I started collecting parts for this last spring, and the LOML and my son added a couple of the final touches as Christmas gifts (the Brooks saddle, matching saddle bag & Topeak handlebar bag). Had some time off over the holidays and got 'er all put together, ready for a test ride as soon as I get some halfway-decently warm weather that's at least in the 40's - and yes, I'm a wimp - I'm standing here at my desk in the office in long johns and a wool sweater, shivering - literally!!
Anyway, the last things on the to-do list is to take it out and ride it enough to get everything adjusted right and whacking off some more of the steering tube after I dial-in the stem height, then finding some fenders that will fit. Along with the saddle & bag, the LOML got me a pair of 40mm Tanaka alloy fenders, but they turned out to be too narrow - they rub on the 32mm tires, so I'm going to have to do something else.
This was intended as a light tourer, especially after getting beaten up on my aluminum-frame Specialized during the PALM ride last summer (
Pedal
Across
Lower
Michigan). A Soma ES steel frame & fork, Mavic A-119 wheels w/Tiagra hubs and DT-Swiss DB spokes, 32mm Panaracer tires and a Shimano 105 gruppo. I'm hoping that it's better suited to the the third-world crumbling two-tracks that pass for highways in our state.
