Rusby Steel - custom build

gweeds
gweeds Posts: 2,613
edited March 2014 in Your road bikes
Thought it might be of interest to some. Built for me last year by Jake Rusby in London. A belated 40th present to myself after several years out of riding after breaking my neck.

I went to the Bespoked show in Bristol in April last year with a view to looking at builders. It was there that I was put in touch with Jake, who’s just starting to make a name for himself over here. A big part of the process for me was clicking with the person who’d build the frame and I immediately liked Jake and his approach.

So we talked for a couple of weeks after the show and then started the process properly. We originally looked at a complete 953 build but I liked the idea of Columbus, so we decided to go with an XCR/Life/Spirit mix. XCR for the downtube. chainstays and BB shell for stiffness, Life and Spirit elsewhere. My main priorities were fit, comfort and keeping the build to a sensible cost.

I absolutely didn’t want to replicate the ride of a carbon race bike like my Series 5 Madone. So, we based the build on a Retul fit that I’d had done and I elected to stick with Ultegra mechanical as it’s what I run on my other bikes. I did briefly look at Campag but that would have meant more cost due to freehubs etc on my wheels. Di2 was discounted due to me wanting a more traditional feel.

The rest of the componets were 3T, Fizik, Look and Arundel. Nothing flash, but stuff I know well and trust. The wheels are a pair of Dura-Ace 50mm clinchers that I de-logo’d myself. Jake and I chose the colours together and I also wanted to give the bike a nod to the pink of the Giro and Rapha, whilst remaining subtle and the antithesis of shouty, logo-heavy designs. It's recently also had a pair of Dura-Ace 9000 C24's and C35's added (shared with the Madone so I can swap depending on the ride and weather)

had some specific requests, like the letter ‘J’ on the bike for my daughter, Jess, and a line that I’ve liked for a long time (and that Patrick Brady of Red Kite Prayer noted recently) – this is written on the inside of the rear chainstay in Jake’s handwriting – ‘There will be chaos, keep pedalling’. Jake added a few little touches of his own which I wanted him to do. Aesthetically he knows what works, and I couldn’t be happier.

Cliches aside, it blew me away from the first ride. It glides where my Madone stays hit. The isolation of road noise and imperfections is like nothing else I’ve ever ridden. Handling is perfect and so, so stable. Corner tracking is spot-on. It’s smooth where my Madone twitches

For the first time as long as I can remember I came home with no neck pain. Utterly silent. BB stiffness is excellent and the bike climbs as well as anything I’ve ridden. It weighs in at 17.6lbs including pedals. For a 58cm steel frame built up without an aim on lightweight components that’s pretty good.

I cannot say enough good things about Jake. He’s been an absolute joy to work with. Suggesting but not dictating. I had absolute trust in him from the beginning and he delivered everything I could have wanted. He’s based in London.

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Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.

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