I decided to get an N+1, and really wanted a custom steel bike -- I really liked the idea of custom geometry & custom paint. Unfortunately, my budget wasn't quite large enough to go truly custom, so I decided to forego the custom aspect and just build up something used.
As luck would have it, I managed to pick up a LeMond Croix de fer frame/fork for ridiculously cheap, but the original paint was in pretty bad shape. Since I scored it for so cheap, though, it opened up my budget a bit. So I found a local paint shop that specializes in motorcycles and inquired if they'd consider painting a bicycle. Bryan, the owner at
BD's Cycles said that although he'd never painted a bicycle, he'd love to give it a shot.
I decided I wanted to retain the vintage design, but update the color way to a matte metallic purple/black/gold to pay homage to my Alma Mater, East Carolina University. Bryan said he could do it (and without the use of decals to boot -- everything was masked/painted, to include the logos), and so we began the project.
It started off like this:
Then became this:
And ended up as this:
(DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know I should flip it and slam it. However, I've had a broken back and a broken pelvis, so my range of motion is limited and this setup is what is comfortable for me, even though it's not particularly eye-pleasing)
Build:
LeMond Croix de fer frame (True Temper OX Platinum steel, 59cm)
Bontrager Select Carbon fork (original)
Sram Force22 group w/ Red22 11-28 cassette and Red22 chain
Bontrager RXL wheel set w/ Schwalbe Pro One 25mm tubeless
Bontrager XXX Carbon Seat Post
Bontrager Pro Blendr stem
Bontrager Pro IsoCore Carbon handlebar
Bontrager Serano Saddle
Speedplay Zero pedals
Fabric cageless water bottles
Total build weight came out to 18lbs 3 oz w/pedals.
All in all I'm super happy with the build, and the bike rides great (I hadn't even ridden the bike before I had it painted). It is very smooth. This is also my first time riding Force22. My other bike has Red22. I was very pleased to discover that the shift quality/feel was identical to my Red22, so I really feel like you're just paying for lighter components with the Red22.
I've also got some Boyd Carbon 60's that I can swap between the LeMond and the Emonda, but I'm unsure about the look with the Boyd's. What do you all think?
Some more detail shots:
