Clean39T
01-01-2020, 01:31 PM
Compared to 2017 and 2018, this has been quite a calm year for this bike churner ...but it is still fun to look back at what's been. 2020 is going to be even slower yet - a return to normalcy, if there is such a thing.
So here goes, in somewhat chronological order - the ones that I actually built up and rode (there were a couple more that were DOA).
Started the year with a PinkBike pickup, a Serotta CSI in 62L that came to me with Record 8spd in beautiful condition. I rode it like that for a bit, then swapped out to Record 11spd and more modern stuff. It was an excellent bike and a lot of fun to enjoy before passing forward to another Paceliner.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190120/9ec1b680398a9b728bb4edbfe5def212.jpg
Then came a Seven Axiom SLX. Another beautiful frameset, but one that was just entirely too stiff for my somewhat slender self. It also went to a Paceliner who is enjoying it now and fits its build more appropriately.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190302/d1328d2d9d130bedccf9b55d69fd6236.jpg
Next up was another Ti machine, also off eBay - a Litespeed T1SL. It was a full-on race fit for me, and a lot of fun to ride fast. The racing bug didn't bite though and I was left feeling unsure about the utility of it, so I let it go.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190310/5d67a5ddb66e226f49755d78ec7a1287.jpg
Around the same time I was experimenting with this Spectrum Ti Rando that I picked up from JR59 (that was previously in Kirk007s garage). It was an excellent, incredible ride, and beautiful to look at. I'm not really sure why I got a bug to sell it. I must have had my eye on something else - a gravel build, or maybe just feeling the need to clear space with an impending move that ended up not happening. In any event, it found a great home across the pond, so it's all good.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190421/cc8b5bc67b6434662bbf55ed97038b05.jpg
And then there was this Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross. I bought it when I realized my Rock Lobster wasn't going to be done in time for the gravel events I had scheduled, so it was kind of just a placeholder. Once I saw how nicely it rode though, I kind of regretted getting the Lobster done - this BMC would have been just fine on its own. I rode it in a couple gravel races and really loved the feel of the frame, and the Campy build on it. It was moved along though when the Lobster was nearing completion.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190423/45d90fd0d10c289da588bee2c8adc787.jpg
This Battaglin Power+ I picked up from Bici-Sonora, who ordered it from Battaglin during their 2018 winter sale. It was the first one I saw that was in the XL range I needed. It was an incredibly fun bike to ride and came with me on a trip to AZ, but I found myself overloaded on projects and let it go down to CA where it lives now.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190517/11494589a819363d8e34f1c6267044ad.jpg
I had a brief encounter with this C50 that came to me super cheap from Texbike after he snagged it at a silly price off eBay. I rode it a couple times, then passed it forward to a local Paceline friend at the same screaming-deal price. It was another one that was a lot of fun to build and ride. The hype is real.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190801/565b3bf7bf4b02c31a199c4e3695c127.jpg
This Allied Alfa may be the best looking bike I put together in 2019. Another eBay pickup that was a blast to rip around on - so light, so fast.. Like the T1SL though, I just kept searching for a reason why I needed a light/fast bike when not racing. Maybe I should have kept it. Probably so. MUSA carbon, great paint. Yeah, shoulda woulda.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190626/d69a4d2f15c0c93f5b0ff950ce2dc363.jpg
This Trek Procaliber 9.7 RSL I shoulda kept - just because of the build and the value in it. I got it dirty a few times, then rented a trail bike and saw how much fun a slack'r dual-squish is to ride. So this one went up for sale - I should have held onto it though, or at least parted it out and kept some things. I kind of didn't realize how fancy some of the parts were on it and sold it really cheap (though didn't really lose much all told).
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/3c496091ce085d305e2237db955ccb31.jpg
Lastly, at least as far as my "no longer with me" builds for the year go, we have this Serotta Design Studios Duetti. I figured it'd make a good travel bike for me with the ETap and matte finish. Unfortunately it got damaged in shipping. Fortunately, insurance came through enough to keep me mostly whole on it, and the eBay seller held up his end and jumped through the hoops to make that happen. The frameset is now headed to CA to be repurposed, and the wheels are going to be backups for my Ellis.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191222/a0d27df6d0df5b788b65d39f0011cde0.jpg
PART 1 - CONT'd below..
So here goes, in somewhat chronological order - the ones that I actually built up and rode (there were a couple more that were DOA).
Started the year with a PinkBike pickup, a Serotta CSI in 62L that came to me with Record 8spd in beautiful condition. I rode it like that for a bit, then swapped out to Record 11spd and more modern stuff. It was an excellent bike and a lot of fun to enjoy before passing forward to another Paceliner.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190120/9ec1b680398a9b728bb4edbfe5def212.jpg
Then came a Seven Axiom SLX. Another beautiful frameset, but one that was just entirely too stiff for my somewhat slender self. It also went to a Paceliner who is enjoying it now and fits its build more appropriately.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190302/d1328d2d9d130bedccf9b55d69fd6236.jpg
Next up was another Ti machine, also off eBay - a Litespeed T1SL. It was a full-on race fit for me, and a lot of fun to ride fast. The racing bug didn't bite though and I was left feeling unsure about the utility of it, so I let it go.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190310/5d67a5ddb66e226f49755d78ec7a1287.jpg
Around the same time I was experimenting with this Spectrum Ti Rando that I picked up from JR59 (that was previously in Kirk007s garage). It was an excellent, incredible ride, and beautiful to look at. I'm not really sure why I got a bug to sell it. I must have had my eye on something else - a gravel build, or maybe just feeling the need to clear space with an impending move that ended up not happening. In any event, it found a great home across the pond, so it's all good.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190421/cc8b5bc67b6434662bbf55ed97038b05.jpg
And then there was this Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross. I bought it when I realized my Rock Lobster wasn't going to be done in time for the gravel events I had scheduled, so it was kind of just a placeholder. Once I saw how nicely it rode though, I kind of regretted getting the Lobster done - this BMC would have been just fine on its own. I rode it in a couple gravel races and really loved the feel of the frame, and the Campy build on it. It was moved along though when the Lobster was nearing completion.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190423/45d90fd0d10c289da588bee2c8adc787.jpg
This Battaglin Power+ I picked up from Bici-Sonora, who ordered it from Battaglin during their 2018 winter sale. It was the first one I saw that was in the XL range I needed. It was an incredibly fun bike to ride and came with me on a trip to AZ, but I found myself overloaded on projects and let it go down to CA where it lives now.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190517/11494589a819363d8e34f1c6267044ad.jpg
I had a brief encounter with this C50 that came to me super cheap from Texbike after he snagged it at a silly price off eBay. I rode it a couple times, then passed it forward to a local Paceline friend at the same screaming-deal price. It was another one that was a lot of fun to build and ride. The hype is real.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190801/565b3bf7bf4b02c31a199c4e3695c127.jpg
This Allied Alfa may be the best looking bike I put together in 2019. Another eBay pickup that was a blast to rip around on - so light, so fast.. Like the T1SL though, I just kept searching for a reason why I needed a light/fast bike when not racing. Maybe I should have kept it. Probably so. MUSA carbon, great paint. Yeah, shoulda woulda.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190626/d69a4d2f15c0c93f5b0ff950ce2dc363.jpg
This Trek Procaliber 9.7 RSL I shoulda kept - just because of the build and the value in it. I got it dirty a few times, then rented a trail bike and saw how much fun a slack'r dual-squish is to ride. So this one went up for sale - I should have held onto it though, or at least parted it out and kept some things. I kind of didn't realize how fancy some of the parts were on it and sold it really cheap (though didn't really lose much all told).
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/3c496091ce085d305e2237db955ccb31.jpg
Lastly, at least as far as my "no longer with me" builds for the year go, we have this Serotta Design Studios Duetti. I figured it'd make a good travel bike for me with the ETap and matte finish. Unfortunately it got damaged in shipping. Fortunately, insurance came through enough to keep me mostly whole on it, and the eBay seller held up his end and jumped through the hoops to make that happen. The frameset is now headed to CA to be repurposed, and the wheels are going to be backups for my Ellis.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191222/a0d27df6d0df5b788b65d39f0011cde0.jpg
PART 1 - CONT'd below..