Light(ish)weight Pompetamine

Thanks mdcc, excellent advice - I'm likely to want to run 28c or 32c - possibly wider in the winter. Is there an easy way of telling from frame specs what tyre width they'll take.

Thanks again.

Quality of manufacture on Traitor frames is possibly te worst I've ever seen!

cotic road rat can take 42, or greater if you switch to 26"

singular peregrine accommodates up to 2" (currently not in stock tho)

dirty disco up to 35

just read the spec sheets, most will tell max tyre size

Thanks chaps - the list's getting shorter ...

A thought I've had for future builds - disc on the front, rim brake on the rear. Means you can have whatever frame you want, just need disc forks, and I guess a touch lighter than dual discs - whilst still giving you stopping power in the wet.

That's how Howards CX bike is setup

This is frickin awesome (Dolan Pre Cursa FXE) but only gives you the option of a caliper on the rear.

Yeah, the idea of a track frame plus a disc fork has crossed my mind. There's just something a bit 'cock-eyed' about it, but I realize that's me being a fussy bastard. Do you reckon if you pull both brakes on hard when that dog runs out in front of you, you get vaguely even braking, or are you going to end up going over the bars?

It would open up a whole raft of other options though so I'm not ruling it out, especially as all the decent frames are out of stock in my size (5'10" medium generally), and some of the nice kit doesn't seem to be available in the UK (was just eyeing a Felt Breed which would make a great starting point but is US only).

The search goes on ...

This is frickin awesome (Dolan Pre Cursa FXE) but only gives you the option of a caliper on the rear.

Just noticed that seat-post's almost as long as the seat tube. Is that definitely the right size frame for him? Or does he have very long legs and quite short arms?!

Probably pulled the seat pin out for the photo..

he's just rather disproportioned.

One way to save weight with a pomp is to get a carbon fibre cx fork. I got a new unlabled chinafork of ebay with shipping for about 100 US dollars. I think it was about 560 gram with the steerer uncut, and the steerer was looong. The fork was however quickly stolen and I would not bother with it again. It should however be a good way to save some weight. Make sure you get the geo right however, else you will have fucked up handling from the bike.

are you going to end up going over the bars?

Lean back.

Don't lean!

Never lean (forwards).

Lean back.

http://youtu.be/abw6DZI5G3Q?t=37s

http://youtu.be/abw6DZI5G3Q?t=37s

I performed that trick recently with the assistance of a small terrier.

In case anyone's interested, I finally overcame the power of inertia and ordered the Pompetamine frame today.

Rest of the spec' is still a work in progress, but provisionally I'm looking at something like:

    Crankset:       Miche Primato Advanced       

Frame: Pompetamine
Wheels: Kinesis CX
Disc Forks: Kinesis DC37
Brakes: Avid Elixir 5
Headset: Cane Creek S3
Stem: Ritchie Pro 4
Seatpost: Tifosi Carbon
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Supreme
Tubes: Conti Light Road:
Chain: SRAM PC7
Bars: Crank Bros Cobalt 3 XC
Pedals: Da Bomb Bare Bones
Saddle: Fizik Aliante Gamma XM

As I feared, my original budget is rapidly slipping out the window, but it should be an awesome ride. I'll post a final spec and pictures once I get that far.

Many many thanks to all for the deluge of suggestions, pointers, tips, advice etc. It was all extremely helpful. If anyone wants to chime in on spec, they're more than welcome to. Much of the stuff on there is the result of about 2 seconds internet research, and there may well be better/lighter/cheaper alternatives I'm, not aware of.

Thanks again.

Jules

Crankset: Miche Primato Advanced
Wheels: Kinesis CX
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Supreme
Chain: SRAM PC7

Get a SRAM S300 1.1

I still think Stans Iron Cross on Hope Pro 2 are worth the extra £80, also about 200g lighter than the Kinesis wheels

Get something smaller than the 40c, they don't fit a Pompetamine. Marathon Racers are cheaper and faster rolling. Neither is really much fun if you're likely to see any mud

Get a Wipperman 7Z1

You'll need some kind of sprocket, the Trialtech ones are nice as are the On-One Groove Armada, and On-One come in nice big sizes to go with your 48t ring.

Many hydraulic disc brakes are on offer at CRC at the moment, see if you can get some high-end Shimanos.

Many hydraulic disc brakes are on offer at CRC at the moment, see if you can get some high-end Shimanos.

Good spot Emyr - many thanks. I have no experience of Avid's - does anyone have a view on them? My Shimano SLX's have always been good, but Avid's seem to offer a bit less weight for the £. I suspect Shimano XT will still be outside my price range.

Get a SRAM S300 1.1

I still think Stans Iron Cross on Hope Pro 2 are worth the extra £80, also about 200g lighter than the Kinesis wheels

Get something smaller than the 40c, they don't fit a Pompetamine. Marathon Racers are cheaper and faster rolling. Neither is really much fun if you're likely to see any mud

Get a Wipperman 7Z1

You'll need some kind of sprocket, the Trialtech ones are nice as are the On-One Groove Armada, and On-One come in nice big sizes to go with your 48t ring.

MDCC_Tester - thanks as ever. Will look into those wheels in particular, as I'm having trouble sourcing the Kinesis wheels. Is that a custom build? Presume you're talking about the Hope Pro 2 Evo - the single speed one? Was planning on just using standard cyclocross wheels and using spacers, but this looks like a better option. Do you have a view on whether it's ok to use skewers on an SS or do I need bolts? Also, any views on the prebuilt Hope Hoops if I can't stretch to custom builds?

Tyres were really a bit of a guess. Use will be almost exclusively road, so your choice looks spot on. I just need something that rides well, but is sturdier than the 23c's I've been using on my road bikes. Will run 32c's on this bike most likely.

Totally missed the sprocket. Will check out the Trialtechs and On-Ones. Was intending to go 46 / 18 for starters, maybe drop to a 16 on the back later. Thanks for the chain recommendation - happy to defer to your undoubtedly better judgement.

Great to finally have things underway ...

Jules

PS. mdcc_tester - just checking out those hubs - is it definitely the Hope Pro 2, or do I need the Pro 3 if I'm using discs?

Thanks

Jules

PPS. Looks like Stan's rims are tubeless only. Don't really want a tubeless setup on this bike. Happy to hear any other rim suggestions though, if you have a view on a better clincher setup.

They're tubeless ready, not tubeless only. If you're looking at saving weight (where it matters most) on a budget, I would definitely be looking at a tubeless setup.

Pacenti CL 25 rims come to a similar price and (claimed) weight but with a wider profile, which would be beneficial if you're running wider tyres.

If you're looking to go cheaper and lighter still, you could look at some eBay hubs. These would work out around £90 cheaper and (claimed) 50g lighter than the hope hubs Tester posted. However, the hope build is more likely to be a wheels-for-life setup, whereas these would simply be a wheelset to use until you've got more money to replace them if (when) they fall apart. I'm sure they'd be more than up to the required use anyway.

Something like this would save around £25 and a little bit of weight over your Ritchie stem depending on length (mine is 90 or 100mm and came in at around 115g IIRC)

It's the little things like this that add up to a decent cost/weight saving, but at the end of the day, you've got to ask yourself how long you expect these parts to last and stretch/shrink your budget/expectations accordingly.