A Saracen by any other name - very (new) pic heavy...

There's quite a few estays popping up now - an estay themed BOTM would be very nice. It would have the advantage of no Kleins as well. ;-)
 
Gravy Monster":3i3d9s3r said:
We_are_Stevo":3i3d9s3r said:
Attention to detail doesn't hurt now and then I suppose... :cool:



On the attention to detail ..... That rear cable ......... :LOL:

Actually there is method in my madness ;)

Being not sure about the setup of the rear mech, what with the oversize jockeys etc, I prefer to leave the cable a little long until I know I don't need to remove the mech. so that I can cut the crimp off the end and still have enough inner to reuse it...

...anyway, up too late to add more photo's today so I'll put some more up tomorrow - all being well :?
 
As promised I'll bung up a few detail photo's, while I wind down prior to hitting the sack for today...

As I said, this frame was something of an impulse buy and I had initially intended it to be an XT equipped build; I'm not quite sure now how the Ritchey theme took over quite so comprehensively?? :?

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Note posh pewter headtube badge

Though having said that, it is nice and shiney and I am a bit of a Magpie...
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...(a little lateral thinking for those of us of a certain age!) :twisted:

Ahem :oops: As I was saying...

I can't even remember which was the first bit of Ritchey kit that caught my eye; probably the hideously expensive crankset...

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Pedals mounted to 20mm stainless extenders to save my creaky old knees!

...which I then compounded by fitting a 'bargain' Middleburn ring and a NOS Onza Buzzsaw because I didn't want too much 'black' on the bike and the OEM rings were :oops:

I was originally going to fit some tourquoise'ish Ritchey clipless pedals but decided they clashed with, rather than complimented, the paint. As I had already bought the grey XTR cables I found some grey pedals to match, followed by the blue ano bolts and X Lite crank caps to 'bling' it up a bit, and have to say I'm well chuffed with the overall effect.

Mech-wise, M735 would have been period correct for this frame but I just thought the -737 was a better match for the overall build??

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Continuing the subtle blue ano theme I fitted an original alloy Avid Rollamajig (that I nabbed off the Kilauea before passing it on to my daughter...) and a 13T CNC'd lower jockey wheel (the upper is a gold CNC'd 11T); the idea being the larger radius is better for chain life/performance - allegedly. ;)

Digressing; looking at the photo's then out the window as I sit here now I can't quite believe how lucky I was with the weather the other day!

The Logic canti's...

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...were (happily) a bargain compared with some you see on eBay, and look so much nicer than any model of XT (IMHO...)

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..........................................................................................................small Saracen decals to echo original Kona 'thumbs'

AND before anyone points out the obvious ( :LOL: ) yes, I know the cable angle is all wrong with the power-hanger on the suspension-corrected fork; but with the added efficiency of the hanger the front break is still powerfull enough to pull stoppies even with my current bulk propelling it along! :eek:

Gawd, can hardly keep my eyes open now - thankyou Retrobike for relaxing me to the point where I'll now sleep :D

More to follow anon...
 
Guess I'll finish posting my photo's while I have a little time to myself...

...the wheelset I had originally earmarked for this build was a pair of Mavic 517's on XT M750/751 hubs that used to hang off my Kilauea, but in the interest of continuing the Ritchey theme I snapped up these...

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...at a bargain price, which is more than can be said for my tyres of choice :?

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The eBay listing stated that the 'tread on one was slightly worse than the other' but when they arrived the 1.95 had a 20mm cut right through the casing dead-center in the middle of the tyre! Not happy but, BiTD I used 1.9 Tioga City Slickers for my commute and as they became harder and harder to get hold of I used to eke them out to the bitter end; the side walls used to go first, but I used to glue patches of thin plastic sheet over the damage without any ramifications (apart from the odd looks I'd get at the sight of my increasingly tatty sidewalls - 'Just how do they hold air?')

A quick rummage through the recycling box in the kitchen turned up the clear plastic top from a confectionary box, about .5mm thick and quite stiff; one 10cm x 4cm patch later (held in place by the tube) and the tyre was good to go again... ;)

Didn't stop me buying a heart-attack inducingly expensive NOS pair for when these do give up the ghost though!

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My two favourite fine-detail touches; the inverter pulley for the front mech. was rusted and seized on its post when I got it so I freed it up and left it in place when the frame went off for coating - I really like that colour-matched little detail. And the superb pewter headtube badge; 'nuff said :cool:

Well, I thinks that's nearly enough self-indulgence for now...

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...but I think I can safely say that, despite being the major Kona fan that I am, this...

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...really does look like becoming my favourite :cool:

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.........................................................................the Kili that never was... ;)
 
Really liking this. Saracen's of this period were specced with a fair bit of Ritchey kit, so I don't think it looks out of place.
Very nice
 
makster":1sondakv said:
Really liking this. Saracen's of this period were specced with a fair bit of Ritchey kit, so I don't think it looks out of place.
Very nice

That was my thoughts exactly ref the Ritchey kit.

Got to be honest steveo, i read this again at work today, and i think if it was built this way to begin with, it would have been a bigger selling success than how the bike was when you got it...., i cant find a bigger compliment.

Cracking job mate, keep it up, and the pics are great too.
 
Gosh! :oops:

I've always been a bit of a maverick, ploughing my own furrow to my own tune (just to mangle a few more metaphores in one sentence!) and as a consequence never really gave a toss what people thought of me...*

...but to build something like this bike and have it appreciated by other members the way they have is actually quite humbling.

All I can say is a very sincere 'Thank you...' :D

* I should perhaps add '...in private' - those who've known me professionally would be maybe a tad surprisd/alarmed by that statement!
 
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