# Origin8 CX700 build



## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

After months and months of waiting on the frame (ordered in February, delivered in June), I finally got a good start on building up my cross (or monster cross) bike. Still have some work to do (tape handlebars, add cadence sensor, rack, saddle bag, etc.). The road brake levers and BB7 discs seem to work well together. The RetroShift shifters work great, rear (10sp. is indexed) and front is more or less friction shift. So far the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires (700x40) seem to work well, albeit heavy. Also have a set of Conti CX-Speed tires (700x35) that should be at least a pound lighter than the Mondails.










More build info below:
- Monstercross Bicycle Build

After finishing up a few odds and ends, took it out for a 20 mile test ride and it feels good. On one of my regular flat loops, w/ 9 miles of dirt, I was a little faster than my best time on the touring bike, and this was with very rough riding from the hikers walking on the trail after the recent rains. A little bit of tread noise on the pavement, but not annoying. Think I need to drop the tire pressure a little, running 50 psi now, will try 40 and see how that feels. 

The disc brakes feel really good, added in-line barrel adjusters at each caliper. The rear shifter works fantastic, just clicks from cog to cog. Used Gore sealed cables throughout, so the braking and shifting performance should not degrade over time.


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## mudrock (Jun 4, 2008)

Those Retroshift levers are the ugliest things I've ever seen. The ergonomics look all wrong, like it would hurt your thumbs, wrist, and fingers to shift. To torque the levers you have to apply force perpendicular to your natural grip, which would strain your wrist. Also it puts the shifters right out there in harms way when you fall. I think barends are much more elegant. Here's mine, a 1x10:










With barends the push-and-pull motion is in line with your wrist and grip.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

I have bar ends on my road bike. I like the feel of the R/S setup as much as the bar ends. You shift with your hand around the brake hood and by curling your fingers you shift to higher gears and curling the thumb you go to lower gears. It feel very natural, even with two rides so far. One thing I don't like with the bar ends on my road bike is that I can hit the shifters with my knees while standing so wanted to try something a bit different on the CX bike. If I find I don't like those shifter, I still have the bar ends to put the shifters onto and the R/S mounts attach with a single screw on the brake levels.


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## kmancrx (Aug 16, 2008)

Good looking CX700. I have last years grey frame. It's a fun bike and it can take quite a beating.


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## mudrock (Jun 4, 2008)

I was a little harsh with my judgement, sorry. You have options, hope it works for you.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

Thanks, I do like the black color. I tried to pick components that matched the frame colors.

Seemed to be fully machined as I was able to get the headset installed with just a bit if filing in the head tube and the bottom bracket cups threaded in easily. Looks like they also moved the rear disc mount from on top of the seat stay to the chain stay and that mount is slotted so you can go to different sized rotors.

The built up bike is pretty tall, even with the 56cm frame, I just clear the top tube by an inch or two (5'-11"). The bottom bracket is about 1.5" higher than on my 24" (61cm) touring frame.


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## kmancrx (Aug 16, 2008)

4Crawler said:


> Seemed to be fully machined as I was able to get the headset installed with just a bit if filing in the head tube and the bottom bracket cups threaded in easily. Looks like they also moved the rear disc mount from on top of the seat stay to the chain stay and that mount is slotted so you can go to different sized rotors.


The black looks good. Last years model also has the brakes on the chain stay as. The slotting is actually so you can adjust the caliper to be aligned with the rotor since it has track ends for chain tensioning in single speed mode. You may be able to use a different rotor size but you would need a specific adapter depending on what brakes you have.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

OK, thanks for the clarification. On one of the earlier model frames, I though I saw what looked like disc brake tabs up on top of the seat stay. I do like having the track dropouts with the adjuster screws inside. Once you set those up to line up the wheel, it will not move. My touring bike has the more normal dropouts and only relies on the quick release pressure to hold the wheel straight. You really need to reef down hard on that lever to keep it in place. Only thing is I need to get used to the sequence of getting the rear wheel in and out with the chain and RD. I also added a hanger banger to support the RD and that complicates things as well. But now that it is built up, should really not have to remove the rear wheel all that much.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

No problems. They do look a bit funky, but I am liking them so far. I need to play around with the FD shifter a little to get it dialed in better, but the RD shifter works fantastic.


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## pdxsnap (Oct 25, 2011)

4Crawler - Your Retroshift set up looks a little odd. The rear shifter is in the position it would be in for the highest gear but you are in the lowest? Are you using a reverse pull derailleur? If so would love to know how it works.

'Normal' set up should look/function like the video on the homepage: www.retroshift.com 

Cheers!


The Goats
Retroshift


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

Yes, as noted on my build page, I am running a rapid rise RD (XT M770), same as I am running on my road bike with barcons. I like having both shifters move the same direction to shift up or down. So on the RetroShift, I have finger pressure move to a higher gear on both sides and thumb pressure shift to a lower gear. Granted on the R/S setup, it makes the shifters move opposite if you look at left and right direction, but it is the same direction as far as the left and right hands see the shifters. On the barcons on my road bike, with a normal RD, I had the rear shifter fully up for low gear and the front shifter was fully down. That was totally confusing so I wanted to keep this shifting similar between the bikes. I do like how the rapid rise RD shifts going up to bigger cogs, even under load. And that is where I seem to need to pop to a lower gear and when going uphill, it is harder to let off the pressure for the shift.


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## pdxsnap (Oct 25, 2011)

4Crawler - Thanks for clarification and glad you are getting on with the shifters. Reviews upcoming in Cyclocross Magazine and Bicycle Times Magazine.

The Goats
Retroshift


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

Yes, really nice to get to use them. I ordered them earlier this spring and they have been sitting there waiting for something to put them on for about 4 months until the frame finally arrived. 

I really like the flexibility and options they provide. I am running a 9-sp RR/RD with a 10-sp MTB cluster and a 9-sp. MTB front crankset and FD and it all works, both index and friction modes. I only have one other bike with index shifting (3x7) and it is sort of hit or miss on the shifting. That is why I wanted to be able to have a friction mode to fall back on. But with the R/S and indexed rear shifter it shifts perfectly, right out of the box, only had to set the upper limit screw on the RD.


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## acg (Feb 13, 2011)

Nice bike! I was going to buy the gray frame version back in Jan. The only problem was that all of the shops were completely out of stock. They mentioned the new frames will come in around May at the earliest. I ended up going with the Planet X Uncle John with a carbon fork for $299.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

I wish my LBS would have told me that when I ordered mine, because I would have looked elsewhere. When I inquired in early Feb, the LBS said sure, we can get you one, then when I went down, was told they would be in Mar. 15th when I paid for it. And all along, not a peep out of the LBS to inform me of any delay..Then to top it off, when I contacted them in early May, was told they could ship the frame from the Colorado or Florida warehouse at extra cost but it would only get here "a few days faster" than waiting for it to get to the California warehouse. Then it was another 3-4 weeks for them frame to get to CA, not "a few days". Did not actually get my hands on it until Jun 4th. The attitude I got from the LBS was like they were doing me a favor by ordering the frame for me. I was hoping this was a decent shop, but they lost me as a customer on this one. 

In fact when I talked to the owner of the shop before I paid for the frame, he said that they would check over the frame and make sure it was all in good shape and check the BB threading and head tube machining that is all supposed to be done at the factory. When I went in to pick up the frame, they just handed me the factory sealed box and wanted to charge me shop time to even open it up and look it over. Luckily all was fine with the frame, but I would have been upset if there was an issue with it.

I realize the LBS does not make the frames, but they should at least pass on information on the status of the order and maybe offer to cancel the order or offer realistic estimates on the delivery time. I guess the thing I learned is if the part is not in stock at the LBS distributor, walk away. There are just too many layers in their distribution system and none of them has any connection to the actual end customer. So some company in China (or wherever) makes the frame, another company ships them across the ocean, another company imports them into the US and then puts them on the cheapest trucking firms they can find to save money in order to get the product to their warehouses. And only then can the LBS order the frame and even then it took 3 days for the frame to go from LA to San Jose in northern CA by a local shipping company. And I use this exact same company in my business and always get parts ordered from LA overnight (the company used to be called California Overnight and they specialize in trucking cargo all over the state overnight). In fact as I pulled into the LBS to pick up the frame, the shipping company truck was in the parking lot and the box had a shipping label from them as well.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

Finally got the saddle broken in enough for some longer rides. Took the bike up Montebello Road, just west of Cupertino, CA. and then dropped back down the Stevens Canyon Tral, which gives about 8 miles of fire road and single track descending:










Bike worked very well. First chance to try out the HiLo dropper seatpost I installed last week. Lets me lower the seat from 2" higher to 2" lower than the handlebars, makes descending feel lot more comfortable. 

Also was impressed with the grip of the Mondial tires. Did a couple of steep uphill segments and no sign of slipping. Even on the steep downhills, you had to really try to lock up the rear wheel. Compared to riding my old Schwinn touring bike on 27x1-1/4" tires, where I was on the verge of sliding almost all the time, I can let let the bike run and enjoy the ride a lot more.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

Wanted to update my original build thread. Bike is still going strong after nearly 5 years. I did a build video on YouTube recently:
https://youtu.be/XXqWR9Zw2us?list=PLpY2FP1a9tisVIx70ElQpEg4GcHZaE7Ub

Over the last few years, I converted the tires to tubeless on Stans ArchEx wheels. Also added a Fusion HiLo dropper seat post and cross brake levers. Just recently swapped the 11-36 10sp cassette for an 11-42 SunRace 10sp cassette.

I've put about 6K miles on the bike so far, an original tire is still rolling up front:
https://youtu.be/-yu-7KuAQFw


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