banerjek

Just finished today. This replaces my workhorse touring bike, so it's what I'll ride in the dark and the wet in winter storms. At the same time, it's sporty enough for summer use.



More info about the bike and the builder at https://winterbicycles.blogspot.com/. Pictures of the build process at https://www.flickr.com/photos/2253878...7621744502171/

Frame- Custom Winter
Fork- Custom Winter
Stem- FSA OS-190
Handle bars- FSA Omega Road
Tape/ grips- FSA Synthetic
Headset- FSA Orbit X
Seat Post-FSA SL-280
Saddle- FSA SLK
Cables/ Housing-SRAM (w/ shifters)
Brake Levers-SRAM Rival
Shifters- as above
Brakes- FSA Gossamer
Cranks- FSA Gossamer MEGA-EXO
Chain Rings- 34/46
Bottom Bracket- FSA mega exo, as comes with crank
Chain- FSA Team Issue
Cassette-SRAM OG-1070
Front Drl.- FSA Energy
Rear Drl-SRAM Rival
Rims- FSA RD-60 wheel set
Tires- Vittoria Rubino 25mm
Tubes- Bontrager
Rim tape- FSA rim strips

Somehow, I lost the geometry sheet. Basically, this thing is a modified road bike. Rear chainstays have been extended a bit so I can take a rack and small panniers. I have braze ons to route computer and lighting wiring. There is an extra set of bottle bosses under the front tube.

Choccy

Looks like a summer bike to me. Where do the racks and fenders fit. Very nice looking though.

Choccy...

xB_Nutt

Nice rain bike. What did the frameset run you, if you don't mind me asking?

banerjek

Fender clearance is extremely tight, and I may need to do some scalloping on the front. This was an instruction to the builder -- I specifically told him not to give me much clearance and that I'd never run tires bigger than 25's.

There are rack and fender eyelets, so attaching things will be easy. Rear chainstays have been extended slightly so I won't kick the panniers.



I will get a custom rack later that's thinner than the blackburn I intend to start with. As far as pricing goes, I made things a bit more complicated with some of my choices, but a basic chart can be found at https://winterbicycles.com/ordering.html

cyclefreaksix

Beautiful bike!! In fact that's nicer than my "nice" bike by a wide margin! Congrats, ride in health.

banerjek

I talked to the builder since I put together a package that was a little unusual. By itself, the frame/ fork package would have been $1900 including single color, show quality paint and reasonably straight compliment of braze-ons.

Due to unforeseen circumstances on my end, I have to pick up the bike tomorrow rather than today

However, I have been able to visit the bike and the fork during the build process, so I already know I'll like it

m_yates

It is a beautiful bike, but I agree that it looks like a summer bike, not a winter one!

banerjek

I gave this quite a bit of thought before pulling the trigger. Essentially, my problem was that my regular rig was just too slow and it was a particular hassle in heavy winds.

A touring bike is overkill for me. I'm light, I know I'll never lug more than 10 lbs, and I wanted something optimized for the routes I'll put all the miles on. Plus, I didn't just want a good commuting bike (already had that, and I can buy a better one off the rack) -- I wanted THE bike. I want to feel sporty even when it's cold and wet, and having the capacity to lug camping gear across the country isn't going to help.

This machine has a lot of nice touches. If you look closely at the paint pre prep photo, you can see the guides for my lighting wires as well as extra bottle bosses so I can mount my pump and still have room for my bottle batteries and water. Behind the front fork, you can see guides for a computer wire (or dyno should I ever go that route)

In short, I wanted to get the minimum bike it would take to do the job and no more. Like my last ride, this bike will be abused. It looks pretty now, but its job is to provide a great ride. Since I'll be wrecking components, I kept them at a level that I won't feel bad about actually using.

HardyWeinberg

very cool.

modernjess

That is a gorgeous bike. Really nicely done. Congratulations.

P.S. It's like an FSA showroom parts spec. Not that there is anything wrong with that, just interesting choice to go full line down to rim tape. Any particular reason?

TheDL

Looks like all the parts are from American companies (not necessarily made in America); which is cool. I'm thinking I may do the same thing with my GT build.

[edit] except for the tires.

TheDL

I hope you can sneak a fender in there!

YungBurke

my LORD. thats beautiful. Is the whole frame lugged? I cant see the pics very well but it looks like parts are fillet brazed and some lugged. Very beautiful either way, I especially dig that fork. I didnt know FSA made any shifting components, thats cool too and I agree with your take on using components which can be used without fear of bankrupcy.

huie

Congrats. She looks beautiful. Too nice for rainy weather, IMO.

banerjek

Your read of the situation is correct. It is part fillet brazed and part lugged. The fork turned out even better than I hoped it would. Here's a blog post covering how that was put together.

The amazing part was getting my wife to go along with this plan. Less than 8 years ago, I was still commuting on a $75 РOS hybrid which was my only bike. I now have a stable of bikes, all of them very nice. At first, I resisted using expensive bike for riding in slop, but why not have a great bike for the vast majority of your miles? This will increase maintenance costs, but I think it's worth it. My old touring bike was a real workhorse, but I'd much rather ride something I was in love with than something that just was a good tool for the job.

simp77

Beautiful bike. Looks like a ride it when ever you want to bike to me.

Chris

CliftonGK1

FSA is a PacNW company. (I'm only a few blocks from their corporate HQ right now!)