Project three-ish - comfort revision

Got a good deal on this lovely Futura fork through the forum. At some point it’ll get repainted but for now i’ll stick with the blue and might try and get creative with a Sharpie

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And I think these are kind of done for now

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Futura fork on, ran it for a few weeks in blue but decided black would be better for now. Unfortunately I only had enough paint to give it 2 very light coats so the finish is looking pretty amateur, will repaint once I've decided on colour and finish. Can't say I can notice much difference in feel but I (think i) like the straight blade look. Still playing with fit but i'm finding lower and longer surprisingly comfortable for 1-2 hour blasts. 120mm 10 degree PLT with narrower PLT compacts is pretty comfy but I may go back to 110mm if my Zipp SL80's ever show up. I'm still struggling with pain on the side of my knee so not brave enough to take it for any longer rides but I suspect the narrow Rapha saddle would become a problem with the drop so may go for a Spesh Power to get some relief. Speaking of saddles it turns out the Rapha has very different rail positioning to my last saddle and therefore I do not need anywhere near as much setback as the K-Force was giving me. PMP back on, K-force probably for sale.

Fit wise and ride wise i'm pretty happy with it, looks wise however it's leaving me feeling dead inside. The paint work is in really good condition but I just don't love it TBH. Already regretting not forking out for the custom painted 853 Volare another luck forumonger just scooped up but I was hoping the new fork might make me love the look of the CAAD more - it hasn't. I think it might be the slight curve in the toptube that's throwing me off but unless you slam them and have plenty of post showing 9's look a bit squashed IMO. Sadly for me i'm a T-rex with short legs neither of the latter are possible for me.

Milestone birthday and continuing lockdown is not helping me obsessing over this. Option 1, cut my losses and look for a new frame. Option 2, meet the challenge head on and get the paint stripper out.

Thoughts?

Pic might help

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(First dibs on the frame, but) I think it will look fine with another couple of coats. Straight forks look way better.

will repaint once I've decided on colour and finish

Are you thinking of painting the fork a (different) contrasting colour, or the whole frameset?

Ha! Cheers, it was of course your 9 that inspired the forks and is a hard act to follow. If I paint it i'll do the whole frameset. I could understand the beef when I considered painting the toothpaste CAAD but this is just another black CAAD AFAIK. I also like the idea of having a go at designing and painting it myself.

I'm still trying to nail the proportions first (shit fixie skidders...), maybe after a few tweaks it'll come to life. The components are a bit dull (budget) as well. The only parts I've thrown money at is the Ultegra bits. They work very nicely but they don't exactly get the pulse racing. After trawling the web for inspo I've now seen enough slammed/Sram'd/carbon'd CAAD's to last a life time. The Campag on yours definitely makes the difference IMO.

Very kind of you; I'm actually getting some Kinlin XR22 rims having seen them on your Capo. I just think shallow rims (plus gumwalls, obviously) look better on them.

Absolutely agree about painting it. Back to black is also pretty simple if you change your mind.

Capo/CAAD5 has been sold. Sad to let it go but 2020 bike plans have gone completely out the window and I’m not good at holding on to things that are not getting used regularly. I still have the carbon wheels but these may have found a new home as well. So for now I’m back down to two bikes.

Good news is I have funds to pay for my new road wheels (more on those soonish) and a bit left over to throw at the Dart.

Speaking of the Dart I went for a quick ride yesterday and was reminded of how much I like this bike. I want to do something with it but have to consider the fact this is my lock up bike. Need to think on it.

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Capo/CAAD5 has been sold

:(

I’m not good at holding on to things that are not getting used regularly

On the other hand I completely understand this sentiment. Does this mean a gravel bike is on the cards?

Leave the dart as is (really very lovely) and focus on the CAAD9 imo. Maybe you could acetone the stem and tape over the st/seatstay decals to clean it up a bit?

Nah - get some decent cranks for the Dart! Those on-one silver jobbies are letting it down slightly.

It looked good with 75DDs but $$$

Yeah hoping I don't regret it but TBH it's a relief not to have it sitting there doing nothing.

A gravel bike has crossed my mind but I keep having the ridiculous thought that maybe I should build a bike when I'm sure that i need it as opposed to "that would be cool and I might start riding gravel...".

Stupid I know.

This is kind of the plan but I think I could make a few subtle improvements. CAAD9 will be getting something more significant.

@cheekysnaker @PhilDAS would love some ratty Sugino DD's on this but can't justify them until a cheap pair comes up (unlikely). It's an odd sized socket but I think I can remove the chrome centre dust cap which'll at least make them look more like Omnium. I'm hesitant to sand off the logo's as I'll be cutting through the lacquer/anodising and I don't like mirror polished.

New power saddle and eBay SL80’s are on pushing this firmly into Mamil chariot territory. Bigger changes coming soon which will either make this a bit more original or a lot more anti. Either way im hoping it won’t be so by the numbers.

Contrasty pic to show off cleaned up work station

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Awesome little bike shed!
I hope to have one just like that one day!
Right now I have everything crammed in my small one-room apartment.

Bike is looking good as well!

Project 3, sort my bike carrier.

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Thanks man, shame it’s nowhere near big enough to fit my car!

Nothing but love for this car.

Going back to the future on the 9.

#purplereign

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very tasty. choice of the modern gentleman. no better sound than a hope freewheel imo

+1 for the Saab.

🙌

The NG900s were never as good.

Don't worry it's just on it's way to my dad's home garage for some work. Couldn't drive it there as some mop headed blonde twat told me to (correctly) stay home 2 weeks before my MOT but then gave an MOT extension 13 days after that same announcement.

It's the newest car I've owned and just keeps giving, I'll keep it until we're all taking Johnny cabs.

Couple bits done on the Dart. Wire brushed and and oiled the inner tubing (Framesaver on the way) as there was some very light surface rust visible in the head tube. Headset and bottom bracket have been serviced although the BB is gonna be replaced with a new DA unit found on here for cheap. The black hope is destined for the CAAD as red and purple is not a great look. Whilst I was at it I rubbed/polished back some of the over spray to tidy it a little and finally sanded off the fork graphics so no more electrical tape. Should off done the inner graphic as it sticks out like a sore thumb now. Frame looks almost perfect now IMO and matchy Hope purple bits on both bikes has made me very happy.

I'm keeping the finishing kit budget but I'm using the XT pedals from the CAAD track along with Strong grips as they don't let the water in like the Champs do. Ebay bargains include a 10 degree stem (now acetoned) and a CC cross top that works a shit load better than what was on there.

I noticed the flat bars weren't the lightest so I may treat myself to some scruffy carbon bars if I can find some on here/ebay or I may just go for some new EC90's as for £25 and 150g I was happy with them on the Capo. New tyres are in the post, just need to get centre plug out of cranks, full pics coming soonish.