Custom Cento Road Disc

End of the summer I ordered a Columbus Cento (steel) frame to a local (back home) framebuilder, he'll get it done by the first week of January and ship. In the meantime I've been collecting the groupset and finishing kit from all over the place (mainly eB**) and getting the wheels built. The tubes are Columbus' 100th anniversary series limited edition, supposed to be very stiff but thin and light.

Currently in-progress

1. Frame - The framebuilder will start building it during the festive500 time I'm guessing, obviously after completing the 500 first.
   
2. Wheels - Got CK hubs (overbudget on that one) waiting on rims to get back in stock. Chose some good but expensive 33mm alu rims.
   
3. Groupset - Mostly R8000/R8020 stuff, I still don't have the RD and one of the hoses
   
   

Did not start acquiring

1. Cockpit - Zipp SL70 Ergo with a matching Zipp stem I'm thinking, didn't get it yet
   
2. Seat post - Didn't research this much, a carbon, cheap and good looking one would be the best.
   
   

Ready

1. Headset - Provided with the tubeset (Compass)
   
2. Thru axles - Provided with the frame
   
3. BB - T47 - Splurged on CK. Lifetime warranty, no creaks... Tubeset normally comes with a BSA bulged BB shell but I'm getting it built with T47 instead.
   
4. Forks - Noname forks, recommended by the builder as a cheap and more streamlined option... Looks good, room for up to 30mm (I normally use 25mm)
   
5. Pedals - CB Candy obvs (I don't do road pedals, sorry to disappoint)
   
6. Tires - I'll try the tubeless setup with Hutchinson Fusion5's (11Storm Performance)
   
7. Saddle - Fizik Aliante R1 with carbon rails. I currently use the R3.
   
   
   

I'll start using the wheels immediately (barring miserable weather) once they are built, as the TA width and rotors will be compatible with my current alu bike.

For the build I'm planning to just get the BB put in (I don't have the CK specific tool nor a motorbike-size torque wrench) and I'll do the rest myself.

I've been thinking about the paintwork for the last couple of months... I like black bikes, but don't want it to be all black. So I'm scrolling thru the internet saving all the nice bike pics, mostly from Stinner and ISEN and Festka. I think I'll go with a tri-color fade thing on some of the tubes and leave some black. Having trouble designing it on The Gimp, need to get better.... I'll post some ideas here if I have something that I like (and is not a complete ripoff). Some designs I like very much but don't want to copy.

That Cento tubeset is interesting especially the round BB shell and the seat tube sleeve. Regarding the latter, I think it'd be nice if the paint job offers some contrast between the ST and the sleeve itself, so the dove is more visually prominent.

Who's doing the paintjob?

I've seen a paint accent similar to a lug lining, but I can't remember who was the builder and following #columbuscento on IG has not yielded the relevant picture...

On the plus side, whatever you do is likely to be pretty unique, as the tubing is so new.

Are the 33 aluminium rims the aforce ones? Why them rather than carbon?

Framebuilder himself, his work can be seen here.

Yes that Dove laser cutout is really nice, I saw a frame that had the dove part painted in a separate colour with black contour too. The set being too new and rather expensive, there are so few completed Cento builds out there.

1 Attachment

Yes AForce AL33. I'm not used to using carbon wheels TBH, I'll always be paranoid about it even after a minor crash. And the all of the options from different cheap brands (can't afford Enve) look like they are from the same factory, which also raises flags for me.

I'm looking at light bicycle. They don't work out much more than the aforce al33. Still not sure what I'll choose in the end.

Weight wise it's a sub-100g difference for each. Hard decision if you like the carbons / want something deeper than 33.

Seatpost, handlebars and the stem are here. Best seatpost award, although it cost an arm and a leg. I tried to track down VCLS2.0 posts for a while on eB** but decided to give up. Handlebars look really nice.

I'll ping the wheelbuilder today to see if the rims arrived from AForce. Paint scheme seems to be coming along, Gimp skills improving... I'll get few more fixes and ideas from designer friends and I might post something here.

3 Attachments

Casati.

1 Attachment

Interesting take, very nice. Are you sure this is Cento? Looks extra custom with that angled, almost organic cut. The supplied laser cutout is a fully cylinder sleeve that's supposed to cover/support the welding points where the top tube, seat tube and seat stays meet according to the official wording.

1 Attachment

Your lack of faith breaks my heart.

It's on Casati's IG, tubing sticker included. I think they may have bilaminated a second sleeve, or it's just an optical illusion.

Sorry it was a fast reply... Didn't have time check todays IG yet :)

Looks very nice indeed. The color scheme I've been going for (so far) has a 3-colour gradient starting from the BB and going upwards (and to sides) to all black, so putting a ribbonish band might be too much if it's in a contrasting colour. But I appreciate the single colour design (with the second accent inside the fork blades and logo etc.)

This is hard.

I'm just posting it as there aren't that many pics available yet, as previously mentioned. It wouldn't necessary be my choice either but it's a tasteful way to add an accent IMHO. Fade(s) sounds good!

Got my wheels more than a month ago, enjoying them on my current bike. Came around little bit heavy at 1735gr. CK hubs are heavy. Using them tubeless, it was a breeze to set up with MilkIt valves and Hutchinson tires.

Anyway, the framebuilder started on my bike today, attaching some pics.

3 Attachments

Welding is finally finished today...

4 Attachments

Looking pretty good so far, I look forward to seeing it painted.

It got painted today... Looking forward to it! (outside of the fork is black...)

5 Attachments

Wow.

Yowza!

Amazing frame and paintjob!

Nice frame and paint. I am right in thinking the builder hasn't used the Cento bottom bracket?

Yes, the frame is built with a T47 BB shell.

So I finally received the frame last Sunday. Had to wait for some parts (FD clamp, extra barb and olive, caliper mounting screws) so I didn't really start until Wednesday or so. The BB had some play so put in a shim. What took the most time was hydro bleeding, still far from perfect. Wrapped my own bar tape for the first time. I had even purchased a "practice" Lifeline tape, went easier than expected. I'll keep the Lifeline on the bars and freshen up in the summer if needed. Ergo handlebars are really ergo, drops stop a little bit short, but I'll get used to it. Gear adjustment was really easy and straightforward with straight hanger and external cabling.

Found the time to take it out just today. Rides like an arrow, steering a little bit twitchy at times, but that's not a bad thing. Fit wise everything is perfect.

Still have to get the fork cut off, maybe next week over coffee at Cycle Exchange.

In the meantime I'll wrap my other (intended for this one, a Fabric Knurl) bar tape for the commuter, I'll also change the cabling on it. Fresh drivetrain is such a joy.

1 Attachment

If drops feel a little short maybe move shifters up and rotate bar ends down towards you more? Looks great though!