Never used Dia Compe stuff, but they've been around forever and Scrod doesn't stock junk. Tektro is another reliable brake brand, BikeIsland has a kit available with F&R calipers, cables, and levers, but I wouldn't move on that until you decide what kind of handlebars you want.

I know I want flat bars. Not sure about rise or width or anything else.

I just installed the Dia compe brake from scrod. Pretty nice as an initial impression, and it does its job. Only complaint is that it doesnt this kind of brake pad, but pads are expendable parts, and its not really that big of a deal.

Gotcha. The Tektro kit I posted should work for most flat bars and riser bars. There are a plethora of riser bars and flat bars out there, so take your pic.

Those Dia Compe brakes will be fine.

I have quite a few budget parts on my bike, and the only thing I would have spent a bit more on would have been the stem and handlebars. Don't go bottom of the barrel with parts you come into contact with on the bike (saddle, bars, etc).

31.8 vs 25.4 bars? Most of the info I can find on 31.8 bars is in reference to MTB riding. Other than just being more beefy, is there any real advantage to running oversized bars?

Most modern road bikes come with 31.8(or 31.7, same thing) clamp bars. The larger clamp supposedly makes the bars stronger/stiffer. Since you don't already have any parts, find a stem or set of bars that you like and get its matching counterpart. If you find a stem that's 31.8(like the Deda Zero-01 or the 3T ARX Pro) and you like it, grab a pair of Scrod's '(Sub)urban Assault OS' risers. If you like the Leader riser bars better, grab the Leader riser bars and a 25.4 stem. It's mostly preference for you.

He's an obvious, bad troll.

I'm actually glad to see a reasonable thread for a change that's not something like "i want to build my biek to save mony does $200 sound ok?"

Since I'm starting from scratch, is there any way to know what size stem I should get?

*edit* From looking around, it seems like most complete bikes with 61cm frames come with a 120mm stem. This may rule out the Thomson, as it doesn't look like it comes that big. Not really a fan of the white accents on the Deda or 3T, but I can live. Now I just need to figure out the angle.

*edit 2* I was wrong about the Thomson X4 not coming in 120mm, it just looks like that size isn't sold at Retrogression, which is where I was looking.

What I would do if I were you is go to a couple LBS and ride a couple bikes in the same size(top tube length) as your 722. Note the stem lengths on each, and which one you feel more/less comfortable on.

Another option is to buy an average size(I'd probably do 100mm) of the cheap Dimension stem on RG(or something even cheaper on eBay), and see if you like the fit. Decide whether or not you need a shorter, longer, or same length stem, then order a nicer stem that is the "right" size. That way you don't drop $90 on a Thomson stem that's too long or short.

Scrod can surely get ahold of 120mm Thomson, just ask him ahead of placing your order. Since you're going to be ordering other stuff from him, it would save on shipping.

Completely random, but I just realized you don't live that far from me...

Nope, only an hour away!

Thouts on coaster brakes? Are they considered wannabe fixies? Don't think I'm prepared to go a full fixie route, but coaster brakes intrigue me. If I end up going with the S2C hub then I'll definitely have them, but I'm wondering if many people choose them over a freewheel for normal SS setups.

TBH I would just go with a flipflop hub if you are unsure with what you want. I have a coaster wheel built up with a velosteel hub, it's on my wife's bike now but I have ridden it quite a few times myself. It's probably one of the nicer coaster hubs but also very heavy. The hub alone is close to 1000g which is more than some full rear wheels. When I bought my SE as a new rider I rode it completely SS then when I got my leader I built it up fixed. I've since sold my SE and ride my Leader fixed all the time. It took me a while to get comfortable with it as a newer rider but after a few weeks it becomes second nature. The only real way IMO is just to build a flip flop hub, you won't really know until you try

I think I've narrowed down my wheel choice to either Velocity Deep Vs or Mavic Open Pros. Is the only real difference the look of the rims, or do either have any functional advantages?

There's a pretty big weight difference as well.

I recently built up a bike from scratch. One thing I did NOT buy was a stem. I had an old 60mm stem laying around to get me mobile and even after riding around for a few days, sizing things up, and researching various method of choosing proper stem length, I'm still not ready to push the button on anything. Don't base your choice on what most bikes come with, wait to see how the frame fits.... my 2 cents

I'm leaning towards the Velocitys right now since I hear they're better for bigger riders.

KinLin XR300's

Why those over Deep V's?

Same profile, but they are substantially lighter. They aren't available in all the colors though, black silver, or red, and they're only available with a machined sidewall. So if you wanted black/silver/red veeps with a machined sidewall, I'd get XR-300's.

I have yet to build a set of 300's(...soon), but I built a set of 200's for my sqrl's dad, and the quality was top notch.

Having a hard time finding a full wheelset with the 300's, so if I go that route I'd need to get someone to build them for me. That's about the one thing I don't feel comfortable doing myself.

That's understandable. You probably would have to have them built for you then, which would run you around 100 bucks, which may rule them out as a choice.

While you do want to try out things in person as much as you can, the fit calculator can help you start with a good range for your stem length: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

It looks like, according to this calculator, I should have somewhere between a 110 and a 120 stem. Is it better to round up or down?