IH8MUD

That is a bummer man!! Best you ease the pain by going to the Rapha shop in Soho near Piccadilly and swipe the plastic.

http://cycling-passion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Fausto-Coppi-Gino-Bartali-Cigars-Toto-al-Giro-Italia.jpg

I expected drop-bars . . .

Me and many others looked a lot like that at "inter-varsity" every year.

Didn't Ryanpmb at one stage had a Cotic Soda frame for sale? Not sure what size it was or if it got sold.

Easton Carbon riserbar (10mm) = 740mm Answer XC Enduro 720 20/20 bar =720mm

This looks awesome. Best of luck with this Pulse.

Gravel roadie ride out to DD checkpoint 1

Some or other red BMX at first . . . . had it for ages and then made a "chopper" out of it by cutting the fork legs and welding in angle-iron extensions, ( I must have some redneck blood in me) Don't know what happened to it. NO PIC sorry. Then a baby blue Raleigh Bomber in high school when all my buddies has racing road bikes. It got stolen. NO PIC sorry. Rode a Diamond Back Ascent all over Stellenbosch. Bought 2nd hand with my student loan. (sold it, currently trying to buy it back) (had to Google a pic of the same one) Then after a long hiatus a Giant Athem X1 got me back riding again. Frame still in the rafters, rest of the parts on my Dad's bike I built him. (pic from Google) Then the 29er came along. Scott Genius 910. Love it. It sports some Renthal upgrades. (pic from Google) Then the 2nd hand Steel bug bit me, so I got my Salsa El Mariachi. (Frame bought on the hub) Was my SS, but now it's 1x11 gravel/grinder/tourer. Then I needed a new SS, and got Contraband Rogue 853 (Frame bought on the hub) Then some vintage SA-steel. Got this Le Jeune as a barn-find

CRCs' currency converter is not "current". It gets update once or twice a week . Google Pound to Rand and enter the amount in there for a more accurate cost. Even then there is sometimes a few rand discrepancies as from the time you buy, or get the sms form you bank and the time the transaction concludes the currency fluctuates. Budget about R100 to R200 more per order always. You'll still pay less than local.

Not an exotic Italian race frame . . But I got this piece SA steel back in the road again this weekend. My 1st "barn-find" since the vintage steel bug sank its Reynolds teeth into me. Le Jeune Super Prestige. Reynolds 708. 60cm CTC top tube. Apparently 708 was not used much, and it was more for "bigger riders"/bigger frames. It had a sort of 8 ribs or flat sections running in the length for extra strength, and thus added weight, The chain- and set-stays section used on 708 frame was apparently from Reynolds 753. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) (Don't quote me on this) Got it with Full Shimano 600 group-set. Did a complete tear-down, cleaned everything up. Had a part made for the seat bolt. Redid the brake levers with new plastic and rubbers hoods. New cables and chain and brake-pads Got some spare parts I needed in the from of hubs and derailleurs from hubber, Eppie in CT. (a super gentleman and always willing to help a newbie) Added my Brooks and swapped a shorter stem as the frame a bit big for me. Took it out for a 50km on Sunday and man, I like it a lot. (coming from a "MTB only" guy like me)

Fark!! . . I have some organs to sell . . anyone ?

http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Sklar.jpeg http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/morgan-taylor-sams-sklar-26-700x467.jpg

SKLAR bikes This one won the North American Handmade Bicycle Show 2017 (NAHBS2017) http://reviews.mtbr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/03-Skylar_nahbs2017_awards-7.jpg

I switched my Niner RDO fork on the Salsa El Mariachi for this Salsa FireStarter. Getting the Salsa more gravel travel/bike-packing orientated. The fork is paired with my Answer 20/20 carbon bar. The steel fork is a wet noodle compared to the Niner RDO. You can see the fork-ends flexing on the corrugations. Makes the ride feel smoother than the Niner RDO. Also a bit longer than the Niner RDO so bike feel more relaxed and stable. (above mentioned might be just my perception) The Niner RDO is going onto the Contraband SS Then and Now.

Since the Contraband become the SS, I have now converted my Salsa El Mariachi for bike-packing and gravel travel Still need to take pics . . . (been so sick that I have not had time to ride it since the conversion)

I think/hope I am legit . . . .

After a very nice Sunday afternoon ride on my Contraband I saw this classic piece of steel in the parking area. HELL YES!!! (had to pose with it) Enjoy the weekend.!!

Like that . . .

Aside from the look and perceived ride of steel. What I like also about steel is sometimes the small details. The name or logo on the top of seatstays, the metal cable routing at the bottom of the BB. The Colnago clover on the fork or elsewhere on the frame. The Cinelli name or logo on a dropout. Nice lug work Super sexy welds. I mean, look at the brazing on a (Helloclour's) David Mercer frame!! It shows attention to small things, extra effort (sometime only for aesthetic value). Pride. Look at the outside and inside of the dropouts of my steel Firestarter fork. These will be covered and possibly mashed up by the schewers. But the effort was made to put them there.

Eric Barone also tried this and fell hos "gat af"

I am taking an perfectly good Niner RDO fork of my Salsa El Mariachi to fit this Steel is Real baby.

Been looking for a steel Salsa Firestarter fork for a LOOOOOONG time. http://salsacycles.com/components/category/forks/firestarter_fork Going on my Salsa El Mariachi steel gravel grinder. Attachments mountings to fit all sorts of stuff for longer trips.

Question #3 I can't choose all three . . . please correct it now . . . or make option "all of the above"

So after Googling and reading this article (of which I understand only half) . . http://blog.artscyclery.com/science-behind-the-magic/science-behind-the-magic-drivetrain-compatibility/ It seems if my schemes of mixing and matching will not work. Seem if I want to keep 1x11, with the MTB cassette at the back, some sort of SRAM group-set is the only way to go.