Surly Cross Check

And so it begins...

Probably proving that money and good taste are rarely found in the same place.

All the parts have been ordered and have started to come in, I'm sure I'll have forgotten something though. So far we have

Duuude, you overpayed by a lot for the randonneurs! Return them and buy some from wiggle for £9 each!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-randonneur-city-tyre/

(in stock at the moment in black only but they're nicer anyway)

I didn't want black at all and these were the cheapest white ones I could find. Tyre colour is a funny thing, before you might even notice the colour of the tyres the colour has already set the tone of the bike. I think in the case of the CC black tyres are utilitarian, workhorse like, white are a bit more romantic if that's the correct word. That's fitting because this is going to be a randonneur-esque bicycle rather than a commuter.

Geared?

Yeah, it's geared.

The goodies keep arriving

what bars are you going for?

Gonna buy everything new? I should be picking up a second-hand Cross Check tomorrow, with a bunch of parts, including wheels, for £220. Makes sense getting some parts used.

Adscan - Velo Orange Randonneur, a few of the finishings will be VO.

Chris - I know, I can't really justify it, suffice it to say my last two builds were 2nd hand and they ran waaay over budget as I wasn't happy with things I bought first time around. Also I need the bike to be ready in 4 weeks time to take with me on holiday. Figured I would just get exactly what I want and be sure it was done in time.

how was your experience with shiny bikes?

^^ 2true!

suffice it to say my last two builds were 2nd hand and they ran waaay over budget as I wasn't happy with things I bought first time around. Also I need the bike to be ready in 4 weeks time to take with me on holiday. Figured I would just get exactly what I want and be sure it was done in time.

how was your experience with shiny bikes?

It was fine, ordered late Sunday night, delivered Thursday morning. Not amazing but perfectly acceptable.

Great stuff, The CrossCheck is a very popular (and rightly so) frame. Unfortunately the Fixed doesn't see much of the light of day since I built mine up. Look forward to seeing the end result!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4UtfBiWIfw

What you gonna go for?

A chap with a beard at Spa Cycles is knitting me up some Ambrosio hubs to Rigida Sputnik rims. This is one thing I'm not particularly sure on though, I think they may turn out to be a bit over engineered for audax/light touring.

Nice, that's pretty much my current project!

I agree with the light coloured tyres, they go nicely with the frame - I've been looking at Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, but don't really know which would be best.

Brave putting the prices up on here, but it's good to see how it comes together!

A chap with a beard at Spa Cycles is knitting me up some Ambrosio hubs to Rigida Sputnik rims. This is one thing I'm not particularly sure on though, I think they may turn out to be a bit over engineered for audax/light touring.

Pretty solid set of touring wheels you'll have there! This is gonna be an expensive bike but you get what you pay for. Nice to see you're doing it properly anyway.

What's your luggage carrying solution gonna be?

I'm going to go for one of these: http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/old-man-mountain-white-rock-rear-rack-prod18088/

I'm really tempted by this for my CC. Not really a touring rack but it looks swish.

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/pdw-the-payload-rear-rack-1135-p.asp

Nice, that's pretty much my current project!

I agree with the light coloured tyres, they go nicely with the frame - I've been looking at Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, but don't really know which would be best.

Brave putting the prices up on here, but it's good to see how it comes together!

I have Delta Cruisers on my town bike, they are very smooth but a bit wider than I want for distance riding. It's going to come in about £1300-1400, like I say there's no rational justification for it, I already have enough bikes, n+1 I suppose.

Pretty solid set of touring wheels you'll have there! This is gonna be an expensive bike but you get what you pay for. Nice to see you're doing it properly anyway.

What's your luggage carrying solution gonna be?

I called Spa today to discuss it and decided to change to Exal LX17 rims, narrower and 100g lighter, I wont be camping so they should be sufficient.

I'm going for a small front rack at the moment, I haven't decided what to do for a rear rack.

Very nice, very nice. Are you putting mudguards on?

I'm thinking of colour-matching the mudguards on my CC if I can afford it and find a place who can colour-match properly

Very nice, very nice. Are you putting mudguards on?

Yes, hammered steel, but very unsure about the hammered look until I see them.

My personal inkling is that it wouldn't go but you'll have to see :)

Yet more goodies, this lot particularly shiny