what do you guys think?
definitely need to put on new tape as this one is ripped, and im unsure which seat to run.
on my roadbike i was using san marco one, but i dont think colors QUITE work with this one.
the one on there now is a selle italia trans am, not too bad.

i was kinda thinking going possibly brown leather saddle and grip/hoods (still want to get the back brake).

been messing a bit with fixed, but definitely not 100% confident, but thats ok, work in progress and i like it.

thanks for taking the time to take a look at it

Cross bike + Track drops = Nooooo!!!!

/thread.

i got it as is, just as you see it, so ill be looking to do a few things to it over the winter and get it ready for spring time.

any suggestions other than the bars?

Get some fenders on there and be like "Screw you weather! **** you!"

Jack ass bar angle, single lever, need cross tires.

Get cross tires if you are going on dirt. For street, get some wider street tires. If you plan on racing cross then get some wide dropbars. If you are going to stick to the street, do whatcha like.

i do manly street. tires on there now are michelin city, surprisingly not too bad. no dirt

i do not like them
sam i am

i do not like
those drops and ham

Those track drops don't look ... eh, I can't put it into words. But with that stem, they don't "work." Yes, the actually serve the function of handlebars, but I'd change 'em. I also second the motion to add another brake hood, that is if you keep drops.

My brother has that trainer, Its pretty noisy on solid wood floors, i hear it when im studying.

Nice bike. Looks comfy.

I feel bad for not saying anything nice/positive. Might seem petty, but I like the look of the black crankset. Black seems to go with everything.

I've always loved the San Jose, too bad I don't have the space or money for one. Level out those bars and ride!

i really like the san jose, but would build it up completely different.
hope to get one before next fall, is there a online store which sells just the frame would prefer one without a fork in 61cm

I like the San Jose too. I would build mine up with full fenders, front and rear brakes (of course) and risers. Yum.

thanks for the feedback guys.
i just got it yesterday, so all that is done on it, we can thank previous owner.
handlebars are bianchi too, i assume off a differnt model.
im not a fan of fenders or baskets, well not for this model at least, but i will get a rear brake and lever and hood to complete the look.

Ugly drops are ugly

took the track drops off.

without spending any $, i put on the san marco seat that i put about 1000 miles over the summer, so i know i will be comfy.

And as for the bars, looking at the parts bin, i have a set of aluminum road drops, and another set of straight bars off another bike that i had.
still working on which tires to get, as all i will be doing with the bike is hit lake shore drive in chicago, and local bike trails around the house, so no dirt roads or anything like that.

i still need to decide on which bars, and then order rear brake, and if i go strailght bar or raisers, new set of top levers.
if i go with drops, what do you guys think would be a good bar tape color? black, white? or maybe something else like red to go with seat?

what do you guys think?
i dont know why so much bashing is all over this forum, but ok, some people are just looking for suggestions, i just felt like saying that, since i bought this bike all that was changed by PO was tires and bars, and people look at it like its god knows what haha, not that i agree with the choices, but theres better ways of saying things.

anyways, off to the pics, obviously just mockups, but do any of these really go? i know bike came with drops so thats a given, but what are your guys thoughts on the straight bars?
and sorry, just a cell pic quality.

My two cents:

Those tires look fine. But if you're shopping for new tires, I'd consider getting something slick and possibly narrower, depending on what your trails are like.

I'm not a fan of straight bars on "road" bikes so I'd go with the drops. I wouldn't get red tape though, I don't think there's enough red on the bike to make that look good. I'm not sure... white maybe? Black is always safe. Unless you find something to match the frame.

Do you really sit that far back in the saddle? Something about the position looks off to me.

The new drops look way better than the old ones but go with what's comfortable, you have to ride it. That super high stem is what's throwing things off looks wise but it's balanced by those drops you have. Something like those or some sort of dirt drops would look/feel best.

If you want straight style bars, I'd get a different stem with less rise and riser bars instead, same result but it would look much better.

I had fenders on my SJ but it was a pain to take the wheel off(seemed like I had two flats within a week of installing the fenders) on the back due to the track ends. I put a rack on it for hauling stuff; Trek grocery store panniers work great. I like having both brakes and levers; riding on the hoods is a good position to have.

Stock 'cross tires were noisy and slow on pavement. Switched to Continental 700c x 25's. Those Michelin City tires are fine and they have the reflective sidewalls.

I'm thinking of going with the brown leather bartape and gum hoods on the brake levers.

The stem is stock and has a good rise if you're going on trails, dirt roads, etc. You can get something with less rise if you'd like or flip the stock one for a hipster-approved drop. Bike rides just fine the way the stem is, though. And when you are on it and look down, you can't see how high it is.

thanks for the reply.
im on a search to get a rear brake and correct lever (scr-5 and scx-5 combo looks like)...know of any place i can source this out, or someone selling?

i will be swapping out the stem, its too tall for me, and since i dont plan on going offroad i dont think i need it.
tires as well, they are too fat and big for me too, id like to get some smaller ones (friend recommended me some, hes been running them for few seasons and likes them, https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...3_20000_400235).

and yeah, i do sit that far, ive been comfy for past thousand or so miles before the weather got crappy here in IL....

I've got a set of SCR-5's I'm selling. PM me if you want 'em.

Not sure if you have fenders but I've become a big fan of fenders since I got my Redline 925 with them. So many times I've ridden in or after the rain/snow and not had a wet stripe up my ass and back- pure happiness. I also like fat tires. I've been running Schwalbe Delta Cruisers in 700-35c and love em. If you've got a bike like this that skews more practical than cool, you might as well enjoy it (I say this as a Redline 925 owner which is similar).

well, some progress...
got some 700x28 Kevlar tires (link above).
Ritchey comp stem
Bontager CF seat post (not installed yet)