Finally put together my new steel bicicletta blanco.

I had it built by Brent Steelman. He did a great job and it was a pleasure working with him and Katryn. Good people.

Spent the weekend building it up (ok, so I took my time and I'm just a bit anal about things), took it out for the first ride this morning...just a 20 minute buzz around the hood.
Feels great, stable, very efficient pedaling with the more set back seating position. Not used to this reach either, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. It feels great standing, looking forward to taking it out on the rough roads and climbing some hills this weekend.

I plan on putting some hand built wheels on it soon.
Then, maybe a compact crank.

Edited: Saturday, May 12, 2007:
Took it out this morning for a 47 mile ride.
Last ride was two weeks ago on the jacked up, wrong sized Zurich that I've been riding for 4+ years. What an idiot...why didn't I do this 3 years ago?
More stretched out and down in the bar area on this bike.
My body (lower/upper back, shoulders) didn't ache, just normal leg tired from the effort.
I was able to spend more time in the drops, especially down hill, which was a lot of fun because I was able to breath better and the bike was very stable.
Climbing was easier(?) being able to keep my chest open on the top of the bars and being better positioned over the bars and cranks when standing was nice.
Cornering was very pretictable and smooth.
It seemed to be smooth over the rougher roads and that should be even better after I get a nice set of hand built Velocity wheels.
My arce was sore because I spent more time sitting on the saddle than I used to.
The first 30-35 miles seemed almost effortless, mostly due to the riding position being much further back over the BB and using my leg muscles more efficiently and being stretched out, which allowed me to breath better...my heart rate stayed much lower.
So far I'm very pleased and happy with this bike and the build up.
I'll wait a couple of weeks before I see if any fine tuning is in order.
I did notice the internal brake routing thing rattling when I went over severe bumps and there was a random clicking in the BB area.
The Ouzo Pro carbon steerer clamp actually came lose around mile 35. Must keep an eye on that.
I may bring the hood up a couple of mm to try and get them more level with the bars.

Congratulations, that's a real clean build, I love it! Brake line internally routed? Nice.

Very sharp, nothing like red accents to bring out the contrast.

That's a beauty.

Always wanted a Eurocross. I love all the custom steel bikes being posted.

I like it blanco with just the Steelman logos. It really looks great. What was the wait time?

I like it blanco with just the Steelman logos. It really looks great. What was the wait time?

It does look nice.
Wait time was around 5 months or so.

I really like that. Surprised TerryB hasn't commented as he loves white bikes.

What color is that garage door, taupe? I don't care about contrast, only white garage doors on RBR, Newb...


JK, :wink: great looking bike. Internal wire housing is under-rated IMO- makes the bike look so clean!

Farging Adventure Riders :nah

Posing over in a bicycling forum now? :razor

(why don't the smilies work? :bluduh)

M

Nice bike...enjoy...:)

That's a really pretty bike.

That's a really pretty bike.

Oh, like you know anything about bikes. Buying a GMC bike does NOT make you an expert, TerryB!

To the OP, it is a pretty bike, although I wouldn't say the same about the bar tape.

Oh, like you know anything about bikes. Buying a GMC bike does NOT make you an expert, TerryB!


It's not a GMC you pinche carbron, it's a Cadillac.

It's not a GMC you pinche carbron, it's a Cadillac.

My bad: I forgot all about the chromed spinner dork disks on it and the velvet seat cover.

Now that's some long head tube. You might feel some stress in the shoulders on long distances. I think a shorter stem might be better. Angle down a bit, and take out some of those spacers.

Now that's some long head tube. You might feel some stress in the shoulders on long distances. I think a shorter stem might be better. Angle down a bit, and take out some of those spacers.

Nah, the HT is fine, I'm 6'2", long torso and arms, the drop to the bar is fine too. I may look into a shorter stem or shorter reach bars after I give it a month. It's all in the feel, not the looks...cept for the bar tape, which was some old stuff I had that I wanted to use up.
I have a new roll of black Cinelli cork to throw on in the fall.

Congrats! That sho is a purty bike. :thumbsup: Don't much car for the bar tape but I love the clean look and geometry of the frame. Sweet!

No wonder... when I first saw the bike I thought "man, you got to have some real long torso to ride this"

Very clean looking bike. Atleast till the white gets dirty.

I love the brake cable routing.

Cable stops on the head tube are the best.

Nice bike but it needs some STP stickers or something. That and I get a strange sensation in my pants looking at it. It's naked.