Project three-ish - comfort revision

Got bored, built up the Capo for commuting. Absolute blast to ride but far too shiny to lock up so may be moving this on

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Nice, thinking of doing the same with my Caad10

thinking of doing the same with my Caad10

You should do it, i still think about doing this with mine

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/13616948/

I'd stick with drops though as I've an hour commute and I can never stop my hands aching riding risers long.
Thinking of a hylix disc fork but then I go down a whole other rabbit hole

Update. I sort of hit my 2021 bike goals in that i wanted 3 nice useable bikes that all did something different. I've also sold a lot of stuff paying for all the new bike bits i purchased over the year and am down to (almost) one box of spares. The plan was for 2022 to be largely bike project free but things are not exactly going to plan yet. Here's where i got to in 2021...

Road bike. Shifters were upgraded to R8000 to match the mech's (last of the cheap new buys it seems), brakes were swapped to the DA9000 units leftover from the Bowman split (essentially free after all the faff of splitting) and the fork was sanded and repainted gloss black as the lacquer was peeling and the graphics didn't work with the wheels. I found some new SL80's on Amazon for £30 (next day back up to £100) and the rest of the finishing kit is bog standard low end CAAD stuff which does the job. Finally i swapped KMC SL chains with my girlfriend so she has gold on her green Datum and i have silver which looks better IMO and i spent a long time stripping the paint off my Power saddle and polishing the rails.

Dit it go outside in 2021? No. Does it get used on the trainer? Yes but not enough. Would i like to start using it outside again in 2022? Depends who wins the Highway code war but yeah, hopefully.

Track bike

This actually got ridden outside in 2021 and until life stuff took over late summer was at HHV most weeks. I'd really gone off deep profile track wheels at the time so i got Martin at Arkane to lace some wide low profile carbon rims onto Zenith hubs with bladed spokes. Tyres are very nice Veloflex EVO's in black as i wanted something less flashy and i have super light tubes in them. Again some used SL80's were found cheap and the rest of the kit is stock CAAD. I upped the gearing to a 51t courtesy of a £10 Campag road ring and used my favourite Lizard skinz tape although i wish i'd gone for 1.8mm over chubby looking 2.5.

Are the wheels amazing to ride? Yes. Does it bother me they look like destickered Ellipses? Yes. Have i changed my mind about not using deep rims again? Yes.

Commuter.

The Dart has been built up in a variety of ways recently including tracklocross over the summer. But as commuting to work has reduced considerably and the need to lock up increased i've rebuilt it with as many beater parts as possible to reduce my chronic lock up anxiety. Wheels are still a bit flashy but it's at least a bit more passable without Omniums/Zen/XT's/Carbon bars/Hope BB and Campag post. Unsurprisingly it rides exactly the same.

Proof it's been outside

As mentioned, i think i hit my goals but someone mentioned overlap a while back and it cut me deep. The CAAD10, Capo and Dart are pretty close and i'd still like something a bit more off road friendly. I've also got a heavy silly looking Mash Works fork staring me in the face everyday. So as 4130 has gotten trendy and expensive i've been talking to someone about something based on a Steamroller that'll use the Mash fork and be bit more refined/spec'd to how i want it. I wouldn't say it's a done deal yet but i did buy a seat clamp for it which is the foundation of any proper build.

Additionally i found this picture recently which reminded me just how much i love the Dart and probably why i'm not so in love with the CAAD. If the new build becomes a commuter/off roady thing then it frees the Dart up to do something a bit more fancy with it.

Why o why did i sell this wheelset

Nice looking Commuter jealous big time my one looks so rat.

this collection is great.

Steering clear of cannondales in the future as i am dfefinitly in between 54 and 56.
Also sold my dart to a bike messenger in Colorado recently. already regretting this one...

dibs on shallow arkane :)

The plan was for 2022 to be largely bike project free but things are not exactly going to plan yet

💀💀💀

I managed to remain project free until aned of january (sourcing stuped fixeh wheels doenst count, right??)

I love how the black caad turned out. One of the very few non-steel builds that look awesome with silver wheels

Fork paint also big yes

🦾🦾🦾

Would like to have something similar for summer, too

The cannondale looks lovely, wheels and hubs are a treat 😍

Spring update.

I had been discussing a custom frame based loosely on steamroller geo with more clearance and made with Zona with forum famous @Biggles567 but sadly for various reasons that needs to go on hold. Hoping to go back to it at some point but what i need right now is something cheap and cheerful that i can build up with the parts i already had. So as i've just sold the Capo that had originally replaced my Steamroller (that i then sold and bought back) it was obvious that the unloved Steamroller in the classifieds would be the right choice...

Although grimey it was a good deal. I only really wanted the frameset but between the unwanted parts i'll move on and the generous bag of goodies it came with i suspect i'll end up getting a good chunk of change back. Underneath all the dirt gems include a WI freewwheel, Tuggnut and XTR spd's! No idea about the wheels, i'll probably flip them cheap but they look like they would make a fun polishing project.

Funky looking but still good fun to ride!

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And with a bit of a fight it’s ready for some TLC. I suspect this would buff up very nicely but as there’s a strong possibility this’ll be a lock up bike I’ll resist the urge to get out the t-cut

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Also lighter than I thought it would be. not much between this and the Dart which supposedly is fancy Columbus

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nice.
I sold my dart not so long ago and reserached more in detail so as to give info the buyer... and i believe it's good old cromo almost allover

Apparently Life but i expected it to be a little lighter. Saying that Viggo steel's come in at just under 2kg.

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/14686265/

My Dart v2 is 9kg dead (albeit with heavy wheels). Not exactly svelte.

But tbh i don't care, it's a slightly dorky looking frame but i love riding it hence the need for something else more replaceable.

Ouch, track Dart was about 7.2kg

Made a start. Thomson, cane creek 40 and DA9000 BB all lightly used bargains found on here. The headset and collar weigh about half as much as what they were replacing

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And I very much doubt I’ll be using these cranks but they do really suit the frame

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Built up the Steamroller with the nice wheels. Very smooth on the 35s, so much so that the wheels were completely wasted on it. Decided this’ll be my commuter so I’ll be rebuilding it with more modest parts.

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And as I’m not going to the track atm I’d like something more fun for sunny day rides. Figured the CAAD would be suitably different to the Surly but I’m not loving it like I do on the track. Dart looking like the likely winner which makes me think about sorting the paint

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makes me think about sorting the paint

Rattle can job or professional?

As mentioned the Steamroller is likely going to replace the Dart as my commuter. I’m going to go back to having bike insurance and the Surly would be a lot easier to value and replace. Decided road tyres will make daily slogs that much easier but I’ll have a separate wheel set with the 35’s on. First impressions are really good but it’s still a little swanky looking for a bike that’ll get locked outside from time to time

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So to dress it down a little more I’ve removed the graphics and gone with black tyres. I’m happy how the frame set is looking now but I’m not a big fan of the look or feel of the Hardshell/4 season combo. I suspect I’ll go back to the gum walls, replace the silver caliper with a black one and maybe a scruffy silver seatpost to reduce the contrast

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