Rainy race bike build - Soma Smoothie

[Quinn039]

I had thought about the mango but a coworker already has a pair on Enve 3.4's for his Dekerf... can't be copying too closely... And my ridley has some very small gold and red accents already (in the Belgian flag and on the RS logo) so i was thinking I'd match to one of them. If i was sure it would look good I would do green though.

[cwar]

Imaking20 - Did you ever get the full build weight? This is similar to a bike I would like to build up.

[Bregnhoj]

May i ask how you stripped the crankset? I have a Sram Force crank with just too many scratches.

Did you use sand papir and which grade? And how did you finish it?

[mrfish]

Personally I found GP4000s / Michelins and even Veloflex much superior to Vittorias in wet.

According to the Tour tests the GP4000s are significantly better at wet grip and this is certainly true in my experience - the Vittorias tend to let go suddenly, then there is nothing you can do. Veloflex is better, but still not really confidence inducing. Also my Vittorias were plagued by punctures from sharp stones, whereas the GP4000s have so far been puncture-proof. I will not be buying the Vittorias.

[Imaking20]

Well, we've had very different experiences!

The whole "they go suddenly" bit seems to have been coined somewhere along the line when referring to Vittorias and most likely repeated as hearsay. I find it hard to believe so many people have crashed in the wet on Vittorias and even more difficult to believe so many cyclists are that in-tune with tire feedback.

Just as in motorsport, rider ability can overcome (or work around) a lot.

[IamnotWiggins]

This looks lovely but why are there mudguard mounts on the rear only? How come you didn't go for a fork with mounts too?

[Imaking20]

The frame is sold without a fork. I sourced the Ritchey for a very good price so opted for that route. I'll be changing it though - we've got some very steep descents around here and I like doing my best demon impression whenever possible - this fork doesn't inspire the most confidence for motorcycle-like corner entry

[IamnotWiggins]

Enigma cycles here in the UK make a good fork with mounts on them, I have a pair of the full carbon forks on my winter bike and they take a pounding without any issues. I'm sure they could ship to your part of the world!

http://www.enigmabikes.com/shop/2-compo ... tape-forks

[Imaking20]

Awesome! Thanks for the link!

[erslah]

Now that you're about a year into it, care to share your impressions? I'm considering buying that frame and those rims, so any thoughts would be helpful. I'd also like to know what fork you went with, since I have similar (maybe the same -- Portland) terrain.

Thanks.

--Eric

[Imaking20]

It's a great frame and the build was a lot of fun to ride. I even have a few KOMs around on it!

I've broken it down though and replaced it with a Crux. Maybe I will finally try CX this year. I've got this frame, fork, and headset for sale on Portland CL right now.

[YoKaiser]

Did you ever get a full bike weight?

[Imaking20]

Looking through my phone I can't find a scale shot. I swore I got the weight at some point but don't remember exactly. It was definitely sub 18 lbs.

[Dirty32]

What a great looking bike...
All comes together very nicely!

[Valbrona]

Class build and looks great. It'll ride better than 3/4 of the bikes roaming these halls.

And you can fit a rack on it for your hot chocolate and sandwiches.