I just got my new Soma Buena Vista mixte frame. Some things about it surprised me. The tubing sticker on the down tube states that it's Tange Prestige, which is a step up from the Infinity tubing that the manufacturer's website says it's made from. The more puzzling surprise is the set of knob-like things screwed into the gear shifter bosses. (At least, I hope they're only screwed in.)
They look like old, slightly bent empty thread spools, and they don't appear in any of the online photographs. Does anyone know what they are? They're made for steel and painted the same colour as the frame.