~14 lb Steel Crit Bike with Half/Half Paint on Mad Fiber

[ChristianK]

I would like to introduce my second light alloy bike, this time I went with steel instead of scandium. The frame is not exotic light, but the bike is overall impressive IMO. This was has been in the making for a few months now. The frameset showed up in late February and had the final build up finished earlier this week. The frameset is from Dominion Bicycles out of Austin Texas. He ran the shop in his separate garage where I met him last year to take measurements. They have since closed their doors due to the owner just having a kid. He does not have sufficient time to run the shop how he would like with his full time job+new family...he has his priorities straight.

I wanted to build a responsive, light, and relatively aero (only via a tapered DT and internal cable routing) steel frameset. We too just had our first kid...so bike funds have been cut off for some time now. This will likely be my last bike for several years, hopefully this is as fun to ride as I am anticipating.


Some pics of the tapered DT/internal cable routing, notice the BB30.

I have not ridden/raced it yet because the season is just starting, but I should be able to get out on it tomorrow...hopefully.

Some pics of the brake and shifter internal cable routing.

Code: Select all

--78  Bar Tape: Cinelli Cork
-326  Brake Levers: 200X Carbon QS™ Record™ Controls 10s w/ Red Springs
--88  Rear Brakes: KCNC C7 Road Brake
--88  Front Brakes: KCNC C7 Road Brake
--80  Cables: Nokon
-110  Cassette: Token 7075 Ceramic Coated 11/23 w/ Lockring
-226  Chain: KMC X10 SL Silver 
-573  Crankset: 2010 Cannondale SI SL BB30 175 Compact 50-34
--76  Derlr (Front): 2008 Record™ 10s front derailleur
--28  FD Clamp
-184  Derlr (Rear): 2008 Record™ CARBON rear derailleur 10s short cage
-365  Fork: Easton EC90 Aero
1380  Frame: 2011 Dominion Askari Pro Steel – Crit Fit
-286  Handlebar: FSA Wing Pro Compact 440mm
--67  Headset: Crank Bros Cobalt SL Stainless
--22  Headset Cap/Bolt: Easton
--10  Headset Spacer: KCNC 1.5mm
-195  Pedals: XPEDO Titainum Look Keo
--52  Quick Releases: Mad Fiber Skewers
-121  Saddle: Selle Italia Flite Gel Titanium
-148  Seatpost: KCNC 27.2 x 350mm
-136  Stem: 100mm 84 Ritchie 4-Axis Aluminum
-250  Tire (Front): Challenge Forte Tubular
-250  Tire (Rear): Vittoria Corsa EVO CX Tubular
1085  Wheelset: 2010 Mad Fiber Wheelset
--60  Frame Paint: The orange/blue half-n-half
--88  Misc Option: Zip ties, cadence sensor, grease, tape, misc.

Total Mass coming in at ~6344 grams or ~14.00 lbs.

The only items in full carbon are the wheelset, part of the FD, RD, and the seat. I have not been a huge fan of that material because I have not been able to find an easy way to recycle it...which just makes it more landfill IMO when it fails.

We used a thin white line (base coat) to separate the two colors. It turned out well IMO.


I am happy to address any questions, comments, criticisms, etc. Let me know what you think of the paint scheme. I've always wanted to run with this paint scheme on my ITR race car, but I never followed through so I have to settle with a this custom scheme on a bike.

Christian.

[prendrefeu]

How much did the frame & fork cost you? What was the wait time?

Do you have a ride report?

Did you call your mother today?

[Comanche_man]

Nice.

At first I thought you had two different frames made but with the same parts spec, then I realized what you meant by Half/Half. Definitely different and pretty sweet. I think I like the blue side best.

[jonm]

That looks superb! Different, unique and just works

Love the half and half paint job and wheels.

ENJOY!

[kgt]

I like it but I think the size looks small.
At least that is what I am thinking judjing from the long seatpost and the uprising stem.

[majklnajt]

It would look much better with a bigger frame and flipped stem... otherwise, nice!

[Ozrider]

That is a really good build weight for a steel frame.
Love the half and half

[cerro]

It would look much better with a bigger frame and flipped stem... otherwise, nice!

One more on that. Looks really good except that.

[Spuds]

+1, flip that stem and that is about as awesome as it gets.

[cl9k24la]

flipped up stems=FAIL...

[musket]

flipped up stems=FAIL...

Perhaps aesthetically, but there aren't any good reasons to say that otherwise.

[ChristianK]

How much did the frame & fork cost you? What was the wait time?

The frame + paint was $1650, fork $189 + $150 for fork paint. I believe his current pricing was closer to $2400 after his investment in some new powder coating equipment. I recall the frame took around 6 months...which was fine by me. It could have been finished earlier, but I did not have time to deal with/enjoy a new bike with a newborn around.

Do you have a ride report?

I finished the first crit race today, 8th out of 40 or so. Not bad IMO. The bike is simply very different from my others (1975 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1996 Basso Gap Ti, 2010 Salsa Podio, 2005 Litespeed Blade). The front end is considerably stiffer, but not harsh, BB is solid, power transfer to the rear is immediate. I would describe it as solid overall. I need more time on the bike to get a better understanding as to how different it is compared to the other bikes. This is my first experience with aero wheels...they work. Our average speed for this crit was around 26-28 MPH and the Mad Fiber wheels made my efforts feel as if I was doing a few MPH less.

Did you call your mother today?

I cannot tell if you are being a jackass or not. My assumption is likely so, but I truly don't care and I hope it is in jest. You can never portray/interpret emotion in text IMO. You have more time that I (an assumption based on the number of posts you have), and I am not trying to start any drama. I did actually call my mother yesterday, she is a cool lady and still takes Jager shots with us on an occasion when she comes out with us...and she is in her 60s now. Whatever your intent was

As far as the comments on the flipped step, my other WW bike is exactly that and the comments there were that the HT is too tall.?.? Go figure. I have a geometry that fits me well and that I like. If the stem is flipped or not does not matter to me. The seat is X above the crank due to my longer legs, the bars are X from the seat due to my reach and drop X amount so I can be comfortable dropped or not. I have tried other settings, but the coach I work with says that things look good in this configuration.

The way I see it, the geometry of the bike was created based on my measurements and fits me well. I think it looks pretty good, but I paid for it so I gotta be biased.

Thanks for the kind words from others thus far.

Christian.

[prendrefeu]

Did you call your mother today?

I cannot tell if you are being a jackass or not. My guess is yes, but I truly don't care. You have more time that I (an assumption based on the number of posts you have), and I am not trying to start any drama. I did actually call my mother yesterday, she is a cool lady and still takes Jager shots with us on an occasion when she comes out with us...and she is in her 60s now. Whatever your intent was

The intent was honest. Most mothers are pretty rad.

[743power]

Super nice build, but aesthetically I would have had the headtube made the extra 1cm or so needed to run the stem flipped.

And. . .ITR? Do I recognize your username from RRAX and h-t?

[jever98]

As a tall rider I have to weigh in for ChristianK: much better to flip up the stem than to ride with 4cm of spacers and a flipped down stem imho.

@ChristianK: where did you get the frame painted? Am looking for a good frame painter at the moment.

Cheers
Jever