As you have seen from previous posts, Crook was my Cinelli Mash fixie build, which had an expressed purpose: it was my ride for Aids Lifecycle. When I bought and built it, my vision was just to build the fixie I could do the MOST on… the longest days, the best climbs, the most agility, etc. So, it was done up with road drops, ridden for a few months before the ride (about 400 miles) and then on ALC 9 from SF to LA (another 570 miles)…

But something changed, along that preparation period before ALC. I found my initial rejection of the green limited edition version of this frame turning from dislike to interest. I couldn’t shake it. And then I had the idea: ride the gray ghost to LA, then have a metamorphosis to the green. So I took a risk on the green frame, site unseen, and ordered it before I left.

My initial plan was to come home, strip the bike, assemble the new one, then ride up to the city and meet Lung later that week with the surprise build. I had kept my plan a secret. The frame was shipped to my office while we were on the ride. All was well.

Until I got it home the day after we returned. The frame itself was gorgeous. The color is indescribable, and no pics do it justice. But the fork had carbon damage at the crown, painted over by the factory. Unacceptable! So I had to wait several weeks to get this resolved through my guys at City Grounds (zack is awesome, I say) and an understaffed Cinelli US crew. Ultimately, I got the replacement fork, and discovered the crown race was missing. We got that sorted, and I received the race in the mail last Friday, just in time to finish the build before Lung would arrive that Sunday for a birthday ride. The build was done from the back forward, but the front end was waiting on that race.

The ride is a dream, and you can see the Bio of the bike here.

Below are my process pics from the conversion, which involved using the original Crook bottom end, and a new top end.

:::

Unfortunately, the photos of the frame unboxing and the back end assembly were largely lost to a bad SD card. However, imagine me pulling a brilliant frame from the box and squeeing. The green is this iridescent color… not quite flaked, but shimmery. And more importantly, it’s a warm green, not a cold green. It’s paired with a creamy opaque white, a look I’ve always loved, going back to my one-time plans to white-paint-dip a stained-wood raw coffee table top for a project years ago. I love that look.

First, the original Crook was stripped to the bones, for sale to a fellow who was heading to San Diego fixed in a pursuit of folly similar to our fixed-gear Aids Lifecycle endeavors. How’s THAT for synchronicity! Last shot of Crook 1.0′s frame.

While waiting for the fork situation to be resolved, I dragged everything up to the deck for the extrusion shot (using the damaged fork, because hey.) and then decided to do the back end build work up there, while simultaneously BBQing and hanging out with wee Z. Here’s proof.

Here’s a close-up of that damage to the fork. Not a MASSIVE deal, but the concern I had was two-fold: one, the top surface of the crown is unpainted, so it’s visible in the gap between the frame and fork. This would be more obvious as a result. And two, it’s not like it was a sealed defect. That’s the EDGE of the paint. It’ll fray.

That was never fully resolved at the time of this writing. My boys at City Grounds took up the effort in dealing with Cinelli on that front, as weeks had gone by without any fruitful response from the manufacturer. It will be an argument over manufacturing damage vs shop damage. I believe manufacturing. In the meantime, as these weeks went by, my Crook parts hanging on the bikeBasement pegboards like those trophy skulls int he Predator ship, Lung was fast at acquiring and gleefully riding his new Cinelli cockpit. I was dying. I prayed he wouldn’t have a similar issue, like opening the box and finding his bars twisted into the shape of a rhombus or something. They weren’t. Gorgeous bars!

So as I mentioned, the bottom end was remaining from Crook 1.0. These were all new parts before ALC, right, so this transformation was to swap out frames, and the top end changes were largely cosmetic, except for the bars. So I kept my wheels, tyres, cranks, pedals, cog, brake… well, new chain, but other than that, same same. For the new stuff, the idea was to have chrome up top, black down below. I could have done all black, but the few green builds I see on the supernet go all black in the components or in one case all silver. So, in keeping with the ‘dipped’ theme of the white on the frame, the top end was dipped silver. Conceptually. Here wee Z is carefully scrutinizing some small gifts for manufacturing errors. That’s a shim set for the Nitto bars (unfortunately a necessity), a star nut and a special awesome Thomson solver stem cap. I used Nitto RB-021 compact bulls on this build, since the road drop necessity of ALC was over. I sourced a sweet silver cross lever directly from Paul Comp, too. Awesome. Same stem and seatpost, both Thomson, just now in silver. I used a shorty stem this time, feeling like going compact would get me into the bulls’ drop position easier. This is still pending final approval, as on the road it may be too close to me in this configuration, putting too much pressure on my arms. The saddle is one of my Brooks, already broken in, and the wrap is elkhide.

Here’s one Lung will like. Once I finally got my crown, I built my own crown race setter. And by built, I mean I had the hardware stoe cut me a big section of 1 1/2" black PVC. Tappity tap tap!
Look at that, saved $100 right there!

To me, the scariest step is cutting the steerer. On Crook 1.0, I left about 5mm extra, ringed with a final spacer above the stem, anticipating needing some height adjustment on ALC as I went. Didn’t end up needing it. Plus, this time, the bars are compact, so the taller the stem, the closer they are. Anyway, measure TWICE cut once, here at chez Wrongrobot.

Setting the star nut is actually kind of fun. Whamma bamma.

Here the bike is ready for wrapping. The Paul lever is installed on the thicker portion of the bars, as far over as possible to minimize cable housing scrape on the sharp curve of the X2 front end. This would be the slowest step, wrapping the bike up (literally) taking me from Friday night after getting back from Lung’s birthday party, through Saturday and into the next evening.

The elkhide is really interesting. It’s stretchier than calf hide, and is more porous, shows more defects. It’s really rad though. I had started with a lighter color that purported to match the Brooks honey color saddle, but was too tan, so i sent that back and got the darker brown, which matched perfectly. I used something close to a baseball glove stitch. I had no experience with this. You use one thick waxed cord with two stubby needles, and work from the stem outward. I’d get three good stitches and then a fail, distracted by my baby hurtling herself off of something or Anne Hathaway on film or whatever. But it wasn’t arduous. Just required time to get right. Go slowly, etc. In practice, on the road the wrap slips a bit as it’s stretchy and you apply so much force with your hands, so it pulled away a bit from the edges where they started, but still good. Will take some miles to settle in. Easily the most gorgeous bar covering I’ve ever had.

And with that, Crook Type 3 was born. We rode Paradise Loop under windy conditions, and it was a dream. I have some adjustments to make, reducing the inchgear down to the more universal 72 from 75, and some messing around with seat and stem position, but overall, love it. LOVE iot.

So that’s the story of how Crook became Crook Type 3 in a post-ALC transformation!

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Team Lope Bike Bio: Crook Type 3
2. Bike Build Process Log: Crook – Front End Work
3. Bike Build Process Log: Villain 3.0 – Strippery!

I’ve rarely posted sale items on the site until now, but vy nott!

FSA K-Wing 31.8x40cm 400mm Ergo Carbon Road Handlebar
Shown here with gel padding, a Cane Creek brake lever and a Cane Creek Stoker Lever
$275 as shown, $250 bar only

bars naked:

:::

Thomson Elite Seatpost, Black, 31.8mm
$60

:::

Soma Walker bars with white grips
Chrome-plated Tange Steel
Widths: 48cm
25.4 mm center
130mm drop
65mm reach
$30

Ping me at wrongrobot __at__ thirdraildesignlab __dot__ com

All this can be yours.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Ode to the Thomson Seatpost Reprise
2. Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – Bars and Saddles
3. 2010 SOMA rush headbadges are speakin my language

I like this in concept, if not execution.
I personally don’t have much interest in a twin-rod cargo compartment in the front triangle. It’s a windsail, everything you have except for the tool case shown is going to be fatter than needed somewhere in it’s section, and I can think of better places to sandwich a clever cargo compartment. But I DO like that it exists at all, and that they put disc brakes on there, for when you’re mashing away from a bank heist with a case full of gold bars weighing 333 pounds and then have to stop at a crosswalk for a pedestrian.

http://gizmodo.com/5592507/a-bicycle-built-for-tools

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Bike Build Process Log: Villain- Yes Brake
2. croozer cargo trailer
3. Bike Build Process Log: Ghostal – Make it Stop!

Villain 3.0 is done!

I have a few adjustments to make, stem and a frayed cable and a few other things, but it’s ridable and ready to go.

To recap,
I started with a Look KG381 Jalabert Edition built-up with Dura Ace, and a Look KG381 Team bike from the 03 tour, converted to fixed gear. I pulled everything off the converted frame (Villain), pulled everything off the Jalabert Edition (JaJa) and set out to build up my road bike from the black frame.

The black frame was undergoing some issues under the strain of fixed-gear conversion… make that big-gear fixed conversion. i was running an 82 inchgear. It was an experiment. But it led to weaknesses in the design of the Miche Bottom Bracket becoming apparent ( no flange, slides in, cranks scrape the frame) and lots of undue torque on the dropouts, which have a 5mm rotational adjustment in them (which largely allowed for my magic gear in the first place.) Certainly the modern crabon frame can handle the torque of a big inchgear… this wasn’t even the biggest combination you’d get out of a standard 53/39 + 12/23, but while the front end of the drivetrain could handle it, the back end could not. Road dropouts just don’t suffer those forces like that normally. So, anyway, the condition of the frame was some nicks and dings in the finish here and there from the previous owner, some crank scrapery from me, and otherwise good to go.

Final build details:

Frame: Look KG381 Team (2003 Season)
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Dura Ace
Crankset: Shimano Dura Ace (53/39)
Pedals: Shimano A520
Wheels: Easton Vista SL, debadged
Tyres: Conti Gatorskin Hardshells 23c
Cassette: SRAM Force (11/27)
Front/Rear Derailleurs: SRAM Force
Brakes: Shimano Dura Ace
Stem: Thomson X2
Bars: Ritchey Carbon Streem
Brifters: SRAM Force
Tape: Shimano vinyl perf
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Saddle: Brooks Swallow

ping!

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Bike Build Process Log: Villain 3.0 – Strippery!
2. Bike Build Process Log: Villain 3.0 – Swappery
3. Bike Build Process Log: Villain

yesterday, i took a ride with friend of TLTC r-e-L, who WR and i met on the lifeCycle back in june. r-e-L had planned the route, which was 50 miles through the berkeley hills. i was on one of my fixed-gears — the one i rode to LA. the route amounted to several thousand feet of climbing, with grades that approached 20%. some of the roads we were on had awful names like grizzly peak and wildcat canyon, and we did at least part of something called "the three bears." just the fucking sound of it is intimidating. we circled the reservoir and went by a couple parks as well. in the end, we spent well over half of our day climbing, and the heat was up in the 90s.

i’d prepared for the ride by resting and eating an entire pot of pasta the day before, doing a lot of stretching, having some muscle milk, and loading my bike up with dual waterbottles of powerade/water. unfortunately, we didn’t start the ride till 2PM, so despite what i’d done before, i went into the day with only a bagel in me that i’d had HOURS prior. NOT SMART. and i was doing this fixed.

the day started out pretty well, with lots of slow climbing and gorgeous views and general good times. we rode at a good pace and climbed and climbed and climbed. every ride i’ve ever taken in the berkeley hills is just climbing. it’s like the old stories your grandfather tells of having to walk to school uphill both ways. i don’t know how it’s possible. EVERYTHING is uphill. it’s fucked. but it’s not so bad and we talked and talked and had a good time.

about halfway through the day, the heat was really starting to get heavy. about this time, we found ourselves on a climb that i’d never felt the likes of before. the grade had to be near 20%, as my cross street in the city is 18%, and this was steeper. so steep in fact, that it beat me. i made it MOST of the way up and then completely shut down. i could feel myself going into dehydration and overexertion (tingly scalp, maxed-out heartrate, dizzy vision), but because i’m a stubborn idiot, i kept going. for like another 6 feet. hahaha!!! i pulled over under the shade and quickly stripped off my helmet, hat, and armwarmers (i have to — i’m too fair-skinned), and i unzipped my jersey. then i drank a TON of my liquid and popped a couple shotblocks and had half a bonkbreaker bar. r-e-L had come up on me somewhere in this process and i tole her to keep going, which she did. after i’d regained most of my strength (a few MINUTES), i climbed back on my bike and tried to go further. nope. made it about another 100 feet and it was just too steep and too hot. i had to give up. i walked up to where r-e-L was waiting and said "sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you." she was so apologetic — "i’m so sorry, i didn’t remember this being so steep and i know you’re fixed and i just feel really bad." i said, "this is all me. the last thing i had to eat was a bagel at 9AM and the last time i rode distance was ALC. i knew i wasn’t prepared for 50 through the berkeley hills on a blazing hot day on a fixed gear and i pushed it anyway."

after we were both rested up a bit, maybe a few more minutes, we got moving. i decided to try and ride the rest of the way up now, because it wasn’t that far, so i climbed on and grabbed my drops and clipped in and stood up and took one pedalstroke and CREAAAK! my whole cockpit collapsed. i have no fucking idea how this happened, but somehow the faceplate bolts on my stem came loose over the last week. my bars spun down inside the stem. WIERD. so we pulled over AGAIN and i fixed it and then we were finally out. i was coming around from my bonkout finally, and that’s when the right calf cramp started threatening. that lasted the rest of the day, which was awesome. more climbing and more climbing and MORE climbing.

we were now 3/4 of the way through 50 miles and i was pretty well out of liquid. that’s when i got the flat. rear tyre, who knows why it happened (there was nothing in the tyre), just one of those things. i thought about patching it, but i had a tube and a patch kit, so decision made — tube. more climbing and more climbing and descents with hairpin switchbacks and just a nightmarish back-and-forth of blazing sun and frigid shade. my body was taking a beating that i hadn’t experienced maybe ever. and now i was officially out of hydration. we kept hoping for a gas station or something, but we found jack. this is ghetto as fuck, but i did find a half-bottle of crystal geyser on the side of the road — lid intact and apparently ok. i poured it into one of my bottles. r-e-L and i were also sharing her last bottle at this point and she was running low. we were really on the dregs. and BOOM, heaven! a park with a water fountain. oh man, so stoked.

i parked my bike with the pedal-on-the-curb trick and went over and drank a TON of water, and then filled up both of my bottles. that was when my bike fell over on the cement on it’s new matte black cinelli drops. awesome. a pretty bad scratch the length of the lower, horizontal part of the left drop. the upside is that i was riding the bars with no tape on them, and i’ve been intending to get some soon, so it’ll eventually be covered. meaning no harm, no foul.

after that, the day was a cake-walk. we got back to her apartment, showered up, she made a fucking BOMB roasted chicken and some kale and roasted potatoes and we noshed on pita and hummus and carrots and snap peas — very kick-ass post-ride mealery.

unfortunately, BART stops running at a certain time, so i caught an 1130 train back to the city and CRASHED. OUT. i was fucking exhausted, had nearly had a goddamn heat stroke out there, and it was past midnight now, so i was feeling it.

today i woke up feeling tired, but not sore. that’s a GREAT sign. if i look back honestly on the day, the reality is that i almost bonked on one hill that was the steepest i’ve ever ridden fixed. that’s really all that happened. everything else was fine, and in fact, super fun.

i do recommend not trying this ride fixed, though, unless you run a high-60s inch gear. i run a low 70s and that hill beat me. granted, if i’d been properly nourished and it hadn’t been as hot as the face of the fucking sun out there, it may have been different, but that’s the way it is.

until the next time…

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Team Lope Ride Report: Marin Headlands in a Fixed Fury
2. team lope ride report : sf -> mill valley, roundtrip, FIXED
3. team lope ride report – fixed city circle, with DC seen.

Oh, the TEASE of this build. I keep trying to get down there and hammer it out, and something comes up. My time has been pretty scarce so I do what I can in little chunks. This is what I managed to accomplish in the last few sneaks down there: stem, bars, seatpost and saddle. Cumulatively 5 minutes of work, but really, three days. HA

The stem isn’t in very far. I’m waiting on this and the seatpost until the wheels are ready so I can size it. But it’s no illusion that the stem is long. It’s a rad Nitto longneck I got in order to support both the front rack and the stem-mounted baby seat. It’s definitely going to add to the old-timey look to this build, because it looks random and old.

I’m using a vintage B-17 Brooks saddle on this one. It’ll be easier with the front loading of the bike than my usual Swallows, and anyway, it’s old, which fits. Nice and soft.

Next up: drivetrain. I’ve already spent a few hours on it this weekend and have no photos to show for it. But there have been problems, and I think solutions…

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – Rubber Side Down
2. Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – More Prep Work
3. Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – Rings and Things

Today, the front half of my new SRAM Force group arrived, and since I had to be home waiting for a Comcast technician, I decided to play around a bit. I didn’t actually intend to get as far as I did, but hey, I’m not complaining!

I stripped off the Dura Ace brifters and trade-boxed them and then studied the SRAM Force brifters for awhile. In a general sense, not much has changed. But boy, the details! SRAM’s Double Tap technology uses one inner lever under the brake to control both up and down shifting. You tap once to shift up, twice to shift down. It’s very cool. I’ve had Campy and Shimano but this is my first SRAM and it’s an interesting design. The brifters are adjustable to account for the different reach positions of riders with different hands, and the brifters also allow the shift cable to run along the inside or outside of the housing, depending on your preference.

Note the two tracks for shifter cable routing.

I decided on routing both cables to the inside track (shifter and brake) on each side, but only after I had previously taped them to be inside/outside. I redid it because I wanted to take better advantage of my bars’ cable valley along the underside.

One lever, two taps! It’s rule no. 2…

The Force brifters went on a lot easier than the Dura Ace brifters came off, I have to say. Granted there was a 13 year gap between the manufacture of these two systems, so I’m sure current DA 7900 brifters are much better. But these feel great and were easy to mount, adjust, set up the cabling etc.

Here I’ve routed the cables the way I wanted… in a Lovecraftian space madness of tentacled terror.

I didn’t intend to get very far, as I said, and didn’t really have an objective when I started today, so I was taking my time and going slow, imperative when exploring something you really don’t have much experience with anyway. Counting moving the DA stuff over format he other frame to this one, that makes… well, one pass at road bike component assembly for me so far. Heh. So yeah, I went slow.

I tried a few different ways to route the cables but settled on allowing them to spring out from the bundle under the bar and just find their best, least hassled paths.

I always tape the cables and the gel tightly before wrapping the bar.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, I says. I had a bit more time, so I thought I’d gel and tape the bars in preparation for wrapping them with the real tape later. I also noted a few things I wasn’t expecting, such as the fact that SRAM provides cables, housing, ferrules etc but they pre-size the cabling for you. I wasn’t expecting that, as I’m used to this all being bulk stock and in uniform lengths. So, the left and right brake cables were of different lengths, and of course reversed after I had installed them, so I had to switch them. No big deal, still interesting since you still have to cut each down.

Funny how Shimano is now providing the wrap for the brifter clamp to simulate electritole tape. For those that don’t already USE electritole tape. HA

The Comcast guy finally came and we took care of business really quickly, actually. However, not enough time to shoot back to work and my daughter was on her way back home from her Oma’s house, so I decided to work on this a little more. Wrap one side, I thought. Ok. Note that brake clamp wrap int he photo. Hilarious. Why not just provide some real electritole tape! Side note: I LOVE how you can hang your roll of elctritole tape on the bars ( or on top of your bike stand) as you work.

Oh, SWEET AS I says.

Before I knew it, I was done. That was unexpected! I only had to rewrap once, and for me that’s a record. I love this tape, too.. Took me awhile to find one I liked, since I’ve used Fizik black per on like three bikes in a row, and I hate most other tape. This is a black vinyl tape with perf, and it wrapped great. The perf pattern actually helped with spacing.

Anyway, one side is a bar end blinkie (yes, the car side) and the other, a video game upright button, a la 70s arcades. You may have seen me pull this on Crook as well.

Brakes are strung and adjusted, cables are in place for derailleurs. Seat is on. I’m good to go for the next phase.

Next up: derailleurs and cassette!

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Bike Build Process Log: Villain 3.0 – Breakery
2. Bike Build Process Log: Villain 3.0 – Completeds
3. Bike Build Process Log: Villain 3.0 – Hangery

THIS SHIT WILL NOT STAND…

i’ve been riding some old nitto road drops (see above) since i built this bike, and they’re great, but i’ve always coveted pista track drops. primarily for the purported increase in control, but with the secondary benefit that i think they look sick as fuck. so i snapped up some CINELLI PISTA TRACK DROPS and a CINELLI ROAD STEM a week back and headed down to my shop on saturday morning.

i always try and gather up everything i need before a project and lay it out on my workbench so that i can quickly grab stuff instead of having to reach over onto the pegboard while i’m trying to hold something in place or whatever…

first i stripped off all the shit i wouldn’t need anymore. my old bars and stem, my brake lever shim (the new bars have a 31.8 clamp area, so i didn’t need my shim anymore, thankfully), a spacer that had been on there for WAY too long (even though i committed to my stem height long ago, i never cut my steerer tube cause i’m lazy), and my headset compression bolt (the new stem came with a cinelli cap)…

next, i needed to mark where i needed to cut the steerer tube, as i was FINALLY committing to my stem height, which would allow me to get rid of that unsightly spacer ABOVE my stem. or, as i referred to it, "the angry inch…"

cutting a steerer tube that already has a star nut in it sucks. if the star nut isn’t far enough down, you need to first cut down enough to re-set the nut, then cut down again to the final size, and re-set the nut again. it’s frustrating not only for the cut-smack-repeat process, but also because if you use a pipe-cutter as i do, you have to go SUPER slowly in order to avoid deforming the steerer tube and potentially loosening the star nut’s hold inside. it’s just a drag. but i got it done and mounted the stem…

this stem has an interesting faceplate in that it has TWO faceplates. you can see in this picture, i’ve taken the top bolt out of the viewer’s right-side plate and let it hang down, leaving the viewer’s left-side plate attached…

and here’s the two plates removed completely, so you can see them better…

i’ve never seen anything like it before and it makes the assembly process a bit complicated, IMO. with a single plate, you can move around the 4 bolts in an "X" pattern, tightening the whole plate to the same general tension without even using a torque wrench. but with these individual ones, you have to eyeball it and feel your way through it a lot more and it’s just kind of nerve-wracking when you’re doing so on a $200 cockpit. but once it was done, boy…

i couldn’t be more pleased. i took it for a ride to, around, and from alameda, which included some mellow cruising and some city mashing, and it is amazing. the fatter tubing gives you a much more comfortable purchase on the bars when you’re upright, so even without tape, it feels great in your hands. the pista bend also forces your hands closer to the stem in that same upright position, so you’ve got a little more aggressive and dynamic control over subtle movements at speed. and the drop and reach is similar enough to the road drops that climbing feels no different at all (i climb in the drops on my fixed-gears).

aesthetically, i really don’t need to say much that you can’t see. the cockpit’s finally completely murdered out, which i love, and losing that shim on the brake lever gives a more flush look to the mounting, allowing the lever to really blend in to the rest of the cockpit.

i was lucky to have been riding the nittos just the day before, so i was able to immediately see and feel all the differences that the new setup provided, and they’re great. the weight difference is really only apparent when you pick the bike up, but the increased aggressiveness and control is on lock.

there is a downside, however. this cockpit is high-end, very expensive, and pretty desirable. and it can be completely removed by spinning 3 bolts. if a thief were to cut my brake cable and use a 5mm allen for about 2 minutes, they could have it. having a brake helps deter people (it’s just another thing to have to fuck with, increasing theft time), but it’s not foolproof. i have a few ideas that i’m going to play with, including filling the allen heads with melted wax and wrapping various pieces of electrical tape or bandanas around the branding. but it does make me a lot more nervous about locking it up outside. however, the TRUE solution to that problem is coming in another post. so stay tuned.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. cockpit upgrades, 1 of 2
2. Bike Build Process Log: Crook Type 3 Conversion
3. cockpit upgrades, 2 of 2

you probably figured this out from the "1 of 2" identifier on my BARS post, but i got a new stem to finish the cockpit upgrades. nothing special except that it’s a cinelli. all measurements match my current generic forte stem — same angle, same reach. well, the clamp area is bigger — 31.8 to match the bars, obviously.

the odd thing about this stem is that the faceplate is actually TWO plates, side by side. you’ll see more details on that when i rebuild the cockpit either thursday or saturday.

until then, stay tuned.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. cockpit upgrades, 1 of 2
2. bike build process log : the tumbler’s new cockpit
3. Bike Build Process Log: Villain- Wheels and Stems

So, I originally thought I would just post some pics of my new bar/stem monocoque setup and pedals but I think an explanation and history of my mechanical issues I have been dealing with should be included.

Wrong can attest to the fact that I am extremely lucky and very anal when it comes to upkeep on my bike which has resulted in that I have had very few mechanical issues, knock on wood, but I guess 2 years seems about right. Anyway, everything pretty much started in the past month and a half with an annoying clicking in my right standard carbon/ti look keo pedal that was probably just because the pedal needed a little tlc (actually I know that it just needed some lube). The thing is that I had just read an article about the Keo blades and knew that I had to have them, PERFECT TIMING! I saw the American price of 500 bucks and scoffed but luckily the Europeans have a much more normal pricing structure of more than half that so… here’s the pic of my sweet ass blades.

Next couple things didn’t result in any new purchases but were really annoying. I found that every time I climbed there would be a pinging in my rear Ksyrium ES wheel which I couldn’t figure out what it was for 2 rides (wheel was perfectly true) but I eventually found it was a couple of loose spokes. Fixed. Then I went on nice casual ride with the intention of doing an Alpine until a fellow rider was right aside me when her chain fell off, she swerved, and banged my rear dérailleur. It folded and went banging against my spokes and made some mild scratches… not as bad as I thought it was going to be… but I managed to barely bend the metal hanger back in place. You know when you bend aluminum to the brink of collapse, well that’s where it was. I made it home okay without changing any rear gears, not that big a deal for you fixie folks but difficult when you have muscle memory and the gear shifter right there taunting you to be used. No shops had replacements but I found 1 online and had it shipped to me. This was a weekend I really wanted to ride so I decided to take out my 19 year old race bike, Tesch.

Can I just tell you that it was an awesome ride! I loved it. The fit was perfect and aggressive and made me realize that my Look wasn’t set up right at all. That’s where new bars and stem came into play. I already had carbon bars and stem so I knew I wanted to stick with that and after doing a ton of research I found these FSA integrated bars and knew I had to have them. So here they are…

I didn’t put the tape on the top portion and they are still super comfy and they are incredibly stiff…. LOVE IT! 2nd ride out and I am descending from an Alpine run (again with the Alpine, I gotta stop doing this ride) and my rear wheel squeels and seizes. This is not a particularly good feeling when going as fast as you can down a hill, in fact it was down right terrifying. I thought at first it was the brakes… nope… then I realized it was the freehub and it only did this when not pedaling. So, again I had to descend without stopping pedaling. Anyway, I came home and found out that it is the easiest piece in the world to repair, go Mavic, and my bike is again ready for the road.

So, there you go… More than you would ever want to know. You guys ready for a ride?

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Bike Build Process Log: Fix-e 3.0
2. Bike Build Process Log: Villain- Wheels and Stems
3. Bike Build Process Log: Villain- Stems and Stokers

Less Current »