Albannach Titanium all road project

After having consulted with my pal Jim about one of his lovely Ti frames, we came up with something to meet my needs, which are

1. comfortable
   
2. fast (ish)
   
3. versatile
   
   

I want something I can use outside in the winter (so needs mudguards) and for touring in the summer. Main uses will be multi day trips, racing the TCR, and exploring gravel/fire roads around Scotland.

The frame should be able to fit a whole range of tires. I will be running 32c slicks for most of the time, but will also be fitting some cx tires and maybe even bigger.

I've attached the geo. The fork will be the Niner RDO gravel fork which I'm hoping to get custom painted

Rest of build

105 compact groupset with 11/32 cassette
TRP Spyres w/icetech rotors, probably 140mm
SL25 32h rims w/ SON dynamo up front, Hope hub in back, (just riding along builder)
Spesh power saddle
Finishing kit TBD

Any comments on components? Haven't decided on whether I'll go tubeless or not.

Need to think about what kind of paint I want done on the fork and what kind of (if any) bling I want on it. Have been inspired by a few of the paintjobs posted here. Thinking about something like the fork in the attachment.

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You could take the Swedish M90 camo pattern and swap out the colours? I've always thought it looks ace.

Looks rad.

Subbed!
Planning similar build but waiting on the new Columbus Futura Gravel forks to surface.

That Swedish camo pattern looks an awful lot like the Field cycles designs - which is no bad thing

Very nice, hadn't seen those before.

Just realised that Death Spray Customs did an M90 pattern on the first prize bike for the Hunt crit. He's done loads of rad bikes.

racing the TCR

Subbed. Rad.

Nice idea!

The other inspiration I had was from Cinelli's MASH topo tape

and I'm sure I seen @i_am_lono make a build with something similar. Could be a total PITA to do though, so I'll have to see what the designated painter will agree on.

nice project!

If you're as big as I am (6'3'' and about 87kg), get a 160 front rotor with those Spyres, the 140 at the back will be enough.

Also ask for the vertical tube bottle cage to be as down as possible, if you're thinking about a framebag, or you'll end up using a cage dropper Its still pretty easy to reach and swap bottles on the go if you use 750ml bottles.

Full hydro groupset, Don't mess around with spyres or similar.

Aye, have already asked that, good tip though.

@dancing james

Would love it but its considerably more expensive. 105 groupset for what, £300 then Spyres for ~£60ish? Minus £30 for selling the brakes that come with the groupset, that's £330.

Compared to £480 for the 105 hydro groupset, which i hear has horrible levers?

Also - it is a bike for long distance, so wouldn't a hydro set up be a pain in the ass to service in a pinch?

The service argument makes sense but most guys at TCR rode hydro no? Spyres are great but require careful installation and more looking after than hydros if that means less than £150 to you then Spyre otherwise hydro. Two things that would hold against hydro are aesthetics (dem hoods) and weight. However I'd suggest going flat mount if you can.

Would you rather have the best braking you can have, or compromise on that for the unlikely event the brakes will need looking at during the TCR?

I know which I'd go for, and I own both Shimano hydraulics and a pair of Spyres.

@amey Is flatmount aesthetic reasons only or is it performance related?

@andyp - fair argument... the hoods do look balls though. Maybe I'll look for some 2nd hand hydro set up and buy the rest of the groupset new.

its where the discs are headed, its a shimano (therefore global) standard and they have trickled down flat mount all the way to RS305 brakes. Sram has gone that way so have Campag, I reckon it'll be like specc-ing a disc bike with straight 1 1/8 HT couple of years ago. Road disc is a catch up game.

I got hydro 105 on my cannondale. The levers sure are ugly but they perform really really well

Looks great.

Are you going to have a dynamo light in the back? Eyelet to attach it to, and internal wiring? Supernova or Secula plus could be mounted on the seatstay if there's an eyelet, and would be more secure than mounting with a clamp.
I'd probably go with 73 headtube angle, if it's mainly for roads.
Levelish toptube is good for big frame bag, but is there enough seatpost for a saddlebag?

@amey I've asked to see about flat mount on the frame. Post mount on fork is a shame (since it is already bought) but a fork can switched easier than a frame can, future proofing in mind.

@negaatio - just remembered I've got a friend selling a bike with RS685 brakes. If can convince him to split I'll stick 'em on this bike.

@Samuli thinking about it. Cabling will be internal so hopefully I can route the wires along, but not a huge deal if not - there are a ton of good battery/USB rear lights out there and the need isn't as great as a front light ie, I won't need rear light to see where I'm going.

Internal cabling, and you want maintenance "on-the-road" ? :D Cabling my Kinesis was one of the most painful parts of the build from scratch process.

Fork acquired.

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I could help you out if you go down the topographical route. Hit me up, am in Edinburgh.

great - have PM'd you.

Cable brakes are fine and pretty sensible for endurance bikes - wouldn't sweat not going full hydro. Certainly wouldn't consider a used hydro setup.

I would advise against cable-actuated disc brakes.
Having done a trip across Japan recently, I was more than happy with my hydro front brake (trp hylex), whereas a lot of riders on mechanical disc have had trouble, at one point or the other (gritty mechanism and stuck pistons, having to tweak the brakes everyday, sometimes twice a day,etc.)
Well, there was a lot of climbing and descending, and it was very wet (think typhoon rain)
In challenging conditions, ease of use, the modulation, repetability and reliability of hydro brake is an asset.