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@youcloudsofdoom
Hi guys, got a few questions about building my bike that I thought I'd ask the brain trust here. It's a beautiful pinarello vuento frame, treviso made, Columbus steel, very lovely indeed. I've always loved bikes and ride every chance I get, but this is my first attempt at building a bike from scratch and I'm still learning a lot of the mechanics.
So, questions:
What is the difference between BB sizes, is it to do with the fit on the frame or the fit of the cranks? Is there a size difference between english and Italian fit, or is it just the threading?
How the hell do I fit this lovely cinelli 1R stem I have to the cinelli crit bars I bought? Do I really have to just push the bars through inch by inch?
I'm setting the bike up for fixed/free, I undersand that ratio is very personal but what sort of ball park am I looking at for teeth count? Is there any structural issue with just taking a two cog crankset and removing one of the rings to use it as a singlespeed cog?
Lastly, any good books you can recommend for building a nice singlespeed up? Preferably one that would cover old Italian bikes. So far the sheldon brown page has been well thumbed by me, but I'm sure there's a great book out there missing out on.
My field of knowledge is guitars and amps, feel free to request an answer trade if you need help choosing valves for your old Marshall super lead, or if you need to be told why ibanez are the devil's guitar.