I built up the bike in a back-alley bike workshop in the middle of Nairobi, where riders come to chill out and fiddle with bikes. I got a couple of friends to help me.
So I packed all the components in my bag, and bungeed the wheels to my rack. Then cycled down the highway into town, carefully threading between the stand-still morning traffic.
.
A rolling frame. Tight rear wheel clearance, if poorly dished! I'm so lucky to have found a nice, clean pair of matching 700c wheels (a rare find in Kenya), even if half the nipples are rounded and the races are pitted. And even if they weigh exactly 2kg....
.
I cycled down the road to the main EasyCoach terminal in town, and penetrated the bustle to reach the parcels desk. The clerk checked my I.D. looked through three separate hand-written log books before finding my name in the first one, and then retrieved this package, dutifully sent by Sandbag from the Kisumu office. One seatpost, two rear mechs (cannibalised to make one nice frankenmech).
Because I am too tall for the frame (193cm), I am using a big stem which is not particularly elegant:
--- So let me be the first to say...
It's a shame to use such a stem, but when I rode this frame with a standard Cinelli 1A stem I really trashed my neck and shoulders. So I ordered this longer, raised 3ttt stem which does the job. I could have probably got away with a less offensive incline, but this works well in slammed position.
On the plus side, I found some Dura Ace cables! After barely convincing the head of the workshop that you really must rotate the Italian BB cups in the right (wrong) direction, I fitted a fresh one and then the chain set, and a friend sorted the rear mech.
. .
Complete sans-tape. The saddle was not in this position for long. I feel the bike looks better from the rear.
.
I've actually now taped up the bike and ridden it a few times arounds the hills and through packed traffic. I had a scary moment on a ramp when my front brake didn't grip the rim, I checked the pads to find little glass pieces in the pad faces, sticking out like studs from a tyre. I dug them out with a knife, now I can brake!
This Pinarello feels so whippy and agile! The steel frame is also gloriously forgiving over rough bumpy tarmac. The frame feels stiffer than other steel (i.e. 531) frames I've ridden, probably because it's a smaller size and the tubes & stays are beefier. High-power behaviour, like sprinting up steady inclines, is very rewarding as I don't get the massive flex I would expect.
I'll get a couple of photos put up in the next few days of the finished bike, with carefully applied black Cinelli gel cork tape.
I built up the bike in a back-alley bike workshop in the middle of Nairobi, where riders come to chill out and fiddle with bikes. I got a couple of friends to help me.
So I packed all the components in my bag, and bungeed the wheels to my rack. Then cycled down the highway into town, carefully threading between the stand-still morning traffic.
.
A rolling frame. Tight rear wheel clearance, if poorly dished! I'm so lucky to have found a nice, clean pair of matching 700c wheels (a rare find in Kenya), even if half the nipples are rounded and the races are pitted. And even if they weigh exactly 2kg....
.
I cycled down the road to the main EasyCoach terminal in town, and penetrated the bustle to reach the parcels desk. The clerk checked my I.D. looked through three separate hand-written log books before finding my name in the first one, and then retrieved this package, dutifully sent by Sandbag from the Kisumu office. One seatpost, two rear mechs (cannibalised to make one nice frankenmech).
Because I am too tall for the frame (193cm), I am using a big stem which is not particularly elegant:
--- So let me be the first to say...
It's a shame to use such a stem, but when I rode this frame with a standard Cinelli 1A stem I really trashed my neck and shoulders. So I ordered this longer, raised 3ttt stem which does the job. I could have probably got away with a less offensive incline, but this works well in slammed position.
On the plus side, I found some Dura Ace cables! After barely convincing the head of the workshop that you really must rotate the Italian BB cups in the right (wrong) direction, I fitted a fresh one and then the chain set, and a friend sorted the rear mech.
. .
Complete sans-tape. The saddle was not in this position for long. I feel the bike looks better from the rear.
.
I've actually now taped up the bike and ridden it a few times arounds the hills and through packed traffic. I had a scary moment on a ramp when my front brake didn't grip the rim, I checked the pads to find little glass pieces in the pad faces, sticking out like studs from a tyre. I dug them out with a knife, now I can brake!
This Pinarello feels so whippy and agile! The steel frame is also gloriously forgiving over rough bumpy tarmac. The frame feels stiffer than other steel (i.e. 531) frames I've ridden, probably because it's a smaller size and the tubes & stays are beefier. High-power behaviour, like sprinting up steady inclines, is very rewarding as I don't get the massive flex I would expect.
I'll get a couple of photos put up in the next few days of the finished bike, with carefully applied black Cinelli gel cork tape.