# My new winter commuter build



## damitamit (Sep 15, 2005)

*My new winter commuter build (Now complete!, with pics)*

Last winter I mostly used a ss made up of a old 2nd SJS cycles road frame and random bits for my 20 miles a day commute. Mudguards were a god send in the wet London weather. The frame was not quite the right size so this year its time for a new bike! A few weeks ago I purchased a new Felt Dispatch. This fitted all the criteria for a capable ss winter commuter. BUT the day after it arrived, it was stolen outside a bar we stopped at in London for lunch one saturday! 

So what to replace it with? Surely the most obvious thing would be to get another Felt Dispatch, but as I'm bike obsessed, I thought putting together a bike out of parts would be better (the Felt is the first whole bike i've bought in a while, and even though it was a good feeling to not worry about which parts i wanted it just didnt feel right!).

So the plan for the new build from parts I have and parts I've picked up this week:

- 54cm Specialized Langster 07 framset picked up 2nd hand (but new)
- ITM Visia winter forks (incl mudguard eyelets)
- DuraAce 7402 cranks with 42t ring
- Generic 16t sprocket
- Hope Mono road hubs on Mavic CXP33s (with ss spacing kit)
- FSA Omega Compact OS handlebar
- Fizik Arione Ti saddle
- KMC z-610HX chain
- Vittoria Rubino Pro 25mm tyres
- Shimano RSX long drop brakes
- Cane Creek SCR-5c brake levers (had the non-compact version of these on the Felt and really liked them)
- Cinelli Lumen bar tape (glow in the dark baby!)
- SKS P35 mudguards


Surely you must be thinking "Hang on, the Spesh Langster doesnt take mudguards!". Yes, correct. The spesh front fork will be replaced with the ITM Visia Winter. The rear is the only problem. For that I'm gonna try the RiverCity Cycles reacharound method (https://www.rivercitybicycles.com/images/split5_lg.jpg). They dont ship to the UK so I'm gonna fashion them myself out of these rack stays: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/src/fro...ding-90-degree-bend-downwards--Each-10709.htm
I haven't seen a Langster with full mudguards (and there are plenty of lansters in London!), so this should be quite rare (if it works!).

According to Bike CAD it will look like this!










Will be building it today and will post some real photos later (if all goes well).

Thanks for listening
Amit


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## jaansk (Aug 27, 2007)

That's a good piece of metal for holding the back fender there 
I guess this is why pivot brakes don't come on "city" bikes.

You may also look at the SKS RaceBlades, which are not full fenders, but attach to the seatstays only. 
The problem with the rear fender missing the seat-tube coverage, of course, is that in severe rain there is some dirt buildup on the front der. and b.b area, and that is in really wet and dirty conditions.

Good luck with the build!

J.


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## damitamit (Sep 15, 2005)

Build didnt go as well as planned!

Totally forgot the langster rear is track spaced (120mm), so my plan to use my spare road wheels is not going to happen. New rear wheel should arrive in a couple of days. Plus need a new stem.

On the plus side, frame looks nice, installed the cranks and chainline looks spot on, and compared the geometry to my fave bike (put a front wheel on the langster and lined it up next to it) and it seems pretty similar.

Sorry, photos in a couple of days now...


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## transplant (Jan 7, 2005)

*respace your road wheel*

You should be able to respace your road wheel,


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## damitamit (Sep 15, 2005)

Update:

Bought a rear wheel from Condor cycles, Condor sealed flip-flop hub, Mavic Open Pro CD rim and a Shimano 16t freewheel.

Put the wheels, chain, handlebar, stem, seatpost, saddle and brakes on today.

Its on its way to being complete! Photos soon once its done...


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## damitamit (Sep 15, 2005)

Woo! Finished the build this morning. Mudguards went on pretty easily and seem pretty sturdy (thou will have to see when i ride it).

Photos:


















































Gonna go ride it now!


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## jaansk (Aug 27, 2007)

Nice work!
That taillight (or is it a reflector?) looks right on with the full fenders and Langster frame.

J.


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

Looks great! I'd try to buy yourself as much clearance as possible between the front fender and tire--if you get something jammed in there, you'll be stopping real short...


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## roadscrape (Apr 22, 2008)

Very nice build! 

Pretty innovative engineering on the rear fender. 

I really like the shape of those FSA compact bars - plenty of flat run on the bottom. I have Bonty var. radius, like the bends, but there is no flat section left for being in a full drop. 

I'm building up a steel Bianchi (in celeste, though I don't care for the color) cyclocross frame for a commuter. I plan to use the SKS black fenders.

I'll post photos once it's finished, prob. a couple of weeks.

Cheers!


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

Henry Chinaski said:


> Looks great! I'd try to buy yourself as much clearance as possible between the front fender and tire--if you get something jammed in there, you'll be stopping real short...


If you look at the front fender, it has breakaway mounts at the eyelets so the fender arms should pop loose if something gets stuck. (SKS calls it a "Secu-Clip").

On my fenders, I follow the advice (maybe from MB1?) to have the rear part of the fender closest to the tire. If anything gets pulled up between the tire and the fender then the clearance increases so objects are less likely to get stuck.


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