Possible new alu bike frame – Storck or Bowman?

Ok, so Bowman Palace on the way – getting it next week. 🙂

Anyone recommend a decent PF41 press fit BB? Thinking Hope, but I don’t have the fitting tool and my LBSs aren’t being that useful in pricing up supply and fitting…

Lovely. Photos when built. And tell them to hurry up with the Crays Foot!

Having had a quick look I’d probably go Hope Ceramic and take the hit on the 40 quid fitting tool (or maybe try and bodge one.)

That’s my thinking, though not sure if it will be stainless or ceramic. The only thing is, the economics of getting the tool are pretty solid but as this will be my only frame with pressfit, it may only ever get used once or twice!

Went for local Evans in the end, hope they don’t let me down 😯 – £81 including fitting, not too bad!

Ooh lovely!

Gratuitous photo heavy build thread when it arrives please.

Nice picture of the Cray Foots on their facebook page this afternoon . Some riding mates bumped into him the other night in the local woods testing it .

Well we’re mostly ready for the build, aside from a few bits which will hopefully arrive before the weekend! I’ll put a couple of pics up for you in due course:

Bowman Palace by theflatboy[/url], on Flickr

I really like those (would love ’em if they’d remove the “ride with passion” on the TT), recently liked them on Facebook and wished I’d never haha!

Like that.

Think the Palace logo looks a little lost on the TT, size wise it seems small compared to the main downtube logo.

Still lovely though.

Well I’ve got all the bits now, so ready for building tomorrow. Hopefully will get it all done. Agreed about top tube message (it’s ride with spirit on this one, by the way!), the Palace logo looks ok in the flesh, think it’s a bit washed out on that picture, plus one huge logo is enough!

I’m looking forward to this one, it’s going to be a light build and IMO a good one aesthetically too. Of course, can’t wait to ride it either!

Cool, get some more pics up!

My team is sponsored by bowman & the palace is our team bikes. Impressed with how it corners.

What are you building it up with?

It seems incredibly rude to say that without putting up at least one pic! 😉

Lovely that. What you going to be hanging off it?

My team is sponsored by bowman & the palace is our team bikes. Impressed with how it corners.

Cool, Team 22? Nice interview with them on Velocast

I could tell you what the build will be, but wouldn’t you rather wait and see it unfold with pictures? 🙂

As long as it gets the kit it deserves and doesn’t end up being some hora like creation 🙂

Along with dialled bikes and possibly on-one (brant-era) Bowman is another bike brand that would steadfastly refuse to sell a bike to Hora.

It’s a good build. Not insanely light or the flashiest, but good nonetheless. I warn you in advance the seat will be the wrong colour until the right one turns up – it is late!

Cool, Team 22? Nice interview with them on Velocast

Yup, velocast also a new sponsor for this year 🙂

Ok, the build is complete – very happy with it, though haven’t actually managed to get it outside to ride it at all yet!

Anyway, here are some pics. I’ll give you the full spec if you want. 🙂

Hope PF41 in situ by theflatboy[/url], on Flickr

Ultegra Chainset by theflatboy[/url], on Flickr

Palace headtube by theflatboy[/url], on Flickr

Ultegra front brake by theflatboy[/url], on Flickr

Bowman Palace – finished article! by theflatboy[/url], on Flickr

bump!

Very nice. So ended up ordering an aithein currently sat in a box until I can get the BB fitted and the old crankset off the current bike. Hopefully I’ll have it all built up by the end of May given mini me is due any day now.

Lovely that. Slightly curious choice of seat post and stem.

*like

Hmm like that a lot. As much as I’m a Campy fan that Ultegra groupset matches really well and seems totally in keeping with the purpose of the frame.

Echo the comments on the stem and post though.

Envious.

#workmanlike

Glad you like, generally – and I can live with “slightly curious” 😆 I like a Masterpiece, good weight and strong and solid too – got one on my alloy winter bike and happy with it on there…

It and the stem may or may not stay but they’re alright on there for now. Still haven’t managed to actually ride it 🙁

It’s just that the Thompson seat post has a reputation for being a bit on the stiff/solid side. Usually expect to see a carbon seat post on an Alu frame these days. If it works for you then no problems. I’d rather like a spin on that myself 🙂

On that tangent, a little mini review of the Canyon VCLS post (the older ‘post’ one rather than the newer parralelogram one).

I took the long way home the other night which included a few farm track climbs where you get to imagine yourself on the pave or strade bianche. It’s incredibly* forgiving, I swear you could feel the bike buck underneath you on the roughest stuff but still stay comfortably seated putting the power down.

If you can live with having a budget online brands OEM kit** on your nice bikes it’s a no brainer. I think they’ve addresssed this with the new aftermarket ones, the Canyon logo’s a bit more discreet.

*for a rigid post on a road bike, you still feel every ripple, it’s not MTB or FS levels of soft, it just doesn’t buzz like a stiff post and dampnes sharp edges.

**It was still ~£100, the new one’s £170, it’s not like getting a £12 Twelfty post on your Planet-X.

TINAS, interesting write up there. Was thinking of something along those lines for a (currently fantasy) CX bike build. Had been looking at the Spesh Pave and the Syntace Hiflex too.

Nice looking bike. Same geometry (56) as the CAAD8 so I imagine it rides very similarly – which is no bad thing at all. I do like then colour scheme. Have Bianchi sent a cease and desist letter yet 😉

Love my CAAD10 as it is seriously comfortable. What about one of the new Mason cycles frames. Loads of pictures on Instagram and they look great.

http://www.masoncycles.cc

Probably depends on what you use the CX for, for racing I guess you’d be stood up more, it’d still work, just maybe not as much value added. As a winter trainer on back roads or for a ‘gravel’ type bike it’d be a great option.

I’d been impressed by it on normal roads, feels like a few mm more padding on the saddle, or a good chamois, or a few psi out of the tyre, but without the downsides. that was just the first time I think I’d taken it up a rough track that’s still rideable at full speed, it really does feel like it bends quite a long way under you!

Final comments:

1. Total build weight including pedals is 7.88kg, which I’m pretty happy with. I would like it to be a bit lower, but unlikely to be able to make significatn weight savings so it will probably stay around that mark or a touch lower.

2. It’s a great bike – 50 miles (5,000 ft climbing) in Yorkshire over the weekend and I absolutely love it, fantastic to ride, climbs, accelerates and handles at any speed beautifully, truly nice to ride. Excellent stuff.

3. Two things I don’t like:
a. That “Ride with Spirit” logo on the top tube. Hard to ignore as well!
b. Bizarrely, you can’t get a rear wheel with an inflated 25mm tyre past the chainstay bridge to get the wheel on or off, so can only fit / remove wheels with flat tyres. Hopefully won’t get too annoying, but that’s pretty odd if you ask me!

That’s all. 🙂

That’s a good weight (lighter than my alu TCR with 50mm tubs/105), I reckon they should offer the frames with that logo as an option. Would def put me off buying!

theflatboy …. How you getting on with your Bowman ? I emailed you earlier ..

Cheers

Bump for any bowman owners .. Keen to hear any experience of them good or bad 🙂

+1, sorry I did see the email and have been meaning to reply – I’ve been a bit busy over the weekend. I’ll send you a longer reply but short story is I still love the bike, super fast, really nice to ride and generally one happy owner. It took me round the Ride100 faster than I thought possible too, so all in all very good. 🙂

Nice one cheers 🙂