damn thats huge.

Taken last winter:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/DSC01140.jpg

Is it just me, or is something missing here?

Finally got the whole Chiang Mai fixie crew together for some photos.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...aeMoatBike.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...amerasmall.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...ordiThaPae.jpg

Never had an aluminum bike before this, but it's not that bad. The main thing I notice is that every tiny creak or vibration sound is amplified by the frame.

I really need to get a stem with some drop on it. I can't get the bars low enough (the last pic is right after I built it and the stem has been flipped)

And, though there was some debate at the beginning, it is definitely not getting painted.

Beats me, it's the stock paint for the 08" model I guess.

BOOYA!

what, you don't know how to pedal using only your BB spindle?
NUB.

and you think i'm bad?!?

yeah :D

Beautiful Kalavinka Chris, that was exactly one of the color schemes I had in mind for my own frame! I chose to go white though... But it's great to see your bike and see what could have been.

How is it to ride? And how long did you have to wait for it? Tanabe-san is finally getting to my order... how long does he take to complete a frame?

Edit: By the way Chris what lugs are you using? Seems more ornate that the usual Kalavinka lugs. Also does anyone have any recommendations on what frame tubing options I should go for? Kaisei, 019E, 8630, 8630R or Columbus Spirit Keirin? Thanks!

I would either get the Kaisei 8630R or the Spirit Keirin. The latter, of course, is going to be substantially pricier and probably not the best choice from a cost/performance perspective.

Kalavinka got back to me and they said that they're currently in favor of the Eco Strong-Light tubing:

Hard and light weight and strong tubing. We like this tubing now.
Because, Heat treat work changes the quality of steel.

So I'm going with that.

Thanks for the link. They are really nice, makes the Kalavinka look more like a Nagasawa.

Build takes about 4-5 months from order to delivery. Physical building, including paint, took about 2 weeks once he started. I'm not sure what his backlog is like now.

The website says they aren't taking orders right now.

No they aren't I'm part of the backlog he needs to clear before taking new orders:)
Thanks for the info Sashae, I saw your Kalavinka, very nice. How are the Gran Mightys treating you? How does it feel compared to a Sugino 75?

Interesting looking, this one:

http://www.kalavinka-bikes.com/image/road/road_1832.jpg

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...65402_3231.jpg

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/phot...65403_3474.jpg

my pogliaghi. campy cranks, zeus pista/open pro wheels, cinelli bars and stem. so right.

I know you already said you'd get the Eco but here's my two cents:
8630/R is the good stuff by Kaisei. 017/019/022 is lower end. I have a frame with 8630 and it's a real pleasure to ride. I can't wait to see how it compares to Platinum OX/Reynolds 853 though.

Columbis Spirit is really light and thin. I held a tube of it in my hand at NAHBS... seems a bit scary on the street, but then again 8630 is also pretty light and thin too. I talked to some UBI guys who said they caught the Zullo builders coming over and commenting on how much nicer Kaisei 8630 was (to them) than anything by Columbus. Take that with a grain of salt though, info on 8630 is extremely hard to find unless you speak Japanese.



As far as Gran Mightys vs. 75's, you're probably not going to notice unless you're an upper level track racer. It's all bling on the street.

Not really. Here's the 2005 catalog with butting profiles and metallurgy for everything Kaisei makes.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/...e8ed02c8_b.jpg

The marketing information is in Japanese, but who cares.

So I gotta question: is the cellphone attached to the bb in some weird way, or is it attached to the brick (say, so you don't loose the phone... or the brick) or did you find yourself out there with a bike, a camera, and a brick to hold the bike up, and discovered that the brick was not quite tall enough...the cellphone was the best you could come up with to give you the extra inch of height you needed?

019 actually has more advanced butting than 8630 -- 8630 is double butted, whereas 019 is quadruple butted.

Hot stuff! Euro>NJS any day.
edit: IMHO

Come on, look at the background...the alternative was an inch of steaming cow dung.
Personally, I'd have liked to have seen a picture of the bike somehow mounted on the cow....maybe the front wheel hooked over the neck.