What's the best deal out there right now on a new steel frameset?
#51
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Soma and All City get my votes.
#52
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#53
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The pics don't show in this thread, but by right clicking on them and opening them in a new tab, I was able to see them.
Wow, that Fogcutter is both a beautiful colour and design.
What's the biggest tyre you think you could run on it?
Also I am keen to get your impressions on how comfortable the bike is(i.e. in absorbing road buzz due to steel frame and carbon fork) and if it is plenty stiff enough around the bottom bracket.
With the various issues you had putting that baby together, it would have made for a great standalone thread for is to follow along your progress.
The final pay off certainly makes it all look worthwhile.
Wow, that Fogcutter is both a beautiful colour and design.
What's the biggest tyre you think you could run on it?
Also I am keen to get your impressions on how comfortable the bike is(i.e. in absorbing road buzz due to steel frame and carbon fork) and if it is plenty stiff enough around the bottom bracket.
With the various issues you had putting that baby together, it would have made for a great standalone thread for is to follow along your progress.
The final pay off certainly makes it all look worthwhile.
Anyway, the frame is supposed to take up to 40c tires as I recall. I have 35c's, with no clearance issues at all.
I've only gotten to ride it a few times, but one fo those times I hit gravel road with it, and was happy with the performance. Ended up going down a gravel road on a hill, and was barely touching the brakes. Never felt out of control or like I was about to gover over or anything, though the road was mostly straight. But I was maneuvering around larger obstacles easily. As for paved road riding, was quit smooth on chip seal. Between the tires and the frame, was basically no "buzz". One thing I feel I need to make a point about, is that as set up it is no speed demon. That is simply the price you pay for it being "all road" setup. So I have to get use to the fact that I will be going 1-3 mph slower on asphalt, that I would on my Allez. But I can also climb hills that I would not be able to on the Allez. But even that has purpose. When climbing a new steeper hill, it will help me acclimate to the new grade. Everything is a tradeoff.
Now for your last question, I notice nothing as far as flexing, but I rarely stand to pedal up a hill either. Find it just raises my heart rate through the roof, and so I rarely do it. I can say that I'm not a thin stick, solidly in the clyde group at about 230 lbs/105 kilos. But no issues.
Hope this helps.
#54
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A bit more money, but I'll throw in a recommendation for the Ritchey Road Logic 2.0. A friend has one and they're very nice in person. Excellent machined detailing in the rear dropouts, headtube and seatpost clamp. Also, I like the understated but very cool paint. They're very well reviewed frames in terms of ride quality as well. They run right around $1K new.
Last edited by Hiro11; 03-13-17 at 07:10 AM.
#55
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New Albion Privateer. Its Tange Infinity tubing, the brand is by the same company who owns Soma, and the frame is inexpensive. Doesnt come qith a fork, but Soma has a few different forks for the frame.
Gloss black color so that may bot be cool enough, but the flair could be introduced with color cable housing and bar tape.
Probably $400ish for frame and fork.
Its made to be a versatile drop bar bike. I think sorta along the lines of the Black Mountain road frame.
Gloss black color so that may bot be cool enough, but the flair could be introduced with color cable housing and bar tape.
Probably $400ish for frame and fork.
Its made to be a versatile drop bar bike. I think sorta along the lines of the Black Mountain road frame.
#56
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A bit more money, but I'll throw in a recommendation for the Ritchey Road Logic 2.0. A friend has one and they're very nice in person. Excellent machined detailing in the rear dropouts, headtube and seatpost clamp. Also, I like the understated but very cool paint. They're very well reviewed frames in terms of ride quality as well. They run right around $1K new.
#57
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No thread. I actually had the components for about 6 weeks before I started to build. Had a buddy who were here visiting for several weeks. He and his gf are bike people, and I wanted to have everything in case weather went crappy and needed an inside project i.e. build a bike. That didn't happen, so I built it over a a few weeks when they left. Mostly couple hours at a time kind of deal and irregular. Had a few mis-steps that resulted in new orders. For instance, wrong size seatpost clamp and hunting and finding the correct one in the color I wanted, and then finding something else I wanted to make the order worthwhile.
Here is some highlights on components for you though.
Soma Fog Cutter frame with carbon fiber fork and BSA bottom bracket. Bought colored headset at the same time.
Shimano 3 x 10 SLX mountain bike groupset. 42-30-22 Chainring and 11-36 cassette. Used
Shimano SLX I.S. standard hydraulic brakes which came in configured right hand front brake instead of the left hand front brake I ordered. So had to switch that (to match my other bikes), and changed the hose to color match. Had to bleed one brake 4 times to finally get it working properly.
Shimano RX cyclocross wheels (don't remember the model off top of my head) since it was to be a gravel bike. Needed to be able to take abuse. Centerlock disc brake, with shimano disc rotor.
700x35 Clement Xplor tires.
Flatbar handle bars, as I want to be sitting up to view scenery.
GF bought some nice platform pedals that I don't remember the brand and name of at the moment.
Then misc small items like color matched jockey wheels for the rear derailleur, color matched skewers, and head tube spacers etc.
There were various issues along the way that had to be resolved. Like the mentioned clamp, the handlebar issues, hoses, shifting issue due to mis-aligned hanger (probable my fault). But all part of the learning curve. You have to expect those, and not get frustrated.
Have not cut headtube as of yet until I ride it enough that I decide what height I want, plus the cables are a bit long. Final weight with cages etc was 24.6 pounds.
Here are a couple pics.
Here is some highlights on components for you though.
Soma Fog Cutter frame with carbon fiber fork and BSA bottom bracket. Bought colored headset at the same time.
Shimano 3 x 10 SLX mountain bike groupset. 42-30-22 Chainring and 11-36 cassette. Used
Shimano SLX I.S. standard hydraulic brakes which came in configured right hand front brake instead of the left hand front brake I ordered. So had to switch that (to match my other bikes), and changed the hose to color match. Had to bleed one brake 4 times to finally get it working properly.
Shimano RX cyclocross wheels (don't remember the model off top of my head) since it was to be a gravel bike. Needed to be able to take abuse. Centerlock disc brake, with shimano disc rotor.
700x35 Clement Xplor tires.
Flatbar handle bars, as I want to be sitting up to view scenery.
GF bought some nice platform pedals that I don't remember the brand and name of at the moment.
Then misc small items like color matched jockey wheels for the rear derailleur, color matched skewers, and head tube spacers etc.
There were various issues along the way that had to be resolved. Like the mentioned clamp, the handlebar issues, hoses, shifting issue due to mis-aligned hanger (probable my fault). But all part of the learning curve. You have to expect those, and not get frustrated.
Have not cut headtube as of yet until I ride it enough that I decide what height I want, plus the cables are a bit long. Final weight with cages etc was 24.6 pounds.
Here are a couple pics.
I also had to straighten the derailleur hangar on mine.
#58
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Try clicking on the icons. The pics at still there on google photos, so should be able to see them.Don't know why they don't load. But if that doesn't work, let me know and I will do something else.
#59
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FYI: The icons don't show up in Firefox, they are broken pic links in Explorer, and they open a black screen in Safari.
I'll try Chrome on a different device.
It's not that important, don't fix it on my account. Just thought you might want to know.
#60
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#61
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Here is a shot of mine that I just finished about 2 weeks ago. Still working out the stem, I think I will need to go shorter.
#62
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Thank you. I like yours as well. Looks good. I went with flat bar to facilitate looking at scenery of the rural dirt road I plan to ride with it. But I'm very tempted to buy a Soma ES road and convert one of my road bikes to that.
#64
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#66
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#67
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I have a Soma frame! Also New Albion is basically Soma as well. They have loads of options are well equipped with space for add-ons.