Okay, so this is going to be a long one...
With lots of photos!
So before I get to the next major component (the wheels), I want to go back a little to talk about the inspiration.
When I started out with this build the main points of reference were the Hot Rod spec and the JMC bike. And while those two things have guided everything that's come since, especially the procurement of certain iconic parts and White Industries bits, I still wanted something to make this build unique (maybe not
unique unique, but definitely my own).
One way I wanted to do that was with the overall colour scheme. I wanted to build it around something, I just didn't know what. And for the longest time nothing really presented itself to me. Then, serendipitously, a few things happened all at once in the space of about a week...
The first was that I sat staring at the forks for a while. Then at the frame. Then at the forks again. Black carbon. Silver. Bronze/Champagne. That hit of red ano on the adjuster knobs. It was all there.
Suddenly it was very obvious that I'd build the entire colour scheme of the bike around the forks.
At almost the exact same time, I stumbled across
@ibbz Bianchi Martini thread, and his champagne, silver and black component combo was a great source of additional inspiration. So, credit where it's due:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/bianchi-martini-racing-titanium.419219/
The above, combined with a double stroke of good fortune (more on that shortly and subsequently), meant the build spec and colourway was now decided: An FSX Judy-themed S-Works M2.
The first bit of good luck was with the wheels. Despite having already bought a set of White Industries hubs from a member on here (cheers again
@Spudalumps!) another appeared on eBay one Tuesday afternoon, located here in LA and attached to some reasonably minty-looking Mavic 217s. In guess which colour? Anyway, some back-and-forth later, the seller agreed to meet for a cash sale at a "very reasonable price". And the next day, having met the fine gentleman in a Starbucks carpark on my way into work, I suddenly had my wheelset in the back of the van:
Here's a quick before:
And a couple of afters:
Now they're not perfect, but I'm hoping they'll run smoothly enough. And I plan on taking everything to the LBS before its maiden voyage anyway, to make sure I haven't fucked anything up too badly; the wheels are true-enough, and the gears are properly indexed. Worst case scenario: the wheels get rebuilt at some point in the not too distant future!
Anyway, this project is now starting to resemble an actual bike:
You'll notice the Holey.
Well, I reached out to
@timkrik, having clocked that he was here in LA, on off chance he might have a few spare bits in need of a good home...
And it turns out Tim had about half of what I still needed for this build! Talk about a goldmine (thanks again Tim!)
Anyway, a set of repro Smoke and Darts were procured on payday, along with a complete set of Ringle Holey's. Which, while a little dinged up, weren't in too bad a shape (especially not for this build) and were duly cleaned-up to an acceptable degree:
This also meant a new, potentially major financial hole was about to be dug: I'd need that original FSX brake arch after all!
It just wouldn't seem right to build the bike around the forks if the forks weren't completely correct. Plus the Holey QR's meant I really would need that beautiful brake booster full of holes now to match them!
Balls.
Apparently these have become increasingly difficult to find, and are prone to cracking, making spares even harder to come by. All of which means that any leads and/or good samaritans would be greatly appreciated! (See also:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/desperately-needed-rockshox-judy-fsx-brake-booster.427474/)
Buying another set of forks just for the arch doesn't seem like an affordable solution at the moment!
Anyway, more on the finished wheels in the morning; it's late here and I'm fast running out of space for photos anyway...