650b Croix De Fer - Congratulations, it's an apple.

Did you go for a dynamo powered rear light in the end? If so, how did you cable it? I have one waiting to go on my surly and the cable route is putting me off.

Bike looks great BTW.

Thanks!

I did! A B+M Secula. I originally thought about running it inside the mudguard and internally up the frame, to keep things hidden but when it came to it I couldn't be arsed with the fiddling and hole drilling.

Instead it goes along the NDS mudguard stay, chain stay, and then up the down tube. The bike's fully externally cabled anyway so one more little one didn't make a difference, and it meant there were plenty of things to tape/tie the dynamo cable against. I don't really notice it day to day.

Best not to run it inside the mudguard, I did the same and realised it's a complete fucking bellache removing mudguard in the first place, so got the frame rebrazed to fit an integrated light on the seat tube.

Would you mind posting some pics of the front lamp mount setup? I'd like to get mine further forward than the brake mount on my cross check

Dat flap! Bike looks great!

I'll try and grab pics at some point, but basically I put this on the mounting bolt of the rack, like this

Really Useful Bikes is an ace website - full of odd little bits and bobs for things like this. Good service too :)

Ok, cheers. I probably just need to bite the bullet and get on with it. I also have the B+M Secula.

Hah I know the feeling. I put off fitting mine for a loooonnng time.

It was a bit fiddly as there's a couple things to consider with that light:

1. You might find the bolt too long - I had to cut about 5mm off the end of mine.

2. There's a little plastic nub that sticks out of the back of the light. In my case this meant it wouldn't sit flush on the mudguard so I used a thick rubber washer that I stole from un-used mudguard hardware to take up the space. This also helped too smooth out the arch of the mudguard.

And generally I would recommend a trip to maplin (or somewhere reasonably priced) beforehand to stock up on electrical tape, heatshrink, and small cable ties.

Probably took me a couple of hours, but I not very competent :)

Lovely bike and lovely pics! much jealous. Now that your bike seems quite finished would you be kind and share a full parts list? Not to forget close up shots! Was your light the usb one? if so where and how did you route and mount the switch? and how do you attach the pump? heh so many questions since this is pretty much how I would and plan to build mine for the spring.

oh one more thing: how do you like the compass tyres? flats? or do you run tubeless?

Oh thanks man!

I guess it's more or less done. I'm taking it to Japan in May so there's more racks/panniers to add, and because I'm shitting my pants about mountains I'll probably try and drop the gearing further somewhat. Not exactly sure how yet.

I'll try and take some pics at some point, but I'm very lazy, and I mostly only ride the bike in the dark these days.

The parts list (as far as I can remember) is.

52cm Genesis 2014 croix de fer frameset
Thorn Disc forks
Cane creek 110 headset (came with the frame)
Stans Crest rims
DT Swiss spokes, probably.
Shimano XT rear, SP Disc dynamo front
Compass Babyshoe Pass (42mm) tyres - standard casing
TRP Spyre callipers, TRP rotors, BBB sintered pads (emergency purchase)
Shimano 105 5700 chainset 50/34
Shimano BB
Shimano 9sp cassette, 12-32, I forget which spec but maybe XT
Shimano XT front & rear mechs
Deda zero 100mm Stem
Salsa Cowbell 2 bars
SRAM levers
Dura Ace bar-end/TT shifters
Jagwire cabling throughout
Fizik Arione Vs
Boring alloy seatpost
Genesis seatclamp
Time Atac pedals
B+M Lumotec USB front lamp
B+M Secula rear lamp
Velo Orange Zeppelin mudguards
Nitto M18 rack
bigxtop rando bag
Zefal HPx frame pump

The Babyshoe Pass isn't recommended as a tubeless tyre so I use tubes (schwalbe extralight if possible), but they've been stellar.

I can't remember exactly but I think I've only had about 5 punctures since I put them on. But the frequency is increasing somewhat, so I've started making a point to inspect them each week and pull out any debris.

They're very soft and cut easily, but not much makes its way through the casing (the rubber tread holds it), so I remove the little bits of glass and blob some superglue in the cut.

Light switch - cable isn't hugely long so it's best to be direct. It's cable tied under the rack, then taped to a brake cable up to the bars. Just sits on top of the bar with a wee rubber band like a Garmin. Have never actually tried the USB charger, but i suppose I should.

The pump is sprung and just snaps into the frame - it's available in a few sizes to be sure to get the right one - buy bigger if in doubt because they compress a lot and it's better if it's tight. I can squeeze this one into my Sunday bike too, which has thicker tubes.

Hope that helps in lieu of photos - probably best not to hold your breath there :)

Thanks for taking the time answering my questions! Parts list looks good.

In case you're interested about tubeless, I ones googled and found this:
"Jan Heine, Editor, Bicycle Quarterly says:
February 22, 2014 at 6:25 pm
We’ve had no problems running the “standard” version tubeless. The “extralight” casing is more porous, so it can take a little more patience to seal. I have several friends who have run the Grand Bois Extra Léger tires tubeless…"

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/introducing-the-full-line-of-compass-tires/

y'know I actually think I have seen that before, but I didn't take it in properly.
I don't really know whether I'm bothered enough to give it a try to be honest - I have no idea if it'd be worth the faff when I'm having a perfectly good experience with the current setup.

Does anyone know what kind of front Derailleur attachment the 2015 CDF uses?

28.6 band on, if memory serves.

@Mentats I've no idea :(

http://www.freeborn.co.uk/genesis-croix-de-fer-frameset-2014-14010?gclid=CjwKEAiA2ve0BRDCgqDtmYXlyjkSJACEPmdwl-2lj8rO3II3t0EA-tTj-6zc8OKwwpfqnJibnTWIUBoC80_w_wcB

yep I was correct.

I kinda thought so too, but if so I'll put down to an "off day". Not hugely worried or annoyed at all as the same guy built my last set of wheels and they were excellent - utterly bombproof. Maybe hasn't built with these rims before..

I just realised, (6 months too late) that he simply didn't destress the wheel to bed in the nipple every time until it stop creaking.

I build an Open Pro recently, have to destress it 14 times until it finally stop going out of true.

Better late than never! They've been perfectly solid since, so I imagine you're right.

I really would like one of these.

But I want somebody else to do all the work.

Somebody tell me why hydraulic disc brakes are a bad idea.

Because it's easier to replace a cable.

They're not.

Unless you like to mix and match levers.

I'm gonna write more about this actually.

Disc in itself are a brilliant advantages to have, they work, the pads self aligned to the rotor, they last what felt like eons compared to rims brake pads, they do work in extremely poor weather making it easier for you to judge the tyres limitation rather than the brakes limitation on a poor day (one of the biggest change you'll notice).

It's still great, my other 650b is a tourer with disc brakes for this reason.

However, there's a good reason why my 650b randonneur bike have centerpull brakes in the first place; the frames and forks.

Disc brakes mean the frames and fork have to be redesigned to accommodate the disc pull, the left side of the fork and chainstay/seatstay were beefed up to prevent flexing.

Because of the unique position of the disc calipers, you cannot have the advantage of the curved fork (comfort), as the arm will not be strong enough to withstand the pull of the disc, and consequentially pull it to one side.

So the fork is marginally less comfortable than a traditional fork, and may feel slightly more vibration travelling up from it, for some that's a trade-off to have the disc advantages, but for others, comfort is needed.

@Skülly Just want to chuck in my 2p on disc pads in poor weather/duration:

I felt like the semi-organic pads I just swapped out fell off a cliff in terms of performance and durability in lots of rainy riding during the fortnight before/over christmas.

They seemed to be fine one week, and then comparatively terrible the next - they wore so quickly they needed adjusting after every couple of rides. I've replaced with sintered pads now which are reportedly much more durable.

On the forks thing - if it's your first bike with these kinds of tyres (as this bike was for me) you might not notice the comparative lack of comfort as it'll still feel massively more plush than a road bike. But if you've been riding big tyres for a while, or bikes with beautiful french-curved forks, then maybe?

The 5800 105 front mech only comes in 31.8 and 34.9. Do you know where I could get an adaptor?