Saracen Kili 1997/8

[tjs129]

Re:

Thanks Coomber.

That's more or less what I picked it up for when you factor in the value of the other bits that came with it!

I'd take the steel versions over it any day, but it will be cool to have some aluminium in the stable. Thought it would be lighter though - the Easton Elan Kona Kulas were..

 

[t wild]

Funnily enough I'm 5"10 but I have short legs as I found out when I bought a 19.5 inch trek and the crossbar was crushing my nuts.

 

[coomber]

Re:

What are you doing for forks?

 

[tjs129]

Re:

I think effective top tube will be about 22" - I'm usually happy with around 23" but it should still be OK, especially for a more chuckable bike for shorter rides.

I'm thinking suspension forks for this - that will give me a bit more top tube - I've got some unknown Rockshox from the right time period on the donor bike, or some Bomber Z1s from my old Explosif that I think would look great with the CNC bridge to match the frame!

They're getting rare now though so they might be a bit nice for a winter hack. Rockshox would be more catalogue correct, but my general philosophy is usually period correct is enough. There have to be compromises - the donor bike is a Lava Dome from 1999 with a Kona front hub, and I'm more or less using all those parts.

Having mocked this up with a few nicer bits I'm doing my usual thing of wanting to build it nicer. I can't help doing a proper job of the frame - it would be rude not to while it's unbuilt! Maybe at some point it will get the build it deserves, but one winter won't do it any harm & I can always polish it back up..

T Wild - I would offer you a 20" Lava Dome frame but I'm not sure if you're planning on having kids?

 

[t wild]

Funnily enough I have an 18 inch lavadome frame awaiting far more attention than I can be bothered with and two kids which I'm contemplating swapping for something bicycle shaped but had no takers yet. Unless your interested?. I actually have another specialized that's too big for me i need to pick up and an eBay something that's old with a load of new parts on that I don't know what it is but looks interesting. So I'm ok for projects for a week or so. I'm just a sucker for something out of the ordinary

 

[t wild]

And cheap

 

[tjs129]

Re:

Any Lava Dome is worth the effort in my opinion!

I can't help you with the kids though - have you tried the classifieds?

 

[tjs129]

Re:

Little update on the Magical Mystery Kili then..

I dropped Saracen an email with the serial number from the frame in an effort to pinpoint exactly what this started life as. There's a slim chance I might get something useful - Kona have given me an obscure seatpost size in the past. Both companies went a bit, well, sh*te - though Kona remained great for years while Saracen were a laughing stock from pretty much the year after this was made onwards! Fingers crossed on that one..

Tonight I had an hour or so spare and my 2000/3000 grit sandpaper arrived, so I spent some time polishing. It's certainly quite a satisfying process when it starts to shine, but I've never gone overboard with it. I'm always reading about people spending hours on end, but I tend to think if something's worth a whole day it's worth a powder coat session or paying someone else to polish!

Anyway to each his own, if I was draping this with XTR I might do different. I'm not a massive fan of polished aluminium, it's one of those divisive things like purple anodising. It's just the option that's presenting itself cheaply really. Still, I'm getting a kick out of how it brings out the weld details cleanly - I'm an engineer and we get off on this stuff!

Here is the result, hopefully with better photos too:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/143876150 ... 6219941152

It's dull in places since I can't properly clean all the remnants of Brasso/Autosol off this late in the evening. I may noodle around polishing a bit more tomorrow, but it's more or less where I want it.

My question to Retrobike now is this: Do I leave it bare or rub it down with alcohol and lacquer it?

 

[t wild]

Looks great nice work so far have you decided the final spec yet. As for the question I suppose it depends on your plans for it. Carpet queen leave it. Rider lacquer or clear powder coat. Just for protection.