Building CX - Help choosing parts

wombar

I live (relatively) near the New Forest and that's where I do 95% of my riding. As much as I love riding on the roads, I keep looking longingly at the trails scattered around the New Forest. I've decided to build a CX bike which will give me the best of both worlds (I hope). Drop bars for the journey there (about 7 miles) and a some reasonably knobbly tyres (plus disc brakes) to get round the trails.

Not looking to do serious off roading, but my BeOne Storm isn't up to this particular task. I also love to tinker with my bikes, and quite frankly I need a project (there's only so many times I can clean my chain, grease BB etc). The n+1 rule also applies

I'm fine doing the technical stuff (I think), I just need a little advice on choosing the parts.

Frame - I've got a 56cm Cotic X on the way

Chainset - I'm going to cannibalise my Storm for parts. It's got an Ultegra triple on it, which I figure would be a good choice for the CX bike (inc shifters)? Never use the granny gear, so I was going to put a double on the Storm. Is the Ultegra going to survive or am I going to kill it in short order?

Wheels - What wheels should I go for? Must be disc compatible as I'm putting Avid BB7 Roads on. Budget ~£200 max (less would be good). Have looked at Spa cycles custom build, how do I choose what Rim to go for? Is that a good set to choose?

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 7s178p2236

Stem - How do I go about choosing a stem? Just a little confused as to what length/angle I should be going for. My Storm is a 55cm. Budget ~£50.

Thanks in advance

Pseudonym

if it helps, the reach on my cross bike is about 2-3cm shorter than my road bikes, which gives a slightly less prone position, so look for a stem which gives you a position you are happy with - nobody else can really suggest one for you.

You will not kill ultegra kit on a CX bike and regular road rims should be fine....

ex-pat scot

I run a standard road double on my CX bikes.
Road rims too (used to use these on my MTB in early '90s - MA40s). Never a problem.

CX bike setup is roughly my standard road setup.

I run 23s for fast riding, 32 semi-slicks for general commuting & day to day riding. 35 CX tyres for offroad fun. I've not been on my MTB in a very long time

wombar

Good stuff, thanks for the replies guys

I'm putting Avid BB7 roads on, so I'll need wheels which accept disks. I'll probably give Spa a call tomorrow and have a chat with them about what they think is a good choice.

The stem on my Storm appears to be a 110mm one. I'll look around for a deal on something of a similar size. I guess I won't really know until the bike is mostly built and I can get a sit/ride on it. I'll buy something cheap to get me started and go from there.

Will try to post an update once the bike is finished over the next few weeks.