1992 Saracen Kili Racer

[spatuluk]

Re:

Made it!

Naturally, the powder coaters didn't have any of the colours I'd planned on. Kawasaki Green was the lightest green they did, which was a bit too close to the colour of my Carlton Cobra (might even be the same - I'm not sure what precise colour it was coated in). Their turquoises were too light, and the blues too similar to what others have already done.

After much deliberating (AKA: Have you got this? No. Have you got this? No. etc.), I went for RAL 3033: Pearl Pink!

It's a metallic copper colour, but with a hint more red than usual. It just looked like plain old copper in the gloom of the warehouse, so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Roughly a week of waiting now. Exciting!!

 

[coomber]

Just googled the colour, great choice. The original red of these was ace, but its nice to have something that is similar but different at the same time.

Can't wait for pics after the paint!

 

[spatuluk]

Glad you like it! The more I look at images online, the more I hope it turns out quite pink, which is a strange frame of mind to find myself in!

Anyway, I'll follow your example and maintain radio silence until it's painted, I reckon.

 

[spatuluk]

Re:

It's back!

I got the phonecall yesterday afternoon (quick work!), and collected it this morning. The colour is amazing, but rather hard to capture when the sun's hiding, and the frame's sitting in the back of a grubby Honda..


Come on sun, you can do better than that..


Good effort, but still not doing it justice

Ahem.. please excuse the mess in the boot of me car!

The colour doesn't seem very pink at all - it's metallic orange that reflects yellow, kind've like a pearlescent or candy finish. It's ace!

The finish isn't 100% perfect, but it's good where it counts. The only iffy bits are around where the threads were protected, and the lacquer has torn off slightly and looks a bit like an edge of clingfilm. It'll all be hidden by components, so nothing to worry about.

All in all, I'd say they did a bloomin good job (but I'm no expert).

 

[coomber]

This is going to be embarrassing. Think that will be near enough the exact shade of red as mine! Ha!

Looks blooming marvelous.

Get building!

 

[spatuluk]

Well, that just verifies what a great colour it is!

However, the photos make it look a lot redder than it actually is, so maybe we haven't both bought the same dress, after all.

I'm really looking forward to getting home and building it up. No work will be done today, methinks (only 10 hours to go)..

 

[22TheAve]

Re:

Looks real nice! Congrats!

 

[spatuluk]

Bit of an update! I'm still waiting for a 30.0 seatpost shim to arrive, after the 30.2 shim proved to be too big, but it's nearly there (assuming the 30.0 shim fits alright).



I think I need to order some decals pretty sharpish, as it looks a bit weird without them. I'm not sure what colour would work best.. white, black, dark gray, or a dark green? I quite like the idea of dark green on orange, but if it doesn't work then I will have wasted £30.. tricky!



The brake cantis are Tektro 866, which I thought fitted the black of the headset, but I've got some of the original LX cantis if they don't work out. I need new brake pads, either way! The blue ones that I mentioned earlier didn't work out - they were too light a shade of blue.



The current setup is:

• Shimano Deore DX thumbies
  Dia Compe SS5 brake levers
  Ritchey ForceLite handlebar
  GT Grips (got some Yeti speed grips on order)
  Icon stem
  Ritchey Logic 1 1/8" threaded headset
  Tektro 866 cantilever brakes
  Shimano FD-M735 Deore XT front mech
  Shimano RD-M737 Deore XT rear mech
  Shimano FC-M550 Deore LX chainset
  DMR V8 pedals
  Mavic 231 Ceramic rims on Deore XT hubs
  Charge Splashback tyres (complete with rust splatter! They need washin)
  8 speed cassette
  Halo Hex skewers
  Original seat clamp (needs a bolt)
  Some kinda shim (hope the 30.0 works!)
  Brand X 27.2mm inline seat post
  Charge Spoon saddle

This is very much a spare parts build, but it's not looking too crazy so far!

 

[coomber]

Looks great so far chap. Really nice.

 

[spatuluk]

Re:

Nearly there.. nearly there!!


Photos still make the bike look way redder than it really is. Odd!

It's been slow going..

Most of the time has been lost while waiting for shims to arrive in the post. 30.2 didn't work, 30.0 didn't work, but 29.6 seems to be working. A 29.8 might work better, or it might not fit. I'm not sure if I'm willing to spend another four squids to find out - I'm fed up of buying shims!! :x

Then there's the front mech. The XT mech that I was planning to use turned out to be too large, but the 31.8 LX mech fits. Sort of. The location seems to be on part of the tube that starts ovalizing, so it looks a bit wonky to me. I've taken it off for now, as the mech I've got might not be the one that I end up using. Likewise, the XT rear mech might be switched for an LX.

The front brake's missing because the cable stop thingy was too thick for the new headset (weird, because the old one was also a Ritchey Logic). I've opted to use a Tektro Power Hanger instead, but that requires increasing the size of the hole in the fork. My drill bit died before it was finished, so I've got a file in my bag to finish it off.

The bike got its first ride this morning, albeit only for half a mile (with only one badly adjusted brake, and 3 gears). After using a 17" bike for the past two months, it was a bit of a revelation! So comfortable to ride!! :shock:

Alas, that means my ALX89 is almost certainly too small for me. :| I had suspected as much, but it's such a nice looking bike that I was refusing to believe it. ah well - one out means space for something else!