Colony Cube frame: build notes and bike check

Today I had a very special package arrive- a new frame!

Honestly, I'm not a fan of (visually) curly frames like this, but the price + geometry + warranty make a lot of sense to me, so I went for it.

The build went fairly well; I did have to sand the inside of the bb as the bearings wanted to bind on two points. After that and some dead-blow persuasion, they went right in.

All the bends and welds looked really good, as well as the paint job.

Colony did a fantastic job with the removable brake mounts; they are almost flush without the hardware, and the parts welded into the frame look both sturdy and super clean. I really like having the option to run brakes or go brakeless because things change. Down the road, a rider may want to change things up, so these options are valuable.

My seatpost was loose in the frame(what's up with that?!) and I really had to wrench on the integrated clamp bolt to get it tight. Actually, until I removed the bolt and greased it up good, I wasn't able to get the post tight. After the grease, I think I got it locked down good and tight.

The rear spacing was a real treat after riding a Quamen with 120mm spacing; no mass of washers needed back there. I'm really pleased with the chainline; it's the straightest of any frame I've ridden- straight as an arrow! Also, the dropouts look well made. They're pretty thick and have cut lines to modify them to accept a 14mm axle. The word "Colony" is etched into the bottom of each and looks nice.

The bottom bracket is pretty cool; it's not just a straight tube, it gets smaller in the middle. Little details like that are a nice touch.

The headset bearings pushed right in nicely by hand.

The frame comes with stickers all over it, but they come off easily enough :)

On a side note; I really need to break down my bike for maintenance more often as my headset and freecoaster driver bearings were both blown again. Crap!
Soon as this rain stops, I really want to ride this!






~jm