Third hand American wonders

Is that the original Chris King base plate/crown race?
Looks like the high stack/tall version...
Or is that the bearing sticking out of the cup?

Regarding the freehub body I would contact this guy:
https://www.ebay.de/str/konqrenzpunktde
Jenny Christian is a former engineer at Tune and has his own eBay shop selling all sorts of cool Tune parts.

now that i've looked at the crown races online, i'm starting to think mine is not the thinnest possible. no idea of the bearings tbh. trying to check with a shop on tuesday.

a kind forumenger has now come forward with a red freehub, hoping it'll go on the axle. thanks for the german ebay tip anyway, @wenzovic. some highly tempting bits there.

Is this going to be a flat bar set up?

Or will drops be incoming?

i can't really run drops because of my bad arm. always have flats or risers. i've met someone who had even worse arm than mine and ran flared drops, but their brake setup was very expensive.

this one has the simworks fun 3 and they feel a bit wide for the city. too precious to cut lol.

Just get a headset with a fat skirt!

https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/components/finishing-kit/fsa-orbit-xlii-118-aheadset-in-black__27854?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=101-1005&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT-bUDHM3bOPsY-fJJCNqE3tEgZ0SKxkUQ8b2iUoULpbi3n3CmP2_3oaAslJEALw_wcB

I'm no Chris King expert but isn't the headset fitted upside down in the head tube?

Ck cups are identical- hence allowing this kind of tomfoolery

Thanks, filed for future use.

first practice sesh with the dslr. lighting conditions were a bit challenging. should've removed the lights and the wahoo mount but oh well...

A lot going on at the bike but still very good. Absolutely great color

it doesn't even have bags, racks or bluelug tidbits on yet :sweating:

feedback and tips on the photos welcome btw

So nice. Third photo really does it for me (+ red housing). Do you have a headbadge incoming?

thanks! dealing with IF over email was such a pain i don't think i'll try the headbadge anymore. might put a sticker or something else whimsy though.

They’ve been in the middle of a move, want me to see if I can get one for you?

well i can't say no to this. very kind of you.

it was supposed to be a shitty commuter but i guess we're now quite far past that anyway.

swapped the huge commuter bar bag for a frame bag for sharper steering on a group ride. it's rubbing on my trousers a bit due to the narrower q factor when full. just need to go full mamil on bottoms to prevent this.

other newness are the bottle cages. got the correct length ti bolts on a second try. for some reason IF placed the seat tube bottle bosses very high up, and seems that winston had made his per the original spec. luckily i can run two bottles on the downtube and the old man's back ache slot is redundant.

Really really good :)

thanks senpai!

Dibs frameset if you ever sell?

always love to see a tiny chainring on a "road bike"

noted, but not looking to sell in the near future it seems...

been able to ride it for a while now and squeeze in a century too. time for a first impressions report.

the 853 tubing it's definitely a good balance between responsiveness and comfort. it tracks precisely without feeling too harsh on uneven surfaces. the bb drop is now where it should, which inspires confidence in high-speed leans, whatever these are with my upright disabled™ position. another improvement from the panasonic is obviously the fit due to long enough top and head tubes. i had barely any numbness anywhere after the century even though the cockpit can still be improved.

the paul duplex commanded brakes work surprisingly well. it's nice to have some extra stopping power especially with loads. as anticipated they seem to need a bit more adjustment though.

i'd probably need a tad longer stem for the current simworks bars to work perfectly. as they're going to another bike soon anyway, i'm looking to put a pair of salsa bends or similar on this to achieve the additional reach. my ability to stretch further forward seems to have increased with more regular riding.

the wheels have been upgraded into ck r45/mavic open pro ust with gp 5k. the rims are black, which matches with the scheme, and 50g lighter lol. not sure if it's this or going to gp5k from the gk slicks what makes it faster. fast & happy days anyway. most importantly, the lower profile on the mavics looks more 'light touring' than the aero kinlins.

there's still the tubus tara i'd need to install to see if the commuting characteristics would improve. just struggling to find light enough second hand front panniers. but that's somewhere in the future as the gravel/bikepacking season unfolds. i realize i'm mostly writing this to 'get mentally over' the project for now to be able to address the next one.

i've been bikepacking, as in riding out of london to pitch a camp to live action role play ultracycling, on retro mtbs so far. i can't really fault the 650b-converted klein pulse comp and stumpjumper for what they are, but i've also become increasingly aware that a modern, purpose-built bikepacking frame would open new horizons to the activity. an ample tyre clearance, a suitable modern geo, disc brakes voms in mouth, under downtube bottle bosses among other things have been flashing in the unconscious.

this nascent urge amalgamated with a growing fondness towards a certain wisconsin-based manufacturer led to restless facebook marketplace hunting and an anxious purchase was eventually made. the frame slipped nicely through customs with help of a @Thrasher -recommended shipping provider.

i had been looking at the undeniably refined bri'ish offering, namely fairlight secan and the bikepacking.com-endorsed cotic solarismax, but the unicorn value as an original divide rig before divide rigs were a thing had me turn to the said US made option. it's very close to the secan by specs, just without all the modern standards retrogrouches like me have less use for.

the planned riding would primarily be loaded 'dirt' touring, at least this is how i like to portray myself with the bike. in reality i'll probably be doing a lot of day gravel rides with a minimal bag setup, so it'd need to function as a gravel bike too. this and the fact that the frame alone gives a weight penalty over my old alu frames (1.5-1.7kg) is calling for weenie componentry. this would allow me to lift it over the gates and turnstiles without straining my hand too much too.

as for the build plan, the specific performance-focused purpose doesn't allow too much experimentation and rules out most of the stupid and fun stuff. colour-wise the only viable option would be silver parts to detach the aesthetic from the rental enduro bike territory. i never wanted a black frame, but there weren't any other colours available and then there was a black fork and it kind of made sense. tij's crust scheme then, can't go wrong with that.

the official moodboard below. should it prompt any questions i'm happy to elaborate.

frameset photo will be posted upon a successful reader guess of the brand and model is submitted. rules: the users who know can't partake. if there's no submissions i might cry.

Intriguing. My lazy guess would be a Gunnar something or other.

So it's all black, has discs and is USA made. hmmm