This Sunday I start my 2nd RAGBRAI aboard my new custom Thylacine road bike.
At first I was looking at buying an Italian name brand off-the-shelf frame, but found
that by going with an independent builder who was able to give me custom geometry,
high-quality Columbus tubing, my choice of powdercoat, and S&S couplers for not
much more.

Here're the component list (most bought through Thylacine too):
Mavic Ksyrium Elites (used)
Vredestein Fortezza TriComp tires
Ritchey WCS seatpost & stem
FSA OrbitX headseat
Ritchey BioMax handlebars
Sigma Sport 1600 cyclocomputer
Fizik Arione Saddle (in matching blue)
Shimano Ultegra 10 drivetrain (double)
Shimano M959 SPD pedals
Shimano Ultegra-style long reach brake calipers

sweet bike... how long have you had it?

Very nice ride i will have to look for it on Ragbrai , we are going to have a great time

Regarding the couplers, do you have to readjust the brakes and derailleurs each time you break the bike down and reassemble? How do the couplers affect ride quality, if at all?

Curious, 'cause I've thought about getting a travel bike.

I don't have them installed yet, but for travel I would get cable splitters
that would allow me to disconnect & reconnect the cables without having
to adjust them.

As for ride quality let me just say that this bike is amazingly light, super stiff,
accelerates like crazy, and allows me to climb with significantly less effort. Which makes me laugh because I when I was working with Thylacine we decided not to go for a crazy racing bike, just something that would make centuries, and tours more fun. I might have to get him to start drawing up a racing frame!

jeff

Wow! That looks EXACTLY like the drawing!

That's a nice build, Jeff. Sorry it took so long for me to find this thread - the University is picking my brain and footing the bill, so I've been a bit scarce.

Quick suggestion on set-up - you may want to rotate the bars up a little bit and push your saddle back about 10mm or so. What I've found is that bar rotation has an effect on your weight distribution, and rotating them upwards a fraction encourages you to sit back and use the flats and hoods more effectively.

It takes a little getting used to, especially out of the saddle, but once you do everything is roses.

Man I gotta say, I LIKE that blue *adds that blue to list of 'colours to get personal bike in at some stage'*