Race Bikes

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Refurbished Gunnar

A number of years ago a co-worker was looking to get rid of a Gunnar Crosshairs frame that his girlfriend had been riding but was too big for her. I don't remember now what exactly I traded for it, a couple bike parts of no great value.
At the time I really wasn't sure if the bike would fit me or if I would like it at all. But I needed a commuter bike and the Bianchi Volpe I had been riding for a while was too small. Lucky for me it turned out the bike fit me perfect and I love the way it rides. Its a great mix of stable and comfortable while still being relatively quick handling like a cyclocross race bike.
Due to some rust issues and lots of chips and scuffs I decided to get the bike repainted. I figured winter was the perfect time, so I sent the bike back to Gunnar to see what they could do.
While the bike was back at Gunnar I decided the parts needed a bit of an update as well. So I built some new wheels and picked up a few other odds and ends to put the bike back together just the way I want.

 A shot of the bike before being sent back to Gunnar.

New blue paint for the old Crosshairs.

Feels good to be riding something that was made so close to where I live.

  
One of the new parts I picked up is a White Industries VBC crankset. I chose 36-48t chainrings based on how I will be riding the bike.

A carry over from my old build, SRAM silver brake levers. While they may not go perfectly with my  mostly Shimano build, I find them to be more comfortable then Shimano brake levers.

A crown mounted brake hanger reduces fork shudder on this size (58cm) bike. 
The bike had a black Chris King headset previously, but I couldn't bring myself to put a black headset back on this (now) blue bike. I went with a silver Cane Creek 110 headset instead. 

  
Salsa seat clamp and Surly cable hanger work well together. 

  
I'm not sure what fork this bike came with when it was new, when I got it it had an old Bianchi uni-crown fork. This Soma fork made from Tange steel tubing seems to work very well with the geometry of the frame and rides nicely.


Almost nothing shifts better than Dura-Ace 9 speed down tube shifters...

  
Particularly when paired with a Dura-Ace 7700 rear derailleur! 

 New wheels feature Pacenti SL23 rims. This is my first time building with these rims. They seems to build up nicely and the finish quality is excellent. I hope to write a review after I have some miles on them.

I chose White Industries T11 hubs and DT Competition spokes, laced 3-cross.

White Industries front hub and Shimano Dura-Ace quick release skewers.

Velo Orange fenders.

 One of the new parts that I am most excited to try is Compass Bike's Barlow Pass 700x38 tires. I have ridden Grand Bois tires, which are very similar, in 700x26 and 700x30 and loved them.

Ready to roll out of the shop.

  

 

Can't wait to take it for a spin!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Custom Built

One of my favorite parts of my job is helping people find the bike that is perfect for them. Often we find that there is no “stock” bike that is exactly what they need or want. We then turn to building a bike for them from the ground up, a custom bike. The end result of these custom builds is almost always more special than a stock bike because it is built exactly they way they (we) wanted.

I always put a bit more work into custom builds, the little things. This result is a bike that isn’t just exactly the way someone wanted it, it also results in a bike that looks and functions better too.

Here are some shots of a custom Gunnar Fastlane I built for a woman who will be doing a supported cross-country tour this spring. In the future she will also do shorter tours, long weekend rides and travel with this bike.

I haven't worked with Gunnar much until this year. So far I have been very impressed with their frames and service. High-quality, made in America bikes, that fit and ride fantastic. What more can you ask for? 

The build starts. Each component has been selected with the rider in mind. Headset pressed, bottom bracket and triple Ultegra crank installed. 

Nice welds and fender mounts.

We wanted to add lowrider mounts, incase a small front load was ever needed. 

For road applications, the TRP Spyre mechanical disc brake has become a personal favorite, they works exceptionally well. They also have a nice lever feel due to dual pad movement. On most mechanical disc brakes only one pad moves, resulting in a mushy lever feel if the fixed pad sits too far from the rotor. 

Another trick to getting mechanical brakes to feel good, cleanly cut cables. I use a high quality file and clean-up the ends a bit more after cutting.  

Another little touch, the rear fender bridge was a bit high with the tire size we selected, so I lowered the fender a bit. 

Another shot of the lowered fender.

Fenders can be tricky with disc brakes, you can see I added a small spacer between the fork tab and the fender stay to clear the brake caliper.

While the Gunnar dropout has two mounts for fenders and rack, they are a bit too close together to be used simultaneously with the fenders and rack we selected. So both fender and rear rack go on the lower mount. 

Since the mounts are so high on the frame, I also cut down the rack to make it sit lower.

Another part selected specifically for the customer. We wanted a super wide range of gears, a road triple and a 11-34 cassette. This required a long cage mountain bike rear derailleur. 

Hand built wheels add to the durability and each component is tuned to the rider. I choose DT Hubs, double butted spokes and Velocity A23 rims for this build. These wheels are reasonably light weight, for a light rider, and will hold-up well.


The sum of it all.

Hopefully this will be a bike that will be ridden and loved for many years to come!