next week i am going to put down the deposit for a custom road frame. although i think there is at the very least a six month wait list, i couldn't help but already start to think about the component build. here's the rough draft:

ec90 bars
thomson stem
chris king headset
dura ace hubs laced to velocity aerohead rims w/ bladed spokes
sram red grouppo
thomson seatpost
eggbeaters

so the frame is going to be steel. should i go with a carbon fork or steel? what are some good higher end carbon forks? other nice, light rims i should be looking at? any other thoughts? thanks bf.

kinlin XR-270 rims, way better quality than aeroheads.

if it's a custom frame and you want a thomson seatpost, you might want the frame to have a slack STA, as the thomson is either 0 setback or 16mm setback, while most seatposts have 25mm of setback.

if you're going for this nice road build, why wouldn't you want to get some road clipless pedals? just wondering.

Given that you're putting on a Red group on it, I'd just go with a carbon fork. I can only see one using a steel fork for aesthetic reasons. I"d go with Easton (EC 90), though I'm probably forgetting some major third party manufacturer. 3T maybe?

sram red with eggbeaters

yea i just have the eggbeater lying around is all. what are the good road pedals everyone uses. time atacs? looks? also just have the sidi mtb shoes and it would be nice if i could get some pedals with cleats that would work with those, but i suppose i could buy new shoes as well.

I don't see anything wrong with Eggbeaters if you have nice shoes. They are very light, low maintenance pedals. If you want some real road pedals, Time, Look, Speedplays make them.

For forks, I'd look at Easton, 3T, Reynolds, Ritchey, Edge, etc.

Also, I don't think you should get Velocity Aerohead rims. They are better rims than that.

Lastly, you can save some money by using a mix of SRAM instead of full Red. I've heard the Red FD is very flexy compared to the Rival or Force derailleur (which are the same).


What kind of frame are you getting?

good to know about the rims. i'll keep looking and try and find some alternatives. if you can't tell, this is my first endeavor with building a nice road bike, and road riding hasn't really been my scene in the past. also, thanks for the tip about the Red FD.

the frame is going to be made by a friend of mine, jordan hufnagel. he's one of the many custom hand-made framebuilders here in portland. it's going to be steel, light, and beautiful.

bump.

I'd go with a Cane Creek 110 headset rather than the CK. You can pick up an Alpha Q fork on eBay right now really cheaply. I have a GS10 and a CS10, both are awesome forks. I'd also go with Al bars rather than carbon, but thats your preference.

why would you go cane creek over ck? they're the same weight. i don't know why but i trust ck's quality/serviceability/durability/etc much more than cane creek's.

I would have your builder make a nice steel fork.

Spend more on wheels, less on groupset. Also, might want to budget for a saddle.