This is an update to my original posting here, which includes a now extinct picture. At any rate, I had this Impulse--certainly in "rider" condition, so, pretty good, but with scratches etc--slated to be sold and had it built with a Campy Chorus/Record mix and an FSA compact crankset. A bit of a panda/Stormtrooper build. My initial Dura-Ace build had it a good bike, but it didn't feel all-the-way good. Maybe it wasn't for me? After riding my other Prestige bike (the Prologue), I hopped on my teal '88 Trek 560 and thought, wow, this is harsher than I remember. Then I hopped on the Impulse--23mm wide rims with 23mm Vittoria Rubino tires--nothing special. Wow, this felt pretty good!
I got the idea to swap all the 7800 Dura-Ace from the Trek to the Impulse, but I had to make sure that the Vuelta wheels with Vittoria Open Corsa tires wasn't the cause of the Trek's ride characteristics. They weren't!
So now I have a "White Lightning" Davidson Impulse, and it rides and feels fantastic! It feels tall (as it is, but more so) and regal. Very very solid--like made-from-one-piece solid. Comfortable. Climbing and accelerating is what you want to feel as well. Fast! Steering is perfectly weighted (as I have set things up), quick yet smooth. And with 7800 doing the shifting work, it operates flawlessly.
You ask, why did I not have this experience the first time? The wheels then were good--hand built Dura-Ace to Mavic CXP33. The tires were Continental Grand Prix 24mm. I thought they were my friend, but they were working against me when on the Impulse! The Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX (my favorite) in 25mm form are what's now on it. Lighter, more supple, with much better feel.
Keeper. 1000%
