On One Bish Bash Bosh gravel/bikepack/rando/allroad build

Ok, so to start off this build thread I'll give a bit of background. I built up a Genesis CdF a few years back with the objective to build a modern disc braked rando/light touring bike. However in the past few years I've realised I'd like something lighter with more tyre clearance. I never really used panniers on the CdF so luggage ability isn't an issue.

Fast forward to the present and I was browsing the On One website not long ago and saw that the Bish Bash Bosh frameset was on sale for £375... An absolute steal as it usually retails for double that. I'd had my eye on the bike for a while as it whet my appetite and just pulled the trigger when I saw it on special. It ticks a lot of boxes with 15mm and 12mm thru axles front and rear, internal cable routing and good clearance for 40c tyres.

Plan is to build it up with my old Campagnolo Athena Carbon groupset, TRP Spyres, dynamo lighting and setup tubeless. Here are some pics of the frame, more pics here http://smutpedaller.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/betty-part-1-new-directions.html

I got mine at quite a bargain earlier this summer too. I enjoy it even though i'm not the biggest fan of carbon. It's fairly light and has held up nicely so far. The internal routing is a major buttpain though. You will have to manually fish the cables out of the frame. Pic

Pic

So good...

Same on most of their frames, takes me ages to change a cable on the RT-90, so frustrating!

Quite looking forward to seeing this built, been considering swapping out my frame for one of these.

Ok so I should preface this post with some build goals... Basically I want to have a do it all bike with decent off-road capability, tubeless, dynamo lights and discs. My older bike that I'm replacing is a Genesis CdF which I did really love riding, but found it was a touch too heavy and was limited to 34mm tyres. I'll probably run two sets of tyres, one for off road and one for road.

Here's an inspiration image...

Ok tyres arrived. I had a bit of a dilemma with the wheel size, I kept on thinking of running 650b wheels, however initial measurements looked like that the chainstays would be limiting the rear tyre to max 47mm or so. IMO not really worth it as the whole point of going to 650b for me would be the ability to fit MTB tyres. The fork has plenty of clearance however... Still in the end I stuck with 700c tyres. I will probably get two sets of tyres however I'll start with off road tyres first. I ummed and ahhed for a bit, but in the end stuck with Maxxis Ramblers as they are tubeless compatible and really really light for a 40mm tyre at 370g! Also with 120tpi they should be supple.

The rear chainstay clearance with the 40c Ramblers fitted, not too much more room there...

BOR Germany XMD366 29er rims... I found these on a German website, I hadn't heard of this brand before but saw that the were, very light at 380g, eyeletted, asymmetric and tubeless compatible! Originally I considered Stans Crest, Velocity Ailerons and a few others but these were very light and had all these features which really made them stand out. Finish on these is beautiful, very nice subtle laser etched logos. Also weight is spot on!

The Bish Bash Bosh has 15 x 100mm thru axle front and 12 x 142mm rear. Originally the frame came with a SRAM axle on the rear with no nut... I was stumped on how this worked. I contacted Planet X and told them, they sent me the correct axle with a nut in the end. I had heard that Planet X has poor customer service, but what I experienced was the opposite.

Now onto the hubs... not many choices for dynamo hubs for a 15mm thru axle... Only an uber expensive SON dynamo or the SP Dynamo PD-8X... The PD-8X also comes with an adaptor axle for QR

Rear hub Novatec D772SB. This is a convertible hub which can do both QR 135 or 12 x 142mm thru axle. I have used the D712SB in the past and this was a great hub, quite cheap but nice quality and also light to boot

more pics and words here http://smutpedaller.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/bish-bash-bosh-part-2-tyres.html

Link to rims please?

Build looks like it's gonna be good!!

http://bor-germany.de/en/product/129-xmd366-29er-380-g

I managed to get them a bit cheaper after shopping around, but still they weren't cheap!

€99?! Get outta here!! I'm deciding whether or not to go Chinese carbon for wheels in the new year

Cnc-bike.de has them for 60

Yeah that's where I got them from! I also thought about carbon rims... particularly some deep section ones would be rad, but it came down to £££ and weight.

Those rims are all kinds of nice. Finish on that Novatec is tasty too. Shame about 650b clearance

Ok onto the wheelbuild...
I managed to grab a Park TM-1 from Halfords for £35... I figured why not and now I don't know how I'd do it without one... I'm aware you can use tones and that the TM-1 is not renowned for its accuracy, however it is a step up from really just guesswork. It gets you in the ballpark of correct and even tension. All the other wheelsets I built in the past I have done without. Also I got a torque wrench for the frame and other bits

in the past I had always used DT Swiss comp DB spokes, however this time I was looking at trying to save a bit more weight. Initially looked at the Sapim CX-rays and also the DT Swiss revolutions/Sapim laser, however the CX-rays are super expensive and the 1.5mm section of the other spokes was a bit too fragile from what I read. I ended up settling on Sapim D-lights which are about 1/2 the price of the CX-rays and not a whole lot more than a standard 2.0/1.8mm double butted spoke.

First set

Second set in...

All laced and ready for tensioning

Front wheel comes in at 1,003g and rear at 867g, total 1,876 which is pretty good for a dynamo 32h disc brake wheelset

Tubeless install was reasonably straightforward, I heard the Maxxis Ramblers were a bit difficult to put on but they went straight on with only a spray of soapy water, the bead was seated with only a few hits from a track pump. The hardest bit was getting the tubeless tape airtight, I had to retape the front wheel as it just would not seal without sealant.

The funny thing I noticed (and I had read about this) is that the tyre bead dropped the wheel tension by a significant amount... about 20-25kgf so I had to re tension them. In the end the front wheel got to about 110kgf average and the drive side was about 90% of the more dished non-drive. The rear wheel was up to 120kgf with the non-drive at about 60% which is not too bad for an 11-speed wheel. No doubt that the asymmetric profile of the BOR rims help a bit in this regard. I'm really glad I got the tension meter! I had no idea until I bought it but park has an online tool to help visualise and tension the wheel.

Few more pics and words here http://smutpedaller.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/bish-bash-bosh-part-4-building-wheels.html

Wasn't the D-lights black only? Getting a wheel set done at the moment with these

Nope, you can definitely get them in silver... I bought mine from Germany though. Also the silver ones are cheaper!

Followed, nice write up and pics!

Looking forward to seeing the final version... that Crema bike is gorgeous

Same here, looking forward to this one developing. Your old Croix De Fer was certainly an influence for my new build.

P.s. those rims are lush

Now onto the drivetrain, I've had the 2010 Campagnolo Athena carbon groupset for a while now and it's been on two different bikes before, now it's going on the Bish Bash Bosh. As you would imagine things are starting to wear out. A little bit of background on this groupset... This is a slightly odd groupset as it was the first year for Athena (at least the second coming) and it had all the features of the more expensive Chorus such as Ultra-Torque cranks and ultrashift (shift up to 5 gears with one stroke). The next year they neutered it with Power-Torque cranks and powershift. Anyway... enough with the esoteric Campag history...

One thing was the BB bearings, the non-drive side in particular are not shielded by the crank spider or chainrings so they tend to take the brunt of grit flicked up by the front wheel. There are specialist tools needed for their removal and installation unlike many other outboard bearing designs which just require replacement of the cups themselves, the bearings are pressed onto the crank spindle. Park makes a £50 toolset for removal and installation... screw this! I found that a 3" bearing puller for £9.50 does the job and a 1" ID pipe acts as a press. The puller I found that works is the Yato YT-2515 which just needed slight sharpening of the claws to get it to work with the Ultra-torque cranks.

Full instructions here http://smutpedaller.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/bish-bash-bosh-part-5-campagnolo.html

Coins come in useful for pulling bearings! Points for anyone who can name the currency...

Apart at last, these bearings were pretty far gone

Same thing on the drive-side, remember to remove the circlip first before attempting to remove the bearings

Now grease the bearing seat, slip on the new seals and bearings and place the 1" ID tube over the axle and hammer it home with a mallet...

A new lease of life to some slightly older cranks

good one. been meaning to do this to my mirage ones and doing it myself looks like easily enough. thanks!

I heard the Maxxis Ramblers were a bit difficult to put on but they went straight on with only a spray of soapy water

Good to hear this, as the reviews I'd read put me off trying this tyre. Might give them a go now.

Nicely documented project :-)

Yeah I was really wary about fitting them as these were also the first tubeless I've ever fitted as well! I've been riding on them a bit and they are surprisingly fast on tarmac, I don't even realise I'm on knobblies sometimes!

BOR are an offshoot of Tune, I've had both BOR and Tune cranks on the MTB and they're nearly impossible to tell apart.

I envy your bearing puller...