Look KG241 - NLTCBMBC edit

I'm afraid that ticks none of the boxes except the brand name...

:(

which bike are you talking of?

Managed to begin the parts transplant while my son was taking a nap. Unfortunately, he woke up before I could fit the BB and cranks. I'll hopefully make more progress later when Mrs roboto gets home from work.

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ive got a -10 thomson 26º 100mm if wanted?

Ooh, maybe. I've got my eye on a couple of things in ebay at the moment, but if they fail or fall through then I might take you up on that.

I did recently rid my bikes of all thomson components (except on seatpost collar) in an attempt to stay ahead of the HHSB curve though. Also, I think the old wedge clamps didn't play well with carbon steerers. I might be wrong there though.

Now with added cranks and cages. This is probably as far as I'll go until I can get a stem and seatpost this week.

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Fair enough man.
Well lemme know. Got that and a shim if your interested for good deals.

I was wondering what cages you'd go for, good choice. They match the skinny spokes nicely.

Hopefully my brother and I will actually get round to organising a LOOK ride this summer. French carbon party.

Cheers m80. I'll definitely keep that in mind, especially if I want to get out and ride on it soon!

south of france and i'm in.

@roboto, have some 26 stems: http://www.lfgss.com/comments/11992302/

Look party sounds amazing!

I love these cages, great value and look great on most builds.

ID on cages?

King Iris cages. I got them from here, I think.

http://velotastic.co.uk/product/bottle-cages/king-cage-iris-bottle-cage/

Another!

Thanks dude

Looking a little like this. Gumwalls ftw

More likely to be the south of England... looking at France.

You've probably made your decision already but please do not repaint unless you plan on going 100% OEM. Such a badass colour!

I would suggest giving the frame + forks a real good clean. I mean hot soapy water and a tooth-brush across all the fine details, remove all tar and grime from the bike before waxing it. You'll be amazed at the difference.

Cheers for the advice mate. I'll be keeping the patina and giving it a proper clean before I do all the cabling. Have you got any recommendations for wax?

I've got most of the grime off, but there is some residue on the top tube which is a bit stubborn. I think the last owner taped some navigation instructions there previously...

@Patfatenough did a really thorough job cleaning his colnago. Its all on his thread.

Or just get any car wax product you might have lying around, a clean rag and put some elbow grease in, those blemishes you pictured look like they could be polished up (obviously the paint chips are not gonna polish up).

Regarding the star nut, you could drill it out carefully? I wouldn't smack it further down if the steerer is carbon..

sigh you're all about to hear how anal I am about cleaning bikes..

First you'll want to remove the crap from the insides, I use a diluted TFR solution and spray the internals and agitate the muck before flushing it out with fresh water. Keeps your seatpost nice instead of scratching it, no loose muck in your frame, nothing to contaminate bearings etc.

Next step is hot soapy water, for initial wash fairy liquid is fine but for regular washing don't use it as it'll strip the wax off your frame. Agitate everything, use a tooth-brush for all the small areas before washing it away.

Skip this step if your can't be bothered but I clay my frame once every 6 months or so, removes all tar, tree sap and general nasty stuff that'll dull your frame, or even worse eat into the paint. If stubborn residue is still there try a bug and tar remover if you have any about but if not just use window cleaner, house hold stuff will be a fairly neutral PH so won't harm your paint.

Next step is to wax your frame, any high quality auto wax will be sufficient, the wax I use has to be applied with your hands but any (brand new) kitchen sponge should be fine, leave on for it to set before buffing it off.

Once it's waxed just clean it with auto shampoo as that won't strip the wax. In-between washes just use a clean microfibre and speed-detailer which I use for pretty much everything except tyres, braking surfaces etc

I sealed my cannondale last summer and this is how it comes up after every winter ride just by spraying water over it, the crap literally falls off:

https://instagram.com/p/0kLdudFZQq/?taken-by=noquarterbikes

I'd really recommend giving this treatment to second hand frames, obviously cleaning them won't cure stone chips and heavier damage but it will be so easy to build and maintain.

Sorry for the long post, feel free to PM if you need any help.

good advice! ta

if one comes up in my size i dont think i have the will power to resist. too nice

Took the advice from James and treated the frame to a good clean and wax. It's really brought the yellow out and the carbon nearly had a mirror finish.

Also got a 25mm seatpost and new front derailleur, so now I'm just waiting on a stem and some cables to arrive and then I can sort the cockpit and take her for a spin. Can't wait!