Adventures in Middle Earth, or building a Rivendell

Not got it back from the shop yet. Soon though!

Update on this - Every time I build a bike I discover new levels of complexity and incompatibility between components. Delays so far have been because the cable housing isn't recommend for use with 11 speed, owing to it being spiralised, and more recently, because the chainrings combination I went for isn't compatible with 11 speed either.

So, I've ended up biting the bullet and going for a lovely new Chater Lea double crankset, which is bloody beautiful (and eye-wateringly expensive). It's not as low as I'd have liked, but 46-30 is still low and will do me fine, I'm sure.

But I wanted to shout out the lovely chap from SJS Cycles who rang me this morning for taking the time to make absolutely sure that the bike it was going on was compatible with the crankset, as apparently they're basically not designed for any modern bike that has a slightly wide Q-factor at all.

Turns out Chater Lea have designed a beautiful product, but one that has weirdly limited applications.

All that to say, the new crankset should arrive at the shop on Monday and I hope to have it back next week for some of those beauty shots I know a few have been hankering for, and so, you know, I can actually ride it...

£600 crankset blimey.

I thought the brakes were bad...

Go big or go home!

Had never heard of Chater Lea before but having now googled them I can confidently say those are some bloody lovely cranks though.

Can't wait till you try and sell this bike for what you paid for it 😅

That's at least a year away 🙃

Wow, such a bling crankset. It will suit the bike very well though.

Just spied this in the shop being worked on when I popped in for something. Thought I'd seen it somewhere before! Looks awesome IRL.

Also, can concur on the greatness of the racer M's. Look forward to seeing this crankset...

I miss being just around the corner, so I could pop by and check in. Very much looking forward to getting it back now!

Will you be running a front rack?

I noticed in the last photo that the front of the front mudguard is quite extended from the fork crown. You might want to consider an additional stay to help brace this from flopping about like a diving board. This could mount to the mid fork eyelets. If you have a rack perhaps its one with a mudguard mountint eyelet at the front.

I had hoped to have a front rack, but the combination of the mudguard and brakes means there's not room. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Just rode it back from the shop and oh boy, it is a beautiful bike. It's like nothing else I've ridden. I can't really put my finger on it yet, but my Midnight Special, by comparison, feels like a tank. This is a vintage sports car. Best I can do.

Some shots for you lovely people. More to come in daylight and with a proper camera.

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Excellent.

You could probably use the M1 Rack from Nitto / Riv. One set of stays to the mid eyelet and one to the fork dropout eyelets with the extra long stays that are offered.

Fresh Tripe just got stock of them this week:
https://freshtripe.co.uk/nitto-m1-p-front-rack/

That turned out great! Regarding the vintage car analogy, I‘d argue it‘s more akin to the concept of a Singer Porsche: modern technology combined with timeless design and generally oozing craftsmanship in every detail.

nice. tilt the saddle up a little bit - you dont wanna make Grant angry.

have you watched this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OmJRDn5R8I

I think you'd enjoy it.

@jontea ta very much

@motoko ooh that does look like an option. My concern is the length of the brake bolt through the fork. There's not much room for anything else. Will have a look.

@Sig_Arlecchino oh yeah! That's a nice analogy.

@Thrasher ha! Oh Grant. Yeah that video is like ASMR to me. I said as much in the comments. I'm just sad that mine isn't the 27.2mm saddle post version, but the 26.8mm. I'd love that lugged seat post, but it only comes 27.2. Same for a lugged stem Nitto/Riv do, but it's pricey (I know stupid crankset, but £200+ for a stem. There's a line.) and wouldn't work with the Ritchey bars.

The beauty of the M1 is that you don't necessarily need to go to the fork crown, you can mount to two fixed points on the fork.

That does look like it would do the job. Might have to take a punt on it. I would like some kind of front rack for it.

Think Seabass cycles have just got a bunch of these in stock

Thanks. Will check it out.

Took the bike out for its first proper ride today. 45 miles around north Kent. It was a cold day, only just wearing enough layers, and I didn't take any photos, but it was a good ride and the bike rode brilliantly. No complaints at all.

Still getting used to it, but it's growing on me quickly.

More to come in daylight and with a proper camera.

Looks excellent in those photos already though.