giantcfr1

Love the orange and silver combo.

dhunley1

Thanks!

Puppet

Hello. I'm new here. I've decided to get back into cycling after a few years off. I needed a new bike so I thought I'd build something from scratch. Something quickish, good looking, not too expensive and something nobody else has. Alloy frame, road components and definitely a flat bar. After sweating on the arrival of a half dozen international deliveries and an afternoon of build time, here it is. I think it turned out OK for my first bike build.

themishmosh

Nice puppet. Looks expensive. What was the damage for DIY?

milan4ever

Love it!

ikaika777

Awesome!

Puppet

All up, it was about $1600 Australian dollars. Thanks to CRC and Ribble cycles, etc. the cost was within my budget. If I was to buy all the parts from Australian LBSs, it would have been too much. I've also just realised that the handlebars are a little too wide, at 710mm, so you can add another $30 for some new ones some time soon.

ikaika777

If they're too wide then you can cut them, people cut their handle bars all the time. Some handle bars have markings on them for cutting.

Puppet

I have heard of people cutting their bar length down, but I don't have a hack saw to do the job. Prolly just buy the new bars and add the old bars to my spares pile.

giantcfr1

Very very normal to do. It'd be cheaper to go to Bunnings and buy a hacksaw and file. Then you can measure it and cut to exactly the size you desire, instead of fluffing around ordering more stuff from the UK.

ikaika777

Check out this video and see how easy it is. And an awesome tool for the job. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YihpeW5l2TE

Hyper Ryder

Just got my New Trek, and I love it. Less than a month old and I put 80 miles on it already. I got the DS 8.4 and its fast and smooth. I love the uphill performance as well.

giantcfr1

How's the suspension? Have you tried any single tracks yet? It looks like a great sturdy bike.

Hyper Ryder

The suspension is great, I love the way I can tune the shocks for various terrains. I did an off trail path and it was much better ride than my old Zed Mountain bike. This is the Cadillac of bikes.

vschippy

Just go to bunnings or ebay and buy a cheap plumbers tube cutter
thats what I did cuts so easy and no burs or filing needed
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-28mm-1-...3f7098f&_uhb=1

Puppet

Thankyou to all those who have made suggestions about my handlebar width problem, especially the pipe cutter idea. I never would have thought of that, and I've actually got a pipe cutter too. I knew posting on this forum was a good idea.

ejschultz

My Utopia (the predecessor of the DS bikes) is great on trails, too. It sure surprised me especially with the 38C LT3 tires. I wouldn't say it's the Cadillac of bikes though. I'd say it's more like a Jeep Grand Cherokee; it's comfortable on the road but is still pretty capable and rugged off road. I don't think there's any chance of fire in a rear end collision though...

Hyper Ryder

I thought about the Cadillac bit after I posted, but yes the SRT8 Jeep best describes the ride, and agility.

Monstermash

Here's my new bike. It's a 2009 Specialized Globe Vienna 3 disc. I picked it up for short money on CL because it was pretty beat up. I ended up completely stripping it down and repainting it and adding all new XT/FSA/Ritchey components.

The plan is to use it around town and trips to the store so I don't have to leave the Ridley locked up outside. Lol

The first photo is what I received from the seller when I requested photos.

giantcfr1

So you actually only wanted the frame (understandable)...Congratulations, beautifully finished bike.

Monstermash

Lol. Thank you. I actually wanted some of the other parts as well but as it turned out I ended up replacing everything.

Just curious, what do you think of the finish? Can you guess what it is?

giantcfr1

I'm going with Cannondale BBQ. (????)

Monstermash

Very good guess, but sorry no.

Believe it or not, it's truck bed liner. I wanted a finish that was durable and looked stealth and I had used it before on other projects and was very happy with the results. And no, it isn't very heavy. When I bought the bike I weighed it and it was 29.2 lbs. After the rebuild it weighs just under 22 lbs with pedals.

Dilberto

Slick paint job, Monstermash. Now, it looks like my Bad Boy!

Monstermash

Thank you! It's funny, I actually wanted a Badboy but there wasn't one available in my area left in stock. Lol