Building a cross bike

[wickedwagon]

you could mail it to me.

[BEEutiful_Wednesday_DDS]

Rob Roy frameset
Ritchey Pro stem and seatpost
Cane Creek S-3 headset, Crosstops and drop levers
Tektro 720 cantis
Salmon Koolstops
Salsa Bell Lap bars
Surly hubs laced to Mavic CXP33s (built by Handspun)
All City (Andel) track cranks
Shimano 110mm UN54 BB
Surly cog and lockring
Sram PC-1
Michelin Mud 2 tires Time ATAC Aliums
Surly Constrictor and Tuggnut
Fizik Arione

[curiousincident]

What’s wrong with 720s? They get nothing but love from everyone (including me).

[BEEutiful_Wednesday_DDS]

@rudetay

The steel fork will work eliminate a lot of the canti problems people have, I’ve run Avid Short 6s and Shimano R550 brakes; the Shimanos were much better. Paul are obviously the bling end-all brakes, but TRP makes some nice ones too. Braking needs for cross racing and general riding are very different, you never need to brake to a stop while racing, and will rarely slam on your brakes to the point where shudder and such is a real problem, but if you’re riding this bike on the road much or for commuting it’s worth getting better brakes and pads. Just for racing you can get by with just working brakes, mud clearance and other factors become more important.

disagree with nearly every single point in this paragraph.

1. I respect your preference for Shimano R550s
2. Pauls are NOT the bling end-all brakes. I have Pauls and I would sell my soul for a pair of Empella Frogs or the TRP brakes you mentioned. The carbon frogs are THE end-all cross brakeset.
3. You frequently need to brake to a stop while racing - people go down in front of you all the time. And if you’re not hitting the brakes HARD, you’re not racing properly. You want to hold your speed for as long as possible into the corner and then jam brakes, not glide into the corner gradually. I’d say if you’re commuting or riding the road, you can get by with working brakes. If you’re racing, shell cash for a really nice set. Good brakes on a cross bike are about the most important component there is.

[BEEutiful_Wednesday_DDS]

@curiousincident

What’s wrong with 720s? They get nothing but love from everyone (including me).

they are fine, but there is nothing between and

[BEEutiful_Wednesday_DDS]

[quote=mander]Great frame johnnyraja! I’m jealous.

While we’re talking about cross bikes, has anyone had any success eliminating canti squeal with a fork crown mounted cable stop? I’ve tried most of the other things (Kool-stops, sanding the pads, steel wool on the rims, toeing in, toeing out, Shimano BR-R550s)[/quote]

it’s just as often the wheels as it is the brakes/cable combo

[frankstoneline]

PM’d about the brakes.

[Andrew_Andeson]

[quote=fix][quote=mander]Great frame johnnyraja! I’m jealous.

While we’re talking about cross bikes, has anyone had any success eliminating canti squeal with a fork crown mounted cable stop? I’ve tried most of the other things (Kool-stops, sanding the pads, steel wool on the rims, toeing in, toeing out, Shimano BR-R550s)[/quote]

it’s just as often the wheels as it is the brakes/cable combo[/quote]

Thanks fix. That’s a pita though as new wheels are more expensive than brake adjustments elewhere. FWIW this is the second wheel on this bike that’s been squealy. It’s an old unmachined MA2 and it was quiet as a mouse when brand new, but as soon as the brake track wore in it got about as bad as the old DT Swiss TK 7.1. I would just love a silent bike at this point! Brake squeal makes you feel like your bike is way way shittier than it actually is.

[Rusty_Piton]

WOAH!
I almost bought the bike in the OP!
That shit is awesome.

[curiousincident]

While we’re on the subject of brakes, I have a question. Why is it that when MTBs moved over to V-brakes, cross bikes didn’t follow suit? Plenty of 700c hybrid commuter bikes use them, why not cross bikes?

[zombie]

They require a lever that pulls more cable than a road caliper, so road brake levers won’t work.

[barba]

The Tektro RL520 lever is compatible with long pull brakes. Either that or travel agents.

[Dickason_Daniel]

I thought it was a mud clearance issue.

I mean with travel agents and all, Vs can work.

[Timarchylime]

Cross rules are stuck in the past. They require canti’s I think. V’s, and more specifically, discs, aren’t allowed. Maybe it’s different for different organizations, but I’m pretty sure thats what the UCI says.

[hambeki]

@TimArchy

Cross rules are stuck in the past. They require canti’s I think. V’s, and more specifically, discs, aren’t allowed. Maybe it’s different for different organizations, but I’m pretty sure thats what the UCI says.

V’s are legal on all levels and discs are often allowed at local races. Check with your local racer bros to see what’s allowed and what isn’t.

[zombie]

@zombie

road brake levers won’t work.

[dfl]

V-brakes are just better than Cantis. Straight up. I rode my V-brake-equipped MTB around town today, hammering down hills and through traffic with a bunch of dudes on cross bikes, all of whom I consider strong riders, all with cantis. There was no question that I could stop faster than they could. Plus, V brakes are easier to set up, easier to adjust and easier to keep in adjustment. If I were building a cross bike (which I’m not going to do any more), I would use V’s for sure, either with the Tektro linear pull road levers or with a travel agent.

[that_guy]

Tektro Mini V’s. Road lever compatible. On my cross bike. It stops good.

[curiousincident]

^ The site you linked says those brakes are for long-pull levers, interested to hear more on that. Particularly how they work with road levers if they are in fact designed for long-pull (even though you said they brake fine).

As barba mentioned, there are aero levers out there that are linear-pull compatible. My experience has been that v-brakes stop much better than cantis, and from what I can tell offer the same mud clearance.

Here’s my next question: are canti studs not compatible with v-brakes? I’ve always assumed this to be the case, but have never really heard about anybody even consider the possibility.

[halbritt]

Canti studs work fine for v-brakes. My old MTB had cantis, which I later switched to V-brakes.