We have a complete build! We used a bunch of parts lying around just to start. Kat’s gonna see if the fit works and if she likes the geometry. Then she’ll build it how she really wants. This is also her attempt at running flat bars again. She and I have both struggled with flat bars in the past — preferring the ergonomics of the hoods position on drop bars. It’s a rad build nonetheless.
We had a bit of a problem with her front wheel. This Velocity KT dynamo hub has a defect and most of our QR skewers wouldn’t pass through it. We found a DT Swiss one that would. We’ll reach out to Velocity but this works for now. You can see that lip inside the hub axle when the wheel is held up to the light.
Once both wheels were on we threw a cockpit on quickly with a quill stem and riser bars from the used bins. We had to get Kat over it! Here’s Jay holding Kat up on the bike. There weren’t any cranks yet so I went and acted as the pedals, holding her feet with my hands. It’s the most bottom-y thing I’ve done, folks.
We took the 1x12 SRAM Eagle drivetrain and ENO crank off my defunct All-City to get a drivetrain with gears for climbing on this bike. It’ll likely be a wide-range double in the future, with a more vintage look.
Only a front brake hooked up but it’s time to take a spin around the block.
Kat got the rest of the parts on and hooked up the next day. There’s still some shifting and brake dialing to do but this scrappy build is essentially done!
Take a nice long sniff of that saddle. Really curious if this Cambium saddle works out for her — this one is on loan from the Scenic Routes saddle library.
And here we are! I love the black-and-silver look that we accidentally landed on. We still have a few tasks: greasing and adjusting the headset the frameset came with, dialing in the rear brake, and dialing in the shifting. Then it’s just test riding.
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