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@t'kk_t'kk
Hello,
I thought, I might as well do a project thread, and be it just to keep me engaged. This is my first build from (almost) scratch, and I'll be outsourcing a few things (e.g. wheelbuilding). It will also be rather slow, because I'm in the process of graduation and my spare time is scarce.
Backstory
I've been riding fixed for the last five years, exclusively. I'm 1.65m/5'5", currently riding a 48cm Gitane.
I always wanted to build up a 650c bike, not so much because I need it size-wise (the one I have fits perfectly), but because of the looks and – well, I don't really know tbh.
The Frame
Finding a 650c track frame is not easy. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a frame which fits. It's a Biemmezeta, which, from what I gathered is a brand that was mostly building frames for other companies (Colossi comes to mind). Apparently, they come in all quality ranges and this one is one the bottom of it. The tubing is gaspipe; you can actually see the seam when you look down the seat tube. This also means that it is heavy for its size (I don't have a scale, but according to the previous owner, it's around 2.9kg including fork and headset). The dropouts look nice though, kinda like keirin frames.
The colour scheme is… challenging. I think I'll go with pink grips, just to go over the top. Some black parts where they fit, like stem or handlebars…
The Parts
Given the quality of the frame, I initially thought not to spend too much money and energy on it, but all in all, I want to enjoy this bike. There are some restrictions, though.
For one, 650c track/road rims are not that easy to find. I went with the Mavic Open Pros. I'm not a fan of the fat brake surface, but I prefer this over having to worry about the older rims I have blowing up.
Secondly, I want low flange hubs. 650c with high flange hubs doesn't seem to look right in my mind. I'm going with Miche Primato hubs, because the alternative (Dura-Ace) is twice as expensive and given that this isn't going to be a track bike, I prefer sealed bearings.
The saddle will be a Brooks Cambium C15 carved, at least for now. I'm starting to get numbness on my other bike (80s Turbo saddle), so I want to see how this works for me. But as it is with saddles, maybe it's not the right fit for me. What I'm not going to do is pick a saddle on looks alone, even though a pink saddle would probably look hilariously over the top, given the overall colour scheme.
I managed to get a Sugino Mighty Competition crankset, which is pretty much what I was looking for (Sugino Super Mighty or even Campa Record would've been the ultimate score in my book), but sadly, the arms are not the same length… The right one is 165mm, which is what I'm looking for, while the left is 168mm. I'm still unsure how I'll handle this.
Also, I'm a bit concerned about fitting the cranks without completely fucking up the chainline. The chainstay has no indentions to fit crank and chainring and due to the smaller wheel size, it has a different angle than a 622 chainstay would have. We'll see how that turns out.
As far as handlebars goes, I'll go with risers for now.
I'll also fit one of those Dia-Compe clamp-on brakes on it. They look ugly as hell, but I don't like riding with only one way to stop my bike. In fact, I'm thinking about fitting one of those HHSB racks on it, just to hide the brake a bit (and maybe actually use it, who knows).
This is what I have so far.
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