English Custom Steel Integrated di2 USB - Updated Pics pg20

[KWalker]

You can just undo it and re wrap it with slightly wider wraps, shouldn't be too bad.

[jsinclair]

Beautiful bike, I'm sure the photos don't do it justice.

Ive been chasing a set of those cranks for a while now so if they are still for sale I'm more then interested...!!

[BeeBee30]

Awesome looking bike, I used to have those cranks and regret selling them I think a few areas detailed in the same colour as the cranks would look good, maybe the stem and the top of the ISP seat post? a headset in the same colour gold would look great.

[xnavalav8r]

Bike should be here tomorrow. The only likely changes are;

My own wheels.
My own brakes (ZG 07 Ti).
Crank change to THM Clavicula.

[xnavalav8r]

FedEx arrived about a little while ago. I felt like a kid at Christmas and couldn't wait to open the box. But it's dark outside and my kids are getting ready for bed. So final assembly will have to wait for tomorrow. First impression is good though. It looks beautiful.

Two problems of my own making...

1. Just realized I have a 12-27 cassette on the wheels I am going to use. While I know people have managed to use a larger-than-recommended cassette with di2, I found the upper jockey wheel was overlapping the 27 when I slipped the wheel in. So I'll install a 12-25 instead. No big deal.

2. I don't have any extra carbon rim friendly brake pads in the house. I'll need to make a run to the bike shop in the tomorrow among my many other errands. How is it that a day off winds up busier than a day at work?

Photos and additional reports to follow. Not sure I'll get a real ride in tomorrow and we're off the next day for Louisville, KY (my son is racing in the NBL BMX Grand Final.) So it might be a few days before I can put any real miles on the bike.

[xnavalav8r]

Ride report....

After an earthquake, hurricane, trip to the BMX Grand Final, and a tropical storm, I finally got the maiden ride completed today. There are many positives and a couple negatives to report.

Negatives are relatively minor. First, I'm not thrilled with the finish I chose. It looks ok in photos, but up close there are some sections that appear pitted and coarse, like "orange peel." It's only a few spots and is really only noticeable if you're really up close and looking. But I think my original plan for chrome would have looked better. Maybe when it's time for a refinish...

Second, I noticed a little bit of heel strike on the chainstays while riding. Only a couple times and it was only when riding VERY slowly and sitting up. It didn't seem to be an issue when I was putting the power down and hammering, or out of the saddle. So maybe it's just a quirk of my foot positioning I never noticed before. I never had a problem on my Ghisallo, but the stays on that bike are curved where the stays on the English are straight. Again, not a big deal for me, but for a guy with really big feet or who rides heels in, it may be something to think about. I'm sure Rob could do curved stays if requested. I didn't ask.

Positives. What can I say? It fits like a glove. I'm really pleased with the geometry. The custom stem and ISP are very cool and very comfortable. The ride was magnificent. The steel fork was much more pleasant than the THM fork on my Ghisallo. Overall, I would say the bike was somewhat plush, definitely forgiving, yet stiff enough that I didn't feel any flex when out of the saddle. I was immediately comfortable riding no-hands as the geometry was more stable than my Ghisallo... longer wheelbase, slightly more rake in the fork, slightly shallower seat tube. While I noticed the weight difference compared to my Ghisallo, it is still a very light bike. I'm very pleased.

Overall, I am more than satisfied with this project. Rob was a pleasure to work with. His communication was great. He knows his business and did a great job for me. He listened to what I wanted, made sound recommendations if we weren't completely in agreement on something, and (frankly) was right every time. I highly recommend him to anyone considering a custom steel build. You won't be disappointed.

[Epic-o]

Any pics with the Claviculas on?

[xnavalav8r]

I haven't swapped the cranks over... yet. I want to give the Sweet Wings a good workout before I decide if I'm going to switch.

[spoke n words]

I think youre gonna want to stick with those Sweet Wings but if you dont then please sell them to me!

[xnavalav8r]

So, a little more time on the bike and I am really enjoying it. I'm still undecided on the cranks, but a couple of 3+ hour rides and I definitely feel comfortable with the fit and geometry... as well as the ride quality. I'm not ecstatic about the di2 though. Despite being a brand new drivetrain (chain (KMC x10sl), chainrings (CT-2), cassette (SRAM Red)), I'm getting a lot of skipping toward the low end (largest cogs) of the cassette. Derailleur hanger is straight. So I'm not sure what the issue is. I was advised not to use a spacer on the cassette body when installing the Red cassette despite having always used one with Shimano 10-speed cassettes. Could that be a mistake? And why would it only affect the lower gear range. I'm also still not sure about the cranks. Cosmetically, they aren't the look I was hoping for. I'm also not sure about the width. They required spacers for installation so are pretty wide. I feel like I am riding toes out and heels in as a consequence, which might be the reason for the occasional heel strikes I am experiencing. I'm probably going to swap them for my Claviculas and see if I am happier with them. If so, I'll let those interested in the Sweet Wings cranks know. I have to confess, the b/b on the Sweet Cranks is smoother than even my ceramic THM b/b. I've never had a b/b spin so freely.

[743power]

No spacer on sram cassettes. Start there.

[xnavalav8r]

No spacer installed. This skipping is driving me mad.

[maxxevv]

Not sure what you're encountering when you say 'skipping towards larger cogs' , can elaborate more ??? Like at which gear do you start to encounter that ?

Typically, the symptoms sound like a misaligned derailleur or simpler still a mis-aligned wheel. As in, it has not be mounted proper straight on the rear stays. Tried checking on that yet ? As in tyre clearance on all four stays should be even on either side.

This wheel alignment portion, I've encountered a few times on a few different bikes simply because of poor quality light weight skewers. The clamping force was too low on titanium/steel dropouts, resulting on not enough bite (some use aluminium clamp nuts, which are too soft) onto the dropouts which, on hard mashing, the whole wheel just moves on the mounts, and goes out of alignment.

Try swapping out for a pair of high quality clamp skewers or at least one with steel clamp interfaces to see if the problem will stop.

Alternatively, perhaps you can try swapping for a Shimano cassette with the requisite spacer to see if the problem persists ??

Hope the above will help.

[743power]

When you say the hanger is straight, do you mean you checked it with an alignment tool like a park DAG or it looks straight. And if the hanger is indeed verified straight with a tool, do the pulleys appear to be square with the cassette? The hanger is only one part of the equation. The derailleur itself can be bent and twisted in multiple axises and there is no tool to show you this.

[xnavalav8r]

Hanger was verified straight with a Park Tool. I can't see that the wheel is crooked in any way, but the paint/powdercoat is pretty thick in the dropouts. I'm going to fiddle with it and see if maybe that is causing the wheel to sit crooked in the dropouts.