At last....a Thorn in my stable!

[Paulson]

Well today was a momentous day - my bright red Audax Mk3 frameset arrived in a big box, in a similarly red post office van.



The excitement of unpacking it was tempered of course by the greater imperative of not damaging the frame, nor slashing my hands with the knife.  And this is what issued forth, if you will:



So...where to start, after all this anticipation??  Well the first job was to get it up on the bike stand so I could work on it without damaging the lovely paint. 



So, let's pause for a run through of my first impressions.

a) WOW!  That colour!!  The brightest, most in your face red I have ever seen!

b) The frame is light, and feels lovely.  Quailty seems excellent; the paintwork and welding looks first rate.

c) The geometry appears sport on.  It's similar in size to my road frame, but with the crucial comfort factor engineered in; the top tube is longer, so I shall be putting a couple more spacers on the head to bring the bars up a bit.

Then, I got to work, methodically I like to think, with bars, stem, brakes (Shimano A550's), tyres (Pasela 25c's), seat, and derailleur (rear - the front band-on tiagra mech has a bad that is oversized for a road bike, so a new band is needed).  By lunchtime she was looking like this:



And I have now got to do the external bearing BB (tomorrow), fit a chain, front mech, and trim the mudguard stays so they fit properly.  I really cannot wait to get out on the road on this beauty, it feels full of potential!!

I'll update this post as I progress with the build.  Off back to the garage now!!

[vik]

Wow - that is very very very red...   Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[Paulson]

Wow - that is very very very red...   Looking forward to seeing it completed.

I spent most of last night on it, doing cables, downtube cable stopsetc, which were pretty fiddly.  Now got the front mech on, spacers on the headset to give a more relaxed position, and it's gone off to LBS for the BB to be fitted properly and have everything torqued off.

With a frame this special, I know my limits - and I don't have a torque wrench yet!!!

Pickup hopefully on Saturday, at which point I will post a few pictures....I'm trying to engineer a lift to the bike shop so I can ride it the 13 miles home!!

[Paulson]

Got a call from the LBS this afternoon advising me that the bike was ready - fully built and ready to ride.  Unfortunately, I was working and failed to make it back in time to pick it up.  So, first thing tomorrow morning, I shall be waiting outside said LBS to pick up the bike when they open.  Pictures to follow!!

[Paulson]

Well, here she is in all her glory!  I collected the bike from the LBS this morning and have just done some 'finishing off' tasks, such as bar tape and mudguard stay covers.  I'm about to ride it for the first time, so will report on a more technical level later on.  However - here are the first pictures:

[jags]

paulson that is one beautful looking bike fair play to you hope you have a blast riding it
now you have me thinking,would that bike be capable of carrying say two loaded panniers on the back 15 pound in each ..i would imagine it would tip along much faster than my sherpa especally on hills.

[Paulson]

Jags, I've just been out for an inaugural 15 mile spin, still trying to get the words right to express the feeling!

Tour weight - it has front & rear rack mounts, and Thorn reckon LIGHT to MEDIUM touring, I think the max weight suggested is 10kg all round, not sure how it would handle then.

Yes, speed wise, although heavier than my Orbea Aqua roadie, I was getting 22-23mph up some lovely long gradients with the wind at my back!!!

I've removed the super DX tourist rack for 'normal' riding.

[Paulson]

Can't be bothered to re write it, so - full 'first ride' report and some more pics on my blog....

here: http://paulmor.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/first-impressions/

[rualexander]

Just curious but what's the story with the single red spoke on each wheel?

[Paulson]

The single red spoke is, I suspect, a roadie affectation, and is explained thus:

I purchased a set of wheels last year for my road bike - American Classic 'Victory' wheels.  They're  a lovely set with super light rims and very nice sealed hubs, and my thought when purchasing the Audax was simply to transfer them onto it - which is what I did, although I removed the horrible white and red flashes from the rims first.

The guy in the shop said it was a feature demanded by road riders, the red spoke is the one adjacent to the valve, although that sounds a bit daft to me - if you have trouble finding the valve on your wheel when brandishing a pump, you probably should not be allowed out unsupervised!

[rualexander]

Thanks Paulson, I guess maybe in a race or time trial situation knowing where the valve is at a glance might save a second or two.

[mikerr]

Hi Paul,
Well, your bike has turned out a real 'beauty'. I am sure it rides as good as it looks.
Mike

[Paulson]

Hi Paul,
Well, your bike has turned out a real 'beauty'. I am sure it rides as good as it looks.
Mike

Mike, thanks.  Yes, the money spent on getting the tricky bits done by LBS was well spent - and without repeating my thoughts so far, it's everything I hoped it would be and much more!
More pics later on.
Paul

[travelling]

Thanks for posting the pictures paulson

From time to time it's refreshing to see something different than the old boring matt black/green thorns. I hope hope it brings you as much happyness riding it as it seems to have given you in the build

[vik]

Just curious but what's the story with the single red spoke on each wheel?

What I've heard, but not confirmed is that on light roadie wheels the single off coloured spoke is heavier guage than the rest used to balance the tube's valve that's opposite it.