I did finish the bike a couple of months ago and finally took some pictures.




Here is the full reel: http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/29829880_Q4pQzc

"Finish" maybe is too strong a word; I want to do something about the pedals and, as you can see, I need a seatpost with adjustable tilt! I also want to upgrade the brake pads and put some kind of clamp-on bottle cage.

I ended up buying a new track wheelset for the bike. A pair of these on sale for half price from Electra: http://store.electrabike.com/eSource..._/_750052.aspx

In a way, it was really stupid to get these shiny new wheels because the bike is supposed to be a townie that I can look up outside without having to carry multiple locks and there are no wheel locks I know of for nutted axles. BUT, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the wheels. Super polished, awesome Campy sheriff star-style high flange hubs but much beefier. The fit and finish is great and I think they are an absolute STEAL at $175 for the set. I am tempted to buy another one just to have around since they are obviously closing out their premium Ticino Cyclotourist line (I wish I would have got a set of the cassette hubs in the same style before they sold out).

I also bought a cheapie new seatpost since I wanted one with flutes and 26.6 is a hard size to find. .833 SR stem was a cheap used eBay find. Bars and brake lever are VO and the brake is a new Dia comp 750. Tires are Pasela 32s. The fork and chainstays still have TONS of room to go bigger. The rest of the stuff was from from the parts bin.

It is hard for me to comment on the ride of the bike because so much of my experience has been getting used to riding fixed. Really baffling to get used to not being able to freewheel but I only forget occasionally now. I have been having a blast riding all over SF with it and settled on 48/18 gearing, which is around 70 inches. I can just barely make it up the biggest hill by my apartment (at the top of Russian Hill!), which I think is the right standard to use. I might go down one cog in the back if I get a lot stronger, which by the way riding fixed makes you do!

More kudos to the late Sheldon whose writings convinced my to go back to the basics and try fixed, which I had otherwise written off as a hipster fad.

This bike puts a smile on my face and makes me psyched to get out and ride, which is what is important, right?

Cheers,

Jon

SF, CA