Plainsman

I wish I could recall the name of every one of you who patiently answered my questions, but this is to say THANK YOU!!! Major props to all of you professional mechanics out there. I had a major bicycle accident back in July, and decided to build up a trainer bike while I recovered. Here is what you helped me accomplish:

I bought this bike from a fellow moving out of state, a 2009 Specialized Allez with an 8-speed groupset. I decided to remake into a trainer bike from parts I mostly already had.

Ultimately I wound up replacing the bars and the saddle as well, leaving me with the frame, fork, headset, stem, seatpost, and brake calipers as a starting point.

I’m very excited and thankful for the help from this community. For some reason the cabling gave me the most fits and I was on the brink of taking it in to the shop, but I stuck with it and everything seems to be shifting smoothly now. I wound up with a hodge-podge 10 speed drivetrain (105 shifters, Ultegra 6700 RD, Tiagra FD, FSA compact crankset) and some slightly lighter wheels. Looking forward to continuing to recover and good times on the trainer and the road!

alcjphil

I have to say, as someone who probably didn't participate in the original thread that you will have made those people feel that their input was worth their while. A class move

Iride01 

Nice looking bike. Glad it's in a color I'll be able to see when going from areas of bright sun to no sun while on the road or bike path.

I built up my bike from a frame too and the shifting is so smooth. However it does take an effort to keep it that way once or twice a year. So don't get disgusted if you have similar rides that it just doesn't work as well as you bragged to others.

dsbrantjr

Thanks for the feedback. So many times we make recommendations and never hear whether, or how, they worked out.

Plainsman

. Sorry, I definitely didn’t mean it to come off as bragging. I was just excited to be able to sort out the setup using advice here and from the web, versus throwing up my hands and asking someone to do it for me. There’s some satisfaction in finishing a job. Just grateful that there is such a repository of knowledge like on this forum, and so many willing to share their experience and skill with me!

davidad

Nice horse! Good work too.

Iride01 

You don't need to be sorry or apologize for anything. The bike looks great. You should brag.

If my post sounded like I was miff'd or any thing negative toward your's, it was totally unintentional. I thought I was all positive. Perhaps I shouldn't have stuck my own boast in to this thread if anything.

WizardOfBoz

Hey, you did a nice job, so a little bragging is fine. Looks great. Hope you heal up and are able to ride it on the road soon.

Plainsman

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! Been riding and tinkering for awhile, feel like I'm always learning (or forgetting and re-learning!). Took it for a quick shakedown ride today, shifted great, but spent 20 minutes trying to ID a strange rattle at the back-end. Even took video. Finally figured out I had only installed a single 1mm spacer to put my 10 speed Shimano cassette on the 11 speed hub! Guess I'll figure out how many spacers eventually!