New $150 Nashbar Frame Build - Carbon/Ultegra - Pictures

[Syncmaster]

Hey everyone. Just started posting here, so I guess this is my formal introduction. Hello! I've been on the hunt for a while now for a road bike to upgrade from my beat up track bike that I've put tons of miles on. I'm now in a place where the terrain isn't entirely flat so I've been longing for gears for a while. I had an old Trek 420 road bike a while back but it was quite heavy and I enjoyed my track bike more.

Anyway, after searching for a used higher end road bike for months and not finding something with the components I wanted for the price I had in mind, I found the Nashbar AL integrated frame with Carbon seat/chain stays for only $150, and my imagination started wandering. I searched a bit for the frame online to read reviews and everything seemed positive. XavierM on this forum actually built up the same frame a few weeks ago and his build really got me thinking about what I could do with the frame. Here's his thread if you haven't seen it:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bik...ld-255940.html


Then the real epiphany happened when I stumbled upon the blemished/damaged complete bike section of Bikeisland.com.... and they had this Motobecane Immortal Force with Ultegra components, plenty of carbon and Mavic wheels for the really fair price of just a bit more than $900. They still have one in white if anyone thinks they could do the same as I did:
BikeIsland.com

Just needed to buy the Nashbar frame and swap over the components. Everything fit perfectly and I just got the bike back from my LBS today after they finished installing what I didn't have the capacity to do myself.

I now plan to sell the damaged Motobecane carbon frame on ebay and see how much I can get back for it which will lower the cost of this build even more.

I haven't been able to ride it yet because of the weather but I'll give a full ride report when I have.

All in all I'm very excited about the bike. It's basically my first real road bike and I think it'll be a blast to put some miles on.

I haven't weighed the complete bike yet but it's very, very light. Definitely well under 20lb even with the relatively heavy Mavic Aksium wheelset.

Here are some first pics of the bike in my tiny apartment. When the weather clears up I'll shoot some more outside and add them here.

Only concern I have is after looking at the photo of the crankset, I noticed the teeth on the FSA chainring are slightly uneven. It's hard to tell in the stock photos of the crankset online if this is the case with all their rings on the SLK Light crank, but I'm wondering if this crankset had been used before?.... thoughts?

[Dave Hickey]

Absolutely beautiful.......well done

[buster71]

Wow, that is sweet looking. Congrats.

[Syncmaster]

Absolutely beautiful.......well done

Thanks guys!

[Optimus]

Gotta say, that looks sweet ... congrats on the bike and enjoy the ride!!

[Local Hero]

Well done.

I had no idea that bikeisland had a damaged product section. Can you link to it?

[Syncmaster]

Well done.

I had no idea that bikeisland had a damaged product section. Can you link to it?

Neither did I! You can check out all their road bike deals here:

BikeIsland.com (link shortened automatically by the forum settings, it's not a link to the home page, it's the actual link to their damaged/blemished bikes page)

They still have one more Motobecane Carbon complete bike like the one I used at a big $500 discount.

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

[RoadSwag]

When the pic loaded, all I could say was "Damn that's sexy", out loud and nobody was around lol. Very nice looking! Can't go wrong with white and black

[ywextg]

Thanks guys!

[Syncmaster]

Glad you guys like it. I will take her for the innagural ride tonight after work. Only thing I need now is some nice water bottle cages and I'll put my computer on it once I've got the ride dialed in.

[Nielly]

The teeth on the crankset are profiled that way the make the upshift smoother.

[svard75]

Only concern I have is after looking at the photo of the crankset, I noticed the teeth on the FSA chainring are slightly uneven. It's hard to tell in the stock photos of the crankset online if this is the case with all their rings on the SLK Light crank, but I'm wondering if this crankset had been used before?.... thoughts?

What a stunning bike! It's fantastic and the deal is great too.

I would be cautious when selling the broken frame on ebay. Make sure you have a disclaimer in Large letters specifying the frame is broken and you take no responsibility if something happens while riding it in it's current condition. C.Y.A.

Also those variances in teeth are designed that way it's not wear or damage.

[Sablotny]

Nice build! I think that such carefully planned, budget-conscious bikes are more interesting and unique than the "$5K frame + SR + Bora" bikes.

[brianmcg]

Nice build! I think that such carefully planned, budget-conscious bikes are more interesting and unique than the "$5K frame + SR + Bora" bikes.

I agree. Im thinking of doing the same thing with Nashbars all aluminum frame. Cant beat it for $75. I want to powder coat it white and use all black components like the op.

[Syncmaster]

Nice build! I think that such carefully planned, budget-conscious bikes are more interesting and unique than the "$5K frame + SR + Bora" bikes.

Thank you! That really means a lot. I really took a lot of time hunting around for what I wanted and then when I found it I jumped on the opportunity!

Can't wait to ride it tonight.....

And regarding the Nashbar all AL frame, I think they make it with an integrated head tube as well in white for $75. Might be worth looking at that instead of spraying their non integrated headset frame.
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0_10000_202389

[takl23]

That's a sharp looking machine! I want to hear what it rides like for sure!

[gnatman]

Syncmaster...very nice, expecially for the DIY qualities.

I'm almost done with a similar project, but instead of buying the whole bike from bikeisland, I bought the Motobecane Al frame + carbon fork + headset bearing + Ultegra 6600 FD from their ebay buy-it-now ad for $300, shipped. I've collected the rest of the parts thru ebay, barter, and searching out internet specials. Should be done this weekend.

I was impressed with bikeisland...they initially shipped the wrong frame...black instead of plain aluminum. But I contacted them by email and they told me just to package up the black frame and have FEDEX pick it up at my house. They shipped a replacement right away. Honest mistake, quickly corrected.

[wai11111]

One word "OUTSTANDING"!

[Kuma601]

Ya did well...congrats and enjoy!

[Syncmaster]

Syncmaster...very nice, expecially for the DIY qualities.

I'm almost done with a similar project, but instead of buying the whole bike from bikeisland, I bought the Motobecane Al frame + carbon fork + headset bearing + Ultegra 6600 FD from their ebay buy-it-now ad for $300, shipped. I've collected the rest of the parts thru ebay, barter, and searching out internet specials. Should be done this weekend.

I was impressed with bikeisland...they initially shipped the wrong frame...black instead of plain aluminum. But I contacted them by email and they told me just to package up the black frame and have FEDEX pick it up at my house. They shipped a replacement right away. Honest mistake, quickly corrected.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Makes me feel good about my decisions I made for this bike! Ha.

Been happy with Bikeisland as well. They communicated well and they shipped very quickly.

Just got back from my first ride with the bike. Only got to do a quick lap around the park before sunset, but by quick, I mean QUICK! This thing is a speed demon. Wow. Honestly, it's fantastic. I haven't ridden many high end road bikes, but this is what I expect them to feel like. The Shimano Ultegra components shift beautifully, and so flawlessly. I was amazed at how fast they work.

But we all know Ultegra should be top notch. What makes this bike unique is the frame. For $150 I'm absolutely thrilled with how it performs. The complete bike with the frame is super light-weight which I realized again and again when I went to accelerate. It takes off like a rocket and feels very very nimble under power. Didn't feel any flexing when pushing it hard. Not skatey or unstable either. When going down hill It held it's line well and I felt very confident in the bike at speed. The frame size I got I feel is spot on. I think the 52cm would have been too big for me and I'm very glad I ended up getting the 50cm. Nashbar's frame sizing is weird. Their 50cm frame has a ST length of 54.5cm. I went what was closest to my current frame size and I'm glad I did.

The carbon fork, seat post, seat stays and chainstays definitely help to dampen the bumps in the road and it was quite comfortable once I figured out my saddle position.

Overall I'm blown away by the bike and so stoked on riding it. I'm going out again before work tomorrow morning before the park's open to cars :-)

Highly recommend the frame! At $150 it's a total bargain. And not to worry, at the same time, I was still able to give my LBS business in this whole process ;-)

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'll keep updating this thread with more pics soon.

[CrimsonX]

Fabulous job! You have inspired me!

Did you have any problems with the bottom bracket being moved from the Motobecane to the Nashbar? It is hard to see what type of bottom bracket the Nashbar Frame accepted on their website...

[Kuma601]

After your post, I went and looked at the frame specs...kinda threw me seeing the ST lengths relative to TT length. I was scratching my head at that. The 48cm would be my size for ST but the 52.5TT is what I usually go by. Anyway...;) I think I have an idea what to do with the Rival group sitting here.

Glad you posted your build up.

[Syncmaster]

Fabulous job! You have inspired me!

Did you have any problems with the bottom bracket being moved from the Motobecane to the Nashbar? It is hard to see what type of bottom bracket the Nashbar Frame accepted on their website...

Thanks! The Nashbar frame has a 68mm English thread BB. I didn't move the BB over myself, I had the LBS do it for me but obviously they didn't have any trouble. They said it all swapped over with no issue.

Those looking to buy this frame, the only caution I have is to make sure you inspect it very closely out of the box when it's shipped from Nashbar. The first frame I got from them had a big dent in the top cup of the headtube :-( But it was in the frame size above the one I ended up going with. I ordered 2 sizes to compare and luckily the one that had the dent was the one I wasn't going to keep anyway. I called Nashbar and they said to send it back right away and they'd reimburse me for shipping. So just be sure to check it all out before you start building!

If you build up another nashabr frame post pics! Would love to see what other people come up with from this frame.

After your post, I went and looked at the frame specs...kinda threw me seeing the ST lengths relative to TT length. I was scratching my head at that. The 48cm would be my size for ST but the 52.5TT is what I usually go by. Anyway...;) I think I have an idea what to do with the Rival group sitting here.

Glad you posted your build up.

Yeah the frame sizing was strange.... but I lucked out because it was pretty identical to my bike I was riding before which I felt fit me pretty well. I also asked Nashbar (through their live help feature on their site which is awesome by the way) and they recommended the size I ended up going with. Might be worth talking to them. But I think you will know what frame size to go by if you already know what kinds of frames have fit you in the past. Just go with the one that's closest to what you like.

A full Rival group build would be sweet!

I'm glad my post might have inspired some others to go the same route I have.

[techrider]

After seeing your nashbar build I took a look at bikeisland site and sure enough there are some treat deals. Now to convince the wife why it is a good idea to buy a "broken" bike and a new frame LOL. Thanks for posting the pictures. The frames looks like a great deal.

[Syncmaster]

After seeing your nashbar build I took a look at bikeisland site and sure enough there are some treat deals. Now to convince the wife why it is a good idea to buy a "broken" bike and a new frame LOL. Thanks for posting the pictures. The frames looks like a great deal.

I think that site is a hidden gem.... so glad I stumbled upon it and snatched up what I did. Someone else on another forum bought the second and last motobecane that I bought a few days ago as well with the same intentions...

Go for it! I'm so happy with the build. It rides like a dream.

I just got back from the LBS where I had the complete bike weighed.

Came in at 18.5lb with pedals, water bottle cage, and computer. I think that's pretty darn good considering the wheelset is pretty heavy, so are the pedals. When I feel like I need to, I'll upgrade as I see fit. But for now I'm thrilled with how it came out.

Been riding it as much as I can and it has been holding up so well.