New Build (Soma.Smoothie)
#1
Duke Ulysses
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Bikes: An old orange one for dirt, and for the other stuff: a white one, a kinda mint green one, and a black one.
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New Build (Soma Smoothie)
So, I no longer get along with my TCR. I probably should have gotten an M/L rather than a large, but whatever..i got 11000 miles out of it. Chapeau, TCR! The r7000 groupset was only on for the last 85, so it and the wheels got slapped onto a 56cm Soma Smoothie with the steel fork. I've put about 50 miles on it so far. Its fantastic. I cannot compliment the ride/build/finish quality of the frameset. I broke my gold chain cherry on this one, also. Consider yourself warned.
I might install a silver White Industries crankset one day.. Maybe. I would be sacrificing the Stages meter, but maybe I don't care so much. We will see. Thanks
I might install a silver White Industries crankset one day.. Maybe. I would be sacrificing the Stages meter, but maybe I don't care so much. We will see. Thanks
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#2
Member
I really like the blue! I built one too, in black, 60 cm. I scavenged the parts from a decommissioned Surly Pacer. The plan was to use it as a commuter, but now that feels like a distant dream while I work from home.
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#3
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It's a nice bike! May I suggest leaving the black crankset? As-is, it matches most of the finish kit; I think a silver crankset would only be another not-quite-matching silver to the seatpost and stem. I've occasionally had the urge to build one of these up myself; how was the frame finish quality? Any need to fix the BB shell or anything?
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Welcome to the club, a great riding bike.
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#5
Member
I’m going to second Bah_Humbug - the black Shimano r7000 is a good look on the baby blue frame. You’ve really done a beautiful job.
To help with the build questions; the frame finish quality was solid. The bottom bracket threads required no chasing, and I didn’t need to face the head tube. Bottom bracket and headset were a clean fit. I coated the inside of the frame with Boeshield T9 for anti rust protection. The inside of the frame is bare steel, and it will rust. I bought the frame new last December.
To help with the build questions; the frame finish quality was solid. The bottom bracket threads required no chasing, and I didn’t need to face the head tube. Bottom bracket and headset were a clean fit. I coated the inside of the frame with Boeshield T9 for anti rust protection. The inside of the frame is bare steel, and it will rust. I bought the frame new last December.
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#6
Sunshine
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#7
Mother Nature's Son
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I have a black Smoothie frame/CFfork with Shimano 7000 groupset and all other components/parts to do the build. I have had it for a couple of months and just have not gotten motivated to do the build. I certainly have plenty of time. Like always for me, getting started is one of the hard parts.
#8
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So, I no longer get along with my TCR. I probably should have gotten an M/L rather than a large, but whatever..i got 11000 miles out of it. Chapeau, TCR! The r7000 groupset was only on for the last 85, so it and the wheels got slapped onto a 56cm Soma Smoothie with the steel fork. I've put about 50 miles on it so far. Its fantastic. I cannot compliment the ride/build/finish quality of the frameset. I broke my gold chain cherry on this one, also. Consider yourself warned.
I might install a silver White Industries crankset one day.. Maybe. I would be sacrificing the Stages meter, but maybe I don't care so much. We will see. Thanks
I might install a silver White Industries crankset one day.. Maybe. I would be sacrificing the Stages meter, but maybe I don't care so much. We will see. Thanks
love it. my old lemond 853 hangs in basement needing some love.
well done.
#9
Duke Ulysses
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Thanks for the responses everyone. To echo lostronin in post 5, the frame needed no preparations other than rustproofing. The build went as easily as any that I've done. The first ride on it was just supposed to be around the block to work the kinks out, but ended up being about 15 miles with just under 1000 feet of climbing. It's a fantastic bike.
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#10
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It's funny - between this and the other one I'm awfully tempted to replace my R2 with one of these; the geometry is better for me and my roadie is just a piece of fitness equipment so I don't care about weight or aero. I don't need another rim brake roadie though, and the R2 was a birthday gift from the in-laws.
The Smoothie would probably also look weird with the aero wheels I'd put on for handling practice.
The Smoothie would probably also look weird with the aero wheels I'd put on for handling practice.
#11
Newbie
Very nice build. Soma Smoothie is one of my dream bikes. Maybe i should finally build one.
#12
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#13
Duke Ulysses
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One day, about 2 weeks ago. While tightening the seat collar, this happened:
The frame had 1000 miles on it, and its not like I use an impact wrench on my bikes. I sent this photo to Soma, and they have agreed to replace the frame. They also requested that I cut off the seat collar and send to them.for inspection. That was a week ago, and I still have no address for mailing. They are not pro-active communicators. I am.chasing them.down a lot. I will keep you updated.
The frame had 1000 miles on it, and its not like I use an impact wrench on my bikes. I sent this photo to Soma, and they have agreed to replace the frame. They also requested that I cut off the seat collar and send to them.for inspection. That was a week ago, and I still have no address for mailing. They are not pro-active communicators. I am.chasing them.down a lot. I will keep you updated.
Last edited by growlerdinky; 08-17-20 at 11:10 AM.
#14
Sunshine
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Wow thats awful to see. Its right along their collar design.
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And they’ve been out of everything but the 56 for a while. Fingers crossed they do get a batch soon, but thanks for keeping us in the loop. Sorry this happened.
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That’s another pretty one!
It’s funny; when I first saw that frame color on the site I hated it. I still don’t thing it looks good on unbuilt product shots on a white background, but the real ones here look great.
It’s funny; when I first saw that frame color on the site I hated it. I still don’t thing it looks good on unbuilt product shots on a white background, but the real ones here look great.
#19
Mother Nature's Son
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Not sure what year this Smoothie frame/fork is. Maybe 2015? I bought it NIB this past spring, built it up and have been making some changes. I believe this set up is how is going to stay now. New 105, 7000 groupset with 50/34 and 11-32. Fulcrum Racing 5 wheelset, Panaracer GK 26mm tires, Zipp bar, Easton stem, Performance CF seatpost and Endure saddle. I really like this bike. It fits me very well with all day comfort, the 7000 groupset is outstanding, Racing 5 wheels and GK tires are just right for my riding. I have somewhere around 1500 miles on it now. Along with my Lemond Tourmalet, my favorite bikes to ride. Clean, polished and lubed it today.