Felt Breed SSCX

I moved to north london last summer and i've been thinking about what my ideal bike would be. Ive got my road bike which I'm not happy leaving locked up and my track bike which, although I am happy to lock up, doesn't have any brakes and I'm just not enjoying riding it. Theres too many hills and erratic drivers to deal with.

So i've found this Felt Breed frame and set of Ritchey WCS forks which I think will be perfect for what I need and potentially the most fun bike i've ever owned. The paint reminds me of old Yeti frames.

Im looking for advice from the forum on all aspects of build and kit choice. This bike is going to see some abuse. It'll get ridden to the pub, the shops, used for the commute, exploring, riding towpaths and also the odd lap of Highgate woods and Hampstead Heath. After that it'll spend the night locked up in my garden. I don't intend to race but if the opportunity arises then you never know.

This is going to be put together for as little cost as possible. If things break or get nicked I won't cry too hard about it. As long as the frame and forks survive then its all good. Ill use either new parts if I can get them cheap enough or second hand bits if I can find any or if anyone has something they'd like to part with.

Here's what i'm thinking so far:

Wheels - Annoyingly the rear spacing is 135 which means I can't just stick any rear wheel in there. I want cx tires so I was planning to get as cheap a wheelset as possible. I've seen the campag and fulcrum sets from Wiggle for around £130. Can I respace the rear hub to 135 and how would I achieve that? I also want to ditch the quick release skewers for bolts.

Also need some tire recommendations.

Gearing - What ratio should I use? I could convert a regular wheel to ss with a conversion kit. I think this would give me more options and allow me to sort the chainline easily. I think it'd be cool if I had the option of running it fixed / free but I assume that'd be the more complicated and expensive way to go. Advice is welcome here too.

Chainset - I plan on using the campag ultra torque cranks I had lying around. I've got the bearings, I think I just need some bearing cups, right?

Brakes - Will be cantis, just because I like the look and Ive got a headset with an integrated hanger already. What levers should I get?

Finishing Kit - Cheap as possible, 120mm stem, 42cm compact drops and 27.2 seatpost.

I'd also like some suggestions on fitting a Kryptonite evo to the frame, is there a better solution that the bracket you get with the lock?

I think thats it for now, I'm sure a few more questions will pop up. So please hit me with some suggestions!

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Wheels - Annoyingly the rear spacing is 135 which means I can't just stick any rear wheel in there.

You can stick a Shimano Deore/Mavic A319 wheel in there, the bonus is that the rims is very wide.

Great shout. I was looking at the deore hub but hadn't seen any built up.

Do you know if its possible to get a set off the shelf in black with less spokes?

Theres a few of these sets currently on eBay for cheap. Could be the way to go.

They're designed as bombproof wheelset, especially the shimano hubs being easy to service.

What's the deore hub you're looking at? I've just had a 135 fixed/free wheel built. Surly ultra new hub on an A119, £150 ish.

Love the frame and colours, I was tempted to get one of these a few years ago.

It's the t610 which I think is the same as an old LX.

I've seen the Surlys, if I had more money to throw at this that's what I'd go for. Unless I can find one 2nd hand.

£150 is pretty good though. If I can a front and rear wheel for that much I'd be happy.

Could I consider a 29er wheelset? Can you get them non disc with 10mm axels?

I had one of those. Great bones for what you want. In terms of gearing you'll probably want something in the low 60's gear inches. Unless you've got legs like quadzilla.

Nice frame, re gearing depends on what you're using it for. Commuting on paved roads with lots of hilly bits (not steep) I have around 70 g.i. but if you're going out in the wild for cross then obviously lower.

Wheels sorted. Deore hubs to mavic a319s from eBay. Pretty impressed with the weight given they're supposed to be bombproof. Cheers @edscoble for the recommendation.

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Also got some sram s500 levers. Would like to get some avid cantis too.

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Just spotted a set of alloy TRP Eurox for £40. I was going to but Tektro CR720s for half that but is it worth spending another 20 quid?

yes

Dredging this topic as I’m getting this project back on track.

Looking for advice on brakes that will work with my levers. This will be mainly used on the road and I’m considering mini vs. Can anyone confirm that Tektro 926 mini vs will work with road levers? I’ve heard conflicting things. I’d prefer the stopping power to cantis otherwise I’ll go with Tektro 720s or avid shorty 4s

I have them on my nature boy and they work ok, these helped when setting them up ccorrectly

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BSTKCGP90D/tektro-cable-guide-pipe-90-degree

As long as you don't use standard pads, they're pretty decent. If you can find a set TRP CX9s, or if you're not running bigger than 38mm tyres CX8.4s. Both work very well with S500 levers.

Cool, thanks guys. So is the general consensus to go with vs over cantis?

Tektro also make an rx6. Any idea if that’s just a cheaper version of cx9?

Kind of. What tyre size are you going with?
Mini Vs with arms around 84/85 mm will cover 38mm tyres (generalising), Vs with 90mm arms will do upto 42/43mm, with room for mud.
If you go TRP stock pads aren't too bad, if you go Tektro, change em from the off.

Vs are more powerful than cantis. The advantage of cantis is that give you more mud clearance, so the brakes don't get as clogged in claggy mud, so if you're mainly using on the road then I'd go for mini vs.

I ran a pair of CX9s for a while and they were excellent brakes, good power and modulation.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/333773/#comment14729571

Or maybe get the best cantis around.

^ what he said.

Decent tektro cantis and a good set of brake pads should be fine, unless you are a very heavy rider.

Like Andy said, mini-vs would be fine if you're only riding road, but if you plan on doing any other off piste riding then mud between pad and rim would cause regular issues, nevermind tire and caliper.

I have cantis on an sscx bike and don't regret it. The most fun riding is off road.

I have some regular v brakes on an old mountain bike and they clog up very quickly in any kind of mud.

Best ones are Revox not Eurox

Appreciate the shout, but too late. Hopefully whoever’s buying pulls out!