Yeah, I'm going to ask them to ship it to me completely disassembled if they can, since I'd just end up having to do it anyway for powder coating. I'll post pics throughout the process, and definitely be sure to post pics of the raw frame, whether I get it assembled or not. Thanks again to everyone for helping me out through my decision-making process, particularly you spaceballs. I'll continue to update this until I have the final product. I'm placing my order on Monday.

welp, won't be ordering til NEXT monday. thought I got paid this friday, but i was wrong.

Update: I'm FINALLY ordering my IRO Mark V Single Speed on Friday. Still getting it with all black parts in Raw, sent disassembled with 28c's on it, and a second fixed cog installed on the rear hub. Will then be having it powdercoated (I was quoted between 50 and 60 bucks) and assembled at my LBS (I was quoted between 50 and 75) for a grand total between 639 and 665.

All I have left to do is figure out what size stem, cranks, cog, and frame. I'm a big guy. Around 250 and only 6' tall. Don't know if I should get 56 or 59. Right now I have a 19in Motobecane Elite (that I hate) http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...cane_elite.htm It fits me ok I guess, but I always find myself either wanting to be more stretched out or more upright. The default position, if you will, has never felt right. I can stand over the top tube, but it's kind of close. I have a short inseam for my height. I haven't done the book-between-the-legs measuring of my inseam though. So I kind of think it might be nice to have a size smaller than what may be the obvious choice. But then that leads me to questions about whether I will want a 100 or 110mm stem. My plan for handlebars is to ride the stock drops unless I don't like my position, and see what I may like better. I don't think I'll ever actually use the drop part of the drops, and I want some versatility, so if I don't like the drops, I'd probably go with bullhorns. Then another question would be the crank length. I just kind of assume 170 because it's in between and I'm of average height.
On top of all that, I don't know what gear ratio to get. The hills here are mostly pretty mild, and spread out. My normal riding path has me going over 1 or 2 steep but short hills, and 6 or 7 gentle but longer inclines with plenty of flats in between them all to recover. But like I said before, I'm a big guy.

So with all that in mind, who's got advice for me on all that?

I also haven't made a final decision on what color I'll be having it powdercoated. I'm leaning towards a flat or satin white, a flat or satin off white or cream, or the olive drab like the picture I posted earlier in this thread.

For anyone that's still interested, I purchased my Mark V today. I got the 59cm singlespeed, which includes pedals and both brakes for only 50 more. I also added a fixed cog to be installed on the other side of the flip flop hub. I got both cogs 17t, and I got the bike Raw. I'll be having it shipped disassembled, and will be having it powdercoated as soon as it arrives, then assembled and tuned at my LBS. I'll be sure to post pictures throughout the process.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Pics coming in about a week, I imagine.

Decided on what color you are powder coating it yet? I wanna see pics of this beauty..

Cream! Cream!

greenpurple fade.

not even kidding. pretty old mtb paintjob, nobody seems to do that anymore :(

Probably cream. It's been at the top of my list for a few weeks now. I entertain other color ideas for a while, but none of them have bumped cream down for more than an hour or so.

I'll definitely be posting pics upon receiving the bike disassembled with raw frame, after powdercoat, and final product.

And killemall, I don't think I could pull of a green/purple fade. A bit much for my tastes. Thanks for the suggestion though.

cream is boring and ubiquitous.

shrug. to each their own. i can definitely see how you would think that. i guess that's part of why i personally like it. i'm a fairly boring person. haha.

a more yellow cream, more beige, looks good.

Yeah I agree. Choosing the shade may be a dilemma. It'll likely be partially determined by what my guy has available. I plan to go meet with him this week to talk about it so we'll both be ready when the bike gets here.

anyone else got any input on a color? after spending 3 weeks making my decision, i feel like i have nothing to do now that i'm just waiting on it to get here. still favoring cream, but still open to other ideas. pics along with suggestions would be nice. remember it's all black hardware.

edit: steel blue?

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=161904

I like the raw color. Are there any reasons why it would be a bad idea to just spray it with some clearcoat and run it like that? I have seen some of the Kilo strippers and they look pretty sharp. I also like the green color that you had a few pages back - reminds me of a color that Surly used a few years ago.

i do like the way the raw kilo's look in pics, but i've never seen a raw frame in person. i'd definitely be open to the idea of just clearing it if i like it alot when i see it. that will be an option. i like that army/olive green alot too, and it's definitely in second place right now. i think it'd look pretty sick in a flat/satin finish. don't see alot of bikes that color either. i tracked a picture of one down that came stock like that but it was an older model, and i don't remember what it was. wasn't a surly though. you got a link?

edit: nevermind i think i found it. was it a long haul trucker? if so, it looks good, but i'd want mine more "drabby" for lack of a better word. That green is more on the hunter side. It's hard to describe colors in text, but i basically picture the color of a tank, but a little lighter. like green eyes. i got pretty close in that picture a couple pages back.

raw frames look really great.

Get a Gold frame if you can

don't think i'd like gold, but that got me thinking about doing a creamier cream. haha.

my vote is for the steel blue

hey All!

I in the same situation I guess....
I bought a frame without fork: Rossin Frame 53 ctc... originally, the fork would be for 26" wheels...

http://www.loquo.com/pe/for-sale/bik...renar/17342312

do u think I could complete it with a 26" MTB Fork Threaded Length 100mm, 1" OD, Chrome, ST 200mm???

http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Thread...280414248&sr=1

any suggestion or idea?

Thank You a lot!!!!

hmph

Order shipped. Scheduled to arrive Thursday, August 5th. So stoked.

Is that raw? Or silver..

It came in. Here's how it was shipped. Ignore the little box on top, that was something else.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1894.jpg

The raw frame is much a much lighter shade than I expected. The pics I've seen of raw frames have always been much darker than this. The picture was taken with a flash on, and it's a little bit darker in person, but not much. I was pretty surprised by it.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1895.jpg

Close up:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1896.jpg

Here are all the components. I was a little worried something would get looked over having the bike shipped to me completely disassembled, but it appears as though everything is there. Unless I'm looking over something.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1899.jpg

The wheelset:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1898.jpg

Group shot!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1902.jpg

Soon to be given to my dad, quite happily:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/DSCN1904.jpg

I have some questions as to what I need to tell the guy powdercoating the bike. I know he's done bikes before, but I know it isn't his specialty or anything, and it certainly isn't mine. What special instructions do I need to give him? I imagine there are parts of the frame (such as the inside of the tubing) that need to stay untouched by the powdercoating. Can anyone tell me exactly what I need to know? I'm supposed to drop it off to him tomorrow...

Damn, that looks beautiful. Unrelated, but is there bartape in there? I dont see it