In for Paint

I dropped the frame off with Noah yesterday. I spent the morning sifting through paint samples from a hardware store to have some objective example of "grey-blue" and "dark grey-blue" in hand when I arrived at the shop. After much thought I decided on a "grey-blue" not too grey and not too blue, and set off. I took the subway and bus rather than strap my newly finished frame onto my back and ride there. It took a nerve-wracking hour, but the frame arrived safely.

Once in the shop, I looked through the Imron colour book and, though nothing was quite perfect, found one slightly blue-ish but not at all bad. This is a really tough colour to nail, so I hope it comes out looking nice. I also realized that my decals are probably not properly formatted for printing. This is already a boring post, so I'll not get into details — but yes, building a frame is a lot of work, and the decal-creation side of things is no exception. Luckily there are always bike-geek friends to help out... (That's my "final" decal file on the right.)

In less boring news, I went on a ride today with Noah, with Mike Barry, his son Michael, and others — and it was incredibly fun. I can't wait to ride it with the new bike!

And back to boring: my Stronglight A9 headset (I actually ordered four: call it planning ahead) arrived today, though I've begun to think that the shape of a Stronglight Delta would match my logo better. And I'm debating which size of tire to get for Niles. The Grand Bois 28s actually measure 29.5, apparently, which makes them pretty tight in terms of clearance, and might make a bad match for my 35mm-wide fenders. Options include the Grand Bois 26s, but their actual width is apparently 24mm — too narrow. So Challenge 27s? They measure 28mm wide, but cost $80 each. Pasela 28s? Actual width 26, so might be too narrow for the bottom bracket issue. Luckily I have some of them around the house, and also some Ruffy Tuffys. I guess I'll experiment with them before buying anything.