mouse

50voltphantom

phobus

If that's wrong then I don't want to be right.

Now, putting your exact Wound Up fork on a Cross Check might be a bad idea. So maybe you should put it on a Steamroller.

50voltphantom

I agree, Cross Checks have tall forks.

PeopleAreIdiots

Yup.

seau grateau

So you can wonky handling and clearance for one tire? It's the wrong fork.

phobus

So, to further address your question:

Those two frames are pretty different from each other. Cross-shopping them is unusual, and it's hard to give advice without knowing why you've narrowed it down to those two specific frames.

What are your actual needs/wants from a new frame?

PeopleAreIdiots

I narrowed it down to these two because Im kind of caught between two different build philosophies.

First some info about me and my riding style:
- I live in Chicago and commute and run errands year round, all weather.
- right now my rides are usually under 10 miles (can be a few times a day though) and on mostly paved surfaces (the word "paved" doesn't always mean what you think in Chicago though).
- right now I ride exclusively fixed on a frame with track geometry (fuji track) and I don't have any major complaints.

What I want out of a new frame:
- something that looks nice and matches the quality of some of the upgrades that I've made to my current bike
- something a tad less tracky and a bit more roady
- clearance for 32c tires min
- bosses for 2 bottle cages
- fenders would be nice but I get by fine with what I use now

Why I like the wabi:
- riding fixed is what I prefer and what I'm comfortable with. The wabi seems like the right tool for the job in that regard
- lugs
- weight
- basically the wabi frame would complete my ideal fixed gear build and essentially perfect my current setup

Why I'm thinking about the cross check instead:
- after riding a few of my dads geared bikes, I'm getting into the idea of doing some touring and longer rides on a geared bike.
- I also think the cross check may be a better all weather platform
- The cross check build would be a do it all swiss army knife bike that I could configure however I wanted at the time, changing with me as my ride style evolves.

seau grateau

The Cross Check is a fine bike. It's just a bad idea to put the wrong fork on it and act like it's not a bad idea.

phobus

If you just want to do some longer rides, try it out with what you've got now. Riding long-distance on a fixed gear is a fun challenge.

That being said, I think what you ultimately want is two bikes (and I'm not one of those N+1 pushers, normally). Versatile bikes are cool, and the Cross Check is cool, but converting between fixed and geared is a decent amount of work and probably not something you want to do on a regular basis unless you simply don't have room for an additional bike. Personally, I like the variety of riding both fixed and geared bikes.

PeopleAreIdiots

I mean, you're honestly spot on. I probably would satisfy my criteria perfectly with one fixed gear commuter/every day bike and one geared adventure/touring bike. Maybe the swiss army bike idea is not as much of a holy grail as it seems in theory...

wabi is looking better and better for now I think

mouse

PeopleAreIdiots

Yeah I think the wabi was a good call. Thanks for the input guys. Super happy with that decision.

IAmSam

I'm glad you also posted your Wabi here 'cos I've always felt that the "Post your bike" pic thread is strictly a place for attaboys, and I do have a question/comment about yours that I hope you won't take the wrong way, as it is genuine curiosity and hopefully helpful...

I don't get it! And by it - I mean dummy hoods with the inline brake lever on the top. In the pic thread you mentioned possible future plans that you were interested in a single new lever to match with a dummy you'd keep using, and even that you like the dummy hood setup so may just upgrade your cross-top lever. If you ride on the hoods, and I've got to figure you do, or there's no reason for those dummies - the logical solution is to have the lever/s right there where you keep your hand/s most of the time so you are ready to brake immediately, not on top of the bar and you have to move your hand to brake. Plus, I am almost willing to bet that unless you have one already lined up, or a connection, it will be close to impossible to find a single hooded lever to match with your dummies, and will have to buy a pair anyway.

In other words, from my own fairly extensive experience with just about any lever/bar combo for a front, single brake...on a drop handlebar forget the interrupter lever - two matching hooded levers with whichever side you prefer functioning works, and (most importantly ) looks, best.

Enjoy your new bike - its almost there...

PeopleAreIdiots

Good question! That setup didnt really come about on purpose. The dummy hoods were a chance rescue from my dads old parts bin. I thought they were kinda funky so I slapped them on my stock bars and ended up liking the extra hand position. I was already running the dinky stock bmx lever on the tops before I put the hoods on and I guess I just got used to the setup how it is.

The plan was always to get a set of road drops that are more conducive to having hoods. Like I said in the other post that you mentioned, what Ill most likely do is replace the left dummy hood with a matching lever. I'm diametrically opposed to having a nonfunctional brake lever on my bike (I guess we have to agree to disagree on that one ) So because of that, I figured Id just use a bmx lever setup if I couldn't get my hands on a left SCR-5.

My reasoning for a lever on the tops (or adding a cross lever if I already had an scr-5) if that when I ride in traffic I'm often on the tops for maximum visibility. Its nice to have a lever right on hand in traffic in case somebody cuts me off or opens their car door without looking.

Just had my first ride on it this morning. Glorious.

50voltphantom

Agree. A Wabi thunder mullet-brake setup with that fork would be cool.

phobus

In your search for levers, you might also look for the Tektro R200A. It's either the OEM part (cue "third shift" jokes ) or a lookalike. It looks like it's also been discontinued, but might help widen your search.

PeopleAreIdiots

I actually considered going mullet with this setup. I just don't really think I would use the rear brake at all since I'm so used to moderating speed with my feet. Plus I dont want to rub a silver brake track into my nice black rims

PeopleAreIdiots

Thanks! Ill look into it

Edit: Scratch that. Just found a single left SCR-5 on ebay, never used from somebody's parts box. $12 shipped, would you believe my luck?

BicycleBicycle

I had a pair of TB14's and I can honestly say that I could feel the difference between those and the cheaper rims that I had before them. They had great resonance when going over things and they were smooth and super round.
Very stiff when cranking, rolling, and turning. Great handling overall.
They left me with a very good impression of H Plus Son. Plus, their rims are aesthetically pleasing.

I'm guessing that Archetypes would be a little stiffer and less forgiving, but i'm sure that they have similar traits with respect to the rim shape (they do something better than the TB14 box section.

Velocities are probably of similar quality. I am riding a deep V right now and I like it's lateral stiffness and solid feel when rolling. I've stripped this thing down to raw and checked it out and can tell you that this is some quality ****. The machining is great. I also have 2 broken spokes right now and that rim hasn't even gone out of true. (Waiting till next week to repair).
The A23 seems like a stronger, heavier, slightly wider more box sectiony deep v basically.
Not sure how much of a weight hot dog you are, but dem is some heavy rims.
Velocity is Made in USA, so there's that.
H + Son is made in a small boutique machine shop in china (they're not made under tin roofs).

I was going to mention the 23mm wideness of H+ Son, but those are both the same width so that settles that.
Notable mention would be SUN CR18.
If you just wanna try out the wide rim thing and see if you like it, CR18 is 22.5mm wide and $30 shipped and $30 in most bike shops that i've visited. May be worth a try.

PeopleAreIdiots

Just an update here in case anyones interested. I ended up getting new bars and went with just an SCR-5 as the lever, no cross lever for now at least. The bars are Cinelli MASH compact drops. Here's a quick shot of the cockpit now

Philasteve

Does anyone know where I can get an Andel Chainring from? Or recommendations for a similarly good bang for buck black chainring that would go well with my Andel's?

seau grateau

FSA and All-City offer pretty good value/lower cost chainrings.

TimothyH

The front disk fixie is nice.

The chair rail to lean the bike against is nice too.

PeopleAreIdiots

Haha yeah strangely this is in the hallway of my apartment building, no chairs in sight. Only on that one wall too...