Another Croix De Fer.

Ive joined the gang.

I found a 2012 CDF on ebay fairly cheap and I am going to build it into an all day, commuting, wet weather, shopping, touring swiss army knife kinda bike.

(I should not have sold the Niner)

I bought a Large frame which I am hoping will fit me okay. I do have a large/56 Day One and that fits me fine with both drops and risers, so if that is anything to go by then I should be okay. I have a feeling It may be a little low on the front end but I am okay with spacers.

I have two build plans in mind.

One will be something like @amey CDF and @jambon CDF as they are both great examples.

2x10, maybe 11 if I use my ultegra groupset, guards, 700c/650b, basket/pizza rack up front. Should be a nice all day bike

The second build idea will be a flat, sweepy, loop bar kinda build with low rider racks/pizza rack and loads of gears for touring next year etc. I have a load of Saucy parts laying around which id like to use for this build. 3x9 XTR M952 groupset, On One Mary bars, 25.2 Thomson stem/post etc.

Now regarding wheels, I have some DT Swiss 240 Disc hubs and I dont know what to build them onto, I'd like 650b and tubeless if I am honest. What are the go to rims these days? keeping the weight down on the wheels would be great...

All input and ideas are welcomed!

Ill just dump inspirational images here.

This but with gears etc...

Kinlin rims are pretty popular. There’s a 650b all round rim in their range.

I've got some 650b WTB KOM rims waiting to be built - just need to buy my hubs - they're tubeless, under 450g and were like £5 or £10 each from PlanetX.

#buyer beware, I haven't built or ridden them yet so I don't know if they're any good in reality but I had a similar list of requirements and they ticked the boxes.

@amey 's build looks super nice. As does the All City you've posted

And planet X was getting rid of a lot of wtb rims for cheap since I last checked. Might also be worth a look. I got my 650b i23s for 13 quid a pop and I believe they were 8 quid for a while even.

Bargain WTB's from PX are hard to argue with although in my experience they don't build up as nicely as DT Swiss rims which are my go to. I have DT XR331's on my CDF and they have been brilliant. Nice and light at about 350g too.

@Klar cracked them

Tbh I doubt I'm gonna crack a rim by riding to work...

WTB KOM rims are fine. The cheap ST ones are a bit shit. I would avoid.

We turned my wife’s old CdF winter trainer into a town/shopping/pregnancy bike. It has been totally awesome for the job.

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Literally this!!

Well done sir.

That’s a hell of a low gear ratio you have there.

It’s had a few different rings on it depending on what’s going on. This set-up was for the tail-end of her pregnancy when she wanted to just spin for days. Agree it looks like it’s ready for Everest though!

What is the rack btw?

Pelago, the narrower one (I think they call it a medium from memory). Sturdy stuff.

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Dreamy!

Good looking bike!

So imagine @Ottomanotter CDF but with a tripple up front. That's what I am aiming for!

Some small progress today.

Looks like it's gonna fit just fine, though I'll have to get ride of the inline for a set back.

I found a front M425 brake which I'm going to use so now need a rear one.

Will order a pizza rack maybe...maybe.

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Mine used to be similar

Well damn, all these CDF builds are making me well excited to build mine.

Im toying between 1x11 deore now or 3x9 XTR?

Im toying between 1x11 deore now or 3x9 XTR?

1x is great, even though I've now gone to a double. For 90% of stuff it's fine but say if you plan on doing any touring you might want more.

Well its taking me through the UK and Europe next summer, which is why I am fond of the idea of a triple as the easy gears will be bliss.

But most of its life itll be shopping/commuting bike, so maybe 1x11 for the time being.