Wallonthefloor

I am going to be building up an All City Big-Block frame to take on all weather conditions, rough city riding and some off road trails. I'm a light rider and have been on track bikes for a few years now and am ready to set-up this as a single speed. The only thing I need help with is picking the parts, I'm not too familiar with the latest and greatest. So the thing I like about this frame is that it will fit 28s or 32s, I'd like to keep it light though. I'm up for any recommendations before ordering and I'll take anything into consideration so thanks if you can help.



Stock for reference, I'm looking to get hoods.

OneIsAllYouNeed

Looks like you need some Tektro R539 brakes and Tektro R200A levers. I think some ergo road bars would be a good upgrade, too. The geometry of that frame is pretty awful for off-roading, but let us know how it goes.

shoota 

I think you're in the wrong sub-forum.

chas58

Single speed forum maybe?

I’ve built up a bike like that. 32mm Conti 4-seasons or Gatorskins are best for that. Road calipers typically won’t spread that wide though, and the brakes rubbing against an inflated Gatorskin (on removal) tears up their “reinforced” sidewalls pretty bad.

Not really off road geometry, but you can do some light duty hardpack stuff. Good geometry for urban bashing where you want your bike to have good reflexes.

You could consider using some flared drops if you want drops. For that build, I think I would stick with traditional flare though. Tat and least a seat post fender for those wet muddy rides.

Wide rims (19mm+ internal) that are tubeless compatible would be good.

50voltphantom

You can stuff 32mm tires in there. Tektros with a reach of 47-57mm will do the trick braking-wise. If you do want to ride gravel with it I'd recommend putting some compact road drop handlebars and comfy road levers (SRAM) on and lowering the gearing significantly (like 40:19 or thereabouts).

TimothyH

The track bar might not be the best. A traditional road bar with hooded levers will make a world of difference.

I'd recommend front and rear brake but a dummy hood/lever will help even if you don't run a rear brake.

Lots of guys in the Single Speed forum run wide and/or knobby tires on a BB. You may want to post there.


-Tim-

Wallonthefloor

I went with 49:18 and its going to be one bike to rule them all!

chas58

Perfect, that is what I use on road; that is about 21mph @ 100rpm.

gilpi

Man, that's a big drop on those bars! As mentioned, I would also look into compact road drop handlebars.

Wallonthefloor

Now that it's all said and done I have been riding and the one noticeable difference is that I chose a crank length of 165 whereas my other bikes are 170. The seats are all at the same height, and I shouldn't have to raise this one 5mm right?

RJM

5mm, not cm. When I went from 170 to 165mm cranks I had to adjust my seat position. The shorter crank really helped with a knee pain problem I was having.

Wallonthefloor

Ok. I am trying to figure out which bikes are hurting my lower back. They were all the same seat height despite the crank length difference.

shoota 

It could very well be saddle tilt or saddle fore-aft positioning, and not the height.

mongol777

Big Block is just fine for off-road, rode mine on all kinds of roads and trails.

OP, it will clear most of 700x35 not very aggressive knobbies on 17-18mm rims (internal width). I had Kenda Small Block on mine for a while. Tire clearance is very generous.