Answered my own question. Byers-Bush in Miss. sandblast and powder coat in stock black or white is $75. Turn around time 48 - 72 hours. Sweet.

But, how best to tape off the steerer, BB shell and bolt holes? Anyone?

They do everything for you, I have had 5 or 6 bikes done by them and haven't had any real problems. One time there was overspray on the fork and I had a hard time putting the crown race on but that is about it.

Once you get the frame I would advise that you give it a couple of coatings of clearcoat as powdercoat is porous. I found some clearcoat by Krylon that is intended for plastics and it has been fine on my Ciocc for about a year now.



How is everyone doing? It has been a bit sketchy out there lately, I hope everyone is riding safe...

Cx Pros in 26inch have been super, thanks Chris for the tip .. awesome tires.

Cool, thanks. I was going to clearcoat anyway as I want to put some decals on the frame and I'd like them protected.

I asked over the phone about taping things off, and the lady seemed to think that I needed to do that myself. I'm just having the frame done, not the fork.

Looking to get a fast bike, carbon scares me so I'm looking to go with something steel. Found a Miele Beta with 600 groupset and downtube shifters for 399. Seller claims the bike was weighed at 18 pounds but I'm skeptical. Sound like a good deal for the price though?

^^ Carbon isn't scary. I wouldn't buy a CF bike used, unless I knew the seller well enough to trust their declared history of the frame and I wouldn't ride CF through the winter for utility.

Miele's are really a mixed bag. The high end ones are nice, though rare. Most are pretty rough - non-recessed brake holes, cheap steel, etc... The other serious consideration is how long that frame will last. You're pushing 20+ years with most steel Miele bikes, which is a point where the frames begin to break. My Latina Road issue had its DS chain stay shear off at the dropout this summer. No aggressive riding - just age.

Another thing with those older bikes - you have to pick over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Look for cracks in everything, check the BB, BB cups + cones, rims for cracks... Now consider the drive train: might be worn to the point of needing a new freewheel/cassette, chain, rings, etc...

Sounds pedantic, but consider your safety. For example, I discovered a massive crack in the Cinelli quill stem that came with a used bike I bought some time back. That crack was underneath, at the pinch point for the securing bolt.

Finally - $399 ain't worth it for a Miele! Those things have, quite literally, no value outside of the GTA. They're unknown. If you want to save massive bucks, and you absolutely must have that brand, then keep an eye out on e-Bay and kijiji.


Doin' good, tho casual rides aren't happening. Riding has come to utility for the winter and I'm hitting the gym to compensate.

Finally going to get my Bad Boy Ultra setup for winter this Friday. Fenders, single speed conversion, and possibly power-grips.

How do we all like power-grips vs. other stuff (clips+straps, bare platform, clipless) for winter?

Not looking for a miele specifically, just something older with decent componentry for around that price. Saw a bike in my size with shimano 600 and SLX tubing go for 350 dollars that I missed out on due to funds at the time and I'm kicking myself. I'll take a pass on it if it's not a great deal, I've got tons of time until spring when I'd be riding a road bike anyway. I've worn out enough components on my own bikes to know what trashed looks like so I'm good on that front ;)


I also fully acknowledge that my carbon fear is irrational but I still think I'd be creeped out taking hills with it.

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep looking

I've been on/off the commute by bike, but doing OK - had a great ride out to the east end Tuesday night.

Got a call last night from a buddy whose friend was wanting a quick sell on a bike he had. Once I saw it, I snapped it up right quick.

It looks like an 80s-era bike, it's a Leader road frame, model starts with "P" (can't remember just now) and it has a full Shimano 600 group, hubs laced to Araya rims. Has a Kashimax saddle and the FRAME is coloured in a similar green to the Bianchi celeste green.

I'll get some pics later - anyone heard anything about early Leader bikes?

Some decent bikes to keep an eye out for are older steel Trek's. Also, older Cannondale's - SR400s and the like. They're super-stiff, if that's what you're into. Let us know what you end up with!

Oooooh, plot thickens. I'd emailed the seller for more details before posting here and he just got back to me with pictures and info. Apparently the tubing is columbus and the bike looks completely scratch free. Not discounting that all the mieles I've ever seen have been total junk, the columbus tubing has me seriously intrigued. Maybe one of the few actually nice mieles out there?

I am not a huge fan of Mieles either but yeah, some are nice. I think you can do better for $400. I like the 600 stuff a lot but, as kergin says, you are looking at something that is now pushing 20 years old so there are many things that can have underlying problems.

What size do you need?

Either a big 56 or a 58. I think if even with the good tubing, solid groupset and the fact that it looks like it was barely ridden (black plastic pedals usually mean it saw a lot of storage time IMO) you guys still think it's worth passing up, I should walk away. I thought it looked like a really good deal, but this is clearly why I asked you guys before pulling the trigger. Here's the listing for those interested;

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/1537122070.html

Not a bad bike by any means, if you can get him to $350 you will be pretty happy, I am sure.

Go to the St. Catherine's Kijiji and search for 'Gardin', there is a nice looking one with a 105 kit and STI shifters that has been listed for ages now, I bet he will go down to $200, maybe less...

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/...794997_20.jpeg

The site has returned from the dead! Welcome!

Race Across the Sky tickets appear to be on sale today:

Cinplex tickets

I think I'm going to watch it at the Varsity.

^^ Looks good.

Anyone here know whether I can expect M475 hubs to last through the winter? I hear tell they have no real seals, and they are, as with all Shimano hubs, loose bearing. Can't say I really care if they don't last one winter. After all, they probably cost $50 to replace.

This spring, I'm committed to getting into XC and trail riding. I'll need to get some 26" or 650b wheels built up to do MTB riding on the Bad Boy Ultra, though. I think King hubs are out (I have a set for my cross bike, and for the money they cost, I was disappointed), so there's DT, Shimano...? Who else makes MTB hubs worth looking at? Also, are tubeless rims/tires worth it?

Can't you run 700's and go 29'r on the Bad Boy?

I see a lot of tubeless wheelsets listed for sale on CanadianCyclist and Pinkbike but I don't know whether that is because they are unpopular or because people are upgrading. I definitely think that tubeless is here to stay and it is growing in popularity with roadies too.

Doesn't Hope make some nice mountain bike hubs?

They are pretty nice aren't they. Put mine back on.
I think the bad boy ultra comes with 700 wheels so making it a 29 might work with cross tires.

Powergrips. I have them on both my winter rides this year. Was tired of cold feet with clipless and the nice hunting boots I got from basspro don't work with toeclips so powergrips entered the picture. BUT....I am too cheap to drop $100+ on 2 sets so I made my own for under $15 for both. Took about 2 hours total time to make and they are awesome. Easy to get in and out of, fit snugly, can hammer out of the saddle and have no fear of slipping out of them while slowingdown/skidding.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...IMG_0068-1.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...IMG_0070-1.jpg

Good job McGyver!!! Now put the seltbelts back in the car damn it!! :lol;

Actually thought about seatbelts. Used industrial velcro straps.

Nice powergrips MacPyzer! :D

Here are some [bad] pics of the Leader that I picked up: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1179864...7623162377200/

Pretty happy with it, once it's dry outside I'll take it out for a spin - but this will likely be a fair-weather bike for me.

Nope. Of course hindsight is 20/20, so I see how badly designed (actually, not designed at all!) the BBU is as hybrid. The MAX tire size the front can take is a 700x28; any more height and you hit the valve stem for the front suspension. The rear might take a real cross tire. There are other things which make no sense; for example: no drilling on either the seat-stay or chain-stay bridges for fenders. The eyelets for mounting fenders on the front and rear are obstructed by the disc caliper tabs... Basically, some idiot at Cannondale decided to paint an F-series MTB black, throw some 700c wheels into the frame and sell it as a hybrid.

The bright side is I have a real MTB :)

I looked at Hope. They're in the same price category as DT340s, which is ~$250/rear. Question is, which product has a better reputation? Another option is to get a good, but very cheap SRAM 9.0 hub. Trouble with that is no service parts are available. I'll likely end up with DT.

Nothing to do with fixed, but something to do with Toronto and I know I'm not the only KITH fan here. New miniseries to show on CBC starting Jan 12th. I hope they stream it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9A2-...layer_embedded

There are conversion kits that can make your wheel tubeless compatible. Flatting on tubeless tyres is easy. You just put in an inner tube. The biggest problem right now is very limited tyre selection (they mostly suck, hutchinson etc).