Body parts
I mean bike parts. Here are (most of) the components. Not listed here but definitely on my actual bike: chain (whatever the local bike shop stocks), brake, spokes, tires, pedal straps.
| Component | Make & model | Weight | Key specs | Kwon notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddle | Cinelli Unicanitor | 296 g | Plastic reissue of the classic, 7 mm rails | This is a hard plastic saddle although some of the marketing materials call it "calibrated technopolymer" lol. It is quite rigid, but on the flip side it's very robust when left outside in NYC weather (I usually bring it inside but sometimes I'm lazy and lock it up outside overnight), and not as terrible comfort-wise as you would think. If i go for an extended ride, which is infrequent nowadays, I'll wear padded shorts. |
|
Seatpost collar | Salsa Lip Lock | 34 g | 31.8mm, aluminum, orange | Isn't the name "lip lock" cute? |
|
Seatpost | Civia Microadjust | 330 g | 27.2 mm, aluminum, silver | No complaints about this seatpost, although I don't think they make this model anymore |
|
Rear wheel rim | Velocity B43 | 722 g | 700c, 43 mm, nonmachined sidewall | Rear wheel was originally an Aerospoke, but I liked it so much that I put it on my everyday bike (the one I was using while building this one up), and that bike ended up getting stolen :( |
|
Rear hub | Velocity track hub | 337 g | 32h, silver | Durable, never gave me any issues. |
|
Front wheel rim | Velocity Deep V | 580 g | 700c, machined sidewall | These were super trendy in Brooklyn around 2010. People would leave the stickers on the rims, like how people would leave the stickers on their New Era caps in the '90s. |
|
Front hub | Phil Wood front high flange hub | 262 g | 32h, silver | I always wanted a Phil Wood hub because they seemed super high end (read: expensive). To be honest, I can't really tell the difference between this one and the Velocity track hub which was half the price. Marketing! |
|
Cog | All-City Track Cog | 262 g | 16T x 1/8", stainless steel | With the 46T chainring my gear ratio is 2.88 (=46T/16T), which works well for (mostly) flat city streets without killing me on the bridges |
|
Cranks | All-City 612 Track Cranks + Chainring | 726 g | 165 mm, white | Pretty solid crankset. I remember I initially got it in silver but then exchanged for the white because I liked the look better. |
|
Pedals | Gusset Slim Jim | 640 g | White, sealed bearing | I love these flat bmx pedals. |
|
Bottom bracket | Shimano UN55 | 286 g | English, 68 x 113 mm, square taper | Never gives me a problem. I've switched it out exactly once in 16 years. |
|
Frame | nadabike | 1,900 g | 52 cm steel (chromoly) frame, horizontal dropouts | Nada Bike was a project where you could get a simple single speed steel bike frame for $150 and build up your own bicycle. |
|
Headset | FSA Orbit X | 95 g | 1" threadless, silver | I think I bought this on a trip to Austin, Texas. Either that or a bike shop in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood where I stayed for my last couple months in Chicago. |
|
Handlebars | Origin8 Bullhorn Handlebar | 320 g | 31.8 x 400mm, silver | Rode with flat bars chopped down to be comically narrow for a while but I find the bullhorns a lot more comfortable (and let's be real, I'm not squeezing between cars in rush hour traffic in my 40s anymore) |
|
Stem | Thomson Elite X2 | 150 g | 31.8 mm, silver, +-10 degree x 70 mm | I love this stem. I also felt like this was super high end when I bought it. |
|
Fork | Soma Straight Blade | 890 g | 1 1/8" threadless, 300 mm steerer | I like the look of a straight blade fork. It's probably more practical to have some offset but I'm not too serious about it tho. |
