Compact CSi teaser

[Keith A]

Well I am finally almost finished building up the fillet-brazed compact CSi that I purchased from our good pal Climb. It has taken me longer than I expected to get this project underway. I was originally going to have JB do a little work on it by adding some color and/or decals, but then I decided to just build it as is and see how I liked it before investing any money into the aesthetics of the bike.

The only thing left to finish is adjusting the position of the shift/brake levers and wrap the bars. So here's my version of the compact CSi...

Pretty. Simple, and pretty. Enjoy!

What's the Geometry?

[Climb01742]

ST: 49.5 (virtual: 55.5)
STA: 72.5
TT (virtual): 54.5
TT slope: 6.4d
HTA: 74

[PBWrench]

It really works. Radiates no-nonsense power. Might be interesting to see how a carbon post affects aesthetic symmetry. Enjoy!!

[Keith A]

PBWrench -- Thanks for the kind words (of course the paint scheme is all Climb). I actually purchased a carbon post for this bike, but am using my perennial favorite right now until I got everything dialed in and then might try the carbon post and see how it works.

[Keith A]

Here's a side shot of the bike...

[FierteTi52]

Keith,
Nice looking sloper. The carbon seatopst would look real nice.
Jeff

[davids]

God, I love this bike. I agree it needs some touches of color, but I'd take climb's approach, and mess with the seat, bartape, maybe tire colors... Use that beautiful, pure frame as the background. You can have a red & white bike this year, an orange & white next year, and a blue & white the year after that...

Glad it found a good home! Enjoy it!

[93legendti]

Originally Posted by Keith A

Here's a side shot of the bike...

NICE! Post and cranks balance the stem and fork just so. I'll bet it rides amazingly! Enjoy!

[Keith A]

Thanks for the compliments -- ride report will be coming soon

[slowgoing]

If over a year doesn't qualify as "soon," I'd hate to hear what a long time means to you.

[93legendti]

Hmmm, my size??

[Keith A]

Okay slowgoing, here's a brief ride report for you...

It has taken me a while to get used to ride of this bike as it handles a bit differently than my other bikes. The head tube and seat tube angles are to my liking, and I suspect it's the lower bottom bracket (8cm compared to 7cm) is what feels different. It might also be related to the fork trail which is 52mm with the 43mm fork offset and 74º HTA as compared to the 55/56mm trail on most of my other bikes. I recently picked up a 40mm fork which I'm going see if these feels better since it will produce a trail of 55mm.

The thing that felt a little odd was how the bike was less responsive to input than I'm used to. I like a bike that reacts to very little input but not to the point of being twitchy or nervous feeling. My other CSi is a perfect example of how I want a bike to handle -- which has a very responive front end, whereas this compact CSi tends to want to go straight. It was so noticeable at first that I didn't like riding with no hands since I would lean a little expecting the bike to respond, but it would just keep going straight.

The other minor quibble is that it is pretty easy to get some chain rub and I don't know if this is due the front derailleur needeing to be adjusted better or if there is just more bottom bracket flex.

Other than these issues, the frame is very comfortable and is a great bike for longer distances and have ridden this on several 3+ hour rides. I'm not sure I would want to race a crit on this bike, but I have grown to enjoy riding this bike.

I do need to post a picture of the final build and will try and remember to snap a picture of this.

[crossjunkee]

Very nice! White tape and you're set!

[Keith A]

I went with the Stella Azzurra Eleganz in black with white stiching. Love the look and feel of this tape, just don't like the durability.