What's the white plastic in the discs? I don't remember seeing that on any discs before. Does it serve a purpose?

no plastic, it's just textured aluminum.

As mbw mentioned, they're metal - they're essentially radiator fins to aid in heat dissipation.

Here is a close up. I did have to take the bike back in to have this worked on, the pad was rubbing. The owner of the LBS had to use some fancy re-facing tool to get it all lined up properly. He said that these brakes have super tight tolerances and that they can be a bit of a pain to setup perfectly.

I think they are good now, but when I pull up hard on the left bar while climbing out of the saddle I can make it touch and make noise, but its not enough to slow it down. I can make the same sound by pulling the lever a tiny bit but the wheel still spins freely.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...84caee827d.jpg

Ultegra 8000 series flush mount hydro front brake.

Thanks guys, learn something new every day.
Heat sinks for bicycle brakes, go figure.

Arundel Mandible.

Have your cake and eat it too.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...101fe314a1.jpg


-Tim-

Sensible enough but this is the hot or not topic ;)

Sensible shoes may not be cheap, but they'll never be hot. ;) Those bars don't just look less aggressive, they look shrunken and cramped.
The one thing I like about the bike is that it is clean and simple. No distracting colors on the tires,wheels, bars or saddle, and and on the frame just the black branding. It's a very solid look with the cages being such a nice match; I would definitely keep them.

haha, fair enough. ya I can't understand using shoes that you can't walk in if you need. Thanks.

Yep. I totally get it. I was just curious how close I was. Definitely learned a few things.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...25a9de8b3a.jpg
Building a new bike :love:

Good luck with that frameset. I've repaired 3 of them in the past 10 months. I love the looks of it, but no way would I buy one.

You have repaired 3 DeRosa's Noodle?

I've posted this elsewhere on the forum but I am curious to see how it holds up in this thread.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/904/2...57cb0b0b_b.jpg

Correct. 3 De Rosa Pinifarinas.

I would have gone with silver 105 and wheels, but that's a nice bike.

Thanks! So, here is the factory pic:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ffc25da52.png

I went with black 105 because I wanted the black levers and brake calipers and am not crazy about the crankset anyway. The wheels were what I had on hand (early 2000s Mavic Cosmos). I am considering building up some hard anodized rims with silver hubs to get closer to factory appearance but what's on there doesn't hurt my eyes either. I have yellow cable housing but haven't installed it yet and am considering a silver crankset, just unsure which would look best. I have a silver 105 crank but it is slated for another build, not that I really want the 4 spoke crank look anyway. I'm tempted to use a silver Campy crank, again to match the original look better. I'd also love to find some brown hoods for my levers but those don't seem to exist.

This is how I bought the bike for those into before and afters:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/597/3...8c407e66_c.jpg

That red trek is hot like an IMSA GTP car. It looks like it came to do business.

Radial front and 2x rear, tan walls, level stem, yellow bars out in front of red paint... I'd change the cages and get a black stem but the bike is actually quite hot for what it is. I'd ride the hell out of that thing.

Staging and photography are righteous.

The fence needs to be pressure washed and could use a coat of Olympic.


-Tim-

Needs polished cranks and derailleurs but otherwise it'sa beauty

And seatpost.

This bike is tight. Looks like it goes faster than it's supposed to. What handlebar is that?

The wheels look a little better now with fresh tires and without the reflectors, and I'm indifferent to both the old and new drivetrains, but overall, I liked it better the way you got it originally. It looked more natural. The new look is too much like a facelift, but fortunately not as creepy.

Burning hot. I love it.

It is surprisingly hard to find a high quality -17 degree silver stem, hard enough that I had to make my own starting with a black Kalloy Uno. So you won't be seeing a black stem on this bike any time soon :) I had a -6 degree Ritchey Classic on it for a while but couldn't stand the mismatched angles.

Which cages would you recommend? I had the Elite's in the parts bin and they had some red and polished highlights so I thought they worked ok, but I'm willing to change them out for a more fitting look.

Thanks for the compliments on everything else!

Can't disagree there, at least not on the crank. Which would you mount, keeping in mind I want something designed for 11 speed and with compact rings? The derailleurs I can live with as I don't think the silver 105 derailleur would look much better with its dull silver finish. Polishing what I have would be a lot of work for little gain.

Nah, it needs what Timo says. I want it to have some classic-ness and too much black would ruin any chance of that, I think.

Thanks! It is a Ritchey Classic in polished silver:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/960/4...63b54744_c.jpg