Rocket-Sauce 

Like many of us, I suspect, I've accumulated enough nice parts in my bin to build an entire very nice bike. If I had a frame. So I started looking for a 60-62cm nice frame.

I had a few conditions for the frame I wanted.
In no particular order...

Top end steel. I didn't feel strongly one way or another about if it were Columbus, Reynolds, Tange etc. It just had to be top of the line steel.

Lugs. I like lugs, but don't care for fancy curlicues or odd shapes. Function over form. To my eye, a Ferrari racing engine is so beautiful because of its pure function.

Racy, but comfortable.

Black. I am with Lego Batman


Loads of bikes came up on ebay and Craigslist. All close, but not exactly what I wanted. It would either be just a bit too small or just a bit too big. Or the perfect fit would be a color I couldn't live with, or too expensive.

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a very very dark grey Soma Stanyan. They are on sale at Velomine for $349 -hard to beat for a Tange Prestige frame. BUT I had a last minute hesitation when I heard (probably somewhere here) that Tange Prestige is not the Tange Prestige of the 80s. I read a lot of frame building forums looking for the straight dope, but it just got more and more confusing. So I reached out to Soma directly, and was reassured that it is the same alloy with the same heat treating and butting profile as the 1980s Tange Prestige.

Plus, tubing only really matters to builders.

The only thing I didn't have on hand was a stem. As discussed on other threads here, no one makes a removable faceplate alloy stem for modern 31.8 bars that isn't totally hideous. I went with a Nitto. I wish I'd waited a little longer, because the day after I got my Nitto, I saw this thread on threadless conversion headsets.

I'd have preferred to use a classic Cinelli, but already had several nice 31.8 bars. Anyway, this is the only silver part on the bike. I wish Nitto made it in black.

OK, here it is:



After unwrapping it, I thought "Hmmm... that headtube looks kinda short for a me-sized frame". I measured the ST and was a little confused to find it is only 58, and then my mind immediately went to the Soma geometry chart I must have checked out 100 times. I knew the 58cm frame had a 575mm TT. Still within my size, BUT I would need a 120mm stem (plus longer reach bars and a setback seatpost) and my stem is 110mm. Then I measured the TT and it came up 590mm. Confusing, so I re-measured everything a few times. The ST is definitely 58cm and the TT is definintely 59cm, both c-t-c. The BB shell has 60 stamped on it which added to my confusion. I checked that same geometry chart, and it turns out that the ST is measured c-t-t.

The build quality is very high. Long point lugs that are filed and thinned to a sharp point. No gaps or voids. High quality paint.

Rocket-Sauce 

When I started building it up, I noticed that I was missing the wave washer for the Ultra Torque BB.


The entire build was put on hold while I was patiently waiting for this to arrive. In typical Niagara Cycles fashion, nothing happened with my order for over a week. It finally arrived and I was excited to continue assembling.




I decided not to cut the steer tube because of the slightly odd geometry. Long wheel base, relaxed angles, and clearance for 32c tires and fenders all say to me "endurance", but the long TT and short HT put you in a pretty aggressive position.

Also, I hate cutting steer tubes....

So 2cm of spacers and no "slammed stem".

Rocket-Sauce 

The next issue that came up is that this frame is built for long reach brakes. I didn't want to use Tektro or Shimano brakes on a Campy bike, so I went to bdop for the offset pad holders. Very nice.

Rocket-Sauce 

And finally






Hoping to get out on road for a shakedown today.

Rocket-Sauce 

Build

Frameset - 2014 Soma Stanyan 60cm
Stem - Nitto UI12 110mm
Bars - Nashbar carbon 44cm
Saddle - Serfas Phantom Carbon
Seatpost -Thomson Elite
Headset - Tange Levin
Wheelset - Shimano 105 hubs, DT spokes, Mavic Open Pros
Cassette - Ambrosio Shimano/Campagnolo conversion cassette
Crankset - Campy Record
Chain - Sram 1051
Front Der - Record
Rear Der - Record
Calipers - Record (with Bdop offset pad holders)
Shifters - Record
Cables - Whatever I had on hand. Some Campy. Some Jagwire.
Pedals - Nashbar
Bottom Bracket - Record
Bar tape - Performance Forte Grip-tec 2
Tires - Clement LGG 28c
Tubes - REI / Novarra
Cages -Zipp

rocks in head 

Cool bike, and a nice build. It's great to see a modern bike that's so well done to the best of the classic standards...

Still a pretty aggressive look, even with the extra stack height on the steer tube.

I suppose if you wanted fancy lugs there are still those two 2016 Colnago Arabesque frames... but at 8 times the price (on clearance) this Soma is clearly the better choice for something to ride.

rhenning

It is a nice bike but why are you doing this in Classic and Vintage forum neither of which the bike is???? Roger

rocks in head 

1) steel
2) lugged

It may not be vintage but it's built as a classic recreation.

Rocket-Sauce 

Yep.
For whatever it is worth... the cranks are 8 years old, and the rest of the Campy bits are 15 years old. The seatpost is 20+ years old. I built up the wheels in 2004. The Headset is from the early 80s...

So, not old. But, I think it fits in with most C&V folks taste.

bikemig 

I think it belongs here. I am going to pretend that I did not see this thread though because I don't want to be tempted to buy another frame that I don't need! If I buy this, I have to sell some bikes . . . .

lostarchitect 

Am I the only one not seeing the photos? I tried 3 different browsers to see if it was me, but no dice.

bikemig 

+ 1. Perhaps the OP is just being shy . . .

Rocket-Sauce 

I will attach images a different way. Hopefully that will work.

Rocket-Sauce 

How about now?

Classtime 

I see the pictures now. Because I can see the pictures, I will request that you get another shiny HS and put on the shiny upper bits to help the stem transition to the blackness.

lostarchitect 

Looks good now!

Wow, that is a high saddle.

Rocket-Sauce 

Funny, after a quick ride, I think I need to raise it up a little more. I'm 6'04" (or used to be ) and this bike has more post showing than my other bikes.... It is the largest frame Soma sells, but has a short-ish ST and HT but a long TT. The stack and reach are almost exactly the same as my other bikes, but this one does feel small.

Rides very nice.

Rocket-Sauce 

I actually wish Nitto made that stem in black. Or even better: that I knew about those cool conversion headsets that @joejack951 makes.

Even though it has admittedly been over-done to death, I have always liked the murdered out look -going back to the Cannondale Black Lightning.

But a black frame with chrome stays, chrome lugs and polished aluminum parts is dead sexy. I just didn't have any shiny silver parts....

lostarchitect 

I thought they made a 60cm? Well, if it works, it works.

Rocket-Sauce 

That is what they call a 60. They measure the seat tube CTT. Measured that way, it is 60cm.

Bandera

My Stanyan has done service as a winter/wet bike for several seasons and still gets all of the skutt miles.
A pleasant machine w/ all of the virtues of a C&V British club riders' bike like lugged construction,clearance for mudguards & a lively compliant ride w/ modern-ish 130 spacing, 1 1/8 threadless fork a full compliment of braze-ons and a durable finish. A well designed and built reinterpretation of what worked for me >40 years ago, and still does today. Period Correct Police certification not required.

BTW: The head tube is stupid-short.

-Bandera

RobbieTunes

Great bike. BF member drrobwave has a Stanyan. His has the stainless steel lugwork, same Tange Prestige. He had the touring Soma model, forget the name, and got rid of it in favor of the Stanyan. Really nice frame.

ryansu

Always liked the Stanyan both the original and the new L' Eroica oriented one, Looks like you got a great deal and a very nice frame, I had a Soma Smoothie briefly, really liked the ride.

Salamandrine 

Looks like a good modern steel ride to me. Maybe not vintage, but it's steel and lugged, therefore it's classic.

The nitto stem is my favorite part. Nitto is pure class. I can see how it kinda screws with the darth vader thing though. My solution would be nitto seatpost and silver headset...

Rocket-Sauce 

The original Stanyan had the beautiful polished head lugs and 1 1/8" threadless fork. Now they come with 1" threaded forks and painted lugs...

Rides very nice but I need a longer stem