Correct, e-type won't work with anything other than the canonical 44T chainring.

The manufacturer unfortunately assumes that you're going to use a top swing FD. If you don't mind the absence of a bottle cage on your seat tube, you can still go with the bottom swing FD. (You can even take a pair of needlenose pliers and snap off the rivnut if you wish; if you change your mind later, your LBS can always replace the rivnut.) If it were mine, I'd go with the top swing FD.

I used the same crank you have when I rode down the Pacific coast. My front derailleur is an Ultegra SL triple. I've got the braze-on version of the FD bolted to a Shimano braze-on adapter. The clamp for the FD ended up right next to the bottom water bottle bolt. Derailleur was a tad high, but shifted fine once properly adjusted. I have the mount for my pump (similar to this one) between the bottle cage and the frame; it spaces the cage off the frame just enough to avoid any problems caused by the FD clamp.

Oops! I lied: I've actually got the Shimano Deore M532 trekking crank. It's a 26/36/48 triple, if that matters.

Okay, thanks for confirming that. I ordered a top swing FD, as I'd like to keep the bottle cage mounts available.

Another possibility that occurs to me, though, would be to use an FD with a 34.9 clamp, and then make a DIY shim with a gap in it to clear the rivnut. You still lose the use of the lower boss, but you don't have to modify the frame. I don't know if it's really a good idea to clamp over a tube that has a hole in it like that, though if you leave the rivnut in it should reinforce it.

Ahh, I thought it didn't sound quite right when you said you were using an M581 with a road FD. Those cranks have a really wide chainline (50mm). I've never found a road FD that could reach that far to shift to the big ring. I assume the M532 must have a tighter chainline, like 45mm. My rear wheel has a 135mm hub so hopefully the 50mm chainline will be reasonable.

The M532 has a 50mm chainline just like most MTB cranks. If you look at the install instructions you'll see that there are 2.5mm spacers which sit between the external bottom bracket cups and the frame. These spacers control the exact placement of the chainrings with respect to the frame. While the diagram shows that two 2.5mm spacers should be placed between the drive-side cup and the frame when using a 68mm BB shell, I only installed one. In theory, this changes the chainline from 50mm to 47.5mm. In any event, it allowed my Ultegra SL triple FD, which is designed for a 45mm chainline, to shift properly across all three chainrings. I'm using a Shimano 135mm XTR hub in the rear, too.

YMMV, but it worked for me...

Frame just came in today... pictures tonight after I unbox it...

Tomorrow begins the quest of finding a bombproof specimen of each of the following for as little as possible:

• Headset
• 36 spoke wheels
• Cantis or V-brakes?
• Groupset (if my roommate decides he wants to keep his Alivio components)
• Bar end shifters
• Tires

The other stuff I'm just going to throw on whatever until I get the dough together to start making the whole thing shine (B-17, nice racks, awesome fenders)

Mine just came today as well.
I won't have time to build until the end of the month, though.
Going on vacation with the family. At least I've been given permission to bring my bike.

First item up for bids... wheels. I'm having a hell of a time finding 36 spoke wheelsets anywhere. Anybody have any or know where to get 'em for cheaper than having them built at the bike shop?

Depending on your definition of cheap, Harris Cyclery sells some prebuilt 36 spoke touring wheelsets for reasonable prices:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels/622.html

I don't know if these are machine built or hand built (for the price, I'd guess they're machine built).

It looks like they have a set with Alivio hubs and Sun CR18 36 spoke rims for 119.95.

EDIT: They say the wheels are "hand built by our supplier". Looks like the cheaper sets may have straight gauge spokes though.

Ok, next lowest I found was 258 for some Mavic 719 action on eBay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3DI%26otn%3D1

Problem is, I know NOTHING about wheels. What am I looking for here if my goal is "I am going to be abusing the living hell out of this bike, and I want it to come back for more."

To illustrate this concept, I once saw a show about the AK-47, and it had an officer who came back from Vietnam with an AK he pulled off of a dead VC, and he promptly threw it in a storage unit and forgot about it for 30 years. When he found it, the chamber had rusted shut. He kicked it open, took it to the range, and it fired perfectly first time.

So, regarding parts... if the Russians were to build a touring bike, what would it have on it? :)

EDIT: Also, check this out from the ad copy for the wheels you sent me:

FAIL. :roflmao:

I used these on the last build. They've been holding up well under me at 350#.

Brief: Road wheel set 700C x 35
Rim: DH-19 700c, 36 hole, non-eyeletted, black with machined sides for v-brake compatability
Hub: Shimano Deore®, 8/9 speed compatible, 36 hole, silver.

Just make sure they are tensioned correctly.

Not a bad buy at $114.00

Does that include your 350# plus panniers full of stuff?

Although I guess that's a moot point, as I'm 220#, and probably won't be carrying 130# worth of crap with me. :)

I'd be more concerned about the straight gauge spokes used in the cheaper wheelsets, IMHO. Double-butted spokes will build a more resilient wheel. Of all the wheels listed so far in this thread I didn't see anything with DB spokes for less than $250 or so (though to be fair, for that money you also get much nicer hubs and rims).

Unfortunately Sheldon's double butted spoke wheels seem to be sold out, in addition to costing ~$130 more.

Anybody have a price estimate of what my LBS is gonna charge me? If it's going to be $250 there and it'll be $250 anyway, I might as well have them built here in town.

I am thinking really hard about doing this too. All I have are fast road bikes. Would love a touring / commuting rig that's cheap and dependable.

I'd build my own wheels, dyno hub in front.

The rear dropouts are between road and mountain widths. (1) Does that mean I have to bend the stays into place, regardless? and (2) 650B is an alternative as well? Has anyone built up this frame with 26" wheels or 650? How is the geometry / handling with those smaller wheels?

if that's for a pair it's an incredible deal, and probably machine made needing some human finish.

No. 2.5mm is a tiny amount of space. If you use a MTB hub, you'll need to move each dropout outward by 1.25mm. Grab the seat stays, sneeze, and you'll probably spread them more than than involuntarily.

If you want brakes that work, you'll probably have to use 700c wheels. The canti posts are placed for standard 700c rims...

Shimano Bar end shifters, Whatever SIS RD you want, and Tektro RL rakes. You're going with linear pull or cantilever brakes or what?

Bicycle Wheel Warehouse claims that all of their wheels are hand-built. I purchased a pair of cheap ($120?) mountain bike wheels from them and they were better built than my Mavic Crossride wheels which cost twice as much!

Actually, it was my large self +2 panniers full of books...sometimes 2 large, full grocery panniers coming from the store.
But mostly my large self + 1 pannier with clothing and laptop & other commuty stuff.

They did get checked and re-tensioned when I got them.

That's for the pair. I ALWAYS check any new wheel for tension. VERY IMPORTANT when one is my size.

Cantis (unless finding a seat collar that sticks out far enough proves difficult.)

Looks to me like the Harris CR18/Alivio wheel sets are the best deal out there. You might find them for a little less, but not much. They will have 14 gauge spokes, I'm sure, and you should probably spend some time tweeking the build/stress relieving.

Ok, updates...

1: My roommate got his new road bike yesterday, and we got a stand off of craigslist. This means I can strip his MTB frame. Oh, and his road bike came with a Trek rear rack... BOOM. Free rear rack. I already pulled the Alivio FD and RD, the chain has seen better days and I'll probably replace... and I'm going to need the bike shop to pull the cranks and BB and put them in the Nashbar, since I don't have the tools to do so. Which brings me to...

2: There is a flea market booth here that specializes in bike parts. They just got in a rear wheel... rim is Breeze by Stars Circle. Made of 6061 aluminum and is dark gray. 36 Black spokes, cross 3. Hub is alloy, threaded for 6-7 speed freewheel and is a bolt on. Should I buy it and make a 21 speed bike, or should I buy it and another hub to make a 9 speed wheel, or should I wait and get my wheels somewhere else? This kind of appeals to me because I might just get a whole touring bike built for $300 if this works.