Stumbled into eBay and bought a Kirk...
 

A Kirk Pacenti that is :banana:

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0oIAAO...UR/s-l1600.jpg

It actually popped up when I was going to pull down the Keith Anderson I had listed on there. They saw me coming a mile away...not only is it exactly the specs I'm settled on with it being a little taller than the Merlin I just let go and the same reach, but it's pretty much my favorite color combination going. And it looked to have the same fork I had on my Moots (maybe made by ENVE), which was awesome and fit 28s.

The Pros Closet had it listed for $999. I threw out a low offer. They countered much lower than I expected. And I took it. Let's just say it's a no-risk option.

All that happened quickly with me not wanting to risk a missed swoop, so I kind of went on faith that if it had Pacenti's name on it and had good geo for me, it'd be worth trying...post purchase though I went looking for more info on the frame...

And behold, I found this post, this post, and this post from Kirk linking to this Flickr album by Curt Goodrich, who it turns out did the paint on the frameset (I didn't even notice the CG logo on the chain stay in the eBay listing), which uncovered that the frame Kirk was describing in those posts was the frame I just bought. That's some pretty fun serendipity right there. What's more, it looks like this hasn't even been ridden...maybe hasn't even been off the wall other than to pick up the little scratch shown.

Anyway, this one is going to be fun to build, and I feel pretty safe with it coming from TPC that I won't have another eBay purch gone bad this time around.

I could see it going silver/white/alloy or black/black/carbon, and looking good either way. Good thing I still have a nice stash of parts in the cabinet...

Note: this is a true N+1 purchase...the Peg stays :D

Way to go! That is the big score, indeed.

I can totally see how either silver or black could go great on there. I'm normally a strict silver partisan, but there's an exception to every rule, isn't there?

Stumbled into eBay and bought a Kirk...
 

Jr59's Ellis is a similar colorway and looks great with silver - but I've got a SR11 white label group for this and low-profile carbon tubs or neutrons already in hand. Just depends if I want neo-retro, or modern and racey. Maybe do a mix with white/silver upstairs and black/carbon down below.

That's pretty sweet.

I'd go with black/black/carbon with red highlights, myself, for that frame.

High-polish always works, though.

Rockin'!

I love this. Every time I look at ebay, I just end up sifting through 1990's 26" 1" threaded forks looking for a cheap Reynolds Ouzo.

Sigh.

Very nice!

I'm not usually one to go for polished components, but I think this one is calling for them.

Brilliant find, always loved the colors and graphics of these rare Pacenti steel frames.

That will look even better when you remove TPC's sticker. Congratulations on a nice find. I hope this one is a keeper!

...

Nice looking frame. Love the color. I'd probably lean towards silver parts.

Though not sure you can fool any of us that you just happened to "stumble" into this. ;)

True story...whether or not a jury of my peers would believe me...well, I do have a certain reputation round these parts...

TPC already shipped. I may be riding it by next weekend.

Looking forward to seeing the built pictures. Guessing it's going to be stunning.

And yea, we wouldn't want for you to lose your "tpl" street cred already.

I really like this one!!

Stumbled into eBay and bought a Kirk...