It's coming...

This weekend, I shall haul my winter fat-laden carcass out to RBR; the time has come to build up the aforementioned rando-Metabike.

Nothing über-blingy, but nothing to sneer at either, parts-wise: Paul's Thumbies w/ SRAM TT 500 barcons, Rival 50/34 crankset, Red front mech, X-9 rear mech, 11-36 cassette, and Avid BB7s for the brakes.

Wheelset from Peter White, including the SON dynamo; a nice set of Supernova lights, headrest and bottle cage mount from Don at ADEM; retro-reflective rim strips and decals from Fiks Reflective. And an upgrade from fiberglass to carbon for the seat should knock an extra pound or so off the build...(thanks, Frank!)

I'm excited...should be a really fun bike.

MetaBike Randonneuring Rig for 2012

So, it's 2012, and my plans for the year are solidifying. Aside from a nicely overdone set of rides to attend, I decided it's time to try something New and Exciting for my brevet bike. My P-38 has served me well for the last four years, and I could certainly continue to utilize it for the foreseeable future, but it's nice to try something new once in a while. Since my semi-local shop is the US dealer for a line of bikes I've been eyeing since its inception, it wasn't hard to choose the base for my new ride.

The half-dozen or so people who read this blog last year may recall that I had picked up a lovely M5 Carbon High Racer go-fast for use in ultra-racing and club rides. The CHR is a blast to ride, and I've really enjoyed it; however, after looking at the rides I did last year, and the ones I've planned for this, I realized that I'm really not that into ultra races right now.

It's kind of funny; I've been really interested in racing in the abstract for the last year, but I've only signed up for one actual ultra road race. Everything else is brevets, challenge rides like CtC, or idle speculation about offoad adventures like D2R2 or the Hilly Billy Roubaix.

So, the upshot of all this is that I'm unloading the CHR, and am putting together a customized MetaBike with the help of Tom and Rob at RBR. It'll start with this:

and go from there.

Aside from basics like fenders and bags and whatnot, additional toys will include a set of Supernova lights, a SON dynamo hub, and a custom open cockpit to replace the default bars and riser. I've also ordered a set of Fiks rim strips for some extra retro-reflective goodness from the side, as additional glowiness whilst in the periphery of someone's headlights is rarely a bad idea.

I'm planning to get it put together in the next couple of months, and am really looking forward to seeing how it handles the brevet season this year.

New Toy: The M5 Carbon High Racer

So, I've been saving my pennies for a few months, in order to pick up a dedicated go-fast. Rob Gentry at RBR, with the connivance of Tom Hovan, came across a lovely used M5 Carbon High Racer, and decided it had my name all over it. (Eventually, I was to find that this was not merely a figure of speech...)

So, without further ado...

From M5 Carbon High Racer: Initial Build

(Ignore my filthy basement, please.)

It's quite a bit different from the original incarnation: when I first took it for a spin, the package included HED3 wheels, a bunch of really nice XTR/Dura Ace components, and a matching tailbox:

Amusingly, the initial owner's name was Don, which had been added to the boom as part of the unique and attention-getting custom tribal paint job. In order to *ahem* help cement the deal, Frank (who wrenches at Rob's shop) personalized it for my benefit with the stroke of a Sharpie.

Before	After

Honestly, it didn't take much to get me to decide to spring for it. Tom (on his Musashi), Frank (on his Baron), and I on the M5 CHR went for a lovely 30+ mile test ride; while I had a bit of difficulty dealing with high crosswinds, I was delighted to find that the bike climbs as well as my old P-38, and is significantly more aerodynamic.

After purchase, I simplified things a bit: went to a nice 10-speed system using Paul's Thumbies and Dura-Ace 10-spd barcons. Also swapped out the minuscule bars for slightly larger ones, and tightened up the cable routing a bit. Made a bit of difference in the cockpit, as you can see:

Before	After

For wheels, I went with a couple of mismatched Velocity hoops that were floating around. I'll likely do a new wheelset based on a pair of Deep-Vs at some point, but that's not urgent...what I have now is enough to get rolling.

Had a couple eccentricities with which to deal as well. For some reason, the cable for the front derailleur had been run bare through a tunnel in the carbon fiber boom, so had been gradually sawing its way through one edge of the upper hole. I threw in the lower portion of a rivet for leatherworking to act as a grommet...should be a decent temporary fix, but I'll need to work out something a little better suited.

All told, with seat pad and the ridiculously heavy A530 pedals I'm wont to throw on my bikes, it weighs in at something in the 22 pound range. I suspect I could get it sub-20 without trying too hard, but I'm going to spend some time getting to know 'er before I do much more tinkering.

Tomorrow, I'll take it out for the Tuesday evening North Park ride. We'll see how things hold together...