These shots were taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikon 60mm micro lens. The pics from page 19 were taken with a 70-300 Tamron lens.

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RUEGAMER 5.21kg, 11.48lbs

CRUMPTON 4.40kg, 9.70lbs

Beautiful work of art! Congrats.

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Current Bikes: Storck F0.6 6kg , Storck Aero2 7.04kg
Storck Organic Light 11.1kg , Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg

Thanks everybody

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RUEGAMER 5.21kg, 11.48lbs

CRUMPTON 4.40kg, 9.70lbs

That is just beautiful. Awesome build!

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Cervelo S2(5888g)
Trek 5200(7050g)

I just fell in love with my all-steel semi-weenie... and now I am lusting after carbon fiber. Thanks alot!

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

LOL Sorry. You've got a great English build there. We'll all go crazy if we start lusting after each other's bikes. There are too many nice ones on this site!

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RUEGAMER 5.21kg, 11.48lbs

CRUMPTON 4.40kg, 9.70lbs

Truly stunning build - not sure how the Crumpton is going to top it though...

Had to share this, found whilst doing research on EE brakes -

http://www.velo-ideal.com/LA-VUELTA/200 ... AKES_2.htm

Had you ever seen this link Gum, didn't fancy any color on this build??

Thanks.

I decided I didn't want any color in these builds, besides the little RED bits.

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RUEGAMER 5.21kg, 11.48lbs

CRUMPTON 4.40kg, 9.70lbs

Hi Gum,

I'm curious about your impression of the fit you have on both the Ruegamer and the Crumpton? I think you mentioned previously how the fit on the Crumpton was very good, does this mean you will try to duplicate it on the Ruegamer?

They're both lovely bikes and I commend you for spending the big bucks on bikes and not cars etc.

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"It never gets easier, you just go faster..." - Greg Lemond

"Because technology alone is a poor substitute for experience." - Richard Sachs

Funny you ask...I just spent last night trying to get the measurements of the Ruegamer as close to the Crumpton as possible. Let's put it this way, if I didn't have the Crumpton, I'd think the Ruegamer fit better than any other bike I've ever had and I'd be thrilled about it. The problem is, I know what it "should" feel like because of the Crumpton. At this point with the adjustments i made last night, they are very close. I haven't had a chance to ride the Ruegamer yet since the changes though.

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RUEGAMER 5.21kg, 11.48lbs

CRUMPTON 4.40kg, 9.70lbs

I hope I don't get shot for saying this:

The suspense is great, and good photography, but but I am truly struggling to see how this build can wow anybody.

First off, the 1.087kg frame is roughly 50% heavier than a typical light weight frame for 2012 (There are many nude sub-700g frames out there, even Neilpryde has one). It'd better be extremely stiff and aero to justify that weight.

Style wise, the matte finish is nice (in a bland kind of way), but the "Birk" font clashes with the frame font, and the red color on the shifters probably should go. The Cannondale crank looks a bit out of place on that bike. Didn't someone say that too?

Now the real deal -- the saddle post combo, is simply wrong. I know someone will surely say everyone has a different butt, etc., but Gum's Time VXRS had a pretty healthy flat saddle position so it's definitely not the butt. The saddle has a -25 degree downward slope, an amount 2-3 times more than what I would consider acceptable. Let alone the sharp tip that could be dangerous in a crash situation. The saddle is just a deal-breaker for me. I am sorry.

There is nothing embarrassing about admitting this was a screw-up job and going back for revisions. Birk is young, talented and smart, so I bet the second one should be just right.

I agree that any seatpost/seat combo is wrong by default since you cannot adjust its angle in order to make the saddle level. Unless of course you have a custom made combo for a specific frame with a given seat tube angle.

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Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

I have another combo coming with a different angulation. It's also going to be lighter too. The BERK script is just a sticker. Easily removed. I don't mind it. It's his script, his product.

Keep in mind that the build up surrounding this frame was built on the thought that I was going to get a sub 900g frame. When it came in much heavier, the project was scratched. If you notice, not many of the original shown components are even on this bike. They were placed on my Crumpton. The Ruegamer is now my backup bike. I still ride it because I love how it feels, but my go to is the Crumpton. That being said, for a bike with a frame that weighs 1087g, 11.50lbs is pretty good for an overall build.

As for the SiSL....it's hands down the best bb30 crank.

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RUEGAMER 5.21kg, 11.48lbs

CRUMPTON 4.40kg, 9.70lbs

SlipperyT, your method of determining the seat's angle is a bit flawed. A photo is not a technical drawing true to viewing angles, and so forth

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

Hi, regarding the saddle angle:



This combo was made that the front part of the saddle is level. Otherwise that shape is quite specific...some want to ride it level like that, some level like SlipperyT demonstrated,..
But as Gum wrote, the new one is already in process, but unfortunately I'm quite busy these days, but it's in process...the other one, for Crumpton, is on the way to Gum

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Berk PROTO-TYPE Composites - Handmade In Slovenia
Berk Composites