All-City Space Horse Build: Part 2

Meet Tori. 
That’s right, we name our bikes, and our Raspberry Girl here is a beauty: A true labor of love. As I mused about in Part 1, since moving to Boston I have wanted to build my wife a bike flexible enough to handle the kind of varied riding we do here in New England. The All-City Space Horse was a perfect fit, and with a solid component spec we couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. In the interest of brevity, let’s just jump right to the build details…

Pre-build habit – OCD organization and photographing of all the components on hand!

Frameset: All-City Space Horse, 49cm, blue

Drivetrain:
– Crankset: Shimano 105 Compact Double 5750 10-Speed 34/50, 170mm, Silver
– Bottom Bracket: Shimano Ultegra 6700, English threaded, Grey
– Front Derailleur: Shimano 105 5700-B 2x, Silver
– Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 5701 10 -Speed medium cage (GS), Silver
– Cassette: SRAM GG-1070, 10-Speed Mountain, 11-36T

Components:
– Headset: Velo Orange Grand Cru 1-1/8” Threadless, Silver
– Stem: Velo Orange 31.8 Threadless, +/- 6 degree rise, 80 mm, Silver
– Handlebar: Ritchey Classic Road Bar 40cm, HP Silver
– Brifters: Shimano 105 5700 10-Speed Double STI, Silver
– Brakes: Tektro R720, Silver, with Kool Stop Salmon pads
Problem Solvers Cross Cable Hanger, Silver
Salsa Halter Top Interrupt Levers, Silver
– Seatpost: Thomson Elite, Silver
– Saddle: Brooks B17s Standard, Black
– Other: Velo Orange Snakeskin 50 mm Fenders, Silver
Brooks Leather Handlebar Tape, Raspberry

Wheels:
– Hubs: Shimano 105 Silver
– Rims: Mavic A119 Road 700c
– Tires: Compass Barlow Pass Ultralight 700 x 38c

With a few bike builds under my belt now, I have to say this was the most fun and the least painful to put together. Better planning and more experience can account for a good portion of that, but I have to give credit to All-City for putting together a well thought-out frameset. Specifically, there were none of the usual bike hacks that were needed with this build; for example, the fender line when mounted directly to the fork crown was perfect for the tire size spec’d (cough, I’m looking at you Surly!). In short, I didn’t have to run back to my LBS for another Problem Solvers component every two minutes, save the cross brake hanger that I had planned on all along.

With that in mind, there is very little to comment on re: the build itself. One exception, however, was a last minute score of some silver Salsa Halter Top interrupt levers thanks to Eric at Bikes Not Bombs. I was surprised how hard it is to find nice looking, fully silver interrupts, but, in my opinion, that single addition really made the bike.

So, today my wife and I set out for Tori’s maiden voyage, which we both obsessively photographed. A few of the highlights are below so enjoy!

Tori with the Zakim bridge and downtown Boston.

It’s not a Surly, but fatties still fit fine (38s under 50mm Velo Orange Snakeskin fenders).

The All-City headbadge showing the pillars of Minneapolis’ Hennepin Ave Bridge. A little bit of home on this beauty.

A perfect New England steed.

Gotta say the silver-blue and raspberry accent turned out sharper than I thought. Also, Compass Barlow Pass tires should be on every bike. Period.

Tori looking fine in Paul Revere Park, Boston.

Salsa Halter Top interrupt brake levers. The match to the Ritchey bar and V-O stem made the bike in my opinion.

A relatively new addition for Velo Orange – the 50 mm Snakeskin fender. They look incredible in person.

No bike is complete without the Brooks B-17(s in this case).

The venerable Tektro 720 and V-O Snakeskin fenders.

Shimano 105 Compact Double 5750 10-Speed 34/50. Nice open chainring design was the perfect new / classic aesthetic I wanted for this.

I’m big on aesthetics, but also modern functionality. I was very happy when I found the open chainring design of these Shimano 105s since I couldn’t stand the look of the Tiagra chainrings used on the stock build. Turns out that was a huge motivating factor for going fully custom on this build.

My wife and her little bits of Minnesota in Boston. Mission accomplished.

The All-City Space Horse on the Boston Esplanade.