2014 Alero Basic Bike (Sold)

The sole purpose of building this bike was to clear as many spare parts lying in the bin. Sadly, it was a futile attempt. While quite a few parts from the bin were used to build the bike, tons of other parts are still lying around in the store. However, the good outcome from the build was that I added another bike to the collection.

This is called the Basic Bike because that is really what it is; no frills, just things that work when needed. The Ferrari seat would probably be the most exotic part of the bike.

The cockpit area consists of a Ritchey 110mm stem, Giant low-riser handlebar, Microshift 3x7 shifters and Deore brake levers.

The fork was from a previous bike. It's a Manitou spring-loaded fork with some slight adjustment but in my opinion, makes no real difference. The fork moves up and down as required quite efficiently without any drama. The actual colour was white but it was stripped off and plasti-dip in matte black. Maybe a red sticker on the stanchion will give it some oomph or else, the front end looks boring. The Avid Mag V-brakes adds some color though. These brakes are really nice and powerful.

For the first time, there is a saddle bag attached to the seat. The bike just looks so bare, most people will not even give it a second look.

The crank is a 3-speed Shimano Octalink Deore LX. It can only be used with a 121mm bottom bracket which was a real hassle to find because it was so hard to find. The front derailleur is Shimano Alivio.

The most exotic part of the bike.

Avid Mag rear brakes are powerful and stops the bike on a dime.

7-speed rear cassette with Shimano Alivio rear derailleur. Works like it should without any problems. It would not take any abuse on the trails though.

The plasti dip forks are rather nice. The one thing I learnt about plasti-dipping is preparation. Make sure the surface to be dipped is clear of any oily stuff. It needs to be bone dry for the plasti dip to stick on fast.

While it may be a basic bike, there is actually a substantial amount of customization that went into building the bike. It actually started off with a Kona Project 2 rigid fork but the fork looked really skinny on the bike. Taking it out for a spin after the build was completed, the bike feels really nice to ride. It's a bike you can ride around the whole day because the seat is comfortable and the riding position is a little upright so you are not hunched over the handlebar. It would make a good city commute bike for riding in the park or even for long rides over pavement.