Spa Steel Audax

@Velocio - thanks. I Think I ummed and ahhd a bit about guards but went for the Chromoplastics in the end partly out of familiarity but partly because I couldn't get the steel guards I wanted in the right size.

@Vanneau - yeah sorry about the socks! I want to drop a spacer, get a non-rise stem and possibly at some point make all the finishing kit toned down. Right now it's like all my bikes: disjointed in appearance. I have an idea about making the bartape grey and making the cables the only coloured items.

I think once some silver guards are on it will tie together a bit more. It's looking good but a non rise stem will certainly add to the sleekness.

The only criticism I have of that frame is the font Spa used - what were they thinking? Would be easy enough to rectify though.

Edit: grey bartape would do the trick though a sort of solid hot fluoro orange or pink might also work if you were still into the whole 'party bars' thing. You could then use the same colour on any replacement down tube lettering to, like, really tie the bike together

Yeah! Who's the person on here I go to about custom downtube decals? There is someone right?

There is one but I can't remember who it is. Didn't someone do some decals for a Weigh frame recently, or am I imagining it?

The bike below is a quite different beast of course but the black / fluoro tape / lettering effect worked very well on @PAE's Orlowski (which I spotted once or twice passing at high speed in the City)

That's a lovely overall effect. It's just reminded me that I meant to get some gumwall Paselas for it, but instead I got durano plusses for better puncture protection(?).

Would get "event" tyres for audax, and leave the durano plusses for London.

such as?

Vittoria Open Pave 27mm, Conti GP 4000s II 28mm, Challenge Strada Bianca 30mm from the top of my head.

I would suggest Compass and Grand Bois tyres, but they're not easily obtainable.

Blimey - another thing to save for! You think I'd feel the benefit? about 200-250g saved per tyre.

Because they're a lots more supple than regular tyres, they're much better at absorbing road vibration even at the same pressure (especially paired with lightweight inner tube such as latex).

If you're set on doing some longer audax such as a 400 for example, the smallest of difference is noticeable after 12 hours of riding.

I currently have gumwall Paselas (32s) on the Dawes. I really like them so far although the gumwall bit does get very, very grubby riding around London. They also offered a weight saving over the Randonneurs I had on there before (not that it matters much given the 36 spoke cartwheels they're attached to) and to my possibly deluded judgement give a slightly smoother, easier ride.

Also, they're very cheap (unless you get the folding ones which are, I am led to believe, excellent)

Are they puncture resistant? FWIW I have Conti Top Touring on there now because that's what came with the wheels and I've not bothered changing them!

I would say "more than I'd been led to believe"...but I don't want to jinx myself.
I have however done 2 audaxes on them without puncturing!

There is a TG, or tourguard, version which is a bit stronger I think.

Anyway just go for the most fun tyres I reckon - as we know fbnpna has a bit too much srs bsns:

Edit: the Paselas have also survived commuting across south London, which is enough to finish off many more delicate tyres

I do wonder what the hell that bloke was thinking with that picture.

Probably just a sense of smug satisfaction that his 'rando bag' could hold 3kg of untrimmed carrots without affecting his bike's nimble handling.

As this is an Audax bike, are there any lighting solutions in the pipeline? I've been sorely tempted by the Edelux lights recently (on sale due to a new version appearing) but the thought of blowing a couple of hundred on light, hub and wheel rebuild seems a bit much.

I'm not there yet with lights. I'm working up to longer distances after an injury setback about a year ago so this year I'm not doing over 100, then next year I think I'll step up to 200, possibly 300.

As such I've not got a great need for any fancy lighting.

Accessories wise I've got a small barbag and a Carradice Barley. Don't really need more for the distances I'm doing and I prefer the barbag for its map-holder, although it's a little bit cheapy.

Dynohubs are really worth it.

You only need do a Dunwich and you'll note the people with the best lighting towards the middle and end of the night are those with dynos.

Batteries just don't last.

Not to say I don't use a battery light too... but I use the battery light within cities during the day, dawn and dusk, and pretty much rely solely on the dynohub for all properly dark riding.

I use a Schmidt hub ( http://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/son_28_klassik_en.html ) and a Supernova lamp ( http://supernova-lights.com/en/products/e3pro2.html ).

It only puts out 205 lumens, but the light is bright enough to be seen clearly, and it lights up a good chunk of the road in front of you, enough to ride in total darkness without issue at above moderate speed.

The schmidts also have the lowest drag on your riding when turned off, and can be immersed in water... so no issues there.

Fecking awful image! After yesterday's Emitremmus Desrever audax. To do after winter:

1. Black stem and spacers (will look shit w. silver bars?
   
2. Plain yet colourful bar tape (e.g. red, orange, green)
   
   

Annoyingly still no guards as one of the eyelets on the fork hasn't been drilled properly. I'll have to email Spa to have a moan.

I'm still pleasantly surprised with Sora and have dropped any idea of replacing it. Yes, the triple is a bit much but meh...

I like the silver stem and spacers, but black stem and silver bars will look fine. Personally I'd go for black tape.

IIRC @Fox had a problem with the mudguard threading on his fixed Pearson forks and sorted it himself by carefully screwing a steal bolt in bit by bit and using some oil/similar to act as cutting fluid.

Yeah annoyingly I can see the threading inside but it's the initial winding that's lacking. I've tried getting a bolt in on both sides to kind of re-tap/chase the thread but no luck. Emailed Spa anyway.

Black stem and spacers (will look shit w. silver bars?

Considering how some pro bike have black quill and silver bar, it'll look fine.

IIRC @Fox had a problem with the mudguard threading on his fixed Pearson forks and sorted it himself by carefully screwing a steal bolt in bit by bit and using some oil/similar to act as cutting fluid.

Yep, normal mudguard bolts (M5?) didn't fit but M4 were too small. I chased it by pressing hard with a screwdriver on an oiled M5 bolt, doing two turns, backing off one, doing two turns again, then repeating till it was all the way through. Keep it straight and you're fine, although it's a bit scary, especially on brand new (and not cheap) forks.

If I was you @doppelkorn I'd be tempted to save the bother of returning the forks. Is the winding lacking on both sides? If so you I'd be tempted to line a bolt up and give it a whack with a hammer to get it started, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to do that!

Cheers. The initial winding seems to be lacking from both sides but I can see what look like good threads inside. I tried pushing the bolt very hard against the eyelet and turning very slowly but I just scraped off a curl of paint.

Didn't want to whack it as they're carbon forks. Hopefully Spa will come back to me. I really CBA returning the forks. I'd rather just take it to a shop and get the thread cut but am I right in thinking you need an initial winding to get a thread cutter in?