While I do think Flite titanium saddles look good on any bike, I decided my climbMax needed a saddle swap to a more fitting one for the 88’ model year, a Turbo? Maybe an Avocet? Both great options. Why not crown my favourite vintage ride with a San Marco Rolls?
When I purchased this brodie in May this year it was a complete bike and a decent build already. It’s been through a few different setups the last few months, each version getting closer to what I consider perfect for my taste.
The silver frame decals it came with were very cool and not that often seen. I had noticed they were applied in recent years though and not original as there were paint scratches under them in places. Even right after buying the bike I had wished it had come with white decals. The fellow who sold it to me heard a rumour Paul had applied the silver decals himself and I had also found out it had come from a good friend of Paul’s. Chatting with Paul at a recent swap meet though he could not recall and thought it unlikely.
Earlier this week while admiring my favorite vintage MTB I thought “why haven’t I swapped these decals to white yet?”
I knew I could source a set from jimbo but lucked out and found that @vintageman had a spare set he didn’t need and I could get my hands on them sooner. Stuck ‘em on the same night!
For my taste the frame looks perfect now. The white matches the stem and fork decals and stands out better, I found the silver disappeared into the neon red a bit.
Another recent swap is to a Bonty/Titec Ti handlebar, logos were pretty worn and I thought a logo-less bar suited better anyway so off they came
XT cranks were previously polished to a mirror finish. A common process for me on builds where cranks are in rough shape. I never loved the mirror finish though but up until recently I didn’t have a better solution. When polishing the cranks for my Blizzard build I decided to go back with 3M 3000 grit post polish. It gives a more muted satin finish. I love it. All my polished cranks are not de-polished down to this more satin finish.
Oh ya, may as well mention that under those XT crank caps are some sweet Titanium crank bolts, a frivolous recent purchase made locally through Marketplace for a very reasonable sum, thanks Nick! Dropped at least 10g I’m sure
Updated build spec below photos, it has changed quite a bit compared to the previous build spec posted.
I must confess that when I read you replaced the silver decals I thought , oh no. I thought it looked perfect but you definitely know best, it looks even better
