# '85 King of Mercia



## bulldog1935 (Feb 27, 2022)

Our mutual friend Tad, @petritl has been out of the loop for a year or so, as I have.
He has a good excuse - extreme personal business.
The good thing from settling his dad's estate, he brought home a cherry Model A.

Also in this tough time, his grown son across the country got into legal trouble.
Our friend sold $8000 from his bike collection to help, including his stunning 1939 Umberto Dei condorino (Mussolini-era Italian city bike).








						What bike did you ride today? | General Discussion About Old Bicycles
					

Hot and steamy Father’s Day morning ride on the 1940 Umberto Dei with Simplex 3spd chain pull derailleur.




					thecabe.com
				



Of course he kept more than a few bikes, including his favorite Gloria and Team 7Eleven

But through that carnage, he held out this '86 Mercian - we never talked about it - he just knew I would want it.









This is a custom frame, closer to my size than his, but I have to rebuild the cockpit - because the maxed-out stem isn't close for me.
At home on the build stand.
Attending to details while waiting for Nitto chain, Ben's and USPS, to deliver my new right-size Pearl stem.



If I had a custom built, it would have been this blue with ivory panels.
Tad had already added the V-O front rack.
A normal alignment problem with fenders, while rear fenders always have 2 hard mounts, front fenders only have one.
This affects their shape and alignment, and is compounded further with natural bows in wood.
Copying something I've done before on long Honjo fenders with Nitto front rack, only modified here for wood.
I added a fender hard point to monolithic-stiff rack using #10 sex bolts joined by 8-32 stud, and M5 nylon spacers.


 






I did remove the rack to chamfer the hole I drilled in the wood, and seal with urethane.
Also, neoprene washers on each side of the wood.
Here's the result.


 





 


It aligns the front of the fender, and pushes it down.
It also lifts the fender at 45-degrees-left (NW) here, where it was closest to the tire.




I'll be back with detail photos and, if USPS can deliver my parts, I should be riding it next weekend.
In the meantime, here's Tad's new toy - that cherry model-A


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## dnc1 (Mar 1, 2022)

Looking forward to seeing more of this.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 1, 2022)

Thanks friend - me, too - I'm anxious to ride it.
Already run into supply hitches.  I'm all-Wippermann chains with *Molten Speed Wax* for lube - I hate dirty, oily chains.
Nothing sticks to my chains except soft clay, and they rinse off with a hose.  Every 1000 mi, they get mineral spirits cleaning and a soak in the double boiler with Molten Speed Wax.  Compared to cleaning an oiled chain, which gives a half-teaspoon of sand and metal wear particles, cleaning a 1000-mi Speed-waxed chain only leaves a fingerprint-sized residue of soft clay.

So far, I'm getting the best response from your side of the pond - with the exception of Modern Bike - Andy runs a good show there.
Otherwise, Wiggle has improved their response to US with their own bundled shipping to a customs broker - similar to the way Amazon.JP works.  They can get a part quicker to my house than USPS can ship one across the country from domestic suppliers.
My stem is due tomorrow, so I'll be working on finishing the cockpit this week.

oops- I mis-titled the thread.
Tad just sent me a jpg of the Delivery sheet that Mercian had sent to him.
s/n 44685
delivered in April '85

I asked the moderators if they can fix the thread title for me...


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## slowride (Mar 2, 2022)

That bike is gorgeous! Congratulations! intrigued by your chain cleaning and waxing regimen. can you recommend inexpensive ultrasonic cleaner?   maybe an electric crockpot where you could just leave the wax in and just use for chain waxing purpose? how would you do it if you were touring? you’re spot on regarding avoid wear on chain rings and cogs that are out of production. Thanks for your advice and look forward to seeing more on the Mercian!


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 2, 2022)

Hi friend - yes mineral spirits and ultrasonic bath is perfect for cleaning chains.
I have two dedicated cheap porcelain sauce pans, and a half-pound of molten speed wax cools in the smaller and stays there.
The 190-degrees you need to hit is deaeration temperature - the bubbles just before water boils.
As long as you're putting in a clean chain, the half-pound lasts a long time.  I still have the other half-pound bagged as the original pellets.


 


The stainless chains last beyond 20,000 miles, when the links finally stretch out of shape.  But if you followed my old thread link, what's important to me is that my 47-T T/A chainring from the 70s keeps riding, because these are hens' teeth.  T/A hasn't made odd-number larger Cyclotouriste chainrings since the mid-70s.
The chain can be replaced - the chainring can't.  

Thanks for the compliment and support, this is going to be a sweet ride.  Still didn't get my stem, but I did get my chain, so I'll have the bottom-end done.  But I'm afraid finishing out the top is going into next week.  I'll get some photos tomorrow of the drivetrain.


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## bikerbluz (Mar 3, 2022)

Hey Bulldog, so good to see you back, and with an amazing acquisition!! Very elegant and nice work. So sorry to hear about Tad’s problems. Sometimes it does seem to pour when it rains. Hope he has turned the corner on all that and the Ford looks amazing also.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 3, 2022)

ok, got the bottom end done, and a little more to show.



Tad had a parts-box Suntour VxGT installed - a nice derailleur, but I had a NOS Suntour Blue Line stashed.
Still the same basic derailleur, but improved metallurgy and lightened (to Shimano weight) to win a contract with Trek.
My favorite Shimano 600 FD (installed by Tad), which has lift designed into the cage, and works great with wide chainring spacing.


 


If you notice the sapphire splashes, I'm using blue titanium for every fastener I can.  Already had the crank dust covers from now-out-of-the-loop Toronto Cycles, and Amazon has a great stash of M5 and M6 titanium fasteners with Prime one-day delivery.
Tad followed my lead when he built this bike, and set up my favorite half-step triple.  50T, 45T, 32T
The two big chainrings split the steps between the rear cogs, and you end up with extreme wide range and narrow steps, no duplicates and useful overlap.
The algorithm to ride this is, up or down, always shift first in the front, then shift in the rear if you need.
In practice, stop-and-go, slight grades, you stay on one rear cog, and make all your shifts between the half-steps.
If you need to escape to the granny, the small chainring gives you 7 narrow steps in the rear.
Here's the gear chart.





Nobody really needs a gear taller than 104 inches unless you're racing, and 27 inches will let you climb 20% grades and never have to get off the bike.
It's a 450' drop to get out of my neighborhood, and there are three short 20% grades to get back home.
I was never planning to load this bike down, but always want room for tools, layers, and maybe a pound of ribs from Two Bros. BBQ.
Tad had already installed the V-O front rack.  I'm planning to put the Berthoud small universal bag on the front rack, delayed in the domestic bike-supply malaise.
I added a simple rear Gamoh rack from Japan, and took a pound from it by using Tubus rack stays.  It gets the small Berthoud trunk bag.


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## slowride (Mar 3, 2022)

Wow that is looking great! Thanks for the gear chart and practical experience with this set up! Can you tell more about the fenders? Is the wood for aesthetics mostly or is there a performance advantage?


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 3, 2022)

hi friend, Tad, @petritl installed the fenders - they're in my OP photos from 3 years ago.
I believe they're Woody's


			Woodys Custom Wood Bicycle Fenders
		


If you've ever handled a good wood-bladed paddle, wood can be light enough to compete with alloy (and fiberglass in paddles).
But yes, the answer is asthetics.  I've found brown leather, brown canvas bags, etc, always looks good on a blue bike.
They're also quiet compared to metal fenders.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 6, 2022)

Photo time.
Was busy yesterday helping with a kidfish as part of my conservation commitment and education chair with GRTU.
Also copped out of the Sunday ride to finish the bike.
Today, I have a riding bike.
Tall stem to make it fit, used my stashed The Last Pair of Modolo 919 anatomic hoods - a strange color, clear with copper flake, but they work on this bike.
The leather wrap is Leh Cycling Acorn color from nearby Austin



of course twine wraps



Had to finish out the brakes, and take my fit ride, but no drama there, because everything was measured from my other bikes.
The brake pads will end up being replaced with Kool Stop.
I still have some tweaking to do on the rear rack, which will be improved when my Tubus blocks and stays arrive to tilt the front down.


 

 













 



I'll add a note about my choice of favorite Blackspire spiked platform pedals.
No doubt this makes collectors cringe.  
I've always said the saddest thing is a catalog-perfect bike never ridden.  



These are about the best touring pedals made.  They allow you to wear any shoes, and move your foot around on the pedal.
Since you're not always on the ball of your foot, and also not on 1" tall cages, they let you ride a frame that's otherwise an inch too small.


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## slowride (Mar 7, 2022)

Wow that came together very nicely (and quickly)! The colors are all harmonious as are the eclectic mix of components! 
Can I ask what you use for shift/brake cables and housing? Also like the bell! What maker?
I need pedals that let me ride a frame that otherwise an inch too big


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 7, 2022)

@slowride Tad produced the cable housings - he delivered this bike as he had ridden it.
I used new Shimano Dura Ace for the cables I had to replace, when I was ordering from Ben's - Impressive cables that come with a serious coating and high-grade ferrules.
The bell is Lezyne, which I snagged with my pedals from Wiggle (UK) - first purchase I made.
Wiggle has the best price on Blackspire Sub240, which are the best trade-off between thin and price.
I have just slightly thinner (by 2 mm) Atlas Raceface on my Viner Pro Cross, but you can buy 3 pairs of Blackspire for those.
Blackspire is in Canada, and offers rebuild service by mail - I did that a couple of times when I was riding 100 mi/wk - haven't done that in awhile.
The rebuild charge is just the cost of the Int'l Priority post to send them back.

Same Blackspire pedals on my International. My International frame, btw is 1/2" taller than the Merc, and set-up for semi-upright.
The two bikes have the same top tube length (56 cm).
International also has the fork offset (low trail) for carrying a big front load, though the frame is not made for a rear load.  Only International and Grand Prix got this fork offset.
The Merc steering is too fast for a big front load.



 

 


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btw, here's the final position I was able to achieve on the rear rack using Tubus blocks and stays.


 

 It's just a hair tipped down in front from being parallel to the top tube.

On the back is the bag of Gamoh steel blocks I replaced with Tubus aluminum.  The Gamoh steel blocks have length adjustment and rotation only around the bolt that squeezes the block.
 
The Tubus blocks are alloy, and have additional rotation 90 degrees from there,
I get more alignment options, and removed a huge amount of weight replacing Gamoh steel blocks and stays with Tubus alloy.
They make the rack more rigid than the blocks and stays that came with it.
The Tubus parts together cost $30, and the whole thing made for a very cost-effective rear rack that hit my use mark.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 12, 2022)

Had a wonderful 24-mi break-in ride with my buddy Lou the other day.








						What bike did you ride today? | General Discussion About Old Bicycles
					

Golden yellow heavy duty shcwinn 78




					thecabe.com
				



I didn't mention it on the ride thread, but Lou waited for me while I tucked off onto the single-track and landed at Two Bros. BBQ for a half-pound of ribs to go.
The half-pound of ribs fit along with all my break-in-ride tools in the small trunk bag (no jalapeno poppers this time).


 


Today, the bike is back on the build stand, waiting for the mail lady to deliver my Campy dropout screws arriving on the not-too-slow boat from Barcelona.
 I have to have these anyway, but the fenders require the use of rear dropout rear adjustment screws to get the wheel in the right place.

In the meantime, more show and tell.
The frame has a really nice chain hanger, and it does a great job of keeping the chain off the frame everywhere.
  

The freewheel, well it's a dog.  Nothing against Shimano, but it drags the bike when coasting, and even free-spins the crank when coasting.
Need to jack it up and put a new one underneath.
I have a really nice Suntour Winner 6 that I used to run on my Grand Prix when I first built a half-step crank on my Sugino Mighty Comp.


 


I found a NOS Winner body on ebay, already had a few cogs, and ordered a few more assorted, so I'll run the molasses freewheel for awhile, and be back later with a tutorial on swapping cogs on Suntour Winner freewheel.

In the meantime, I mentioned those sapphires I scattered all over the Merc.
I used titanium fasteners everywhere I could, especially on the rack and fender bosses.  Enjoy.
Oh yeah, and a titanium seatpost bolt.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 24, 2022)

The bike is back on the build stand, waiting on my last Suntour cog before explaining the freewheel stack, but here's the crowning splash.
(part of this work, I pulled the crank to measure BB for a new Phil cartridge BB)
I had to re-do the fender chainstay bridge attachment.  Tad used the wrong kind of clamp - the kind that centers on the stay.  He had an M5x24mm socket head facing the tire, big washers, and a stack of washers to fill the gap between the fender and the clamp.
I had the right P-clamp, and was able to re-do it with a x12 mm fastener. EPDM washers to seal the fender wood, a lower-profile cone-truss-head M5, and a flanged M5 nylok, eliminating Many washers.  I ordered titanium tor the crown jewel.


slowride said:


> Wow that is looking great! Thanks for the gear chart and practical experience with this set up! Can you tell more about the fenders? Is the wood for aesthetics mostly or is there a performance advantage?



and found the woody's fenders mark when I went looking for it.


 


note the beautiful oval 531 chainstays without crimp - same as my International - part of what makes this bike ride and climb so well.  
Here's the clean, low-profile sandwich across the fender width.


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## slowride (Mar 24, 2022)

Goodness gracious man! You’ve got to share your fastener source ! any tips on how to learn more about the right fastener for given application?

Those fenders are the cat’s meow! I absolutely love wood. wonder what it’s sealed with? Marine varnish? Shellac does not like moisture.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 25, 2022)

@slowride
I've always hated aluminum crank dust covers, because they get badly marred by tools, to tighten and loosen.  Before '20, Toronto Cycles was the source for titanium bicycle parts, and I've had the dust covers around, both bright and blue, for 5 years-plus.  Unfortunately, Toronto Cycles website has not been back.  China sources and Amazon warehouses have taken up the slack for titanium fasteners.  Amazon is the cost-effective choice for titanium if you can find the right fastener.  E.g., search titanium bottle cage bolt on Amazon.  The seatpost bolt came from Titanium Planet on ebay, and his website by the same name is really unimpressive with limited applications.  The trump card for the perfect titanium fastener, the cone-head, flanged nylocks, colored fender washers, is ProBolt-USA - no bargains here, expect to pay about $8/pc.

While we're talking about fasteners, Bolt Depot is the world-service-center for piecemeal fastener sales - go-to for metric stainless, all head configurations, all washers from NordLock to nylon spacers and rubber seals, shoulder bolts, sex bolts, button-head socket.  You can put an amazing $2 order together here, they treat small piecemeal orders with the same respect as giant orders.  They post first-class - no handling charge - I don't know how they can do it, but their service is over the top.  Bolt Depot has been my source for bike fasteners and all kinds of fancy kayak-rigging fasteners since 2009.  At $0.07/pc., if you don't know what exact size will work, buy pairs in several lengths to try and keep the spares in your fastener bin.



 

 

 

 



On bicycles, some things to keep in mind between metric and US-standard machine screws, M4 and No. 8 share the same pilot hole and washer size, M5 and No. 10 the same, and M6 and 1/4" - of course you have to match threads, but the hole sizes are common between US and metric.  E.g., if you need a rubber washer for an M5, you can use a No. 10.   If you need an M6 bellville washer for brake pad shim to adjust caliper alignment on rim width, you can use 1/4"


 

 

 


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

my Suntour L13 cog is out for delivery today - I'll be back later with freewheel, but first, a bike ride with Lou - taking out my '74 International...


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## slowride (Mar 25, 2022)

Excellent, excellent primer on fasteners and sources! In fact I copied your notes and pictures in it’s entirety into my bicycle notes for future reference!  I’m no expert, but from what I have seen , you are among the best at meshing old and new ! 😉


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 26, 2022)

@slowride - most of this bike is period 1985.  Half-step triples were big then for getting everything out of a wide freewheel.  The Suntour BL GT rear derailleur was introduced in 1984.
Suntour made two types of freewheel bodies.
The Winner and Winner Pro used splined cogs and spacers in two diameters, with threaded cogs only in the outside positions (small-t).



The New Winner is different than above, and was designed to put 6 cogs in the same width as 5, and work on 122 mm rear dropout spacing (OLD).
Of course the '85 Merc has 126 mm OLD, room for 6 gears on wide spacing, or 7 on narrow spacing.
This freewheel body has splines for the 2 inner cogs, and two diameters of threads on the rest - note the marking NWN, which identifies it.
 

My original narrow-6 was 13 to 28t, and this would be the gear chart - damn good gear chart, but I wanted more.
Also had more than enough room between the dropouts.


 



You used to be able to walk into a bike shop and pick up any of these cogs, but the mid-diameter threaded cogs for New Winner are getting really hard to find.




The narrow-6 did not use spacers between the threaded cogs (except on the right), with thick spacers on top of each of the 2 splined cogs.
BTW, pulling one of these apart, you need a pair of chain whips.
  
On the right, the stack of thin shims was between the two largest threaded cogs - doesn't match anything on the diagram, but was a boxed factory freewheel, and I rebuilt it the same way.

The only original cogs I used on my rebuild were the threaded 17-t and 14-t.
I already had the splined cogs I needed, bought the 21-t mid-diameter thread from Yellow Jersey,
I made it into an Ultra-7 by swapping the original 13-t cog (F-13) for an L-13 and U-12 - sourced these on ebay.




Here's my stacked new freewheel body with the 5 inner cogs, 14-32t.  And next to it, the 7-sp freewheel with the ultra gears added
 

A lot of room on the rear dropout, and perfect chainline on the big 50-T ring and small 12-t cog


 



You don't use all the gears on the gear chart because of chainline, and also because of practical need.
So here's the gear chart again with the pointless gears blanked out.  And next to that, the chainline on the full practical range of the small 32-T chainring.


  
My chain length is adjusted so that 32-T ring, both the rear derailleur spring and chain are fully relaxed on the 14-t cog.
Can't even go into those missing gears without the chain slapping the chainstay.
The reason you want to work in these good chainlines is to maximize life and minimize wear on your chain, and the teeth on your rings and cogs.
The reason you don't want to go to Big-big on an over-short chain is to not overwork the spring on your RD and give it good life.

Again, in practical use of a half-step triple, you can ride all day in rolling hills only using one rear cog.



You use the adjacent cogs to adjust pace in group rides, and the really big cogs on the bail-out ring allow you to climb grades up to 20% without getting off to walk.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 28, 2022)

Show and tell on my Berthoud mud flaps, which arrived from France with DHL morning delivery - not the p/u truck size flap they sell here, but narrow to match the fenders and tires.
Of course, knew I would be putting them in wood, and already had the extra hardware I needed - 4-mm-longer fasteners for the wood thickness, and rubber washers.
Very happy with the result.


 

 



I made the holes normal to the sharp curve in the wood at the outside of the fenders.  Knew I couldn't install the screws that way, and walked the insides of the holes closer to but not quite parallel, which made them oblate cones.  Sealed the wood with urethane.
Of course can't use a metal washer inside - that will dig and split the wood - so I used stout EPDM rubber washers inside, which also seal the fenders.

The oblate cone holes, as you tighten the hardware, and the fastener gets shorter, it stretches the leather across the outside of the fender for a really good fit.
Had to install them first without the rubber washers, just to be able to get a nut on the screw, then went back and installed the rubber washers.
Clean result, and gorgeous color, which is the leather color on the bags.


 



If you've ever ridden a fender bike in the wet, you know full fenders are wonderful (Honjo's below).  They keep your whole body dry, especially your feet.  They also keep your drivetrain and brakes dry and clean.  The problem with short fenders (Clipper's below), they don't keep your feet or drivetrain dry.  That's solved with a front mudflap.  The rear mudflap is to be nice to the guy behind you.  One wet day, Tad followed my Lenton and complained about the spray coming off my rear wheel - I was cozy and dry.


 



@slowride - thanks again for your kind words.
While I try to keep my bikes looking right, my drivetrains are usually custom.  I like touring platform pedals for the fit and convenience factor (and also like toeclips with the right frame fit and right shoes).
The one thing that's always going to be new on my bikes is wheels and tires.  They change the nature of a bike compared to steel rims and hard heavy tires.
Good wheels make all the difference in climbing, because of lower inertia.


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## bikerbluz (Mar 29, 2022)

Bulldog those are gorgeous!


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 31, 2022)

Put in a new Phil bottom bracket yesterday, and I think she's finished at last.
The old BB had enough freeplay, it made you think the rear wheel was loose.
Knocked out a good-paced 25+ miles today on the Leon Creek Greenway.
Took along my 6-mm allen and rotated the bars at stops to find the right balance on the hoods between hook and palm.





adding a ps here - if you've got an old, cantankerous BB with no hope of finding a NOS wear-free spindle, Phil cartridge BB offers all these thread-cup options:


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## bulldog1935 (May 17, 2022)

On the build stand for a final blue vanity touch - titanium chainring bolts.
...and gave the chainrings the cleaning they deserved - they're in really good shape, and good thing - both the 45T 110mm-bcd half-step mid, and 32T 58mm-bcd granny are hens' teeth.





adding a ps about the titanium dust cover, which came from Toronto Cycles years ago - I tried contacting Toronto Cycles through their website for these bolts, and never got a reply - even though their website will send you to a paypal invoice, I don't think they're posting to US.
The titanium chainring bolts came from a US machine shop, 3act in Dayton NJ, selling on ebay - and they're quality - 6-mm Allen on the nuts, and 5-mm Allen on the bolts.


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## bulldog1935 (Sep 8, 2022)

Update on this bike, first my favorite Salado Creek Greenway photo




There was still a shock in the front fork that caused me pain on sharp bumps, and especially Sunday morning St. Marys St. construction.
I took a rubber moll to the fork and head on the build stand, looking for noise.  Finally found it in the lower headset race.
Plus, I could feel the slightest rock in the fork.  Decided worn-out lower race in the headset.

I bought the IRC TechnoGlide, Andy had a good price at Modern Bike, and always great service - sealed Tange bearings - round ball, this bike doesn't need needle bearings.  Shock and pain problem solved.
Freaking Howard would not charge me to install it when I picked it up.  But Bob's Miyata Univega was there - his Spirt FD had a broken parallelogram,
So I donated the one that came on my daughter's Team Fuji and wouldn't work with the 9sp and low-Q Mighty Comp Crank (I used Ultegra).
It was stored safe in a cigar box in the garage, and was in the 2nd box I checked.


Haven't been posting, life's been nuts, but been getting in long rides with a friend training for MS150 next month, and easy 100 mi weeks, even with with my taxed schedule.
Show and Tell
Added one last vanity part, Titanium bottle cage from Agave Finish Works in Boulder - one reason I love titanium on this bike, the blued color exactly matches the paint tint.


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