Last updated on December 12, 2009
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Here’s the start of a new project, building up a road / path / dirt road bike around a Vassago Fisticuff frame. While I haven’t decided on everything about it yet, I’m pretty certain that it’ll have disc brakes and be setup as a 1×9 with mountain bike parts, starting with a 44t chainring up front and an 11:34 cassette, shifted using an SRAM twist shifter on a HubBub drop bar extension for twist shifters. This should give plenty of range for going fast on smooth stuff and climbing the steepest roads in the area while still being easy to shift. Coloring will be mostly brown/black with silver bits as needed, with things such as brown powder coated Velocity Deep V rims, beige bar tape, Salsa Moto Ace Bell Lap bars, and a honey-colored Brooks B17.
There will be some odd niggles to sort out, such as fender and rack mounting, particularly with the close-proximity brake and fender mounts, the lack of rack mounts, and the slot dropouts, but it shouldn’t be much of a problem. Being a steel frame I’ll also need to seal the inside (with Frame Saver or a similar product) and promptly deal with chips (it arrived with a tiny one on a seat stay), but this shouldn’t be too difficult.
To see pictures of the Vassago Fisticuff as it currently exists (just a frame), please check out this album: Vassago Fisticuff.
Make sure you post photos of the built bike. Interested in seeing how fenders play along with the disk brakes. What are you looking at using for tires? According to the website, it’ll fit 700 x 45 tires with fenders.
My Fisticuff is still sitting in my computer room. Building it up will be a present to myself once I become employed by someone other than Marvin. Still debating on the configuration for mine, but I’m strongly considering a 1×9 also. Tires would likely be the 700 x 45 Panaracer Fire Cross for singletrack ability.
Brad: I wholly intend to. I’m not sure when it’ll be byet as I’m probably waiting for post-Christmas sales to buy parts, but we’ll see. Tire-wise I’m going to start with the Continental TravelContact. I bought these for my MTB not long after getting it for path riding and such†, and they are really nice. Smooth, thick armored center with enough knob on the side that they bite into grass and non-hardpack well enough to use them for everything but single track and ice. I’ve actually picked glass and metal out of the main riding surface that had been there for months without going through to the tube. JensonUSA sells the 700 x 36 non-reflective sidewall version for $26/ea.
If you’d like to see the rest of the parts right in the spreadsheet where I’m planning things, that can be found here in Google Docs. I still need to sort out the little bits like housing, cables, spacers, ferrules, end caps, canti plugs, and all those other little bits, but that’ll likely just take time. Being steel, and despite plans to Frame Saver it, I’m really looking at having it ready for post-salt springtime. I don’t want to gum up a brand new bike with corrosives.
† I don’t really use these any more in the MTB as I’m now strong enough to ride knobbies everywhere. Still, I really like them.