you got strattons eh? good job

YES SIR! Very happy! Did I do good? $955 shipped frame/fork/Hatta HS, and BB!
a.s.

Wow. For $300 more you could have had a custom Kalavinka made specifically for you.

With how long of a wait?
a.s.

Hater.

10-12 weeks.

Oh! not bad!
a.s.

Naw i think you did good esp seeing some of the ebay going on right now. such as that pink 3 rensho that went for 1400.

Oh absolutely. How can you not be? I want frames to be remotely affordable again. Dropping $1000/$1400 on a frame and fork and thinking you got a deal is pretty nuts no? Apparently I am in the minority in thinking that. Carry on smart shoppers...

that Samson was expectional. a g, while not a deal, isn't so bad. a bareknuckle is over $500, and that's a factory welded job. dedacciai blablabla - it's the builder who makes the difference.

personally, if I was gonna spend 1g on a frame and fork, I'd go custom. But spending that an a redinkculous Samson isn't the worst thing someone could do with his cash.

Hah, are you kidding me? sasha wipes his ass with 3renshos. Betta recognize!

i dont recognize? i look through his bikes like everyday... and then cry.

speaking of nice bikes, im digging your kalavinka. sexy.

Haha, thanks man ;)

agreed. stratton was asking $1250 for it. also, a custom kalavinka with columbus keirin spirit aero tubing, fastback seatstays, chrome chainstay and metalflake paint is going to cost considerably more than a $1300 single color kaisei 019 base model.

however, there are a lot of options frames around the $1000 price point that are worth serious consideration, or at least would be if i had that to spend ;) .... i got my level for $475.

edit: Kalavinkas are a great deal, and Tanabe-san is a great guy... wonderful to work with. That being said, Samsons are quite rare and apparently /very/ expensive, and the purple one has some nice features.

I got my Levant for $340. I paid $1300 for my NOS De Rosa, complete with a full Campy C-Record group. So yeah, you can see why spending $1000 on a non-custom frame seems ridiculous. I agree that the Samson is sick, no debate with that. But for $1000 and up, the only way to go is custom IMO.

Everyone should watch a Kieren race in person. Those guys are animals, and take plenty of gruff from the betters.

How was your trip or r u still there?

S/F,
CEYA!

God I want an over the top rainbow metal sparkly paint kalavinka track bike so bad.

It was pretty ****ing cool. I'll write more on my blog but here is a key word association type of deal

American Airlines - sucked
Narita - sucked
Momma and Poppa - still cool.
Onijan and the irezumi hook up ~ painful for words
Kokoro - Poppa's new Shiba Inu - way cool
Roppongi - yeah!
Shinjuku - yeah!
Asaksa - oh ok.
Ameyoko - rocks
w-base shop - pretty cool
Harijuko - not what it used to be (lot of Gaijin's working the strip)
Ninja Restraunt... really, Ninja Restraunt
Sazen temple - cramps
Neimon + Kobe beef - meat heaven (we truely ate the whole cow)
Onijan's new office, cool.
Oi ~ now has broader shoulders and a longer reach than I.. and he can kick my ass.
Kiekaku Kierin Grandprix 06 ~ cool.
Family and all that ~ awesome.

Two weeks went by so fast.

jealous

I will let you know about mine.

S/F,
CEYA!

Please do. Life is great with stories of travel, near, far, or internal.

That is why I like deployments.

S/F,
CEYA!

eimei...with 2cm reverse slope
with superbe pro cranks and stem,
nitto b123's and jag seat post,
EAI supercog,
rx-1 pedals,
white aerohead rear sewn to dura ace 7600 hub,
aerospoke front.