Brooklyn Gangsta V2/Boardman TK Pro/Dolan Seta

I think at the beginning of this thread I said I would build three bikes this year, well number two is about to get under way. Last winter I built myself a winter commuter, it was a Tokyo Dart V1 with Portland Design Works fenders.

It did me proud throughout the shitty weather and got me to and from work all winter dry but there were problems with it.

One it was heavy and sluggish, really not a pleasure to roll around on. Two was in a really upright position on it, I was on bullhorns and I was catching all of the wind like a sail, should really have had drops. Three it was brklz, that didn't turn out to be a problem but I had some close calls trying to stop on icy roads. Lastly it was just too small for me, I was cramped and uncomfortable so I sold the frame on earlier this year.

So I've learnt a lot from this and I'm going to give it another go, I really need a winter commuter with fenders, I don't like the rain/getting a wet arse and I'm too precious over the Duratec to get it wet so may I present to you my winter bike V2: the Boardman TK Pro.

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Qualifications for being a new winter bike...

Light/Stiff - Check. Its actually the lightest frame I've got, triple butted 6000 range alu. It's built for the track, looking at the tubing and #datass it should be nippy and fun to ride like the Duratec.

Compatible with fenders/brkz - Check. It's drilled front and back so I can fit the PDW fenders with ease and I can roll with a brake up front.

Size - Check. At 5'8 I fit right I the middle of the Small/Medium category for the recommend size for this so I've gone for the Medium to be safe and I'll have less toe overlap if any.

Other shit for the bike:

Got the frame, cranks and seatpost for mad sick bargainz on ebay about 4 months ago, I sourced the stem off ebay later as well.

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#HalfordsSleeper

Haha

The prize for being the first person to drop Halfords into the thread goes to @monkdagola.

You have won a pint, remind me next time you're in town.

Slight tangent but I forgot to put this picture up of the Duratec in it's current state.

Photo credit: @timbre (instagram @trisc)

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I love that this is your winter bike, what other bits you putting on it? Id consider switching the cranks for something with a more durable BB if its going be a high mileage bike, I get through GXP ones irritatingly often on the bike I ride most often/in the worst weather.

Duratec is sick btw, It was nice to meet you and check it out in the flesh the other week.

Shouldn't be too long hopefully, I'll bring some Leccy tape so you can Chris 'Badman' the TK (Maxx) Pro.

hwo do i go about winning a pint?!

Cheers dude, great to finally meet you and the parallax #sickfadez props to @B0N0R

I know right, its actually a bit of a nice frame considering its going to be rolling through the worst of the British weather but you're right, it will be a high mileage bike because it's always raining.

It seems to be a reoccurring theme that the GXP BB is shoddy, any recommendations on a decent replacement? Or is it worth while just getting a different chainset? Saying thay I'll probably be replacing the GXP on the Duratec soon as well.

Current parts for the TK Pro is a Mavic Cosmic for the front, Black TB14 laced to Gran Compe track for the rear (all black), black Sram Apex front brake and some Time ATAC xc4's. That stuff I already have, it's all come off builds I've had in the past, I'll put up pics tomorrow.

I don't have bars/hoods or a saddle, I'm thinking compact drops, maybe 3T Ergonova's, some basic sram hoods/levers and an SLR saddle.

I don't actually know, I'm just making it up as I go along :/

Lulz #repped

Thread title updated.

Sugino 75DDs obvs

Funnily enough they would actually cost more than what I paid for the frame/post/stem/omnoms.

and I can roll with a brake up front.

DTM

:p

On a SRS note though, how are you going to mount the PDW fenders? P-clips?

Keep the GXP - the omnomnoms are a solid crankset and swapping the bbs is literally a 5 minute job when they wear out. They're cheap enough to be disposable. Put a fresh one on once the wettest of spring is behind you then ride it until the same time next year, no fuss.

@branwen Rear fender will be P-Clips on the stays and the usual mount at the brake bridge just using a bolt instead of a brake caliper.

PDW's come with two sets of handy brackets that allow you to attach the fenders to QR skewers, as I'm running a QR up front I'll just do that. Should be smooth I hope.

@6pt Sounds good to me, yeh crank installation is effortless, might as well spend 5 minuets a year and £15 instead of shelling out on a Hope BB.

;)

You doing disc brake on tk? That would be cool!

Also where is pics of brooky lyn

You doing disc brake on tk? That would be cool!

No net yet, I want to rush this out ASAP, I'm not feeling all the rain we've had lately and I've got most of the components all ready if I use a caliper brake.

If I go disc I'll have to buy a disc hub and spokes/rim wait for the disc wheel to be built, order the disc brk and hydraulic lever and so on and it will all cost millions of pounds* so I'm going to shelve dscbrk for now.

I'll see how I get along with the caliper this winter and if I a think disc would be better I'll upgrade the TK Pro from winter bike V2 to winter bike V2.5 next year sometime because I do have the Boardman disc fork still.

Also where is pics of brooky lyn

Soon...

Boardman first then Brooky lyn. Whilst I'm assembling the TK the last components to complete the Gangsta are being ordered.

*want funds to get the Gangsta built.

I'd avoid anything external and just rock 75s/something else with a square taper. Although in fairness i have never had my frame faced which might have something to do with slightly accelerated bearing wear. and it its a cross bike which gets covered in shit.

New winter bike sounds awesome, fun and practical! Always had a soft spot for the old TF Darts too, you got a pic of it with the fenders?

I too had issues with the GXP BB (trashed one in under 6 weeks) but have been happily riding a Hope BB with GXP converter solidly for 18 months since in all weathers. I'd seriously recommend the upgrade and considering their lifespan they're a bargain compared to disposable gxp's

@Borek Ah fair enough, to be honest I wouldn't like a load of water floating around in the BB shell come think of it.

@Skant cheers mate, no unfortunately the pic of my Dart is on my old phone which is dead :( it did look the part, got dubbed the "bat bike" haha. If it was my size it would have probably be fine.

What's the deal with the Hope BB/GXP converter? I've been reading up on it but people are a bit vague about what's actually needed.

Hope BBs use 24mm ID bearings, a GXP axel is 24mm drive-side, 22mm NDS. The converter is just two shims that sit around the NDS bearing to make up the extra 2mm…works perfectly

Nice one Skant, thanks for the info, I'll be ordering the BB and converter tomorrow just for peace of mind, I'll probably keep the GXP on the Duratec for now seeing as I don't ride it in the rain.

Let us know how you get on with it. I'm pretty tempted to try one. buying so many cheap GXP bbs is definitely a false economy.