Custom Rourke Cross / Light Tourer

So I've booked to go to Rourke to be sized up for a new frame in February. This is going to be a slow one as their waiting time is 7 months, so hopefully it'll be ready for next cross season / end of the Summer.

It'll be a cyclocross frame for racing in the winter, and a commuter and light tourer for the summer. Large clearances are a priority with disc brakes and mudguard and rack mounts. I like a normal, not compact, geometry, straight top tube.

Type of Tubing
Reynolds 853 pro team OS. I have to decide if it's worth going to Pro Team Super OS?

Headtube
44mm headtube - I'd like to run a tapered fork

Type of brakes
Disc, post mount

Cable Routing for Brakes
Routing over the top tube. Using full length cable outers (for hydraulic), guides like below

Cable routing for front derailleur
Usually I won’t be running a FD, but I’d like the option to use a band on, so there should be cable guides over the tt and a FD wheel on the back of the seat tube, like the image below. This will double up as the usual mudguard mount replacing that would be on the chain stay bridge (that doesn’t exist). It would be run as a friction shifter if I had one, mounted on the handlebars.

Cable routing for rear derallieur
Over the top tube with a full length outer.

What fork?
Kinesis CX disc if I can have a tapered head tube? If I can’t have a tapered HT then what disc cross forks are available?

Bottom bracket
English Threaded 68mm

Clearances
Large clearances are a priority and should be as large as priority in order to prevent mud clogging. I do not want a chain stay bridge and the seatstay bridge should be high, curved and away from the tyre.

Seatpost size
27.2mm

Dropouts

Colour
Black. plain. I will be commuting on it so it should not stand out.

Mudguard, bottle and rack mounts
Yes, 2 sets of bottle mounts, rear rack mounts and mudguard mounts. Bottle mounts to be mounted quite high up on the seat tube and downtube to make them easy to reach. I’d like to be able to clear 35c tyres and mudguards

Groupset that will be used
Sram Hydraulic CX1. Probably overkill for what will mostly be a wet weather / commuter, but if I can get it for cheap I will. If not then advice on cable discs?

So, any advice appreciated and if anyone has had a Rourke built before I'd love to hear your experience and any tips.

Whisky do a fork with mudguard eyes but double the price of kinesis cc

If I can’t have a tapered HT then what disc cross forks are available?

For disc? In carbon? Probably very few decent ones. In another year, none. You should still be able to get the Linsky and old Kinesis ones.

Basically, if you want carbon disc forks you do really need a 44mm or tapered headtube. If you're only ever going to use steel forks it doesn't matter as much.

Yep, that pretty much decides it. Also I think 44mm future proofs it a bit too

Rourke? Sound choice. Enjoy. One thing you might want to consider is putting the seat tube bottle mount low. On my custom MTB its way down low and the downtube one is way up top. this leaves them well clear of my internal organs and ribs when I shoulder the bike off-road.

Thank you, that's really good advice.

I bought a rourke a while ago off eBay, was a great buy and had lots of fun, and incredibly will built. It's was normal tube 853 and plenty stiff, oversized will be more so. Sadly eventually stolen.

I have heard 853 proteam is easily dentable, given the negligible weight saving and it's use, I would stick to standard 853, mines was dent free fairly well used. Perhaps even a stainless rear triangle for the occasion chip that's do happen given it will be covered in mud.

Sounds like a really well thought out bike. I've certainly noticed a lack of mud build up on my mtb, by having no chain stay bridge.

one consideration I did have was wether it's worth speccing the bike for these sort of 29er forks

rather than standard cross forks, to reduce the chance of mud build up on the front wheel. But I think with the increased axle to crown size, I'd need a shorter heatube and they wouldn't be do practical for the days that I want to run 'guards and ride this on the road. Or does anyone know of a 29er carbon fork that takes mudguards and doesn't weigh a tonne?

I guess I don't really know enough to comment... so will anyways.

Don't modern CX forks already have a decent a-c ratio? Plus disc brakes removes the straddle wire giving you extra space. Or is it that 29er forks are also much wider at the crown?

Ritchey forks are usually good, and they do a straight 1&1/8th steerer cross fork.

Also, why those dropouts? They just look horrid. It'll also be easier to fit a rack if your caliper mount is on the chainstay; looks cleaner to. Personally, I'd go for underside of the downtube cable/hose routing.

those dropouts as I want the option to run it single speed and those dropouts allow that, while also holding the disc brake in the same position relative to the hub. Also I think eccentic bb are properly horrid and I think the rocker dropouts actually have some aesthetic appeal. Also by putting the disc brake inside the rear triangle it protects it a little more from knocks and makes the fitting of a rear mudguard easier (and looks better imo).

The other option would be a surly singulator with regular dropouts, which is tempting, but I think the decision depends on the cost difference.

This is interesting in light of what I'm considering re forks (and also rocker dropouts)

but as much as I'd love to have huge front wheel clearance, this bike is only going to race cross for maybe 15 hours a year. So realistically it might be better to spec a fork that I can run a mudguard on that has slightly smaller clearances, as it'll spend more time each month on the road than it will off road in a year.

It'll also be easier to fit a rack if your caliper mount is on the chainstay

They might be a bit marmite, but Paragon rockers do keep the caliper inside the frame and away from the rack mounts.

^ this

OP; if you're using those dropouts then you won't be able to run the brake routing along the TT.

The dropouts don't look too bad in that second pic, I think it's those "bullet ended" (or whatever you call them) stays that make them look horrid.

I it's not going to be a dedicated SS bike, then I'd just run a half link and a chain tensioner (not a Surly one though).

ah, of course, good spot on the cabling issue. I'm still kind of set on them, but it all depends on the cost. If they add £200 to the price of the frame then I won't bother and will just run a ss tensioner / half link but hopefully they won't be that much.

so, I have the fitting tomorrow and am very excited - should I take my race bike or my cross bike? The race bike fits me perfectly but the cross bike is also comfortable, though a little small. I've spoken with Rourke and if I take my cross bike then it's useful for them to look at the geometry of that to see what I like for cross, but it's also useful for them to see my race bike as I know it fits me very well so they know what I'm used to for long rides. They'll also do a bike fit on whatever bike I bring too...

This looks great. Why not a top pull option for the possible FD? I recently mixed Rival and a Shim Cx70 for a Genesis fugio which has similar properties to your future machine. Also runs juin tech cable-hydro brakes which have been fine so far. Excited about this Rourke.

because as I'm not having a chain stay bridge and I need somewhere to mount the rear mudguard, I think I could run a long bolt from the FD wheel and mount the mudguard to that when I'm not running a fd. Also I quite like the wheels for some reason haha

very interesting project ! i have just made my mind up and that 's exactly the sort of commuter/winter/trail/touring bike i would like to start building. Not sure i would go custom ut as ia haven't found a suitable frame yet, i'll be following this with great interest.

Did you decide on tubing? I have one in 853 and another in 853 Pro Team and I can't tell much difference between them (both bought second hand so I wasn't the one who chose). If it were me I would tell them what you want and take their advice (if within budget).

Yes, I think I have - 853 OS Pro Team.

The decision I now have to make is wether to go for the standard OS Pro Team, or the Super OS Pro Team. As the frame is going to be a 55cm I don't functionally need the Super OS, it is more expensive, and a little heavier (a tiny bit), but, it looks a bit better with the 44mm head tube and is a bit stiffer (only the DT and TT have a larger diameter). I'm leaning towards the standard OS Pro Team I think.

Also, it was an amazing day and I'm super happy with what I've chosen. I did go for rocker dropouts :) but thankfully they won't be that bullet shape stays. Ive got a load of photos that I'll upload later.

So, I went up on Saturday morning very early and spent most of the day at the shop. It was brilliant.

I took my current (rather sad looking) cross / commuter up which they put on a turbo. Everything's done by eye, so Gareth watches you ride on the turbo and makes small adjustments checking the change in position each time. Firstly it started with the saddle height, then different stems and bars were swapped out until we got to the point were I was just overstretching and came back. Basically my saddle height was a tiny bit out, due to saddle angle, and I needed 20mm more reach and about 25mm more spacers under the bars (the horror!). I also preferred slightly wider bars (42cm rather than 40cm). The fit wasn't all that different to what I have at the moment but it really did feel a lot better.

The frame is essentially going to be exactly what I had stated above. The rocker dropouts were roughly the same price as the standard disc dropouts so I decided I might as well get them. It then also allows me to swap in thru axles if I ever need to. I've also specced clearance for 45c tyres and guards should I wish, so it'll be pretty monster truck.

It's going to be black on black (old style logos) with a stainless head tube badge. Basically it'll be amazing, I'm so happy and excited. Just there's now a 5/7 month wait, which is good as I can get saving.

Here's a ton of photos.

(With ref to the decision of Super OS or OS 853 in my last post, the red frame on the wall is 953 but has the same diameter as Super OS, the blue disc bike is standard OS 853. I don't think that tubing looks too skinny with the 44mm HT.)

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So this is nearing completion and there's a few last things I need as below. If anyone has any for sale then do let me know, before I buy them new

10 speed sram/shimano 11-32 cassette
Specialized Power saddle 143mm
Hope Number 2 top headset
Chris King / Hope GXP BB, english threaded for SRAM Red
King Cage

thanks

Apparently the frame is less than 2 weeks away so the forks have been sprayed and new Bmx inspired stickers applied

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