grandjeanius

I started with an old Cross Check and built it up using mostly Velo-Orange supplied parts. Great shop to deal with!
I wanted to build with SRAM, but it was too expensive to follow that route so I went with Shimano XT derailleurs, and 700C 105 wheels. I'm real happy with it so far! It rides like a dream.. I'm still unsure of the VO seat though. I like the way it looks, but it feels a little bit wide in the nose for me.
I'd love to hear some suggestions on making it better!
Whattya think?


Original frame.

The parts (or at least the first order!)

Painting (Next spring I'm going to take it to be powder coated.. the spray paint just doesn't stick well enough)

Finished painting

In Work

Almost done!

My first admirer!

All but the rack.

Complete!
All that's left is adding the bags and lights.

texas2wheel

I like it, very nice bike!

JeffSG

She's a beauty! Well done!

monsterpile

I like the dog. Oh and the bikes looks really good too. =)

canyoneagle

Nicely done!

bbeasley

Nice Job!

nashcommguy

16 frt and 20 rr seem to me to be a little fragile for commuting. Unless you're commuting w/very light weight? Or the rim/spoke/hub combos are 'strength' designed? This is an observation not a criticism. My commuter is 32x32 and I carry quite a bit of weight when I bring my clothes in for the week. If I'm off the mark here someone be so kind as to enlighten me. Otherwise, a very nice build. Classy and tasteful. Your dog's a cutie, too. You need a trailer.

grandjeanius

I attempted to get Whit-dog into riding with the Xtra-cycle.. but the cat called 'dibs' on the big bike.


As for the low spoke counts, I totally agree with you!

My roadbike and (prior to this) commuter is my Lynskey Cooper, which I've got 32 spoke front and rear.
Ideally I'd like to get a dynohub to power a light on this build (Which would then mean new 32+ spoke wheels), but I'm still deciding if it's worth the money. Those were the next best wheels I had laying around. I'm hoping they will be ok for now as they are fairly deep rims.

jstewse

Your build looks great, nice classic spin on modern steel. I didn't realize that the older Cross-Checks had 1" head tubes.

Titmawz

Beary Nice ! Was the dog included in the purchase of the frame ?? lol

jimcross

Darn... just when I though I was happy with my cross-check you have to go and post that...

Really nice!

BA Commuter

Looks great - job well done! We have a border collie mix who looks very similar!

slolane

Sweet bike, looks great!!

MVclyde

Very nice!! I just finished my cross check commuter build also. I ended up going SRAM Rival. So far so good. Your build looks awesome. I stripped the decals off, too. I think it looks much better without them. Did you have any trouble installing the VO fenders? I went with Honjos from VO. They provided the hardware, but it still took a few trips to the hardware store to get everything I needed.

grandjeanius

The VO fenders went on nice and easy. The only piece that I added was an old tube chunk to prevent metal on metal on the rear fender. The hardest part for me was the bottom bracket as I had never messed with one before. I was even hoping to just use the one that was already on the bike (it didn't work out) It turns out it was surprisingly easy! And on the bright side now I know how to work with English style BBs. Did you get the dimpled Honjos? I was curious to see what they'd look like in real life. MVClyde, Let's see some pics!

jtelford

Looks great!

grandjeanius

I mounted a Radbot 1000 on the back rack last night. I'm BLOWN away by how bright it is.. but a little dismayed at how little non direct light is shown. If you're not directly behind the bike it doesn't really light up that much. It hardly offers any visibility from other angles. I'm hoping that maybe the reflector incorporated in the light helps with that...

RT

Nice looking bike. What model Kenda tires are those?

Mauriceloridans

I like your bar con cable routing. I never liked the traditional way flying off the drop bars. Mine are under the tape to the stem too but they're friction. Are yours index? any shifting problems?

Fizzaly

Nice, i also didn't know cross checks had 1" head tubes what year? im gonna have to keep that in mind and try and find one.

grandjeanius

I thought they were Kenda Kwicks, but I don't see that on the website. They show Kenda Kwickers, but the tread pattern looks different. I'll check what they are tonight.

I have no idea what the year of the bike is. It's gotta be included in the serial number right? Does anyone know how to tell?

I have friction shifting as well. They are Shimano Dia Comp Silver SL-0001. No problems at all.. they are working great for me!

3speedslow

Total agreement on the finished product ! Great looking commuter, now go put some winter sludge on it.

grandjeanius

The tires are just called Kenda Kwicks.. I bought them last fall from a clearance rack at EMS.. As for the year of the Cross Check, I looked under the bottom bracket for the serial and didn't spot one. I didn't have a whole lot of time last night to search for it elsewhere... anyone know where it's located on Surlys? (I guess I could always do a search on the forum)

zoltani

Nice looking CC. I'm about to build one up also, just waiting on delivery of frame and parts.

Is that Salsa tan bar tape?

monsterpile

Thats a nice cat. I have often thought it would be funny to pull one of my cats along in my trailer. Its only a good idea in my mind though.