'04 Calfee Luna Pro - Coupled

[br0qn]

so finally a proper road bike. ever since building the voodoo i found myself riding way more pavement than anything and so i set out to build up a road bike. i had the Ti GT project that ultimately i let go before getting finished for various reasons. when i did get back to frame hunting i decided i wanted

lugged, round tube carbon or light steel or Ti
rim brake
mechanical
at least 1 1/8" head tube
clearance for 28mm+ tires
sloping TT

i was really wanting a Look 585 which checked all the boxes save the tire clearance, most reports see 25mm max but still every owner remarks on the amazing ride quality so i was willing to make that compromise. as i was waiting for one to pop up in good shape/ for a good price this calfee appeared and was local.

it ticked all the boxes save the sloping TT but had the added bonus of couplers. both the seller (PO) and the bikes owner prior (PPO) had great things to say about the ride and i really love what the PO did to the finish so it was a done deal.

initially planning to run campy 11, i had most of a group together, but was struggling to find a medium cage rear mech that wasn't trashed and over priced or new and way over priced. i realized then campy 12 prices were looking very good in comparison so i pieced together a group with new brand new brakes, front/rear derailleurs and near new levers. crank was a freebie and cheapo seat post / stem and a great deal on a set of less than prefect HED ardennes ra black wheels plus some tune finishing kit i had intended for the gt and i was good to go.

here it is before cables, chain and tape.

 

[br0qn]

this bike under previous ownership has done an edition of Haute Route and climbed Pikes Peak and who knows what else. i'm dreaming of a trip to Italy to try and catch some of the Giro + ride around or maybe Corsica, or eventually both.

 

[br0qn]

Frame - '04 Calfee Luna Pro 50cm
Fork - original Calfee
Headset - Tune
Wheelset - HED Ardennes RA Black, Tune skewers
Tires - Challenge Strada Pro 27mm
Front Derailleur - Record 12 w/ Parlee clamp
Rear Derailleur - Record 12
Chain - XTR/DA 12
Cassette - Ultegra 11-34
Bottom Bracket - ?
Crankset - SRAM Red 165mm long with 50/34 rings
Stem - Kalloy Uno de logod 110mm -7 Tune top cap
Bars - Specialized Shallow Bend wrapped in Deda
Levers - Super Record 12
Seatpost - elita one 20mm setback 27.2, Tune clamp
Saddle - Selle Italia SLR Boost Superflow Ti
Brakes - Record 12
Pedals - Speedplay Zero Ti
Cage - Arundel Mandible
Cables - iLink / maximum smoothness

7.1kg before bidon/wahoo/saddle bag

 

[zerogravitas]

Lovely bike! Great build with some beautiful photos to show it off.

How's the ride?

 

[br0qn]

Lovely bike! Great build with some beautiful photos to show it off.

How's the ride?

thank you!

so far a little over 300 miles and 24,00 feet of climbing on it and i can say it rides great. i wish i had more road bike experience to reference but the majority of my saddle time has been on the voodoo which has been a great bike that can do most anything but i always felt the geometry holding me back, particularly when descending. so the calfee here is the first proper road bike i've logged any miles on and it's been a revelation. climbs better, descends better, stops better, shifts better looks better ;D hard to make any fair comparison or attribute it's qualities to something specific as i changed every single variable for this build, which was what i was really aiming to do. so now i have to work backwards as things get changed, adjusted or replaced to see what is what.

though, one of the reasons i jumped at this frame when it came up for sale is the previous owners report and praise of the ride (long before putting it up for sale.) he's had a crazy number of bikes pass through his hands over the past several years, built and ridden them all hard, and he put this one well up the list in how it rode and likened the ride to titanium. before riding this calfee my only other experience with carbon was a very short, round the block, ride on a cannondale supersix which felt to me completely plastic and soulless. it could have been any number of things on that build that had me feeling that way, or maybe just my bias at the time, but it did leave an impression. so, when the referenced his litespeeds (modern t1 & t3) and his Ti indy fab, i felt it would be a good first foray into carbon.

here is the geometry chart, mine is the sz 50

 

[CTK]

Love Calfee bikes

 

[zerogravitas]

Just drooling over this again, those webbed lugs are so great. There's something simultaneously almost crude and elegant about them if you know what I mean. The bare carbon gives it a real honesty in its use of materials. Super Record is a perfect choice too. 10/10.

Strong choice for a first proper road machine!!

 

[br0qn]

Just drooling over this again, those webbed lugs are so great. There's something simultaneously almost crude and elegant about them if you know what I mean. The bare carbon gives it a real honesty in its use of materials. Super Record is a perfect choice too. 10/10.

Strong choice for a first proper road machine!!

the webbed lugs are my favorite part, and with the support of the yellow nautilus it makes me feel like batman. particularly the seat tube junction from the back which i didn't get a good shot of. i'll have to get the camera out again at some point.

glad you dig it! though the only super record on there are the levers ;D pieced the "group" together over some months without too much $ in it surprisingly. looking forward to upgrading the crankset, among other bits, at some point when the funds allow.

 

[zerogravitas]

Haha noted, Record gets a pass too! For me the newer 4 arm Campag cranks are pretty marmite - they can look great on some bikes and awful on others, really depends on the frame. So all black Red is always good!
The FD clamp band is also a cool touch.

 

[br0qn]

Haha noted, Record gets a pass too! For me the newer 4 arm Campag cranks are pretty marmite - they can look great on some bikes and awful on others, really depends on the frame. So all black Red is always good!
The FD clamp band is also a cool touch.

i agree about the campy 4 arm cranks, love them on some bikes, but not this one. they better suit shaped tubes i think.

this red crank on there now was a freebie but has an expiration date. once the rings are toast it's time for a new crank. i've got something picked out that i know will look good but also looks to be a great balance of weight/features/price.

i had bought a different FD clamp before getting the frame in hand but it ended up being too small so the PO graciously let me swap for the parlee clamp you see on there now.