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The old and the new, the ying and the yang, the good, bad and the ugly, you decide.

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The old and the new, the ying and the yang, the good, bad and the ugly, you decide.

Old 03-26-20, 01:18 AM
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merziac
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Strawberry content: The old, the new, the ying and the yang, the good, bad and ugly?

ADDENDUM

So it may be time for pitchforks and such.

Andy did not build this but it was done with his help, input, guidance, special parts, sauce and his full blessing.

Dave Levy of TiCycles built it after Andy changed his mind and bowed out, he originally agreed after Dave helped me convince him.

And I'm certain at this point that Dave put up with far more of my nonsense than Andy ever would have, might very well have been why he bailed.

Anyway, sorry for the slight of hand but there is nothing unStrawberry about this other than the plumber who put the pipes together and the two of them are very good friends so I'm good with that.

2020 Strawberry


May not be your cup of tea but I put a lot of time, thought, work and of course $$$$$ into this and am very happy with how it turned out.

My crappy pics, not so much.












Lots more to come.

Last edited by merziac; 04-04-20 at 05:14 PM.
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Old 03-26-20, 01:19 AM
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Old 03-26-20, 04:58 AM
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36-37" inseam??


^^^ The seat stays and rear brake bridge are very interesting.

Ridden it yet?
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Old 03-26-20, 06:19 AM
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Man, that is a lot of steel. Handlebars too?
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Old 03-26-20, 06:44 AM
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Looks nice, how does it ride? And Campy Athena, can't complain there. Just a simple, easy on the eyes bike. Nice work!
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Old 03-26-20, 07:11 AM
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Really awesome bike! It's hard to reckon whether it's "lovely" or "wicked" because so many of the details fall between making it look like a plush classic and also a fast racer.

Aesthetically, it makes me thankful that I'm still young and do yoga, but I absolutely understand that the ergonomics are critical and I think that given the parameters you set for yourself this really turned out as something special. Bravo!

-Gregory
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Old 03-26-20, 07:20 AM
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Beautiful bike!
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Old 03-26-20, 07:20 AM
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Cool! The straight-pin steel seat post and clamp throw me for a bit of a loop, both aesthetically and because those clamps have a tendency to loosen up.
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Old 03-26-20, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by chainwhip

^^^ The seat stays and rear brake bridge are very interesting.

Ridden it yet?
38 in, crown, bridge and mono stay are Andy's own design typically used on 650 rando builds, no ride yet.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:05 AM
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I think it's classy. What's not to like?
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Old 03-26-20, 09:05 AM
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Originally Posted by nlerner
Cool! The straight-pin steel seat post and clamp throw me for a bit of a loop, both aesthetically and because those clamps have a tendency to loosen up.
Tx Neal, that post may not stay, it was all about the chrome. I will try to work on the clamp and see if I can reinvent it a bit.

May have a Campy 2 bolt sleeved with SS or Ti and polish or just polish one.

The aesthetic was also on purpose.

Last edited by merziac; 03-26-20 at 05:51 PM.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:06 AM
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Originally Posted by nomadmax
I think it's classy. What's not to like?
Tx, not a thing in IMHO.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Kilroy1988
Really awesome bike! It's hard to reckon whether it's "lovely" or "wicked" because so many of the details fall between making it look like a plush classic and also a fast racer.

Aesthetically, it makes me thankful that I'm still young and do yoga, but I absolutely understand that the ergonomics are critical and I think that given the parameters you set for yourself this really turned out as something special. Bravo!

-Gregory
Tx! Lovely and wicked was exactly part of what I was going for, hadn't thought of those terms. I will hopefully be riding this one until I can't ride anymore.

Last edited by merziac; 08-27-20 at 02:48 AM.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Classtime
Man, that is a lot of steel. Handlebars too?
Nope, bars are Nitto noodles?
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Old 03-26-20, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by FlMTNdude
Looks nice, how does it ride? And Campy Athena, can't complain there. Just a simple, easy on the eyes bike. Nice work!
Tx! No ride yet, Athena was on hand that I had for another build originally, no brainer for this.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Wissahickon2
Beautiful bike!
Tx, it was a long road.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:21 AM
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Not my personal cup of tea, but clearly you've thought this all through and have done a top-notch job of pulling this together flawlessly.

Here's to many, many miles and years of enjoyment.
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Old 03-26-20, 09:27 AM
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What a beauty! What is the metrics size and angles?
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Old 03-26-20, 09:58 AM
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Congrats on the new bike! It's beautiful. It looks like a custom bike is a near necessity with your stature. Is this your first custom?
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Old 03-26-20, 10:13 AM
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WOW, nice you got it right. That has to be the most overall proportionally pleasing large frame I've ever seen. A large frame that doesn't end up looking like an awkward compromise in the final build. Bravo, well done!
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Old 03-26-20, 10:21 AM
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I had a late 70's early 80's Strawberry for many years in a 63cm. With I still had it the thinned lugs were beautiful.

I like everything but the seat post. Appreciate the desire for chrome but I wonder if you could get an aluminum post highly polished? Is the stem the VO Grand Cru? I've got the VO chrome riser stem on my bike which would work on yours if you are trying to get the bars a little higher. https://velo-orange.com/collections/.../vo-quill-stem
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Old 03-26-20, 10:41 AM
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Congratulations Van!
I'd love to see some lighter photos of the details; lugs, fork crown, cable stops, etc. Maybe sometime when you get it out in the sun. That beautiful paint should really pop in the sunlight!
I like the look of the straight pin seat post and clamp but nlerner is certainly right about the squirrely nature of that type of setup.
Brent
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Old 03-26-20, 11:01 AM
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Insane! (in a great way) -- I love it !
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Old 03-26-20, 11:06 AM
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Digging it! Who did the stem?
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Old 03-26-20, 11:08 AM
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Lovey bike!

I do have a question being a person shorter than you. Why the raised top tube/clamp and seatpost, why not a larger frame?
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