Sorry to post after 17 days...I suck i know! But life has been getting in the way of my other responsibilities. I realize work, wife, and family should come first. There are very little consequences for not creating work, crafting, working on my bike, etc. just the self-sense that i will explode and that i am a complete failure to myself and everyone that breathes the air around me...Enough self-loathing, lets move on shall we!
I am posting pics of the updated steed. I have received my saddle, toshi straps, and crankarms...Still waiting on my rims though! I think this is the longest I have taken to finish a bike. Most of that thanks to bills, school loans, general comforts, and gas money ( I commute over 120 miles a day!) boo me again!
In any case, i read that Kashima(x) saddles were uncomfortable, but for the sake of sounding like a fool, i wanted the bike to stay as true as i could muster to being a Japanese track bike. I think my friend Ian or someone he knew coined the name "butt knife" for his Fizik Arione saddle, but it most definitely fits the bill here too! I got a really good deal on the butt knife though when i bought my Sugino Mighty seatpost, couldn't pass it up. To look at it is to fear for the life of my 'taint' but such is life!
I also purchased a used set of Toshi straps...I figured used Toshi's are better than anything new i could buy in the store short of new Toshi's. When i can afford it i will be getting some brand spanking new ones! I also purchased some steel NJS toe clips to fit the bill. I won a set of Sugino AS Mighty crank arms to go with my Sugino 75 chainring. They mated just lovely together. I wanted a pair of Grand Mighty Champagne cranks but of current economic crisis didn't allow for it just yet!
What i have left is to receive my rims to build up to my Dura Ace hubs. I pined for a long time on this subject and of course the obvious choices were Mavic Open Pro, CXP33's, Velo Deep V, etc. I sometimes choose to go the other way with such things. Yes Mavics are great, Deep V's look the business and so forth, but i went with the Sun CR-18 high polish in 36 hole offering...I know the logic doesn't seem to be there but hear me out: First off i wanted to go outside of where most would choose to go. I also wanted a high polish set of rims to go with my high polish Nitto Jaguar stem and drop bars. I like that the CR-18's are a box style rim, nice and flat and wide. I know, i should have stuck with tubbies and gotten a pair of Araya Gold 36 hole rims and some Soyo tubular tires...I wanted some practical aspects of the bike, i know a track bike on the streets is not practical but the trade off is the clincher wheelset. That said though, i am looking into tubular clinchers for my rubber.
If i decide to stay clincher i would go with a Gomitalia tire, very similar to tubulars or the Veloflex clincher. Another option is to go with the Tufo tubular clincher but i will try my friend Tim's Tufo out and see how it fits on my rim...The saga continues...
