Planet X Kaffenback - the wifemobile

I’m putting together a new bike for the wife, I’ve looked extensively at the options of OTP bikes that do what we want, and there isn’t a huge amount of choice, and it all seems a bit overpriced for what it is, as we’re working to a tight budget. She needs it to fit 32c tyres, mudguards and a rack. She doesn't like trigger shifters and isn’t sold on drops yet, so we need something where I can swap the bars between drops and porteur bars easily (which means STIs are a no go too). At the moment she uses a grip shift but has used bar-ends and likes the simplicity of them.

Given the OTP options, and the limitations I’m working within, I’ve decided that the best course of action is to put something together out of some bits I’ve got in the spares box, some parts that are good on her current bike and then buying the rest. I’ve been getting her to look at loads of different set-ups online to find out what she likes and we’re going for something like the vaya below with the ability to set it up like the Kaffenback (also) below.

Thanks to Le Tour, there have been quite a few sales online recently, which is helping.

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Parts list:

Frame and forks: Planet X Kaffenback – does everything we need and has a sloped toptube which is good (her current bike is a step through).
Cranks / BB: Shimano Deore M590
Cassette: Shimano HG50 9 speed
Chain: Shimano CNHG53144
Front & rear derailleurs: Shimano Deore M591 – forum purchase
Gear shifters: Shimano DA bar end – spares box
Brakes & levers: Shimano Deore V-brakes – on her current bike
Bars: Nitto Promenade – on her current bike
Stem: No name silver stem – on her current bike
Headset: Ritchey Comp V2 – found mega cheap on sale
Seat post: No name black seat post - will be upgraded to something silver at some point – on her current bike
Wheels: 105 hubs laced to some Rigida Sputnik rims
Saddle: Specialized BG women's thing she’s using at the moment.
Mudguards: SKS (style – I don’t think they are actually SKS) silver set that are on her current bike. Will be upgraded at some point.
Rack: No name silver rack that is on her current bike. This needs upgrading soon, but will do for the next month or so.
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon 32c on rear, Vitorria Randonneur 28c on front (they still have plenty of life in them so will be swapped for a matching pair when the start to die).

I’ve decided to have it built at my LBS – I could do a lot of it myself but don’t have the tools for fitting the headset or BB and by the time I’ve paid to have them installed, and then to have a safety check (for peace of mind) once I’m done, I wouldn’t be saving much over paying for the full build, so I’m going for the hassle free option.

The total cost, including the build looks like it will be £530.94. For the money I think it’ll be a really good bike – it certainly won’t be a world beater, but it’ll be perfect for getting her to work and back, with the occasional weekend ride thrown in for good measure. My aim has been to do this for under £550 and I think I’ll be able to stick to that.

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One thing not included in that budget is paint. The Planet X colour scheme and decals are not exactly pretty so I've had it done at Armourtex. She chose RAL4004 (Claret violet) with a metallic lacquer and it looks ace.

Now to get it built up....

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I like the sound of this - I'm very interested to hear how the frame rides since I'm considering a Kaffenback or a Crosscheck at the minute and the spec apart from that is very similar to this.

I actually like the Kaff's paintjob but prefer the bronze colourway.

Are you sure the bars will take bar end shifters?

I Would double check.

I think you need the albatross:

www.rivbike.com/product-p/hb2.htm

I had this issue when I wanted to set up my Dawes for my GF. Paul's thumbies or the Nitto Albatross - neither cheap when it was only temporary.

She chose RAL4004 (Claret violet) with a metallic lacquer and it looks ace

Great finish .. Is it wrong I really like it ?!

Are you sure the bars will take bar end shifters?

I Would double check.

Balls, that is really annoying. Thanks for pointing it out. School boy error not checking that. I hope this is the only thing I've overlooked.

Looks like she might be pushed into the world of drops earlier than anticipated, for which we'll need some travel agent things.

Anyone know if these are any good?

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/v-daptor-for-front-or-rear-silver-alloy-per-pair-prod83/

Reminds me of my bike;

The compact geo and oversized aluminium makes the back end super stiff. So much so I am thinking about fatter tyres than the 37c it came with. I also want a cane creek thudbuster seatpost but they are too expensive so wll probably stick on a brooks flyer which Ive been reluctant too because of weight and maintenance.

I switched the awkwardly positioned rapidfire shifters for some old skool thumbies now.

^^ if its any consolation they hold their resale value and are useful bars to have about. Still an arse as they probably cost more than your paint job.

I think there are some soma ones which have the ends bored out. If you search the most ash bars thread I made some inaine comments on it.

I almost wonder whether you couldn't just have them professionally drilled out(?). How much stress/pressure is the expander bung element of a bar end shifter goin to put in the inside of a bar? Also what force is going on it ?

^^ that's the kind of thing I'm going for. I think I've actually shown her a pic of your bike on here before, it should be quite similar.

In order to be able to get everything built up this weekend / early next week I've done the rounds of bike shops in the Holborn area this morning and managed to find some bars that are as close to the shape of the Nittos as possible, that will fit barends. I managed to find some in bikefix which should do the trick. They look fine, not exactly light though!

My options were that, or buy some downtube shifters to roll with for a while or get some Nitto mustache bars in Condor. Both of those options would have been at least £50, so I went for the least painful, which will also mean I can stick to plan A.

It's quite sad, I dreamt about handlebars last night.

If you like I'll have a pair of used Nitto town/moustache bars for sale soon. I think they are the Nitto B483 from here

As soon as I can do my next build you can have them for a tenner, should you still need them. *Slightly *scuffed where I've had brakes on.

Actually, I think I've misunderstood. You still want ones that will fit bar ends, right? Those ^ don't fit bar ends.

Ignore me.

Yep, still going for barends, thanks anyway though.

Something worth mentioning is that my kona is actually as light as my small sized reynolds 653 road bike for some reason.

t-4003,

I have some velo orange porteur bars and also some DA bar end shifters that I picked up for a build that didn't happen. Drop me a PM if you are interested.

Thanks for the offer Joe, but I'm all set for the moment.

Should be picking this up from my LBS this evening. It looks like we've got a nice sunny weekend ahead, perfect weather for lots of riding so she can get used to it before the Monday morning commute.

It's all built up and we picked it up over the weekend. All in all I am very pleased, more importantly, so is the wife.

I had it built up at my LBS, Vaidas bicycles in Honor Oak. It's a great shop and I really can't recommend them enough. The service you get is great and they always do a really good job at good prices. They are what an LBS should be. Check them out: http://www.vaidasbicycles.com/

There were a few unforeseen problems:

1. I have spec'd this with Deore parts - it's pretty much a full Deore groupset, but with 105 hubs. Obviously Deore is a MTB groupset, designed to go on a MTB frame with MTB geo. The clamp on part of the front mech, when fitted, only left about 3-4mm between the mech and the tyre, which isn't ideal. To leave a bit more space and avoid anything getting stuck we've fitted a 28c Marathon plus on the back (rather than a 32c), which has solved this problem. No biggie, but it did mean the extra cost of a new tyre that I hadn't budgeted for.

2. The old rear mudguard broke when I was taking it off her old bike (it had perished and was already cracked), so I had to get a replacement set. I was going to do this in the long run anyway, but was something I hadn't budgeted for right now.

3. The above clamp on problem also caused a problem when fitting the rear mudguard, as there wasn't really much space between the mech and the tyre. To solve this we've chopped a bit (about 6cm or so) off the end of the guard. This means it isn't attached at the bottom of the chain stays, but it's not really a problem as it is securely attached at the rear bridge and so doesn't rattle around or anything. I've stuck a frame saver between the 'loose' end of the guard and frame anyway, just in case, but it's pretty solid and won't cause any problems. I was a bit concerned about this, but the dude at the shop was confident he could sort it out with no problem, and he has.

Budget wise, I was trying to do everything (excluding paint) for under £550. I had to buy a few things I didn't expect: new rear tyre, mudguards and handlebars so I've just slipped over the budget and it's come in at £565. For the money I think it's a really good, quite unique bike, that is quite close to what we were aiming for (which is quite satisfying and a bit of a relief). The paint looks great, it's not too girly but certainly stands out against most other bikes you see - she seems to like calling it The Unicorn.

I've had a go and I think it rides very well (for a bike that's far too small for me!). We spent yesterday morning riding around Crystal Palace park so she could start to get a feel for the barend shifters and not have to worry about cars etc before riding it to work this morning. I'm pleased to report the commute this morning was ok and I'm sure she'll get used to riding with derailleur gears before too long.

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This shot shows the paint a bit better.

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Looks really nice, and the thread makes nice read enjoy.