My pride and first build ever.

[g19]

Funny is that due to reading this forum i was impressed by the number of people who ride steel bikes and there experiences.

Over here in EU it's at least alu and the best is CF.
Anybody who is riding steel is either a student or a older person and it's a very small minority that choose to ride steel.

After having ridden a reasonable number of miles on my new alu bike and enjoyed it i had the opportunity to ride only about 100 yards on a perfect road to test steel (a washboard kinda road) and i was impressed or better yet i was convinced :D
From that moment on i realized where all these people where talking about.

I sold my alu bone shaker and got myself in to focussing on steel.

After a year of hard work and picking out the parts i wanted here is my pride and a celebration of that old magic material.

The frame was custom made as i had some health issues with my alu bike so made to fit me was a no:1 priority for me.

My goal was to build a bike that is not the lightest around, but one that would last my many years.
I feel that the chosen parts will help me to succeed that.

Some parts like crank and brakes have been painted to match the contrast of the colours of the frame.
I feel this way the bike/parts came out best although this may not be everbody's cup of tea.

Tomorrow my maiden ride .......

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z177/2yummy/DuellPassion.jpg

Frame: Duell Passion steel
Fork: Dedacciai CF
Paint: Multipaint red/black and white
Stem: Syntace F99
Bars: Syntace
Bartape: Fizik
Hubs: DT Swiss 240s
Spokes: Sapim Race butted
Rims: Mavic Open Pro
Tires: Michelin Krylion Carbon
Group: Shimano 105 HT II triple 10 speed
Jockey wheels: Tacx (bearing version)
BB: Phil Wood bearings
Pedals: SPD-SL
Saddle: Selle an atomica
Seatpost: Thomson
Bottle holders: Tacx
Bottle's: Tacx 750 cc
Cables: Stock Shimano's but they have a liner in them and where the inner cables are 'unprotected' the have been fitted in teflon liners making it fully protected against dirt.
Bike computer: Polar CS 600

[SouthernBelle]

Looks good! Can't wait to here about the maiden voyage.

[mimitabby]

well, fantastic, you did it! What a beautiful bike.

[jesvetmed]

That's pretty hot looking! Have fun with her!
Jes

[F8th637]

What a beauty! Welcome to the "I Love Steel" club! Alu is nice but I am a fan of steel. Have fun on its maiden voyage!

[bouncybouncy]

gotta love steel!!! I am not a roadie...but my steel bike is! and she treats me good!

your bike is a beeeaut!!! so what is the final weight?

[7rider]

Very nice.
Steel is real. (But Ti is fly!)

[bean fidhleir]

Lovely looking bike! So what derailers did you fit? You don't mention that.

[rij73]

It's a beautiful bike! Enjoy very much...

Oh, and Bean... she said it was a Shimano 105 gruppo.

[KatyLady]

Wow, nice job! Thanks for posting the picture. I look forward to hearing how she rides.

[bean fidhleir]

Oh, and Bean... she said it was a Shimano 105 gruppo.

oops, you're right, my mistake.

[g19]

Seeing how nice the weather was today AND tomorrow i'll extend my maiden ride with another day :D

I'll post my experiences tomorrow.

Thanks for the compliments everybody.

[g19]

Finally my update on the first maiden 100+ miles with my new steel pride.

It would be not fair to say the least to compare this bike with my former one (a Specialized Allez from 2006) wich is a low entrance kinda bike and is so equipped with low end parts.

I feel that the best way to compare would be to stick to the frame material wich is what i shall do.

So is there a difference to notice. Well definitely yes. The best way to describe it would be more stable and more smooth/comfortable on the same roads i have been riding my Allez. The roads i ride on are a mixture of asphalt, chip and seal, coble stones.

Riding these kinda roads on my former bike was relatively ok until one starts to add up the daily miles. Lets say 60+ miles a day and not forgetting age count's too :) I felt 'shaken' all over as in the short miles with the steel one the 'shaken' feeling is there, but not on the same level. There definately is a increase in 'comfort' it smooths out things and this is not a placebo effect :)
All these experiences is what i have been reading for so many times from others and no i can only confirm, it's true.

Further more when going downhill - has also to do with the wheels i admit - but here too more stable feeling then the former one.

So what's the conclusion.

Well that this one was custom build for my body measurements (and riding style) which is key in my eyes as no matter how nice and well equipped a bike looks if one's body measurements isn't spot on with the frame dimensions than i feel the performance is never 100% as is the pleasure while riding.

Was is it worth it, well yes although i regret that my lbs had sold me a bike (Allez) that never 'fit' me in the first place. But than again every downside has a upside i learned the hard way that you get what you pay for.

Further more when building one's own bike increases one's self confidence and technical independence when needed for maintenance and at a roadside repair :mad:

Realizing that all this started by reading this forum and asking myself why do these Americans have a 'thing' for steel.

After having had the opportunity to do the shortest bicycle test ride in my life, but probably the most important one :D i was convinced that steel was my frame and the rest is history.

All i have to do now is pedalling my steel pride and resisting a test ride on a TI bike ........

[madscot13]

cool bike! I like that you chose a bike that was perfect for you and spent time to find all the right parts.

how did you pain the crank? is it still lasting? that is an interesting custom thing to do.

[TxDoc]

Fantastic bike!
I am a steel lover. Yes, I also own a CF bike and I'm thinking of tying a Ti - but my steel Bianchi is still my favorite :)
Have fun with your new ride!

[g19]

The crank/brakes where painted, but one has to know the right base coat (i forgot what the painter used).

When i told him about the former painter how he screwed up he smiled and explained me about the preps one has to do and not just paint alu without for example blast the anodised layer of.

I also considered anodising, but i did not get the right answers and turned to my ever faithful painter who i trust completely as he has done several non everyday jobs and he knows his stuff.

Further is it that i like the contrast of what paint can bring as an extra.
There for i did what i did regarding the black paint on the alu parts.

Thanks everybody for your kind and encouraging words ;)