These bikes are often shitted on because it comes from Bikes Direct. Well, I got rid of my Specialized Roubaix three months after I finished this bike. The ride quality of this bike was just fantastic. The frame comes from the Kinesis factory in Taiwan, the same manufacturer for KHS and Fuji. I could care less about the brand, the ride quality is what matters. Also, the geometry is the same as a Giant Defy. I have this bike set up as Shimano-Campy mix. I wanted to try Ergo levers but did not want to spend too much on switching to full Campy. So I got a J-tek Shiftmate. It was a pain to set up but once dialed in, it was perfect! I have this set up as a long-distance rando bike. The geometry is super stable and very comfortable. I put on a Brooks saddle and a humongous saddle bag. Then super bright Princeton-Tec lights for night rides. This is what my friends call the "confused bike." It can't decide whether its a modern road bike or a vintage bike. Leather saddle, large saddle bag, and gum sidewall on a modern aluminum frame... can't beat that.
Frame:
Gravity Liberty Frame
Fork/Headset:
IRD-Tange Sealed Bearing Headset, Kinesis Carbon fork
Crankset/Bottom Bracket:
FSA Gossamer Compact 50-34
Pedals:
Shimano
Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
Campagnolo 12-25 cassette, KMC K10 SL chain
Derailleurs/Shifters:
Campagnolo Veloce Long-cage RD, IRD Double Compact FD, Campagnolo Veloce 10 shifters
Saddle/Seatpost:
Soma Zero Setback seatpost, Brooks B-17
Brakes:
Campagnolo Veloce
Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Mavic Ksyrium Elite, Bontrager Hardcase 700x23
Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Mavic Ksyrium Elite, Bontrager Hardcase 700x23
Bike History
Click a link below to see past stages of this bike.
Current Stage Info:
I had an accident a few months ago that destroyed my wheelset. This bike went into hibernation and during Christmas, I decided to give myself a present of turning this bike into all-Campy. I have installed most of the parts except the front derailleur. When I do replace it, I have a set of Yokozuna Reaction compression-less housing and cables waiting to get installed.
So far, the biggest difference in performance from Shimergo set up is the consistency of shifting. Sometimes, the J-tek moves from its place and ends up taking up extra cable pull that makes shifting in lower gears a little bit funky. Going all Campy fixed that. Also, the brakes are fantastic!
Added by retroawesomeness. Last updated about 10 years ago.
As of over 10 years ago, retroawesomeness has indicated that they no longer own this bike.
6 Comments
two pics of yours are fantastic: the one in which the bike lies on grass bed, the 2nd that shows the bridge in the panorama.
Posted about 10 years ago
This bike is fascinating. I had heard of that shiftmate thing in myth and lore, glad to see a firsthand account from someone who uses / has had success with one!
Posted over 11 years ago
J-tek works as advertised. Its just that it such a pain to adjust. It took me a couple of weeks to get it to shift properly. If I could do it all over again though, I would opt to just run it as Campy 10 shifters mated with 9 speed Shimano drivetrain like this: http://www.cxmagazine.com/shimano-campa...
Posted over 11 years ago
Very nice, I love it! I was really thinking about buying that frame set from bike island. After seeing your bike, I wish I did...
Posted over 11 years ago
Thanks man! I took a chance on it cuz for the price, what could go wrong? The headset that came with the bike sucked but the bike as a whole made up for it. It has replaced my Soma Doublecross as my main bike. People might have wrong misconceptions about the frame but I can vouch for its reliability.
Posted over 11 years ago
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Tags
brooks, campagnolo, commuter, confused-bike, freak-bike, j-tek, randonneur, road-bike, shimano, shimergo
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retroawesomeness's Other Bikes
aealbert says:
Nice build!
Posted about 9 years ago