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New Bougie Bike Build

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New Bougie Bike Build

Old 01-21-20, 07:32 AM
  #1  
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New Bougie Bike Build

I finally got the bike I put on back order a week ago and put on accessories to give it the look I wanted. Thanks again for opinions on some of those! It’s a bit much for a commuter, and it’s most of the riding I do these days. Luckily I’m not worried at work, bike theft isn’t big here, and I carry a substantial lock.

This is a primarily commuter and all around build and the first road bike I’ve bought or built in about 10 years. I checked out all the local bike shops and brands they carried. Then, I went looking through catalogs and figured these new gravel bikes had what I wanted in an all around commuter. The mix of price, components, and color got me to order the Trek, and it’s the first of their bikes that I’ve owned. Others I saw had a bit small of a large chainring for my purposes and tended to go kinda cheaper on the crank but for little to no difference in price. Others also didn’t have hydraulic disc, which I fell in love with after riding around on a bike with them in Germany. I think my other consideration was a Specialized Sequoia, and I shied away from the weight before accessories. I still have to ride this thing up the foothills. The color immediately gave me ideas on what to put on it, and I like the way they change the look.

Bike specs:
Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 gravel bike in British Racing Green
Shimano 11-speed 105 group with hydraulic disc brakes
Compact double front and 11-34T rear
Swapped saddle for a Brooks B17 with the fancy copper rails and rivets
Swapped bar tape for Leh Cycles leather bar tape. The Brooks tape just didn’t look like great quality.
Swapped gravel tires for 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Supreme touring tires
Installed Handsome Cycles hammered copper anodized aluminum fenders
Installed copper bottle cages
Installed Axiom rear rack I already had
Installed Crankbros Candy 3 pedals
The only other thing I’ll be doing here is using one of the Bontrager Blendr stem mounts for a GoPro and a Cygolite GoPro adapter to mount the headlight on the bottom (or top) of the stem.

Here she is together on the first commuting ride.


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Last edited by Falkon; 01-22-20 at 05:28 PM.
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Old 01-21-20, 05:58 PM
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Nice, I would like it even better without the bright green trek logo but thats just me, very well put together.
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Old 01-21-20, 10:21 PM
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Solid.

Is the copper clear coated or intended to tarnish?

Really 12-42? That’s a lot
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Old 01-22-20, 07:58 AM
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Sweet!
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Old 01-22-20, 09:34 AM
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Nice looking ride. You almost followed the maxim of no more than three colors. Close enough.
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Old 01-22-20, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by jdswitters
Nice, I would like it even better without the bright green trek logo but thats just me, very well put together.
Agreed. I don't mind it so much, but I could do without it. I'm trying to decide if I should try to match new panniers to that accent color or go with "good enough" dark green or black.
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Old 01-22-20, 12:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
Solid.

Is the copper clear coated or intended to tarnish?

Really 12-42? That’s a lot
Intended to tarnish, but I'm not sure what will. It's just anodized aluminum fenders and copper plated steel seat. I love the wide range cassette. With the normal compact double, I've got enough gears to climb while loaded down but I'm not really close to topping out the gears. The 42t cog means I've got a 1:1 climbing gear. That's great, because this thing isn't light, and I'm out of shape.
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Old 01-22-20, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Falkon
Agreed. I don't mind it so much, but I could do without it. I'm trying to decide if I should try to match new panniers to that accent color or go with "good enough" dark green or black.
FWIW I think the leather and green seatbag looks good, and would try to match that. Over time the faded green canvas does not look as bad as my black canvas seatbag when it faded. But that may have more to do with the limited number of canvas bags I'm familiar with.
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Old 01-22-20, 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by jdswitters
FWIW I think the leather and green seatbag looks good, and would try to match that. Over time the faded green canvas does not look as bad as my black canvas seatbag when it faded. But that may have more to do with the limited number of canvas bags I'm familiar with.
The whole bike is dark green. I want to get new panniers that are actually waterproof, and I’m probably going for Ortlieb. They make a PVC-free bag that looks like a close match to the Miami green accents and logo on the bike. These in the lagoon color could be a close match. I dunno, it’s already kinda loud, and I’m not a huge fan of that color. Bright is good for visibility, but I’m not sure just how close a match the colors are without seeing it in person. I knew I wanted to do the tan leather, dark green, and copper combination. The Brooks saddle bag has a matching color leather to the saddle, but I was quite surprised at how big a medium size is. I could put a tallboy beer in there along with my normal tools, patch kit, and spare tube. Ortlieb also makes this bag in dark green that is a close match to the frame color. There’s always the option to just go with black. I’m kind of leaning towards the second bag in the pine green color. I’ll take your opinion on that though.
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Old 01-22-20, 04:24 PM
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Good-looking and unique, that must have been fun to build up.

Can I put in a request to see the drive side please?
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Old 01-22-20, 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
Solid.

Is the copper clear coated or intended to tarnish?

Really 12-42? That’s a lot
Oops, I'm off. It's an 11-34t.
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Old 01-23-20, 08:17 AM
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Distinctive! Well done.
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Old 01-23-20, 09:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Falkon

Wow! Beautiful bike. Tastefully done with components reflecting a thoughtful approach. Who says commuters have to be any less beautiful? Have you considered Portland Design water bottle cages? I’d say you really nailed it with this one. Once you start getting a little patina on that saddle, grips and fenders the natural beauty will get even better. Bravo!


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Old 01-24-20, 08:26 PM
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Slick - very nice!
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Old 01-25-20, 09:58 PM
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That bike is gorgeous!!

Originally Posted by Falkon
I finally got the bike I put on back order a week ago and put on accessories to give it the look I wanted. Thanks again for opinions on some of those! It’s a bit much for a commuter, and it’s most of the riding I do these days. Luckily I’m not worried at work, bike theft isn’t big here, and I carry a substantial lock.

This is a primarily commuter and all around build and the first road bike I’ve bought or built in about 10 years. I checked out all the local bike shops and brands they carried. Then, I went looking through catalogs and figured these new gravel bikes had what I wanted in an all around commuter. The mix of price, components, and color got me to order the Trek, and it’s the first of their bikes that I’ve owned. Others I saw had a bit small of a large chainring for my purposes and tended to go kinda cheaper on the crank but for little to no difference in price. Others also didn’t have hydraulic disc, which I fell in love with after riding around on a bike with them in Germany. I think my other consideration was a Specialized Sequoia, and I shied away from the weight before accessories. I still have to ride this thing up the foothills. The color immediately gave me ideas on what to put on it, and I like the way they change the look.

Bike specs:
Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 gravel bike in British Racing Green
Shimano 11-speed 105 group with hydraulic disc brakes
Compact double front and 11-34T rear
Swapped saddle for a Brooks B17 with the fancy copper rails and rivets
Swapped bar tape for Leh Cycles leather bar tape. The Brooks tape just didn’t look like great quality.
Swapped gravel tires for 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Supreme touring tires
Installed Handsome Cycles hammered copper anodized aluminum fenders
Installed copper bottle cages
Installed Axiom rear rack I already had
Installed Crankbros Candy 3 pedals
The only other thing I’ll be doing here is using one of the Bontrager Blendr stem mounts for a GoPro and a Cygolite GoPro adapter to mount the headlight on the bottom (or top) of the stem.

Here she is together on the first commuting ride.


Very nice build.
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Old 01-26-20, 01:34 PM
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Whow! That is a nice build!
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Old 02-10-20, 02:18 PM
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Very classy and tastefully done! I love the copper and leather accents. Looks great!
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