Update - over the last few weeks I've slowly serviced all the components on the Ross Mt. Ranier, and decided to revert to the original Suntour bear traps with the Christophe half-clips I put on 'em when it was new - I had been running a pair of well-worn Campy black road pedals. I figure that for a local errand bike it'd be easier to jump on without changing shoes. Here's how it sat before a brief trip to Trader Joe's:
Blackburn rack and Mt. Zefal. The saddle is a pleather-topped plastique Regal with fake copper rivets and rails that is certain to be swapped out - next candidate is my old Brooks Team Pro, but I suspect I'll be fiddling with saddle options for a while.
The 1.5" Kenda 809 skinwalls look great and rode nicely. Here's the front end for all you rollercam fans:
I'm going to re-cable the brakes, I made the housings too short. I may decide to switch from black eventually, would like to know what y'all think of the blue bar tape and black housing. For me, the housing works well against the black saddle, hoods and pump.
Payload retrieved and delivered.
So overall impression is, the bike handles differently in a good way than I recall from the straight bar days, which was a surprise to me. It feels solid but not heavy and has a noticeable but not overly strong self-centering balance. Rides no-hands easily and likes to swoop through turns. I'm pretty happy. Over time the saddle will change and I'll be figuring what I want to do about racks, bags, fenders etc. In a few years I hope to be living in Manhattan, and this guy should be getting around town a lot.