Budget Velo Builds

  I received my new handlebars this past week, with some spacers and headset bearings and the headset compression plug. Te original bars seem great, but I wanted fully internal routing of my cables, and they weren't built for that. My mistake there. I also didn't realize that there were pieces I needed that didn't come with by default, namely the bearings and compression plug. The bearings are pretty self explanatory, the plug though has a nut that compresses the plug against the fork tube to keep things in place.   As the fork and tube are carbon fibre, need to use a plug like this, with a specific amount of torque to keep it tight on the one hand, and not break anything on the other. Next week, or the week after, I should have my wheels, and then, once I pick up a set of tires, I might be ready to start building!

  Been a while since I posted anything.  Still really waiting on parts and things.  I've received a few incidentals, like a saddle, and some valves and cables, tools, etc., and I may do a post on all those at once, once I get it all. But today I received my groupset .  If you don't know cycling terms, and I didn't not that long ago, the groupset is essentially the drive train of the bike.  Sometimes it includes the brakes as well, as they connect to the same levers, but you can buy the pieces separately.   This set contains a 50x34 crankset and bottom bracket, an 11x34 cassette, rear and front derailleurs, and the gear/brake levers and shift cables. One thing I only found out recently is that shift cables and brake cables aren't the same thing, and are different sizes, so I found that interesting.  I have brake cables as well, with my incidental things, including housing, which I'll explain more then too. The crankset is by a brand called Senicx, of which I really h