Susie W. Longbolts Build video

[brendonoid]

I finally finished it folks, please enjoy!

[Eric Marth]

This came up in my feed and I watched this morning. Nice build, great vid, cute puppy. 

Let us know how those applied scraps of bar tape hold up. 

How's the lever/hand feel on the brakes? I've found recently with my Paul cantis that backing them off gives me better stopping. 

Thanks for putting in the work on the build video and sharing!

[Ryan Frahm]

Great looking build and thank you for the video! I like the use of the frame bag behind the seat. I was considering having something made for that space when my budget frees back up but that would be more cost effective!

[iamkeith]

Fantastic.  Interesting how many of things you put effort into are the same that I did.  Rack mounting,  cable routing  especially.   Funniest thing is that I also toyed seriously  with the idea of making my own panel-style downtube decal to re-name the bike!   (By the time the frame arrived though, I had put so much thought into it,  that the double-name had endeared itself to me too much to ever want anything else.)  Good job though!

[iamkeith]

Oh, and I guess you can ignore my earlier reply in the other thread about a front fender not working that way.  Is that really a 2.8 tire?  I wonder if your XL fork is slightly different than my L fork, in ways other than the steerer tube length.  In addition to not having under -crown clearance, I didn't need to bend the rack stays like you did for brake clearance.

[brendonoid]

Thanks Eric, I have previously used these Neo Retros on my Appaloosa and on an old GT. I didn't like them either time, I have used a lot of canti's over the years and I would have put them at the bottom of the list. With these different pads and perhaps a more agreeable rim-to-brake-pivot ratio on the Susie they have transformed to some of the nicest cantilevers I have ever used. Pretty bizarre how fussy they are that such a simple change has totally transformed them. The lever feel is good now, too.

Keith, racks, fenders and dyno lights are always the hardest, slowest part! I think most bike shops charging extra for such things indicates we are not alone.