RC's Dream Build

RacerChick

Hudson Valley Girl
Last month with my shoulder surgery a couple a weeks away, I knew I would having a lot of spare time to focus on my dream Cyclocross build. I have always loved the Ridley line of bikes since I was introduced to Cyclocross by Tommy 4 years ago.
With the Cyclocross season a month away, I knew finding Ridley Carbon frameset would be a difficult task. Ridley sells out on their Cross framesets very quickly. Ridley only has 2 Carbon frames, The very expensive X-Night, this is the frame that has won many Cyclocross World Cups. The X-Night frameset alone retails for $2500 plus, to be honest I wasn't crazy about the color choices of the X-Night. The less expensive X-Fire frameset retails $1500 and the 2010-2011 frame comes in natural Carbon clear coat 😀 Doing a "dream build" and having a tight budget is like trying to mix oil and water. I'm lucky to have some components from previous bikes that will be used in this latest project. Now with the X-Night frameset picked it was time to find it. I began checking websites and found nothing. I would check eBay constantly and still nothing, I knew if I kept looking for my dream frameset I'll find it. Two weeks ago Tommy said to me "Hey, did ya see this?" There it was, just listed on Ebay! A 2011 Ridley Black Carbon Frameset! Listed as used, this frame looked to be in mint condition. The listing had the "Buy it Now" option for $925.00. With one swift click it was mine! Tommy completed the preliminary build just yesterday. There are still a few components I still need to get. During the bike fit, I felt a bit cramped. Tommy suggested I try a 25mm set back seat post which worked out well. I have my eyes on the Fizik Carbon 25mm seat post. The Mavic tubulars that I used last year could work, but how could I build a dream bike be without a Carbon wheels? The 50mm Carbon Dura-Ace wheels are at the top of my list.

On to the pictures

Picture #1 The Ridley Frameset
Picture #2 Here is the built bike, just a few more goodies and she will be complete.
Picture #3 The Carbon weave on the X-Fire I think is incredible looking.
Picture #4 More Carbon weave.
Picture #5 It's mine!
 

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RC's Dream Build ...

Continued ...

Picture #6 Salvaged parts ... In this build I could have used the brand new 7950 Dura-Ace Crankset, this older 7800 is one of my favorites. It's fitted with single 42T Rotor Ring. Ridley's accessory company is called "4ZA" They have a full Carbon Crankset that someday might be a choice.
Picture #7 IMO the Shimano XTR pedals are the only way to go ... period.
Picture #8 A different idea. I'm using a new XTR rear 11/32 cassette with the 42T single up front. The new XTR 972 SG Shadow rear derailleur (short cage) handles the shifting nicely. The Shadow has a nice full Carbon cage. The focus on this build was to keep the weight down by shaving off the grams. As of now it this build weighs 17.8 lbs. The new Fizik Carbon seat post and Carbon wheelset will bring X-Fire to the 16 lb range 😀
Picture #9 The new Fizik Aliante colors I think match well. Using the Fizik Carbon Aliante would shave grams, I'm afraid it may not stand up to the punishment of CX racing.
Picture #10 Last year I cracked a pair of Carbon bars when I crashed during warm up. On this build I'm using FSA aluminum 42mm bars with a 125mm drop. The right side shift lever is a 9 speed Dura-Ace. The left side is a simple brake only lever.
The sad part of this dream build is I may miss a good part of the 2011 Cycloross season due to my recent shoulder surgery. With luck I could be racing by mid-October. I'm already back riding the trainer everyday, trying to retain some fitness. I need to thank my husband Tommy for building the bike for me. Thanks for looking and see ya at the races,
RC ... 🙂
 

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Beautiful bike RC. All that sweet, silky, sexy carbon looking back at you... Yum!
Ride it in good health and much happiness!
 
your welcome, glad to help.

he better not get the credit, i did most of the work.
OK, this is weird! :hmmm:
Beautiful bike RC. All that sweet, silky, sexy carbon looking back at you... Yum!
Ride it in good health and much happiness!
Thanks Cyclopath, Sweet, silky, sexy, carbon ... I love it!

Very Nice!!!!
Not bad for a "plastic" bike 😉

Pimpin girl! Heal up quick so we can watch you rip it up on that fine machine!
Soon I hope Fred, if I can't race you know I'll be screaming for you
 
Dream Build Completed

My dream Cyclocross race bike is finally completed. The Dura Ace Carbon Tubulars came in today and Tommy mounted up the tires for the pictures.
IMO I think this bike looks awesome! This is the bike that would be on the starting line at a World Cup in Belgium. OK, I'm getting carried away now 😀
On to the pictures ...

Picture #1 The final build. She weighs in at 17.2 lbs I could not be more thrilled with this bike. Thanks to Tommy for putting up with me during this project.
Picture #2 I looked at many Carbon Tubular wheelsets and found myself comparing them to the Dura Ace 50mm. My mind was made up.
Picture #3 I originally had a Token stem, I liked the look of the alloy/carbon Ritchey WCS. At 100mm I was able to shave 12 grams.
Picture #4 This Ritchey Carbon stem cap with the pink bolt finishes the look of the stem.
Picture #5 Again, I had a pair of FSA alloy bars on the previous build. With my recent shoulder surgery the Ritchey WCS Carbon Logic bars would have less vibration transfer :hmmm: Plus they look awesome and shaved off more grams!
 

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Dream Build Completed

Continued

Picture #6 I love the look of the Dura Ace hubs and bladed spokes, the XTR 32/11 cassette works well with the single 42T Q-Ring up front.
Picture #7 The Challenge Grifos are the best all around tire IMO.
Picture #8 The 7800 Dura Ace Crank is a workhorse. This 42T chain ring is only for training.
Picture #9 The Dura Ace front hub and DA skewers.
Picture #10 Now I just need to heal up and get my fitness back. This Ridley X-Fire will be a blast to race. My training has been going well, mostly focusing on intervals and tempo rides on the road using the Ridley.

Thank for looking and see ya at the races!
RC
 

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Looks AWESOME! Can't wait to see you ripin it up on that thing. Good luck with it.🙂

Yeah I can't wait too Pixy! Tommy is racing both days at the Nittany Lion CX in 2 1/2 weeks. Saturday I want to try and ride the course to see how the collarbone/shoulder feels. I may try to race Sunday, even if I'm in last place it's still racing. With the new Canon DSLR camera, I am excited to be taking tons of pictures of all my friends!

Making the Carbon tubular wheelset choice was tough. I did a lot of research on wheelsets. The other Carbon wheels I liked were the Easton Areo EC 90's, I have the EC 70 clinchers and have broken spokes on them. I am very impressed with Norm's Cannondale, his Reynolds Carbon wheels look really nice on his road bike. Any good Carbon tubular wheelset could cost $2000+
To be honest, I still feel that using the high priced carbon wheels will not make much difference in Cyclocross racing. They will shed mud easier than boxed alloy rims. They are lighter and look awesome. Using expensive Carbon wheels only on race day to me is a waste. Next year I'll be doing mostly road racing, so my Dura Ace wheels will be utilized more.
 
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