the bars are on the bars are on

It’s coming together quickly.  The bar/stem combo showed up and against all odds, a 130mm stem and a 57cm top tube, given the drop of the stem, is right on.  I’m very surprised it not only works out fitment wise, but doesn’t look like some abomination.  The bars were advertised as 42cm on center, which was wrong.  They come in a little narrower, which is irritating.  But for $36 shipped, I won’t be choosy for now.  I picked up some black Roubaix Wrap.  I should be riding this by the end of the week.

I tracked down a seatpost using one of the “search every Craigslist” websites.  I ended up connecting with a guy in New Mexico who had a Dura Ace 7400 seatpost that looked to be in great shape.  $15.  Should be here in a few days.  I’m going to not chicken out and try the Brooks saddle.  It looks way too appropriate on the bike not to give it a shot.  I’ll break it in on some lunch rides and hope for the best.

I cleaned up the brakes and gave them new pads of the SwissStop Green variety.

I started to wonder about refinishing the frame, since it seems likely this is going to work out.  This is something I would probably do next season, after I’ve put some time on it.  Historically, one would contact Serotta and inquire about getting the work done there.  They’ve refinished untold numbers of their own frames.  Sadly, that’s no longer possible:

-Serotta was acquired by Divine Cycling Group in 2013 and was shut down months later.

-After the Divine acquisition, a number of Serotta employees operated independently out of the old factory under the name Saratoga Frameworks.  This group was still doing Serotta refinishing work.

-Saratoga Frameworks ceased operations last month.

-Devine went bankrupt in December of 2013 so now everything is toast.

The Serotta braintrust is still out there.  I’ve been following former custom builder and head of R&D Dave Kirk for a while on Facebook.  I reached out to him about getting the frame redone and got two names – Bill McDonald and Joe Bell.  Bill was Serotta’s head painter.  I’ve emailed him a few times but he only responds one sentence at a time.  Joe was on the list of authorized frame refinishers and does paintwork for Dave, but I haven’t reached out to him yet.  Here’s that list, which I am re-posting from this PDF in case it goes away.

UNITED STATES
ARIZONA
BOHEMIAN BICYCLES
David Bohm
Tucson, AZ
520-440-3094
davidbohm@bohemianbicycles.com

CALIFORNIA
AIRART
Russ Pickett
Chico, CA
530-342-7802

ED LITTON CYCLES
Point Richmond, CA
510-237-1132
edlitton@sbcglobal.net

D&D CYCLES
Rick Stefani
San Lorenzo, CA
510-278-6553
stefani@comcast.net

JOE’S BICYCLE PAINTING
Joe Vasquez
Watsonville, CA
831-768-8540
joesbicyclepainting@gmail.com

IDEAL BICYCLE PAINTING
Mark Bunton
Marina, CA
831-521-3801
mb@mbent.net

CYCLART
Susan Cunningham
San Marcos, CA
760-599-1015
cyclartist@aol.com

VINTAGE BICYCLE STUDIO
Brian Baylis
El Cajon, CA
619-449-5977
brianbaylis@juno.com

JOE BELL
Spring Valley, CA
619-469-4312
joebell@juno.com

THE CYCLESMITHS
Jim Allen
Ranchita, CA
760-782-2737
jimallen@nctimes.net

WANTA FRAMES
Allan Wanta
Carlsbad, CA
760-720-1063
allan.wanta@sbcglobal.net

COLORADO
GANGL CUSTOM CYCLES
Rich Gangl
Golden, CO
303-241-4039
gangl@aol.com

BOULDER BIKE CRAFTERS
Todd Kissinger
Nederland, CO
303-258-7496
http://www.boulderbikecrafters.com

CONNECTICUT
J.P. WEIGLE CYCLES
Peter Weigle
Lyme, CT
860-434-0700
jpweigle@sbcglobal.net

FLORIDA
VILLIN CYCLE WORKS
Gainsville, FL
352-372-3015
joe81lm@yahoo.com

JONATHAN GREENE
Oviedo, FL
407-496-5075
jon3084@aol.com

GEORGIA
ZUKAS CYCLES
Nate Zukas
Augusta, GA
706-724-2453
nzukas@yahoo.com

AIRGLOW, INC.
Washington, GA
706-678-4569
airglowhill@yahoo.com

IDAHO
G FORSE BIKES
Steve Forsness
Hayden, ID
203-772-7427
gforse@earthlink.net

IOWA
JEFF BOCK
Des Moines, IA
515-232-9593
jeffbock@ix.netcom.com

MASSACHUSETTS
HOT TUBES
Tobias Stanton
Shirley, MA
978-425-9033
hottubes91@aol.com

MICHIGAN
DOUG FATTIC
Niles, MI
269-684-6761
fatticbicycles@qtm.net

ASSENMACHER CYCLING CENTER
Swartz Creek, MI 48473
810-635-7844
ride531@assenmachers.com

MINNESOTA
CHRIS KVALE
Minneapolis, MN
612-724-8843
chriskvalecycles@gmail.com

NEW JERSEY
COLOR FACTORY
Waretown, NJ
Bruce Risely
609-242-0665
bhrisely@yahoo.com

NEW MEXICO
PORTER CUSTOM BICYCLES
Dave Porter
Albuquerque, NM
505-352-1378
frogeye@portercustom.com

NEW YORK
VICIOUS CYCLES
Carl Schlemowitz
New Paltz, NY
845-883-4303
info@viciouscycles.com

NORTH CAROLINA
THE BICYCLE SHOP
Jack Kane
Jacksonville, NC
910-455-1011
jack@thebicycle.com

OHIO
FRANKLIN FRAMES
Newark, OH
704-763-3838
franklinframes@alltel.net

OREGON
CLASS ACT PAINT & POWDER
Portland, OR
503-254-6400
leeann@classactpp.com

KEITH ANDERSON CYCLES
Grants Pass, OR
541-471-4114
info@keithandersoncycles.com

RAD FINISHES
Gene Powell
Portland, OR
971-219-5307
info@radfinishes.com

COAT/VANILLA WORKSHOP
Mike Elias
Portland, OR
503-233-2453
mike.vanillabicycles@gmail.com

PENNSYLVANIA
FRESH FRAME
Bryan Meyers
York, PA
info@freshframe-oem.com

SPECTRUM CYCLES
Tom Kellogg
Breinigsville, PA
610-398-1986
spectrum.tom@gmail.com

BILENKY CYCLES
Steve Bilenky
Philadelphia, PA
215-329-4744
painting@bilenky.com

RHODE ISLAND
APPONAG GARAGE
Billy Rounds
Warwick, RI
401-737-8766

CIRCLE A CYCLES
Chris Bull
Providence, RI
401-831-5221
info@circleacycles.com

TEXAS
SOUTHWEST FRAMEWORKS
David Cheekas
Dallas, TX
214-358-2579
david@southwestframeworks.com

LEYVA’S UNIQUE DESIGNS
Ernesto Leyva
Denton, TX
940-597-9339
konaleyva@yahoo.com

HARRISON PAINT
David Somers
Harrison, TX
423-344-3859
davidsomers@charter.net

AIREDALE PAINT
Jon Etheredge
Austin, TX
512-308-7289
jon@airedale.com

UTAH
CYCLE FANTACY
David Wilburn
Hurricane, UT
435-635-1530
nutzograndma@yahoo.com

VIRGINIA
CLASSIC CYCLES
Gordon Freeman
Portsmouth, VA
757-393-4498
cycclass@verizon.net

WASHINGTON STATE
ELLIOTT BAY BIKES
Bob Freeman
Seattle, WA
206-441-8144
ebbikes@aol.com

WISCONSIN
WATERFORD PRECISION CYCLES
Waterford, WI
262-534-4190
wpc@waterfordbikes.com

YELLOW JERSEY
Andrew Muzi
Madison, WI
608-257-4737
amuzi@yellowjersey.org

CANADA
HARRISON RESTORATIONS
David Harrison
Vancouver, BC
604-224-5736
info@harrisonrestoration.com

DEKERF CYCLE INNOVATIONS
Chris DeKerf
Richmond, BC
604-241-1143
info@dekerf.com

VELOCOLOR
Noah Rosen
Toronto, ON
647-501-8166
velocolor@gmail.com

AUSTRALIA
CYCLE DESIGNS
Joe Cosgrove
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
073 275 1442
cycledesigns@optisnet.com.au

SWITZERLAND
SPEEDBICYCLES GmbH
Stefan Schaefter
Basel, Switzerland
0041-61-322-06-42
stefan@speedbicycles.ch