I never actually start topics, but we spend most of our time talking shit about other people’s bikes. If you could have one perfect bike, what would it be.
For me, it would be this with some weight weenie long-reach brakes that don’t exist (like eeBrakes with longer arms) and 28-32 mm tires, eTap, and a normal seatpost/saddle.
You’re being a bad influence again. I’m already too English-influenced as it is, and now you post this thing.
My ultimate, at least as of right now, would be something like my emergency randonneuse, but with thinner tubing (7/4/7 instead of 8/5/8) & a 73° HTA to increase trail, clearance for flat magnets, 12mm through-axles, insanely teeny seatstays like that English (yours?), and fly-by-wire (or less) mated to shimano mechanical brifters™ with the guts ripped out and replaced with shift buttons.
Not sure about disco vs. rim brake. I prefer rim brakes, but in 650b-land the light rims these days are all disc. So I’d plumb the frame for hydro cables and choose whatever Tarck suggests for a shimano-plumbing-compatable caliper.
Carbon fiber fenders, 1" threadless stem w/ a Herse-style wiper for lighting (no stupid stemtop switch – cars are evil but are often driven away by bright lights), carbon fiber stem cast from a 3t mutant pattern, carbon handlebars, carbon front rack, SON SL lazy-style dynamo, and whichever lights have the most shiny! that week.
Ultimate means cost no object, so I’d be showing up at Resist’s front door and throwing money at them for 650×28b & 650×35b tubeless versions of the Nomad (and then I’d give away 9940 spare tires from the 10k minimum order.)
I’d use a seatmast instead of a seatpost, matched # of spokes fore and aft, a 32/48 semi-alpine double (on an (imaginary) modern carbon low-q subcompact crankset) mated to an 11-speed 11-28 cassette on a White hub.
Maybe a C15, maybe a Soulor, but something narrow and hammocky any way.
And then I’d ride it about as much as I ride my other machines.
Not the sexiest idea, but I’ve been into ordering a bike from Peru (Marino bike, @viggen mentioned it before). The order would essentially work out to a 150mm 29er with minimal bb drop (about 6mm, bb height of 345ish), designed around a 210x55 metric shock. In this case i’d use 650b wheels, pair it with a 170mm fork and have a pretty solid long travel bike. head angle of 65, seat angle of 77, reach around 460, stack around 610
The bike would have another mount point 10mm closer to the swing arm on the front triangle, then you could swap a 190x40mm shock on there (need a difference of 10mm eye to eye, but metric only makes 20mm jumps). Since it’s single pivot it’s pretty easy to figure out, but this would drop the bb about 28mm, reduce travel to 110mm, and you could mount 29er wheels for a trail bike. Use a 130mm travel fork to bring the head angle about a degree steeper and drop the bb a little bit more into the mid-low 330s.
of course, the bike mess would have to be well reduced to have this make sense. I also think shock tech has improved enough to make single pivots a better choice, but don’t know if they’ve advanced enough to make a non-linkage driven design work well.
I’d probably be better served just getting a yeti sb130, but I kind of have a thing against new yetis and santa cruzes
whats the weight on this?
I don’t think he builds a very light frame, but at $550 I don’t expect much. I think around 8lbs for the frame.
I guess if this is the ultimate thread, i’d have waltworks do the build since the rear triangle would have pivots and would be easier to smang into an s&s case, while cutting a pound off
I meant to ask @anon3547885 about that steel wheenie bike.
I’m designing a full squish bike for metric shocks and a single linkage. Should be floating in 2020.
My dream bike would be a Honzo but made by Hunter and painted purple.
Dedaccaci Force or Columbus Starship Coffee Grinder
Titanium or Columbus Life Endpoint wiggle bike.
I will make both a reality.
My custom Indyfab rim brake racer is sadly collecting in a frame box.
According to Robs website that bike is 9.9 lbs.
I’d be happy with like 12 lbs with fatter tires and nonweenie seatpost and saddle.
I don’t care what anyone says, a super light bike feels awesome.
This +fenders and discs
Whoa, read my mind.
I feel this needs to be in proportion to rider weight.
I’ve pedaled a few ww bikes around the shop lot and felt plenty sketched. These were all for riders whose wet weight is at least a whole e-bike less than mine when I’m fresh off the bidet and built with +10 year old technology.
I’m sure with modern tech and processes I could find a 15lb road bike that I wouldn’t be afraid of.
!!! So that means the frame can’t be more than ~2.5 pounds? Wow.
Yeah it’s impressive
I’ve had the pleasure of riding a lot of nice bikes and nothing even remotely compares to my English. It made me stop buying new road bikes, and i went through quite a few before that bike.
Plus Rob is incredibly professional and a nice guy.
Someday if my medical problems ever go away I will make that bike a reality.
Braden’s badass steel Endpoint.
Shimano hydro bits with a 53/39 and 11-28
Nice handbuilt wheels.
Classic bend bars
A Flite
If this will be my only bike, a dynamo setup.
Really “ultimate for what?” Is the necessary starting point, but for my general interest in road riding:
Carbon frame designed from scratch for me
Carbon wheels erring very slightly on the side of durability
Either current dura ace or eTap
Hydro disc
Magic 26.5mm tubeless tires that work with sealant
Kurve saddle that lasts more than 2500 miles
Wide deep drop bars with a tiny bit of flare (annnd flair!)
Vibrant but matte paint
you’re describing a traditional centerpull with a linkage actuator
someone recently made a lever-link setup for the Compass RAID arms, cause fuck straddle wires and cable hangers and all that
but I’ve got some Dia-Compe NGC 450 brakes that are more suitable for your tire size
Modern materials and slightly more my size version of my steel fat chance, 27.5 tires, wet discs, two wheelsets (2.6 knobs and dynamo/RTP/fenders)
Something that felt relatively light and sprightly for getting rad in all weather on all paved surfaces and some not with slicks, and felt confidence inspiring and still lively for getting rad on the worst surfaces but wouldn’t be a bore to get there via the road on knobs.
“The one bike” that doesn’t try to be the only bike, just really fucking good at getting me lost and having fun wherever I end up.
