Monotone bike building…

Last week saw a frenzy of gray bike building as the last of the gray frames left the building (except for the 50cm and 65cm sizes).  There were a several full bike builds and a couple parts transfers.  All turned out very nice.  

First up are a couple of 65cm builds that were parts transfers from other bikes.  The first one was a transfer of parts from this 62cm frame.  The owner immediately felt much more at home on the 65.  The second 65 build was also a transfer of parts from a Rivendell Atlantis.  I particularly like the old (vintage?) Ritchey road cranks in 180mm.  

65cm frame built up with parts from the 62cm NorCal cross bike.

This 65 is for another big tall guy who says: 

“Nice solid yet comfy road and off road feel. No unwanted flex yet plenty of give to smooth out the lumps and bumps.  Unlike my last off road “ten speed”, this bike climbs out of the saddle real well. With my hands on the hoods or in the drops I have all sorts of leg and arm room to tilt the bike side to side to help propel the thing forward.  

I’ve had LOTS of bikes over the years and with most, the inaugural ride lead to lots of tweaking of parts and stem and seat angles, not to mention brake and derailleur adjustments. I didn’t have to do a damn thing. He nailed it perfectly.”

This 56cm frame is for a rider who also owns one of my 56cm road frames.  There are several two-bike Black Mountain Cycles owners.  This one is built similar to his road bike with SRAM Rival shifters, but this has an X.9 rear derailleur with a Shimano SLX 11-34 cassette and a 46t large ring.  Bruce Gordon Rock ‘n Road tires and Salsa Cowbell bars round out the package.  

 

One-man production line.

This 53 is going to Louisiana.  The seat, seatpost, and stem are placeholders as the owner already has these parts.  SRAM Apex/X.9 parts with upgraded White Industries T11 hubs.

This one turned out super nice.  Lightweight was the goal and it came in feeling light.  My Park scale somehow failed even with new batteries so I couldn’t get an exact weight.  Built with SRAM Force parts and White Industries T11 hubs.  Alloy spoke nipples help get the weight down.  This bike is headed to Kansas.

One more bike tomorrow.

(What’s playing:  The Black Keys Run Me Down)