Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Ah ... Spring

It was quite a winter, with a record-setting snowfall, but the “good” bikes with beautiful paint are out on salt-free roads again, competing with the early flowers for a place on the color palette. Soon to be among the brightest is Leslie’s new All-Rounder.

From the start, Leslie was sure about wanting a yellow bike. As usual, there were lots of yellows to choose from, and the selection turned into a group effort as the chip charts appeared at skiers’ social gatherings. In the end, we nudged Leslie towards a finish composed of House of Kolor "Lime Gold Kandy" over a "Lemon Yellow" base, then crossed our fingers that it would look as good as that tiny little chip did. Wow, does it ever! In yet another masterful job by painter Keith Anderson, this finish is stunning. In the sunshine, the candy coat’s gold effect explodes atop the screaming-bright lemon yellow. In the shadows, your eye picks up the faintest hint of the candy coat’s subtle lime hue, but your brain still says “yellow bike”.

This frame needed a generous stand-over clearance, and had to accommodate getting the bars up there with a classic quill stem. I also prefer a minimum head tube length of 120mm with lugged construction. All of this was accomplished easily by designing a 6.3 degree upslope on the top tube, and using the new Mini 6 lugset, which was developed by Darrell McCulloch for just this sort of configuration. The lugs were carved a bit to achieve the style that I wanted for this frame.

Designed primarily for all-surface recreational riding, but with capabilities for light touring, this frame is built from a medium-weight selection of Dedacciai and True Temper tubing. Shown here with 700C x 28 tires, but the standard (57mm) reach calipers will accommodate 32mm tires with fenders, or 35-38mm tires without fenders.

And, being custom, Leslie got her wish for a kickstand mounting plate. This is becoming a trend.