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 over 8 years ago.
As of over 8 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 over 8 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 almost 10 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 almost 10 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 almost 10 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 almost 10 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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aealbert says:
Nice build!
Posted over 7 years ago