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@jono84
Steamroller update. Lots of positives, i like the geo, it's very compliant even on 25c's, it was easy to insure and i love how easily i can swap between setups on it. The downsides for me at the moment are the weight and how tidy it's ended up looking. Those two problems are at odds with each other, it's heavy so i put nice bits on it then it starts to look a bit flash.
I never considered the Argos as being light but it has a really lively feel with rapid acceleration. I tried a Langster and a Pre Cursa with the same finishing kit and neither felt quicker on the road. Getting my Weenie on i measured about a 500g difference between the Argos and Surly framesets. When you consider the Nitto quill is twice the weight of the ahead stem that's not a huge difference. And then there's the fact that most days i had a stuffed handlebar bag and water bottle on the Argos i've come to realise cutting weight is probably not going to help much as it appears to be the character of the 531c tubing that really makes the difference.
Not that it's going to stop me trying... A chopped seatpost, stem and seatclamp swap have saved me 200g and i now only need to carry my lightweight 4mm torque wrench. I 'm getting a second wheelset that i reckon will save about 500g's and should make the most difference in terms of feel. I may even throw on my carbon post and saddle for non lock up days if it helps. The wheelset might sound like and extravagance but they'll allow me to build the Argos back up if i decide beater kit is best for the Surly. The main culprit appears to be the fork so i may look into that as well but i'm not overly keen on buying bits for the Surly that can't be used on either my Argos or CAAD.
Regarding appearance i have no issue with the brown but from a short distance it looks a lot better than i want it too, especially with the black finishing kit on.
So... I've used 1200 grit to thin the paint down and dusted over 2 very light coats of gloss black.
And then i've taken various grades of wet and dry to the paint. It's looking a little contrived at the moment (faux patina) but it should rapidly speed up the aged/beater look without causing any damage to the steel.