KonAaron Snake 

I've debated posting this since I don't think it will appeal to this crowd, but some might dig it...

Build plans -

10sp alloy Record
Paul Cantis (I have the cantis laying around, but am debating buying mini-motos)
Chris King Headset
Velocity Dyads laced to silver Record hubs
53-39 front, 13-29 rear - should be good range!
Probably Ritchey stem and bars, but there are some others I like as well. Special thanks to Bulldogge for showing me the Salsa bars.
Brooks (of course) - brown Pro
brown tape













It looks better in person...everything is painted. The gold trim around the lettering is just insane. If it only had eyelets, Grant would approve!

rootboy 

Those graphics are hand painted?! Wow. beautiful.

KonAaron Snake 

Amazing isn't it? I think that's the thing that jumps at me.

Italuminium

No, Booohooo! Begone, heathen! Give us rusty Varsinentals and Univega's!

Kidding. This might just be the most awesome frame kit I've seen in a while. What a beauty. It may not be a classic now, but it will be for sure. Looks a bit tall for your usual mug of tea though, what are the geometry specs? Build plan looks good too, but maybe I'd swap out those dyads for something a bit more classic and low profile, like silver Mavic Open Pro's.

rootboy 

C'mon Aaron. Are you sure? looking at that gold outlining, that looks downright impossible with a brush! Very impressive.

KonAaron Snake 

She's 56cm ST and 56.5 cm TT, with a low BB...it should be a good fit. If not, it'll get re-homed. In a perfect world I'd probably go .5 shorter on the TT, but how many shots do you get at a Vanilla? I think it'll fit just fine.

I really want the Dyads for the tire width and rim strength.

Dude - it's hand painted. That's why Vanillas have the wait they have.

Kobe 

Very pretty rear dropout with the V. What is the cable stop on the rear stay for?

KonAaron Snake 

The rear derailleur routing goes through the TT with the brake cable and goes down the seatstay to the derailleur.

cudak888 

For the RD; the rest of the cable is routed over the top tube, cyclocross-style.

-Kurt

Velognome 

Love it! Bummer about the lack of eyelets. Though some cream tires would be killer!

ColonelJLloyd 

Wow, that's sharp! What is it made of?

The build sounds really good. I think the cantilevers would look better than the linear brakes, though. Good call on the Dyads, but I'll bet A23s will be plenty strong and a bit lighter.

KonAaron Snake 

I thought that might be over the top...

I'm planning on going with GP 4 all seasons. Why? Because I love them. The other tire I'm thinking about is the Grand Bois Cypres - if only so I can have an opinion on Grand Bois. You hear so much about them here (though you also hear a lot about Panaracers, and I'm fairly neutral towards them).

She's a steel tube mix - little true temper, little Columbus...etc. This was their extra light version, which scared me a bit, but it's really not that light. It's a tough frame, as verified by Sacha.

I spent a lot of time debating the merits of the A23 vs. Dyads...the A23s look better, but I really want tough rims on this one.

No question that the cantis would look better, but sometimes they can be a bear with shudder. The mini-motos would be more functional me thinks...and for a mini v, they're pretty cool.

thirdgenbird

I would consider campy cantilevers but mini-motos do look nice and trouble free.

KonAaron Snake 

I'm probably going to use the Pauls I already have...they've been sitting around waiting for a build now for about 2 years. If I have something good in reserve, it's hard to justify spending fresh cash on something else.

The Pauls fell into the "Wow, that's a steal, eventually I'll use them" category of buy, also known as the sitting around in a parts drawer buy.

Staggerwing

Silver for the stem and bars?

Although it might be too inexpensive for a Vanilla, the Soma Highway 1's are nice. They have a shallow elliptical bend, similar to the FSA Omega, which works very well for my hands. The shape allows me to spend a good amount of time in the drops, and they are comfortable all the way from the tails, where I access the bar-end shifters, all the way into the bends. Long tails, 130mm drop, 75mm reach. I have a set on a very classic looking, early 80's vintage Melton, and they don't look out of place at all.

Of course, there is always Nitto too. I have a 177 Noodle on one rig, although I'm liking the newer 178 Mark's bar too. No grooves on those though.

Of course, if you are going with brown bars and tape, you could get some Record 10spd bar-ends, and go with TRP RRL SR Retro brake levers.

KonAaron Snake 

I would never, ever, voluntarily use barcons, especially not when I already have some damn nice Ergos waiting in the wings. I won't even use barcons when it makes sense to use them (full disclosure, if I had to do it over again, I'd have barcons instead of the Suntour COmmands).

The bars are nice...definitely like them.

I'll probably go silver...and I'm leaning Ritchey classic stuff...but I think black would look good too.

ColonelJLloyd 

Velognome 

silver to shiney

Chris_in_Miami

That's an amazing frame, congrats! This must be some kind of karmic payback for the leg - break a leg, move to the front of a 5-year line

KonAaron Snake 

Forgive me for being dense, but I don't get it.

it's something pretty to look forward to. The sick part was that a day later a 56cm Sachs cross came up.

kiwigem

I can't believe I am saying this, but I even *gulp* like the fork.

rootboy 

Lovely frame, but I prefer chocolate

KonAaron Snake 

I always liked chocolate better as well...vanilla is a synonym for plain.

If I were getting a custom Vanilla, and had say into the paint, I'd have little chocolate bars painted on - or maybe a Hershey's kiss as the head badge.

4Rings6Stars

Yeah, not my flavor but I guess you're entitled to ride what you like.





Kidding. That thing is amazing. I vote for you to go all silver on the cockpit.... The rest of the build sounds amazing.

Did they make alloy 10s Record ergos or do you have converted 9s?

KonAaron Snake 

The Ergos are black CF...and the rear derailleur has some CF as well.