Singular Cycles is basically one guy, Sam Alison, an Aussie living in the UK. The frames are made in Taiwan and strike a nice balance between cost and specs, I think. The geometry is more MTB-based, but so far I’ve found the handling excellent on the road; 65mm of trail and 1010mm wheelbase seems just right.
I’ve done some cross racing on my old steel fixed bike, but wanted something with the right clearance that I wouldn’t break too easily. Also wanted the option to put gears on when my knees get sick of SS, especially for longer dirt rides.
The parts list is all based on durability. It’s not light, but at least it’s less likely to break when I’m out on my own somewhere. Thanks to Mike for the last minute chainring, Gene for the PW spacers, and Matthias for a bunch of the parts.
Yep, one of these guys: TEKTRO 1277A.
I got it from ebay as my local shop couldn’t order small Tektro parts (??!)
I’m pretty happy with the build. It’s the first time I’ve built up a new frame from scratch, and it was a bit of a change from the 1" threaded / square taper things I’m used to.
Here’s some of the things I learned:
A Dos Eno freewheel requires 8-speed chain, and won’t work with 9-speed
Shimano 8-speed chains are slightly narrower than Sram 8-speed, so you can’t use a Sram joiner link
Gore cables are covered with teflon, and you should remove this at the ends if you want the brake to hold on to it
Zipp “CX” bar tape is amazing. Best ever.
Replacing a Sram Rival GXP BB with a Chris King one requires spacers on both the BB/crank interface and the BB shell, apparently causing major headaches for mechanics
Machine-built wheels from Velomine have almost no spoke tension
Truing wheels takes time and patience
Wide-angle cantis like Paul Neo Retros are a waste of space
