Syscrush

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like it should still be possible to tension the chain properly without resorting to a half-link, unless I get fussy about where I want the dropouts for some reason.

Grand Bois

You are correct. They're wrong.

Syscrush

If we're gonna carry the analogy that far, I'll point out that you can't wear a backpack in an F1 car, but on a bike for short trips I much prefer carrying a backpack to having stuff stuck to the bike.

For longer trips, I've got a rack that fastens to the seatpost only, and a set of Knog panniers.

ColonelJLloyd 

Sounds like you've got it all figured out. Can't wait to see the finished build!

KonAaron Snake 

It's your bike and you've clearly made up your mind...enjoy

himespau 

I'm also building up what I'd call a city bike (my definition is a little different from yours) for my wife from the frame up. It's nice because when it's done it'll be customized exactly how I want it to be with a cool looking vintage lugged steel frame as the base, but if I had it to do over again, I'd probably just save myself several hundred dollars and just get one of these (and deal with the not quite as beautiful welds).

Syscrush

Funny, I'm kind of going the other direction. My old road bike was a Windsor Wellington 3.0 from BD. I have no complaints about it and would recommend BD as good value for money, provided the buyer has some basic mechanical proficiency and is willing to swap some parts to get a good fit. After riding it for a year (including a 720k tour), I gave it to my brother, and he's happy with it. If I end up doing any long rides again this year, I may borrow it back, but I suspect/hope that the new bike should meet my needs just fine.

Bit more info about my BD experience here.

This time I wanted something closer to my heart's desire, which is why I'm going the custom route.

On the subject of welds, the ones on my Welly looked better than on my wife's Trek 1.2, although not as good as on my Sputnik. Of course, they all lack the charm and style of a classic lugged frame IMO.

himespau 

Yeah, that was sort of what I was implying. The beautiful outlined lugs on the 30+ year old mixte frame I'm dealing with are one of the major benefits above a modern frame (though for some reason I decided to go derailleur rather than the IGH I'd originally planned.

Syscrush

Thanks very much for the suggestion.

After sending the builder some detail photos of the axle and lock washers in the dropouts, we've decided to go this route. Vertical dropouts can be made to work, but they should be deeper than these. Still haven't decided whether to stick with the adjustable vertical dropout, or fixed horizontal dropout. I'll post some pics once the new parts are fabbed up.

Syscrush

Got a package today...


I never had the Tektro calipers from my other bikes off the bike and in my hand, so I don't have a good frame of reference, but I was shocked at how light these calipers are.

Funny, they're less than twice the price of Tektro's, while Campy levers are ~7x the price of the similar Tektros... Campy calipers & Tektro levers it is!!!

Syscrush

Looked up some specs, seems the Tektro R540's are very similar in weight, maybe a bit lighter (not clear if the Tektro measurement includes the mounting nut & bolt or not), and the Tektro's have a quick release, which the Campy's lack. Still, I'm pleased with my find and I'm looking forward to seeing these guys on the bike!

southpawboston

This bike was totally not designed for fenders, and in fact can't even take tires larger than 700x23. But I managed to fit standard full-coverage SKS fenders:

southpawboston

What happens as the chain wears?

Syscrush

Wow, that looks great. I really like the black rims and gumwall tires, too.

How did you fit those fenders? Looks like there's barely any clearance - it must have been a very fussy job. I would assume that changing the rear wheel requires some playing with the fender, also.

Syscrush

That would require adjustment of the dropouts. But a wheel re&re for any reason other than worn chain would not require adjustment of the dropouts.

Barchettaman

South Paw Boston is too modest to post his ´How to´on fitting road bike fenders, so I´ll do it for him. :-)

https://bostonretrowheelmen.blogspot....-bike-not.html

Syscrush

Thanks for the link, and thanks SPB for the detailed writeup. Even though it makes me think maybe I do need to get this bike painted...

Amesja

Depends on what city. Here in Chicago the hipsters would love it -especially the Deep-V's!

Syscrush

Another package today, hopefully the rest (pedals, hubbub adapter, cable guides) will arrive soon, but the big question mark is the Deep-V's. Special ordered a week ago, the shop guys say it usually takes 2 weeks.

Non-exciting seatpost that I think will look appropriate for the bike, especially once the Origin8 logos are polished out:

thirdgenbird

subscribing

BluesDaddy

Maybe you can save the $50+ that the Hubbub costs by using this setup courtesy Sheldon Brown:

He mounted a cut-down MTB bar end on the quill of the stem, then mounted the twist shifter on it.

Grand Bois

That kludge and the Hubub were necessary when you could only get crappy plastic twist shifters for the new SA hubs, but it's no longer the case.

tcs

When was the Classic Trigger Shifter out of production?

Syscrush

True, but I'm stuck with the hubbub because the new SA hubs - the (W) wide-range versions - are effectively not available. As noted earlier in the thread, I'm using the older version with a 225% range instead of the new (W) version with 256% range, and the older hubs have a different shifter pull than the new ones. So I'm stuck with the crappy plastic twist shifter.

I'm using the hubbub instead of the approach shown above because I think that it's marginally less ugly, and significantly handier.

What I've been daydreaming about is having my own travel agent type of adapter made that will adjust the pull to allow me to use a brifter to shift either this hub, or the (W) version once I'm able to get my mitts on one.

Apparently you can also do a DIY hubbub by cutting down a discarded quill: the end that would normally go into the steerer goes into your bar end, and the shifter mounts onto the extension as with a hubbub.

ColonelJLloyd 

I'm not sure who told you that. Your LBS could order one today as well as either the 5(w) thumb or bar end shifter.

I recently built a wheel for my mom's bike with the X-RF5 and also ordered the SA thumb shifter.