Re:
On Friday I was finally able to get my hands on the expertly packed box of delights from pete. There's no point going through the story of why it took so long to get it other than to say UK customs are idiots and the PO aren't much better. Anyway, all's well that ends well as the picture shows: a really nice set of turbines and complimentary head-set and a big part of the puzzle, the lime / slime green Z2 atom bombs. Like buses, another pair are on their way to HQ in case I need to swap out the steerer or use it for spares. In summary, I now have the running chassis: the frame and forks.
Which means I can start piecing together the rest of the build. I'll take a few snaps of the other parts I acquired from wadsy:
2nd (I think) generation Crossmax wheelset
Controltech ti skewers
Avid ti levers
Black Controltech stem
Oh and I managed to nab a 27mm Syncros seatpost from ratcapa
My first piece of Syncros kit ever.
This still leaves a rather long shopping and increasingly tricky to fill list. Those in bold I'm actively looking for right now - as usual any leads or recommendations are ALWAYS welcome
Bars: Syncros - silver - there's a great one for sale on ebay.com at the moment but I can't justify that price. Would consider Raceface silver or Kona curve (as I have on the other Explosif, Caldera and Kula). Got to be flat, uncut and of the era.
Tyres: Panaracer Smoke and Dart blackwall, would consider the lite/comp versions but no re-issues this time. Would also consider Hutchinson's or Onza's from the era. Must be pristine.
Saddle:Black/yellow or yellow/black Flite or Flite Kevlar or Flite transalp. It took me a while to find the right one for the Caldera so I know they are out there. Again, has to be pristine. I did consider SDG and a great one came up late yesterday on the Classic Trading FB page but looking at it closely, the finish isn't quite what I'm after.
Front / rear mech: I messed up selling them earlier this year (isn't that always the way) but I will need XTR M950. Front, 28.6mm top pull and rear must be the non-rapid rise version. Guess what, they have to be pristine.
Cassette: As above, XTR M950 but I could live with XT M739.
Brakes: Undecided. I'm split between Avid Ulitmates (again, there was a cracking pair up for sale recently at a very handsome price) and XTR M950. I'm thinking more the latter but I'm still wavering.
Grips: Undecided but probably Yeti's cause I love them. Black, preferably not lock-on's this time.
Everything else including cables and peddles: No idea, we'll see what the answers to the above are first.
If you can picture this a) well done, welcome to my world of imagination ;-) and b) you'll realise this is going to be a decent hybrid mix of 97/98 Kona top-end catalogue spec (think Hot, Ku, Hei Hei, etc) and of the era "racey" equipment. It should be the lightest bike in the stable and that's something considering the stable!
Meanwhile, I'm still following up some leads to add more flavour to the history of the frame, the era and the story we know of so far. This side of the project will take much longer to reach a conclusion than the build. In fact, it may never reach an end...
