aliasfox

Hey everyone,

So my previous thread, "Help me save 1000g!," was great - thanks. In that thread, I asked how to save about ~1kg off my Lynskey R270 Disc, without changing the frame or going exotic. I got some great suggestions - changing out the wheels (Vision Team 30s @ 1.92kg claimed), changing out the cassette for really anything else (Shimano HG-800, 337g), and changing out the saddle (Selle Italia Onda, 340g). I also got a lot of suggestions that called out exotic (all carbon cockpits and cranks, for example), as well as a few people bluntly stating that the Lynskey really is a bit of a pig (1.7kg estimated weight).

Which got me thinking. If I would have to spend about $2k to to drop 1kg off the Lynskey (carbon wheels, cassette, carbon cockpit would round to about $1500 on the low end), why not try my hand at building up another bike that's a bit different? I love how the Lynskey rides, but I also wouldn't mind having a slightly different toy to play with, too:

- I hate the schwwiiing of disc brakes after a hard stop. Sure, the rotors cool down and become silent again after a few miles, but I miss the days of pure silence. And considering I ride in the dry much of the time, I could stand to go back to rim brakes on another bike. Another plus would be the ability to mount the bike on my old mag-trainer this winter, because despite the vaccine, I'm not going into a gym with dozens of other people breathing hard all around me...
- I've heard that aluminium bikes are a lot more forgiving than when I first got into the sport. Before I bought my 2005 Bianchi in 2006, I rented a Cannondale a few times to transition to road riding. It wasn't especially comfortable. But that rental is 15-20 yrs old at this point, and Cannondale's apparently done some good things in the meantime.

So going with a rim-braked, aluminium alloy frame bike would give me something that's close to 1.5 kg lighter to start with, all else being equal. So I figured why not have some fun with this idea over the next few months - I picked up a NOS 2016 Cannondale CAAD8 frame/fork, with FSA headset included. Everything else is up for discussion:

- Wheels: Was considering a set of DT Swiss P1800 Splines. Anything in this price range ($500) or less that's worth considering? Should I ask my LBS to build something instead? Definitely avoiding carbon rims for a rim-brake bike.

- Groupset: I have Ultegra on the Lynskey, wouldn't mind trying SRAM - was thinking Force 22 (mechanical). Any major concerns there? Is there any indication that SRAM's going to switch their mechanical groupsets to 12-speed in a few months? Alternatively, I could build up with R8000, which would give me familiar shifting performance and touchpoints - but the point is to be a bit different. I've never tried a higher end Campy setup before, though I imagine Chorus to be more expensive than either Force or Ultegra (haven't researched yet)

- Cockpit: I actually really like my FSA Omega Compact handlebar. Are there other compact options out there with a similar shape?

So on a cool, drizzly morning (in Poughkeepsie, at least), would love to hear thoughts on how to build up a road bike that's good, but different, from what I already have! Thanks in advance!