9.10.2008

More bicycle nonsense.

Aaah. I can't stop fussing through the internet, looking for cheap bicycle frames. My very latest obsession is chrome plating old steel frames, documented beautifully and tragically here. This has only distracted me slightly from my other 2008 obsession: the Miyata Team Titanium bicycle I bought this past spring.

I've swapped out a few more components, so I thought I'd document the latest snapshot of my work in progress:
This is where you'll usually find her - in the only spot she will fit on the first floor in my tiny trinity. I actually don't mind the bike as a focal point for the living room - it very well may be the most valuable thing I own.

Here's a craiglist gem - 3ttt Prima 220 handlebars I got from a really nice guy in Chestnut Hill. $30 including the price of Phillycarshare to get there. They're incredibly lightweight. I also found out recently that this no name stem I bought back in April for $35 is actually an old Trek System 1 stem. I think it's a fairly standard issue item.

Also from the man in Chestnut Hill, a Prolink selle italia seat. $35 including phillycarshare. It's very nice. The seatpost I bought from bikeline the very first week I had the frame. I hate it - I've fallen in love with the aesthetic of raw metal, so the black painted aluminum zones on this post gross me out.

The tubing badge - It says "Titanium Miyata exclusive APA Aluminum Pressurized Adhesive." This would be a good time to note that I paid $200 even for the frame, but add $20 for gas and dinner that I bought my friend for going up to check it out with me.


Here's the red lug and aluminum fork. Also, the calipers are old shimano 600 taken from the centurion I had previously cannibalized. By the way, the centurion is doing just fine - I rebuilt it after acquiring the components from the guy in Chestnut Hill.

How do I know this is a 1992 Team Titanium, and not a 1991 Team Titanium? This little logo on the fork matches the one shown in the catalog

The wheelset I bought for this build was a pretty good deal. $135 for Dura ace hubs, 28h in front, 32 in back. Mavic CXP33 rim in back, and some weird no name rim in the front. All it said was "Matrix Heat Treated 700c." It was a charcoal grey, which sucked because the CXP33 is raw aluminum and matches the frame. Nevermind, I replaced it (myself, thank you very much) last weekend with a sun M14A, pseudo aero rim, also raw aluminum and $30. It looks 1000 times better. By the way, I built it after watching the bike tube guys. They're actually pretty entertaining.


And here's the rear rim.


Can't forget the pedals - mks-gr9 platforms. I bought it now on eBay, I think I paid $25.


Finally, I musn't forget the drivetrain, which I'm not super excited about, but it was another craigslist gem. I bought a sora group for $60 with STI shifters, triple crank, and pretty much everything but the bottom bracket. At the time, used sora brake shifters were going for $80 alone, so I think I did okay. Cosmetically, they're not in the best shape, but they shift fine. I do find the triple crank useless. I went up the manayunk wall with my biopace double crank just fine, so I can't imagine I'll find much use for the granny gear in Philly.

So, what's next? The headset looks like crap - it's big, bulky and black. I'd like to switch it out with a new Tange Levin or similar. I really want to get rid of the seat post, but it's an odd size - 25.8mm, which leaves my options really limited for now. And I'd really like to upgrade the drivetrain. The sora stuff feels a little unrefined. And to top it all off, I'm eyeing some beautiful leather trim for the handlebars from Velo Orange, which I'd probably try to match with a Brooks Swallow Saddle.

So far, I've spent close to $600 for all the items. At this point, it feels like I won't be happy until I spend $600 more.

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