Well hello again, thought I might update you all on the purchase... I guess one thing led to another
This frame measures more as a 57cm to me so a little larger than what I was hoping but I think I can make it work. Managed to get half an hour to take it around the block today finally and mess around with the set-up a little bit but will keep working on it. Going to bring up the handlebars bit by bit to see if it improves comfort for longer distances, I'm not used to having them more in line with the saddle and shall try a more tourer oriented position. Planning to go to the Isle of Skye and then complete the Outer Hebrides with a friend this summer and this will be the chosen steed! Need to cross panniers off the list next...
As somebody pointed out, I'm not too sure about these 105 shifters at all, much to my dismay. The shifting is crisp as can be but the stopping power leaves rather a lot to be desired, but that might be down to the brake pads. I'm also used to the thumb shifter a la shimano 2300 to which I upgraded to athena 11sp so this shimano shifting has thrown me off a bit. Seems a shame to let them go but I have quite enjoyed ye olde shimano 600 aero levers recently. Everything else seems absolutely delightful in its current state though. Might consider swapping for shorter cranks (they're 172.5) but on the whole me likey. Also now I've said this about changing the cockpit a bit I'm tempted to swap the bars for some sakae road champion randonneur bars as they are my favourite... it is a fantastic bike in its current state though, I promise
I do have a few questions though. When I received it, the dropout screws were positioned in such a way to shorten the wheelbase to probably its limit. I understand their use having a fixed gear bike but do they have much use on a road bike? I think I want to unscrew them a fair bit to lengthen the wheelbase and have them deeper in the dropouts.
And lastly, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to fix the rear mudguard it looks f'ing ridiculous. Anybody got any ideas? Apologies if im missing something obvious