Maintenance

Since I had the Orange Wonder out for a respray, it was time to clean up and repair or replace any worn parts.

The first thing I noticed was that the headset was starting to get pitted.  The crown race was pitted in various places around its surface.  Unfortunately, I did not look closely at the bits that were pressed into the frame.  I'm guessing that if the races are showing signs of pitting, then other parts that interface with the same bearings are probably showing wear as well.

I have few options for a new headset.

The advantage here is that the aesthetic of the bike won't change any more than it already is.  The finish looks nice and it would match the understated elegance that is Campagnolo Record Alloy!

Chris King quality!  What more can be said.  The blue is darker and doesn't seem to be the right shade.  Only comes in Sotto Voce so it's quite subdued.

Top-of-the-Line Cane Creek offering.  The color is almost a perfect match for the decals!  110 year warranty and it's not as garish as the King headset.  Plus, I like the lizard.







I think I'll go with the Cane Creek.

I've been scrubbing away at the alloy parts that will be going back on My Orange Bike and it sur edo look purdy!  There are a few scratches on the parts but that's to be expected from the use I've gotten out of the bike.

I had installed some side-load bottle cages but, after pitching a couple of nice water bottles, I'll be going back to something a bit more standard like these King cages:

I had a pair of Tacx Tao cages but the little tab broke off the bottom.  They look nice however:

Cosmetic Surgery

I've been talking about it for a while now but I'm finally getting something done.  The orange bike has arrived at Joe's Bicycle Painting for a new paint job!  Joe's was recommended by a good friend who had his LeMond Tete de Course done by Joe in a tinted clear coat that matched my friend's M3 exactly!

Over the couple of years that I've had the frame, it's taken a beating from chain slap and an errant nail that just so happened to go completely through my tire sidewall and ended up scraping the insides of both chain stays and normal wear and tear.

There were a couple of times when the chain got jammed between the crank and the chain stays.  That left a nasty scratch!  I don't believe there was a clear coat applied to the frame nor did I put any sort of clear paint guards on.

I was able to snag a bike box from Spokes, Etc.  Fortunately, the Marcelo has really beefy chain stays and awesome hand-cut stainless steel rear dropouts!  Unfortunately, this combination means that the frame is wider than the box I got.  Surgery was in order!

1. Sharp blade -- Check!
2. Fiber tape -- Check!
3. Dense foam -- Check!
4. Two-part poxy -- Check!

  <snip, snip, tape, tape, cut, cut, glue, glue>

Voila!

Custom bike box.

My Orange Frame nestled

snugly inside

Now to send this to on to Joe Vasquez!  My first stop is my local post office.  The box is light, 10lbs, but large and USPS says "$108 to ship", John says "No thanks.  I'll try FedEx."  It still costs me $76 to ship it but I saved over $32.

I want to have some fun with the frame so here is what I've asked Joe to do:

The down tube decals will be in the same color as the original except they will move to the seat tube and will read "DARIO" on one side and "PEGORETTI" on the other.  The font will be the same.

So, what do you think?  I still have time to change my mind but I must decide soon if any changes will be made!