Topkek loves functional bikes

Edit: I've added my new Macho Man project to this thread
Double edit: Added a Trek 520 project this time
Triple edit: Added my new GT Karakoram mtb project

Obligatory girlfriend build, Panasonic CB-3000. Stickers says it’s made in Japan from crmo steel. I think it dates back to the early 90’s, and was some sort of touring/commuter model, as it has canti brakes, relatively wide tire clearance and rear- and lowrider rack mounts.

Just received it from Germany, and it seems to be in quite good condition, as I expected. It has some paint chips, but no dings or dents. I’ve been looking for a frame like this for her for a while now, and this seems to be exactly what we wanted.

It came with Shimano cx-400 drivetrain and shifters (which I have never heard of), but the plan is to get some modern parts for it, and build it as 1x9 or 10, as my gf has made it clear how much she dislikes front derailers. That’s also a welcome opportunity for me to experiment with that sort of setup, I’m really excited about this project.

I’m sorry about the phone quality photos, I will try and document the process with my other camera along the way.

Any opinions, ideas and comments are welcome.

Also, I'm not sure if the pictures will get embedded in the post, i've uploaded them as attachments.

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Got the parts I ordered from Germany for the build, so I've been busy sticking it all together. I think it has turned out pretty nice, and the canti brakes were not as horrible to adjust as I feared they would be.

The 10 speed Deore Shadow rear derailleur is a beast, gear changes are really snappy combined with the slx shifting unit. The weight of the bike so far is definitely not lightweight, 36 spoke A 319 rims with a pair of Marathon Plus are adding their part.

The ride is smooth, and my gf likes it so far.

Only issue is the chainline which is working allright, but the chainring is a bit off centre to the right. The chainring is mounted on an older Shimano mtb triple, which I read required a 127,5 mm JIS square taper axle. I assumed that would put the middle ring in center compared to the cassette, but that's where the chainring is now mounted, so I guess thats not how it works. It's a 135mm OLD Shimano LX hub, btw. All gears are working, but the two lowest (biggest cogs on the cassette) are a bit noisy my ears.

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The handlebars are quite wide for the frame size, but will only cut them if my gf starts complaining.

Will probably add a rear rack and a pair of lights at some point.

Pretty cool bike so far.

Racks & dynamo next?

A rack yeah, probably rear, but I've been looking at the specialized pizza rack aswell, the platform with a basket ziptied to it would be nice.

I'm just not sure about the whole "place the load on the low rider fork mounts"-thing. Where those mounts ever intended to carry that weight? I mean, a classic low rider rack like a Tubus Tara distributes the weight between the low rider fork mounts and the mounts at the dropout. A basket on the platform, sure, but loaded platform + 2x panniers on side? Seems like a lot for those fork mounts to me.

Most porteur racks only bolt to the lower mount, so I can't see it being much of an issue

No you're probably right. My reason was that placing the entire load from the rack directly on the fork blades would put unintended stress on them, whereas placing it on the eyelets at the hub would put the weight more directly on the axle, and not b so hard on the fork blades.

But well, I guess the fork carries a substantial amount weight in the rider allready, so why not a few kilos more :)

Does anyone have experience with the Pizza Rack?

Placed an order for an All City Macho Man frame set - the blue/white/black version, that will hopefully be here by tomorrow.
I want a road bike with clearance for wider tires that can handle a bit of non-paved roads, and the Macho Man pretty much ticks all of my boxes. The geometry looks like it will be perfect for me, it has a threaded bottom bracket, external cable routing, eyelets for fenders and I love the paint job + the ED coating sounds like a nice thing for durability.

The build will look like this, and is composed primarily of new parts, combined with a few things I had laying around:

• Macho Man frame and fork.
  
• Tiagra 4700 drivetrain and shifters, 34-50 compact, 11-32t cassette.
  
• DT Swiss R24 Spline clinchers. I thought about getting a pair of handbuild wheels, but needed to keep the costs down a little, so that will be a future upgrade.
  
• Panaracer Gravelking 32c tires (file tread version) that I love.
  
• Tektro cx5 mini-v brakes. Really excited about these, was in doubt wether to get cantis og mini v's, but ended up with these to try something new.
  
• Zipp Service Course 70 Ergo handlebars, and Zipp stem and seatpost aswell because my OCD dictates it.
  
• Specialized Toupe saddle
  
  

This is my first build that is not based on a used bike. I have cherry picked all the components myself, and the only sort of compromise is the wheels, which I'm totally okay with. I'm really looking forward to building and riding this machine.

I should add, that I bought the frame from singlespeed.nl, and they have been very helpful throughout the process. I placed the order on thursday 16/6, and GLS says I'll have it by tomorrow, so compared to the 6-8 weeks delivery time at other shops, I'm very happy with this.

Blue Shimano goodies came today, and so did the frame from the Netherlands. Well packaged, and no damages, so I turned it in at the LBS to get the headset installed.

One of the things that I have really been looking forward to see in person is the Zipp Service Course 70 Ergo handlebars. I have had a hard time finding any decent photos of its shape online, and when I have found some, I have not been sure it was the exact model I was interrested in. So, here are a couple of shots if anyone is in the same situation.
The bars are just as I hoped for. The ramp and drops are almost parallel, and they have a slight flare, and a wider flattened top part, with cable groves underneath.

And here are the photos, the site returned a server error...

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Progress so far.

Really really nice metallic blue color. I'm keeping everything else black or white (mostly black), and so far I think it's working very well.

First time ever I've installed a hollowtech 2 bb and cranks. The bb was smooth sailing, but apparently i forgot to buy a special Shimano tool for the plastic pre load nut for the non drive side crank arm. Luckily my tire lever fitted right in, so i used that instead.

Since it's my first time, I'm a bit unsure if I've over tightened the pre load nut. It feels like the cranks are moving freely, but they don't keep spinning very much if I throw them around, guess I'll have to wait and see.

Other bummer is that the shop forgot to add the cable pulley for use with bottom pull front derailer with top tube cable routing, so it wont be finished the next couple of days. I hope they'll send one quickly.

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I had a macho man, was one of the best framesets I've owned. Wish I never got rid.

Your build looks great. Consider to get the shimano cx70 top pull front derailleur. It's a much better solution than a cable pulley which collects all the dirt from the wheel and I am VERY happy with mine.

Thanks. I did consider the cx70 front der, but I was not sure it would work with the new cable pull of the 4700 group, and I didn't want to take any chances. It is a cleaner solution and I would much prefer it if it works, especially now that I'm waiting for the cable pulley instead...

Which shifters are yours connected to? And how many teeth are on your chainrings?

I use it with my R685 hydro shifters (11s) and have a friend who successfully uses it with sram 10s, so I wouldn't worry about compatibility.
I use mine on a 46/36 chainset and have also used it on a normal 50/34 compact.

Okay good to know that it will work if I decide to try it.

Finished the build, and took it for a spin around the block. Brakes are insanely powerful almost to the point were it's too much, will definitely have to get used to them. Modulation is fine though, so it's not a problem.

I like the way it turned out visually with the black/white and the metallic blue. Just need to adjust the saddle a bit, and the maybe tilt the bars up a little.

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That looks great!

Thanks, I'm very happy with the result.

Bought a cx70 top pull front derailleur from CRC that arrived today. I think it had been sitting on a shelf for some time as it was quite dirty. Didn't affect performance though, it shifts very well with the 4700 STIs, and was no more of a hassle to setup than the 4700 front derailleur.

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Glad to hear my recommendation worked out

Thought I would update this thread with my new primarily commuter but hopefully also tourer project.
Built the wheels this weekend, and picked up the frame at the lbs today. Will be getting parts from bike24 in a few days.

Plan is to build with some of the same parts as my Macho Man, since they work so well, but then with a lower gearing achieved with a Deore double crank.

Right, images wont upload, trying again here.

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Thats better, and here's the front wheel, DT Swiss TK540 on a pais of Deore LX hubs.

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Finished bike, great ride. I've wanted to do a build like this ever since I started looking at bikes on the internet years ago, and this has turned out almost perfect. Glad I went with the silver fenders, but the bar tape is a bit too much. It's some cheap Deda tape, and doesn't feel nearly as nice as the fizik on my road bike (what did I expect?), so will probably replace it soon, along with the not so comfy FSA Vero bar. After being used to a flat aero/ergonomic top from the Zipp bars, these feel like gripping a pencil.
Other than that, I really like it.

Yeah photos won't upload again... trying here instead.

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This is beautiful! Well done