And now the REALLY exiting part:
Now this is nice!
It came my way from
@Flow, who reached out to me back when I was hunting for a Prolong saddle for the Phoenix. We got chatting and he happened to have this stashed away and was willing to let it go to a good home.
Now, obviously it wasn't cheap. BUT JUST LOOK AT IT!
It might be the single most perfect vintage component I own. Everything about it screams retro MTB to me. And, sure, it's from a slightly earlier time than the bike, but not beyond the realm of realism, I don't think.
And, of course, it just belongs on a Bontrager:
(Because you can never see this ad too many times!)
I mean, it probably belongs on a Merlin, too.
Or an Ala Carte!
But I digress.
So this is where deciding on the XXL really worked out. The Moto stem is pretty short and steep, and I don't think would have come close to fitting me right on the Large. On the XXL, however, it's completely perfect. The short, steep rise of the stem combined with the wide (uncut!) sweptback bar fits just right on the larger frame, and the all black look is exactly what I was after for this build.
Not mad at all the little matchy-matchy hits of red on the various decals either!