Just out of the box...right away I knew I had the right colour.
The drop outs are beefier than I expected.
The welds are ok. Maybe not as smooth as they could be but not bad.
I'd say the paint job is a strength as well. However I have yet to see if the decals will come off. I don't believe it has a clear-coat but we'll see.
The headtube has a bit of extra length - something that drew me to this frame in the first place. The headtube badge is just a sticker though. Kind of cheap, but I guess its these little things that make the frame a bit more to the affordable side. I've seen on other blogs that some folks have manufactured their own headtube badges from coins and such. If anyone has any tips for me...
I'm pretty excited about the frame finally arriving (and to be fair, it actually didn't even take that long).
However, the building/swapping won't be quick. I'm going to take my time with this and I don't want it to have its first ride in the winter months anyhow.
First I'll do some 'framesaver' on it.
Then I want to get a fork to accommodate a disc brake. I think I'll go mohawk and just have the one brake, no rear brake.
I want to set it up with IGH - maybe the Alfine 8 or a Sturmey-A 5 speed. It's a commuter for me so I don't need a full range.
I'd also like to have downtube shifting but don't know if that's an option with an IGH. Guess I'll find out.
If you have a favorite trail in your area, get a kinking staff badge and mount it on the headtube as a badge.
ReplyDeleteotherwise, Sculpy clay is handy if you want to mold something of your own.
I've never understood the "front brake only" set-up on a bike with a freewheel (though I use it a lot on fixies). let us know how that works out...
That sounds like a fun idea for a headtube badge - thanks.
ReplyDeleteAs for the front-brake only, I'm considering it because my commute is not very hilly at all, in fact I have noticed that I rarely use my brakes because its easy to decelerate naturally to a stop when I do hit a light. Second, I am a minimalist at heart. I am always looking for ways to get by with less. However, I need to keep safety in mind as well, so while I am tending toward a single brake set-up I may change my mind.
BTW: "hiking" staff, not "kinking"...
ReplyDeleteHa! I make typos like that all the time, and since you can't go back and fix them it kind of leaves you out there, eh?
ReplyDelete