Jackie’s Road Bike

I’ve already put up a few teaser pics of Jackie’s road bike. Below are a few professionally taken photos taken by Scott Quinn, a photographer that has a studio in the same building as my shop.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about the bike. Jackie’s bike was an interesting and very unique project. Like all of my projects, the process starts with a conversation about the rider’s intended use of the bike, their cycling history, physical condition in relation to size, age and previous injuries. I want to know as much as possible to make sure I will be able to make the bike the client is seeking. Jackie explained to me that she was relatively new to cycling but was having a hard time finding a bike that fit her as she was relatively short and had some previous injuries that made it difficult for her to be comfortable on her current bike. She wanted a comfortable road bike that she could enjoy on the country roads near her house west of Fort Worth.

After our initial conversation, I sent her to see Ron at Benbrook Bicycles for a fit session. Ron did a great job fitting her, and was able to address some of her issues. I took the fit data and designed the frame geometry. Jackie’s height made squeezing 700c wheels into the frame a little problematic. As she was not going to race the bike I decided it was better to go with smaller wheels to make a more balanced bike. I first compared designs using 650c and 650b wheels. Finally, I opted for 26″ wheels as there was the biggest range of tire widths available, and also greatly eliminated any toe overlap issues.

Jackie specified that she really wanted lugs, and I did a little carving into the standard diameter Henry James lugs. The tube set is Columbus SL, and I put a slight slope in the top tube to get the handlebars a little higher. Jackie left it up to me to choose the components. To avoid breaking her bank account, I chose nicer parts where I thought it mattered, and saved money in places where we could. The bike uses a mix of Shimano Ultegra and 105 for the drive train, Velocity Synergy rims laced to White Industry hubs, and Tektro brakes. I saved a little money for Jackie by using a Ritchey headset, along with bars, stem, and seat post from Civia. I got her a special set of 160mm cranks from da Vinci as these are better for her height and helps her cadence in regards to her previous injuries. All of this is topped off with a lady’s Brooks B-17 saddle. Maybe it is the size of the frame and wheels, but this is one of the lightest bikes I have made.

Ok, time to get this boxed off and shipped back to the Lone Star State.