a couple of small changes, i liked the look of the build as is with the Sids and XT brakes but unfortunately i found the brakes a little spongey, i prefer positive feeling brakes so i decide to change them for some Avid single digit SL's i found for a bargain price of £25 for the lot! i think they fit the bike a little better aswel, the bosses were a little pissed on the frame so the shimano brakes didn't sit quite straight but the avids seem to cope with it a little better.
also i am thinking of changing the stem cap, what do you think? i like this cap as it has a nukeproof logo look to it but i'm not sure if the blue 'works' with the black stem.
i have been riding this a bit recently including 20 miles in the rain on saturday, it has taken a while to get used to this bike but now that i have i do really like it
actually it rides spot on, the bombers i had for it were 63mm, the sids are 80mm, not a huge increase but the handling is fine with no barge like steering. if i can find some x-firm springs though i will put the bombers back in purely because they match, but if i do that i would probably fit a riser bar as the front end felt low with those forks, the only other possibility is finding a 80mm bomber that is compatible with the white lowers i have had done and fitting those.
when i got the Sid forks for this i really liked the ride, the 80mm front end felt so much better than the 63mm bomber front end, but the idea was to long term paint the forks to match, this has finally been done, i am really pleased with the look now, it's just as i wanted, also i managed to get a red/silver/blue king headset for it aswel so as far as i am concerned this is now completely finished! how often can you say that??!!
that was the idea with this build right from the start.
i wanted 1 1/8 headset so i could fit a modernish fork, no canti hanger so i could run v brakes therefore giving me a retrobike that had some modern benefits.
i can use this without ever thinking (while riding) that i have to be careful because i don't have good enough brakes etc.