A Soma San Marcos (Amos) Build

[Lucero]

There aren't too many photos of Soma San Marcos builds online, so I figured I'd post this as maybe I'll be doing a service to some curious souls out there. Christmas pushed this Amos over the finish line and I completed the build on New Year's Day. Photos: http://imgur.com/a/U12iY

The frame is a 51 and fits my 80 PBH eerily perfectly. The ride is lively and zippy, as expected, yet extremely confidence-inspiring in some way I have yet to figure out. Maybe that's what the "sport touring" thing is all about? Anyways, I don't weigh much and ride predominantly paved surfaces here in San Francisco, but I can already see this San Marcos serving as an excellent all-rounder. Will need to report back after some additional fine-tuning (and perhaps a light tour / camping trip), but overall I'm loving the ride and can't wait to put the bike to work.

Parts: Velocity Atlas 650B wheelset, Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard 42 mm tires, Sugino XD2 triple crankset, Shimano UN55 bottom bracket, MKS RMX pedals, Shimano Claris derailleurs, Silver downtube friction shifters, Tektro R559 brakes, FSA Duron X headset, Nitto Technomic stem, Nitto Albatross bars, Tektro FL750 levers, Uno SP-248 seatpost, Brooks B17 Special Honey saddle, SKS P50 Longboard fenders, Crane brass bell, front (+ medium Wald) and rear Nitto racks to be mounted soon.

A note about the fenders/clearance: I had every intention of maxing out my tire size on this bike, whether or not that meant I could run fenders, thus the 42 mm Schwalbe Marathons. I'm not sure what they actually measure - high 30s, maybe? Got to chatting with some folks at American Cyclery in SF, who told me I should be able to run fenders just fine. Besides Rivendell and maybe Soma, they would know best. No generous clearances to speak of, but rear clearance is fine, front clearance is fine if not just a few mm tighter. Doing great on asphalt, may not fare so well if you add mud to the equation.

[blakcloud]

That is a really nice bike. Enjoy!

[Philip Kim]

Awesome build! Here's mine. Also a 51cm. Agree it is an awesome ride.

Dyad 650b wheelset, SP dyno. Paul Racers, Nitto RM-013 handlebars, 42mm Parimotos in the picture, but currently run 42mm Paselas. I also run a 1x9 and it has been awesome. Shimano 5800 crankset w/ Wolftooth chainring 38, with IRD/Riv 12-40 9 speed cassette. Used a "road link" from Wolftooth, which allows my Shimano 105 rear derailleur to successfully shift all gears.

I have Tektro 559's as my rear brake on my Cheviot, and the Paul Racers allow more clearance. I can fit fenders with the 42mm tires.

I use rackless bags (top tube frame bag, handlebar bag, seatbag) to carry more load.

[Philip Kim]

Also your pics definitely catch the color more accurately than mine ...

[WETH]

That is a beautiful bike and build. Well done and enjoy the rides.

Thanks for sharing,

Erl

On Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 10:33:52 AM UTC-5, Lucero wrote:

[Tim Gavin]

This thread has prompted me to take better pictures of my girlfriend's San Marcos, especially since its last rebuild.

This is one of the best I have.  Taken at Jim Thill's Riv Roundup in MN a couple years ago, atop the western bluff.

Hers is a 51 cm first generation (47 cm would have been a perfect fit, but I got this one for a steal).

 

Currently, it wears Nitto B135 Rando bars, with Origin8 Classique levers (poor-man's TRP RRL gum) and Shimano 10s bar ends.  Shimano triple crank with an 11-32 cassette gives tons of gear range.

It fits 650 x 38 mm Pari-Moto tires under SKS P45 fenders with Tektro R559 brake calipers.

She loves the front rack and bags; I'm never getting them back (Nitto Campee Classic "Randonneur/650b" model with lowrider frames and some Mountainsmith panniers).  I removed the rear rack (and ugly Topeak bag that goes with it) for a large (medium) Acorn Saddle bag.

She also loves the B17 saddle and Brooks leather bar tape.

Cheers,

Tim

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[Linda G]

How is toe overlap on the 51?

[Lucero]

Thanks, everyone!

Philip, I definitely had to get creative to mount the front fender. At the time I was thinking I could use a Paul Racer or a Dia Compe Mod 750 up front. Glad to hear the Racer works for you. Beautiful bike!

Tim, feel free to drop those new photos into this thread if/when you snap them. Looks like an awesome build. I feel the understated Tiburon Blue suits me better, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think the original pearly blue was gorgeous. Sorry to hear about the front rack and pannier situation, sounds like you need a matching set.

Linda, it's there, but to be honest I never thought of or noticed it until you asked. Thanks to the 650b and the expanded geometry, toe overlap is minimal.

On Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 7:33:52 AM UTC-8, Lucero wrote:

[Tim Gavin]

On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 10:08 PM, Lucero <michaeljo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Tim, feel free to drop those new photos into this thread if/when you snap them. Looks like an awesome build. I feel the understated Tiburon Blue suits me better, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think the original pearly blue was gorgeous. Sorry to hear about the front rack and pannier situation, sounds like you need a matching set.

I did end up finding a matching set of Ortliebs from a list member (Sport Packers and Back Rollers), and I have a Nitto Mt. Campee Classic (F20) lowrider rack.  Although, my Riv Road's mid-trail fork and rear eyelets only means that rack rides very close to the fork legs.  I can make it work, but only by running the centerpull straddle cable in front of the yoke on the platform.  I used that setup (F20 and Sport Packers) for RAGBRAI 2015. 

For now, my Riv is set up with a Mark's Rack and a Banzer / Treetop rando bag.

My '88 Schwinn KOM is a better 4-bag mule anyway, especially now that I've added a bunch of rack eyelets.

[lucero]

Here's how this Amos looks after a few weeks of tinkering:

I raised the bars up nice and high and mounted Mark's rack with a medium Wald. In the original photoset you might have noticed a slight dip in the fender line below the fork crown. I opened up more front fender clearance by:

• replacing the L-shaped fender mounting bracket with a fork crown daruma
• swapping the Tektro R559 out for a Paul Racer

I'm happy with the results. Kudos to Box Dog Bikes for the help.

[Paul G]

Nice bikes, guys. I noticed that Phillip's fork has a more French-style bend to it.

[lucero]

Thanks!

I believe the fork styling was switched to a tight, low bend at some point in 2015. I bought my San Marcos frameset new in April 2015, so I must have gotten one of the last 2014 frames laying around. If I knew the fork change was coming I would have held off a few months, but the banana bend is aesthetically pleasing in its own right IMO.

[Evan Baird]

There are still some chrome "j" replacement forks available, but I wouldn't wait too long because I'm told they don't plan on producing any more San Marcos. So I assume forks are done too.

[Lucero]

Swapped in Compass Babyshoe Pass tires under VO snakeskin fenders:

Awesome ride is now more awesome.

[Justin Schoop]

Any comment on the tires so far?

[Lucero]

While the previously mounted Schwalbe Marathons are tops in terms of durability and reliability (i.e. they're bomb-proof), the Compass tires easily outclass them in terms of pure ride quality. Between weighing roughly two lbs less per set and being constructed of much more supple casing, I am finding all the praise Compass tires get regarding speed and comfort to be justified. FYI for those interested, my calipers measure the week-old set at about 40.5 mm.

My only other tire comparison in 650b would be the Soma B-line, which is essentially a 38mm Pasela. The Marathons and B-lines would serve as great tires for many practical applications, but this new set of Babyshoe Pass tires has me simultaneously riding faster AND enjoying the ride much more.

Will report back on these tires after a few months of zipping around on mixed terrain...

[Justin Schoop]

Thanks, I have a pair showing up tomorrow.