied that if I reference it in the return they would not charge me shipping. Of course I also implied I could always send the whole frame back at their expense because the dropout spacing was not as listed on the website.

USAF1C1X1

I got mine in the mail (size small) a few weeks ago and mated it to the Nashbar steel fork with disc tabs. I test fit some old Bontrager wheels from my Trek 7.5FX and they fit perfectly so I guess I got lucky and got a 135mm rear dropout frame. I have some questions, however. What kind of front derailleur does this frame use? Is it for sure a bottom swing bottom pull? Also what kind of crank? I read here that a 50 tooth is possible, but how? Any suggestions? If it isn't, any suggestions for say, a 48-36 double?

whisper14072

Cool... just wanted to say thanks for all the info. I bought one of these frames in September... building a bike over the winter for next spring all the talk on here is giving me good food for thought

USAF1C1X1

Supplemental question. I was looking to get a Truvativ Elita compact road crankset with 50-36 teeth. Will this fit with the integrated bottom bracket? I am going to end up with a 9 or 10 speed 12-26 rear cassette and a either Tiagra or 105 front and rear derailleurs (depending on how much the potential costs are for both and if I can find deals). Is this possible?

desertdork

If you need a bit more clearance for your large chainring, you can put a spacer under the drive-side external cup.

thenomad

If anyone is looking to unload their 135 spaced frame I'm interested in a small or maybe medium.

Does anyone know, meaning actually tried it, the max tire that will fit in this on the rear? I'm thinking this may be the option I've been looking for to make a cheap 29r monstercross SS and foul weather bike.

USAF1C1X1

I just got my Elita in today. The crank arms barely clears the chainstay so it looks like I am on the hunt for another crank. Anybody have any suggestions?

ssing20

I have a X-Small frame, brand new, 135mm spacing. Ordered the wrong size. Ended up getting the Small instead. Was going to send the X-small back to Nashbar, but if anyone wants it, PM me. I'm located in So. Cal.

grolby

Barely is all it takes. There is literally perhaps 1mm of clearance between my left crank and chainstay on this frame, and it works fine. Frame flex is not an issue; I can stomp away all day without the two making contact. You only have a problem if it actually does contact the chainstay.

USAF1C1X1

It definitely hits the chainstay. Not sure what crank to get. I just snagged some 105 brifters off Amazon for 199 so I am going 10 speed. Anyone have any crank suggestions? If I have to go ISIS or square taper, would I better off with a 113mm width to keep the proper chainline?

4Rings6Stars

Finally got my bike built up. I've only taken it on a snowy shakedown ride of about a mile but I'm loving it. Still a few things to get dialed in but it's going to be a blast to ride. This one has 135mm rear spacing FYI (I think some people were asking about that)

Total build came in right under $400. Pretty impressive as many of the parts are brand new (friend got me parts at wholesale). Build is: Surly CC fork, Mavic Aksium wheels, Sora 9s rear shifter, FSA bars, Ritchey Comp headset & stem, Deore XT rd, XT cassette/chain, Sugino track crank, Avid Shorty brakes, Cannondale C3 seatpost, Brooks professional saddle. It's a little heavy but is bombproof.

thisisbenji

Looks nice, I'm sure you'll be happy with it. It's not a bad frame for the price. I built one up last month I wanted to try and go 1x9 so I picked up a sram s300 crank and it didn't clear the chainstays... so I'm using a cheap triple now.

Nashbar Cyclocross Build by Benji Reynolds, on Flickr

On a side note, how is the xt derailleur working out for you?

4Rings6Stars

Too early to tell on the derailleur, but it performs well on the stand and shifted nicely on the shakedown. I'm running a square taper crankset and just tried a few different BB spindle lengths until I found one that worked.

thisisbenji

Ah, I'v been riding mine a lot lately in the snow. I'v found that the triple is actually pretty nice, the super low gearing really helps when riding in the snow. As for the crank set I'v come to the conclusion that square taper is the way to go with this frame, as it provides for good chain stay clearance.

CCrew

One thing I don't see listed here, that may be a concern to some people.

If you're looking at this as a true Cross frame, the derailleurs are set up as a road bike - under the BB. So if you're racing and hammer the BB on something you're more than likely going to lose your shifting.

Other than that it's an alright frame for the $ and it does make a decent commuter. A bit more relaxed geometry than I like, but certainly worth the money. Not overwhelmingly good or bad.

thisisbenji

I agree about the cable routing. The other bummer about the cable routing is trying to set up a back cantilever brake. You have to use a seat post cable stop which puts way to much friction on the cable. I feel that this frame is more suited for disc brakes, which I would love to have. Except that I would have to buy new wheels and this bike is almost 100% built out of old parts from my road bike.

I plan on racing mine but only 3-4 races a year, as for the relaxed geometry. That I'm kind of enjoying as I'm also using the bike as a winter commuter, and I ride it at the local mtb trails so it makes it quite a bit easier to hop over obstacles and what not.

RT

Use the Mountain frame



Certain sacrifices to be made, like weight and a little on the reach, but that can be corrected. Wheels are less expensive and you can run wider tires (all of this knowing that UCI rules will apply - not sure what's legal). Since this thread began, I was considering a build with the cross frame, but the routing and the severe slope of the top tube are what stopped me. BD has a Fuji-style traditional geometry Dawes for $399 that could be purchased and upgraded. The parts on this are from an 8 speed roadie purchased from BD - as easy as swapping it all over. Plus, love the V-brakes (thanks to Travel Agents).

There is an eBay Mosso fork coming to replace the Surly 1x1, cutting 400g off the fork alone, and will upgrade cranks as soon as I find a good 8 or 9 speed double.

thisisbenji

That's an option.... but I love riding off road trails with my 700x30 tires. Its a blast, not only is it faster than riding a mtb tire, but I feel that it takes more skill and uper body. As you can't just run over things that you could with a mtb with drop bars.

As far as bikes direct goes, I would have bought a cx bike off there, my friend has one and its pretty sweet. But I built my nashbar up for about $200 since its built mostly from old parts.

edit:
The nashbar cyclocross is pretty fun with flat bars

Untitled by Benji Reynolds, on Flickr

4Rings6Stars

What did you guys use for a rear brake cable stop for cantis? I used this ghetto Tektro hanger and had to bend it to make it work. It's OK but I would like to find a better solution (other than upgrading to discs). I might try some v-brakes with a travel agent, but I've heard mixed reviews about performance.

This one.

RT

V-brakes and travel agents, ftw. You have to set the travel agents at the right place on the pulley, and they are as strong as discs (of course with Kool Stop salmons).

That flat bar is damn sexy, benji.