Current Projects chat and miscellany

FXE isnt cheap (than OTP Pompino) and that B-Twin is just horrendous :P (cant take drops) There is a matte black Langster 2014 hardly used on ebay that I can get for £300 which is pretty much ready to ride without any mods; is it too flash? In all years of riding in London I have NEVER locked a bike outside .. what is the cheapest way of making stuff anti-theft so I can carry only 1 lock

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-plug-2-2014/ ?

I'm thinking about building a commuter/all rounder based around the SRAM CX1 group. I love my fixed gear and my Canyon, but I'd like something that falls in between. Something that's as simple as possible for long, harsh and hilly rides when the Canyon is too delicate and the fixed gear is too limiting.

I'd quite like to go for the 11-36 cassette and a 42t chainring, giving me 100"-30". The rest of the build would probably a SRAM Force rim brakeset, Thomson seatpost and stem, Deda bars, Flite saddle and Shimano RS31 wheelset.

Where I'm stuck is deciding on a frame and am looking for suggestions and inspiration. I'd like to run 25-28mm tyres. Mudguard eyelets aren't essential, as I quite like raceblades so I can pop them off whenever it is dry. I definitely want two bottle cages.

Anyone got anything in mind that would fit the bill?

ooh that looks good .. worth another tenner for langster?

go disc, buy this http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/frames/croix-de-fer-frameset

Such nice frame

langster would be probably better track bike if you were so inclined to head to herne hill ever, but also looks more flash which i wouldn't want if i was locking outside all the time.

Alright guys, I posted this in FNPNA but no reply, has anyone tried running a 2014 Croix De Fer on 6500 wheels and 2.1" tyres? Thinking it might be a fun combo for the winter months.

Croix De Fer-2 by Michael M Rennie, on Flickr

fair .. I'll look at the charge geo chart and see if I can see it in flesh at evans or something .. are you selling anything that will suit my needs?

I don't sell my bikes, i hoard them :)

Charge Plug 0.

They're £330.

You can't run 2.1, that's far too big.

Don't think you have the clearance for it, 42mm might be a tight squeeze.

Trying to buy a beater lockup bike that you like the look of @amey ... If you like it, thieves will. What you need is an absolute shitter.

SS MTB drop bar conversions can be nice and cheap. I think the key is to find a nice cheap unloved 90s rigid MTB bike in the local listings with a bit more agressive geometry and solid group and then you are a singlespeed conversion kit and bar/stem/brake levers from a nice commuter. Can be done for <200 Euro.

Here is mine, similar spec to the off the peg one but the only things I got from Dolan were the Frame set, headset, front brake and seatpin.

I built this up as a jack of all trades, I wanted a single speed cross bike to tow my sons baby trailer round the park and that got me thinking I could get a grass track bike and race it as well then it evolved into this multirole machine which I will also use for some indoor track riding and some hillclimbs. I've also worked out if I put a low pro bar on it and some tri bars I can use it for TTs as well so its seems to be a very versatile bike.

Front brake for the road.

Concession to hydration for road duties.

Grass track tyres, very tight but they do fit!

Spec is as follows:

Frame: Dolan Pre Cursa
Fork: Alpina winter fork with clearance for grass track tyre.
Headset: Alpina
Stem: Deda Zero 01 100mm
Bars: Deda RH01 440mm
Seatpin: Alpina
Saddle: Skunkworks edition Specialized carbon with ti rails, padding removed, work in progress!
Bottle cage: Minoura saddle rail mount with elite cage
Brake: Cyclocross lever with SRAM caliper
Bottom bracket: Sugino
Chainset: Sugino RD2 Track 48T
Chain: SRAM PC1
Pedals: Shimano M520 (To be replaced with LOOK Keo Max 2)
Wheels: Handbuilt Miche Primato pista 32H hubs, stainless spokes on Kinlin XR300
Tyres:
Road - Bontrager R1 25mm
Track and Hillclimbs - Vittoria Diamante Pro III Radiale 22mm
Grass track - Vittoria Cyclocross XN pro 32mm
Tubes: Continental Race 28 40mm valve / Cross 28 40mm Valve

Proper pedals are now in the post and the stem will be cut as soon as I can decide on the exact stem height, at the moment it's quite low for me but I might be able to adjust to it.

@amey Why not get an old steel road frame with forward facing dropouts? Keep it rusty, get old second hand wheels, worn bar tape etc. Will be less than £200 to build, a lot less attractive to thieves than a new bike, no matter how cheap. Also a lot more fun to build and can still ride nicely with well serviced hubs and decent tyres etc.

I sometimes have to lock my bike on the street for 10 hour stretches and so far so good - but this is with two d-locks.

That decathlon is stupidly good value

@amey Just get a Pompino and build it ugly. No one has nicked mine yet and I regularly leave it locked up for 10+ hours in town*

*Manchester not London

Will keep an eye out for a med pomp on ebay, classifieds etc ..

What is the cheapest anti-theft measure for track hubs? Front esp and cockpit, seatpost, saddle etc. Atomic22 is nice but pricey

ball bearings in bolt heads.

second lock. beater grade saddle/ seatpost is sufficiently protected with the chain in an old inner tube trick connecting saddle rails to rear stay

if you really want a bike you can lock up and forget about then it'll probably be one you don't like, even a pompino would be tempting to theives. At least buy something cheap enough that you don't care if you lose it

I built up a 'don't care if it's stolen' bike. The longer it has remained un-stolen, the nicer it has gradually become. Now I would be sad, thus defeating the purpose and demanding the acquisition of another bike...

That was my plan with my Argos, but failed miserably... @6pt