Still a few months away but now that the deposit is paid I thought I would make the first post...

Custom steel frame, semi aero tubing, ISP with permanent (non-adjustable) head... I had a retul fit and am very confident in this position and measurements.

Custom one-piece steel stem and steer tube attached to custom steel, aero bladed fork. Looking at a 1" steerer.

Chrome plated!

Internal di2 cable routing with internal battery. di2 controller integrated into the stem. Possibility of thumb shift buttons integrated into stem (reachable from the tops)... but that is a design concept at this point, not a final part of the plan. di2 on the way.

Custom, hand-built wheels... 20mm carbon tubs on tune Mig45 Mag150 with CX-Ray. All parts in hand.

THM Clavicula crankset with Fibrelyte rings and ceramic bearings. Already in hand.

M5 brakes. Already in hand.

Sticking with my old Easton EC90 Equipe Pro bars... they feel perfect for me. Same with my old Selle SLK saddle and speedplay X1 pedals.

The build won't happen until Spring as the builder has a list waiting ahead of me. But I'll keep you all posted.

Any suggestions? Feedback?

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

What will do if you change shoes, pedals or saddle, all which generally require minor tweaks of the saddle height?

why 1" on a road bike? Flex will be an issue for sure unless you are a toohpick.

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

I've been using the same pedals and saddle for years. Shoes as well. I don't imagine huge changes in the design of Specialized shoe soles, but even if they change I should be able to find another pair with the same stack height.

The 1" steerer isn't set in stone yet. I like a narrow front end. Let's face it, 1" steerers were on steel bikes for decades without anyone complaining. I seem torecall a big Spaniard, much larger than me, winning several Tours of France on 1" steel steerers with quill stems.

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

some more info please

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Join the light side

a light bike does make you go faster unless you are slow

Just because people won on them doesn't mean there isn't a better way to build the frame now. People won Formula 1 races 20 years ago on equipment that is obviously inferior to what is out there now. An extra 1/8th of an inch will not drastically widen your front end.

Builder?

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Baum Ristretto, Baum Mondrian Corretto & the '89 Merckx! | "If you could eat it in one sitting, hold your line." | twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis

That sounds like a very interesting build. I would love to learn more about the Di2 integration. Is there a way that you can at least allow for 20mm-30mm of height adjustment on the ISP?

Seeing that I just had a custom steel build done, I am not sure where you are going to hide the battery.

Would love to learn a lot more about the build when you have time to share with everyone.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs

I'm leaving the builder's name out of it until we finalize the details of the build. I don't want the poor guy getting blasted for ideas I came up with that he hasn't committed to yet. As I said, we are a few months away from fabrication as I am in line behind other customers. But we are communicating the design concept and working on details now.

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

Alright I guess we can wait but there must be some sort of punishment for making up wait months. See if your builder will be alright with you posting pictures of the build as it progresses. It sounds way to cool to not post pictures.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs

Regarding chrome plating, I'm not sure your comment pertained to the whole frame and front end being chrome plated, or just the front end. I would advise you to go stainless steel instead of chrome. Chrome initially looks good, but eventually you will get pits in the plating and rust developing at the pit sites. You will have to periodically have the chrome redone (e.g., every 5 to 10 years) to clean up all the rust sites.

I think stainless is much more durable, and when polished looks just as good as chrome. I would strongly advise you to go stainless instead, if possible.

YMMV

Stainless is definitely a consideration. We're looking to source some of the True Temper S3 aero tubes so stainless may not be entirely possible. I'm not sure. That is for the expert to tell me. Honestly, I could live with a 5 year life expectancy on the finish. Even with maintenance (frame saver, waxing, etc.) I would expect any exterior finish to pit and rust over time. As long as it doesn't get out of hand I think it would be worth bead blasting and rechroming in a few years. My vision right now is for chrome frame, fork, and stem. I did see a beautiful pair of sweet wings tubular steel cranks for sale and started imagining them chromed as well.

Most guys reach 40 and want a Porsche and a 19 year old swimsuit model. I want a custom road bike that emulates my early '80s Mongoose Supergoose. hahah

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

Chrome and 1" are bad ideas. Since you asked. If that leads you to stainless, I'd suggest just faking it with a good painter unless your builder has a ton of stainless experience. A kick ass liquid paint should get the look you're after with chrome. Sounds pretty cool on everything else. Congrats.

there is absolutely nothing wrong with 1" forks, provided you get a decent thickness steerer. i dare say that every one on here who talks about flex couldnt actually flex a 1" steel steerer if they tried. same with headset spacers......yeah you will flex the shit out of clavicular steere if you have more than 2.5mm of spacer, but if you buy a proper fork it won't really be a problem(to an extent).

nothing wrong with chrome either, yeah it will go to shit after a few years of not caring, but you can always get it redone.
basically, DO IT!

i would have it a nickel look
its basicly a ti look chrome,must weigh and cost a fortune bad it looks so good

_________________
Join the light side

a light bike does make you go faster unless you are slow