An unintended consequence of my son's stand at Bespoked and my Friday visit was that the conversation I had with Mark Lemstra on the King Frameworks stand about the very slim tubed CX frame had on the stand ended up with my buying it. This was made even more bizarre because at the time I bought it I was actually on holiday in West Somerset.
So, a week later my daughter came to see me, bringing the frame and forks with her.
The frame is called TwoFace and was actually made 15 years ago. It was the first cx frame Mark made and there have been plenty more since. It is made of.... erm steel tube. Mark told me he bought up lots of old stock at a time when steel frames were becoming less and less popular, hence the skinny profile of many tubes. I will find out exactly what it is, but I guess much of that will depend on Mark's memory.
Those with a sharp eye will see a couple of chips in the red paint; this happened in transit to Bespoked and upset Mark a lot as the frame had only just been repainted for the show. He has some touch up paint and that is on its way to me, so by the time the bike starts to go together the chips will be sorted.... not by me, my mate Darren is a panel beater and sprayer, so I'll get a pro on the job.
Build? Modern cx / gravel.
2 x 10 SRAM Force most likely. FSA canti's, as I already have them, wheels will most likely be Hope hubs, Sapim spokes and tubeless Velocity A23 rims. Stans rims would be peachy but at £30 per rim more expensive than Velocity or DT Swiss..... nuff sed.
That said, I have no fixed ideas and have never build a proper cx bike before, so if you have any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.
You can see some more of Mark's work here: http://www.kingframeworks.com/
So, a week later my daughter came to see me, bringing the frame and forks with her.
The frame is called TwoFace and was actually made 15 years ago. It was the first cx frame Mark made and there have been plenty more since. It is made of.... erm steel tube. Mark told me he bought up lots of old stock at a time when steel frames were becoming less and less popular, hence the skinny profile of many tubes. I will find out exactly what it is, but I guess much of that will depend on Mark's memory.
Those with a sharp eye will see a couple of chips in the red paint; this happened in transit to Bespoked and upset Mark a lot as the frame had only just been repainted for the show. He has some touch up paint and that is on its way to me, so by the time the bike starts to go together the chips will be sorted.... not by me, my mate Darren is a panel beater and sprayer, so I'll get a pro on the job.
Build? Modern cx / gravel.
2 x 10 SRAM Force most likely. FSA canti's, as I already have them, wheels will most likely be Hope hubs, Sapim spokes and tubeless Velocity A23 rims. Stans rims would be peachy but at £30 per rim more expensive than Velocity or DT Swiss..... nuff sed.
That said, I have no fixed ideas and have never build a proper cx bike before, so if you have any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.
You can see some more of Mark's work here: http://www.kingframeworks.com/
