Varonha custom frame... And other ongoing stuff

No worries. Thanks.

Argh! Crashed the Mercian! With another cyclist. We managed not to fall, checked we were ok, bikes seemed fine, we laughed about it and that was it. I carried on riding the bike for two weeks, not feeling anything wrong about it until one night, doing some routine maintenance I saw that the top and down tubes were ever so slightly bent.
The eBay seller I got the bike from had bought it himself on eBay, about a month before, from the original owner who claimed the frame had been built for him out of 531 ST, in 1988. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't the case.
I can't help but think that, had it been built out of a stronger gauge tubing, it would have been fine.
Anyway, I'm de-commissioning the bike, I don't think I'll get it fixed (tbc) and am now re-building my faithful (and 531ST bomb proof built) Dawes Galaxy.

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I've bought couple of bits to make it different from the last time I was riding it, with in mind the customizations of my teenager supermarket mountain bike (fluo outer cables, silly decals, etc.)... so a little bit childish, and hopefully fun? Gosh I'm old.
... yes, the grips match the Dawes original decals...

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I'm excited to have found some frogglegs for it...

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Downtube mounted bar end shifters, to keep the cockpit tidy, and manage the triple crankset (I hope?).

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Sorry to hear that. Glad you're okay but shame about the mercian.
How do you know from that the provenance isn't true?

How do you know from that the provenance isn't true?

I read online, and was confirmed by Winston that 531ST is a heavier gauge with a 27mm seat post, the Mercian taking a 27.2mm suggests "normal" 531. Down tube outer diameter is also smaller than on my Dawes.
I imagine the original seller didn't really know, I don't think they were trying to mislead people.

I'm excited to have found some frogglegs for it..

They actually don't fit the forks very well, pivots are too close, and the pads I've used are a bit space hungry with the adjustable cartridge angle... would work better with different pads, but I'll leave it like this for now.

Another mad slow build (kids, work, blablabla...) finally completed last night. Not ridden it far yet but happy so far.

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I think I'll swap the saddle for a Colt.

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Colt looks better than the Pearl, which is too vintage...

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Had to surgically remove and somehow re-apply Sheldon's sticker: the XT front derailleur sits higher than STXrc one, less space to the bottle cage bolt...

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Little ride to Beckenham Place Park tonight... Bike feels nice, quite relaxed

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bike looks ace! I bet it'll look even better all loaded up with gear, plenty of room for all the paniers etc!
loving the cable clamp bell as well. is it any good?

I realllly like that.

What are the bars?

Very good. Liking the use of coloured cable outers.

V nice!
VO ledt bank bars?

I think you and I are on the same wavelength. I finished mine yesterday.

Thank you!
Bell is @withered_preacher approved I think. I had it on several bikes (on Brompton risers, on drops) and always found it a little fiddly. But in that configuration it actually works fine.

Ta. Bars are some outrageously expensive Ergotec from sjs. Rated for light use (not sure what the wording was). I hope they won't snap :/

Might look into these is Ergotecs worry me too much

Excellent, just saw it. Such dads...

Did you see how I religiously salvaged your sticker?

I have more stickers! You can totally take a few more!

Thank you!
You gave me two, this is number 1.
The other is in a safe in Switzerland.
So all good for now.

Looks fantastic, whats the rack the basket is attached too?