Heres a couple of shots of the new forks. I’ve loosely connected them to the frame to get an idea of how they will look. I’ll get the steerer tube cut and headset put on later this week. I’m also looking at covering up the yellow logo as it doesn’t work with the bike colour scheme. I think simply neatly painting it out in Black will disguise it and may be an interesting feature. I’m not too worried about it for the moment and I’ll look at doing this right at the end of the project.

I have added some photos below with the frame and forks loosely bolted together so i can see how the Deep V Wheels look and shape the bike. Without tyres its always going to look a bit odd but it’s not hard to visualise how it will eventually look. I Photoshopped the seat and seatpost from my other bike just to get a good idea of the riding geometry.
Since the last post i have also chopped down the Kore Bars and added the White Oury grips. I hacked 40mm of each end of the bars, they were not that wide to start with. I have also ordered some 700c Carbon blade forks which have the 1 inch threadless steerer. There is not alot out there in this older headtube sizing, still I’m happy with the forks that are coming. It should add a bit more of that race style look and will also pull the front wheel in closer to the frame which i think will be more aesthetically pleasing.
The forks I have decided to keep black as you can’t powdercoat Carbon. I think its not a bad idea to have Black forks and white frame anyway, with white wheels too it might be a bit much. Also I guess if you are splashing out on Carbon you want to show it off!
Next time you see the bike it will be looking alot more complete!

I took the frame to a local bike shop today and it is confirmed that i could comfortably fit a 700c Rim on there with any tyre up to about a size 32. I’m opting for a size 25 tyre to give me a little more of a comfy ride over the smallest 23 size whilst still keeping a low profile look.

The frame and new forks will go off next week for a respray. I’m going to go for a powdercoat, it works out half the price of an enamel job. I can’t justify paying almost $150 more for the paint job than i did for the actual frame!

I have also bought some Orange Bike frame transfers from the UK. I’m debating whether i’ll actually use any of them. I was thinking of putting the Union Jack on the base of the seat tube on the frame and possibly putting a minimal orange logo on the headtube. I’ll see when the frame is painted and i have the decals to hand.

I mentioned back in earlier posts that i’m opting for a Black and White colour scheme. I have pretty much worked out most of the bikes spec now and what colour each component will be. The minimal monochrome approach should make for a very clean, tight looking bike.

Frame – Pure White
Forks – Black Carbon Blades
Headset – Black (Cane Creek S2 Inch)
Bars – Black (Chopped down Kore Race straight Bars) & Black (Chopped down Scott riser bars)
Grips – Black (Funn lock-ons) & White ( Oury Mtb style) not sure which to run yet
Seatpost – Black (haven’t decided what post)
Saddle – Black (Selle Italia Flite Original)
Rims – White (Velocity Deep Vs)
Hubs – Silver (Formula f&r Velocity branded)
Spokes – Silver (double butted DT Swiss)
Cranks – Black & silver (Sugino Messenger – not yet purchased)
Pedals – Black & Silver (MKS GR9, Clips)
Front Brake – Black (Carbon Tektro/Cannondale Canti)
Front Brake Cable – Black
Front Brake Lever – Dark Graphite Grey/Silver (XTR Servowave 2 finger pull)
Stem – Black (Thomson Elite X4)
Chain – (haven’t decided)
Bottle Cage bolts – Black (Not purchased yet)
Tyres – Black (Conti Ultra Gatorskins 700×25c)

It might not be that obvious yet but there is a common theme behind all the components going on to this bike. All the parts where possible will be black and white. The Thomson, Kore and Funn logos are all lasered in pure white and sit on satin back finishes. I think when everything comes together this will look stylish, clean and minimal.

I chose straight bars for reto factor too. I think i will cut them down a bit but its too early to say how much. I need to be sitting over a near built bike before making that decision. I’m not going to go crazy courier style where your elbows are virtually touching as you loose alot of steering control.

The Kore bars are light, pretty strong and great looking. I paid about $35 AUD for them and also got them from Chain Reaction Cycles UK.