I hauled a load of parts home from On Your Left Cycles on the Big Dummy. Here’s what I bought:
A Brooks B-17 Special saddle in the Honey color.
The B-17 is the most popular Brooks saddle. I find them quite comfortable. The Special version costs a little more, but has hammered copper rivets instead of the machine-pressed steel ones. I’ve owned two of the standard B-17s, but I’ve wanted a special for a while.
Shimano Deore V-Brakes and rear Derailleur.
The Deore line is nothing fancy, but this isn’t a race bike. If it stops and shifts, these will do. Why V-brakes on a road bike? The frame is really meant for cantilever brakes. V-brakes are easier to set up and are pretty powerful. It did require long-pull brake levers, but those were provided with the bike purchase.
Cheap stem, spacers, chain, 12-36 9-speed cassette, two King Cage water bottle cages.
It may take me some time to get the bike set up where it’s comfortable. I may have to try various stems. I chose a cheap one that does the job. I’ll switch to a different one if necessary. The spacers were just to make sure I had enough to get everything put together.
The 12-36 cassette is quite a wide range, and working in tandem with the Sugino 34/48 compact double purchased with the bike will give me plenty of gear for the hills.
The King Cage bottle cages are a bit pricey, but they’re hand-made in Colorado. They also fit the aesthetic I’m shooting for with this bike.
I also bought cable and housing for this build, but that’s not worth taking a picture of.
I will initially be using the existing wheels. I cleaned them up, including scrubbing the gumwall tires clean. I got the saddle and bars mounted. I installed and cabled the front brake. I installed the derailleur and cassette. It really looks like a bike now!
There may be a small issue with the front rack and clearance with the front brake cable. I’ll have to ride it to find out if it’ll be a problem.
It might be hard to see in the picture, but the middle section of cable is just barely touching the rack mount.
I still have more to do to the bike, but I’m done for tonight. I may get to take it around the neighborhood by tomorrow night.
I have most of the tools I need for this job, and make do without the ones I don’t. I really wish I had a workstand though.
Like what I’m seeing. Ready for a ride with it.
I started to install the rear brake. Then I got wrapped into the computer.
Looks great! Hope you enjoy it!
Looks awesome! I’m loving that saddle. I laughed at the very end of your post. A couple years ago I chose buying a workstand instead of a Brooks. Looks like you made the opposite choice!