SS reborn II... continues

More parts trickling in after the the last post on the SS.. things were starting to look good after the last post on the Stanyan's transformation... but dashed were the porteur bike dreams when I realized there's no eyelets for racks on the fork.. Well, there's ways to go about it but aesthetics would be compromised. Besides DIY with P-clips for non load bearing attachment like fenders are probably alright but with a rack...hmmm. Anyway after  further thoughts I reckon an appropriate rear pannier rack wouldn't be all that bad either.

As luck would have it.. some one was selling a Wald piece with the wooden base. Long story short, it became mine..

Gotta luv vee-brakes parts.. bits of these old leftovers just
became spacers to clear the rack's mounting tabs. and I'm still saving
some of those vee's funny convex and concave spacers that might just
come in handy for fenders installation ;)

Shiny stainless steel (heavy!) hece not much re-work needed but at some point of completing, I'll probably remove to touch up the wood piece which has certainly seen some weathering.

The thing I couldn't get over with is the front mounting bracket.. looks like something right off a trainer wheel bracket dull and rough against everything that is spit polish shine on the bike. Well, not critical-- will figure what to do with this later...

As usual, have a few snaps after the parts are up,. Scrutinize from a distance and see what needs further work or changes...

The initial idea of having wooden fenders were scrapped. "Overkill".. was pinging fast and furious from my neurons. From the way things evolved.. wood stuff should just be highlights, not big chunks here on the build. Plus, if the occasion do call for me to plonk on my bread tray on the rear-- having those woodie fenders... Ugh.

:)

Well, I still want fenders of course... and so the hunt continues... into a subject that I have little knowledge of but this time key word switched from "wooden" to "high polish" in the little Google search box in the corner of the browser.

Short of getting custom or obscure little things on kickstarter or etsy... it pretty much boils down to three I found:- Velo, Honjo or Gilles Berthoud...

The first is a little too fattie looking for my liking at 45mm width. The Honjo seems to need quite a bit of fidgeting just from reading about the product online and had a little too much profiling to it I didn't care for the hammered dimple option one at all.

The Gilles B. fenders looks to be the one I like.. 40mm wide but all the US online sites were rather expensive with shipping Until... yup-- "Cheaperer" option- as always found by your Venerable El Cheapo, yours truly here...  and on its way now.


One of the thing that irks me to no end are the crappy bottle cages..  and it wasn't easy to find nice looking ones to match.. Ok stainless steel has gotta be one criteria.. Well there is the Chris King one , no wait its King's Cage if I remembered correctly and also one from errrr.. Nitto? Ok forget the custom ones from Ahearnes-- it will probably take too long to get it here.. already dying in anticipation for the finish build.

Let's go LBS shopping this time.. well there's only a few shops I can recall by now that might fit the bill of carrying such stuff.. Bingo! Found!

No brand taiwan stainless steel cage that grips really well.
as it expands out at the bottom to fit bottles being pushed down into it that looks
Just ALMOST like the Iris King's Cage.
Click on the link and go spot the diff ;)

Casually enquired about the availability of a Brooks Cambium...something I always wanted ever since I saw a pic of it. Not knowing whether it would fit my butt- it is just a "want", really , a desire more than ever a need..

Arriving in May but as luck would have it again... saw one chucked into a forlorn corner of the shop half hidden in some mangy cardboard box of almost the same color... It has red fonts over it-- Hmmm that's probably a marketing/display piece.

"Eh boss.. how much arh?"

The price sounds good compared to the $200++ ones that will arrive next month, so with typical Singaporean "buy buy buy" attitude...mai tu liao lor (aka don't hesitate anymore) ... :)

Looks a little off at first glance after mounting.. the black old cheapo Glute saddle actually seemed more at home on this bike.

Then again the color of the Cambium, either the one I got here or the other option spotting a darker grey aren't exactly hues found on other bike components. Reckon Brooks had intended this on purpose.. Its a saddle to stand out by itself... Ok so be it. But anyway I already have some ideas how to "match" it up with tiny functional bits needed elsewhere on the bike with materials that aren't traditionally associated with bikes.  Shhhhh...

Truth be told.. my sensor filled butt didn't really register much of  a diff from the Glute after a short test ride with this saddle even though this is wider and theoretically more comfy. Maybe a longer ride might elude more later on.

By the way, there's things wood that has caught my eyes since a while back.. Hmmmm--toying with more ideas

Fenders, fenders, come quick...