Bit if-fy - Independent Fabrication Club Racer

Bit of a retrospective project in terms of initial build, but until now I've not really had the time to sort out gathering it together. It's not likely to change a huge amount, so not sure its worth its own thread, but as a versatile frame it will be taking me on a few adventures so a useful document for me...and we're never finished dialling in right? Plus CP thread doesn't need a lengthy dull post.

*ignore the following background csb rambles, and head to the last pic.

Been looking for a frame for lightweight touring, bad weather, etc duties, but nothing too heavy, or slack. Basically an "all day" racer with capabilties of 32c Tyres or rather, my favourite 27c and 28c tyres and guards.

Steel, or Ti...without a doubt. Something that would take a bit of loading up without getting sketchey, and stripped down for some all day rolling round the cornish roads, sportive, audax, whatever.

After making some tough decisions to sell my beloved Italian Steel to fund this, I started focusing on what I wanted out of the new frame.

I found a Roberts 853 Compact Tourer for my Missus a while ago and basically wanted the same thing in my size.
Good quality and useful frames like these aren't so common on the secondhand market. So, I looked at OTP framesets...2014 Salsa Collosal Ti looked good, but 2k!! Enigma Etape seem to fit the bill and the prospect of the forthcoming disc version pretty much ticked all the boxes. But, at that money there's also Justin Burls for total custom, internal routing, hidden (internal facing) bosses on stays, etc and a matching road brother to my fixed gear....but now I'm in custom territory. So, why not my very own Roberts? Well, after much time I decided against that and to look into a UK builder which (for me) has never produced a compromised frame and gets better each time I see a new one. These things come at a price, both financially and time wise, but I'm up for it and I cant imagine looking back on a custom frame thinking, i wish i'd just had xyz being anything but frustrating.

Literally the day before putting the deposit down to secure a place, I received an email picking up on a potential sale of a frame which will pretty much do what I need until a custom frame is reality, and do it with some class. A friendly Swedish Forumenger with an eye for a tasty frame or two got me stirred up for this...

An Independent Fabrication "Club Racer" with Alpha Q fork, CK headset, IF seatclamp and Tektro long drop brakes.

So, mind made up I postponed custom deposits, sealed the deal on the IF and cleared out all the little bike trinkets stashed for rainy day projects and began gathering some bits for this. Mainly parts I knew I didn't have on other builds which could be switched over to get it running asap.

I decided the Chris King x Hed Wheelset would be a good option for this. Over the winter I had worn the front "C2 Ardennes" rim out, so I looked to rebuild it and after considering the solid Archetype, Pacenti SL42, I decided to stick with Hed and got one of these...

Next thing was to consider Groupsets, or essentially a Gearset as the frame was coming with long drop brakes. I wanted to stick with Rotor cranks (which I have on my Cervelo) and a pair of compacts would mean switching and swapping between frames as required. So, my options were Shimano, or Sram. I didn't want to get into funding/maintaining another complete system, so Campag was out the question.

Being tempted from friends new 11spd Ultegra Electronic groupsets and loving the new shimano lever/hood shape and general styling, I really thought it was a good idea to consider the move. But, it means a new wheelset on top of everything else. The Chris King Classics would need to have been upgraded to R45 to entertain 11spd compatibilty. My other road hubs are Royce ("lightweight" front and "Venus" Rear) and bloody lovely they are too. So, I call up Royce to discuss the options of a new freehub body for 11 speed? Cliff answered and we chatted about the options and the useful advantages and advancements of the electronic 11spd systems on the market, but from an Engineers point of view a 130mm spaced hub compatible with 11spd is a step backward due to width reduction. 1.9mm sounds nothing to me (a bodger at best) but to an engineer this is an issue, rightly so. Its not even a sidestep from what was being produced at royce, or it might be happening. but as it stands Cliff will only entertain the idea of 11spd hub at 135mm.
This sealed it for me. A definite option for rear spacing on a future custom frame, but for now, stick with 10spd mechanical. DA7900 is running on my Cervelo and has been flawless, so that was an option. But, I like trying different things and the Sram double tap is appealing, as is the newer shape ergo hoods. Ruling out 11speed this meant the 2013 red group was the best contender to the dura ace.
Asked for any opinions/experience on here and as always got some useful info. As there was nothing between the 2 groups, I would see what turned up first. Trawled some forums, ebay, et al... plenty of DA7900, but nothing bargainous and not really anything on the red 2013. So, I started looking at buying new. which seemed to work out well as wiggle had 50% off the sram levers (an offer that only seem to last a day or two) and some good deals on the mechs. CRC had a component discount offer running and was unbeatable for a couple other bits. sad to resort to the big boys, but it's a rarity for me.

then a couple boxes turned up.....

Just waiting for the star of the show to wing its way from Sweden.....

things went dark

Boom!

from Sweden, with sweets!!

Now for some build time.

The Sram Red is a dream to fit and set up, very well thought out and designed. Little touches like hex key on the adjuster bolts keep things easy and looking clean, chainline guides on the front mech, the yaw front mech w/chain spotter.... The shifting is sweet and positive, even in the drops and having little paddles to flick about with, seem to pull together some nice touches from shimano and campag camps.

Nabbed the seatpost off the R3 and the stem/bars from the Burls. I guess the stealth 3T stem might suit, but I was keen to get the contact points matched up to the cervelo, so left them there.

The Moots stem puts the bars in the perfect position, rides as beautifully as it looks, and proportionally suits the frame set. I did think maybe getting it sprayed, but it seems to have grown on me a bit and i'm quite happy to leave it for now.

With the trusty Rivendell "Ruffy Tuffy" tyres (still waiting for them to die) fitted I took it for a spin. Geometry is great, spot on actually (though i've become rather fond of the massive headtube of the cervelo so would change that) and everything I'd hoped, very slightly sloping TT keeps it classic looking, frame is of course beautifully made and ride is as good as we know 853 and true temper is. First impressions were very good despite being a fairly foreign combination in terms of a steel roadie with larger tyre size, new groupset, etc.

Been out on a few longer rides and some hilly buggers and all seems good, in fact better than good, I'm bloody loving riding it.... climbing not as good as the R3 (obvious weight, power transfer and stiffness) but descending is better and more forgiving.

with the final few funds generated from bike related sales I picked up some new Tyres, the less-gaudy-graphic-clad compact chainset, some phil grease/lube for some general bike love and some prolock nipples for the wheel build.

and as of now it looks like this.....

currently awaiting the chainrings to fit the chainset and thats it, for now (while I re-save for a deposit) I might upgrade the Tektro brakes for those TRP's which seem to have a good rep and try to find something similar to the Gilles Berthoud carbon fenders, but actually affordable or when needed, just fit sks chromo's which actually do the job.