Wednesday 9 October 2013

On One...It's a rinky dink Pink Panther One Off!

MTB Upgraditis


This Upgraditis is a stubborn disease, I knew how contagious it can be having already fallen prey to it myself, but I wasn't quite prepared for how frequently it recurs - and it appears to return with added vigour each time. However, on the upside, my latest bout has resulted in some quality upgrades, if I do say so myself!
The boyfriend triggered the latest attack, bless him...for an early birthday prezzy he decided to treat me to the beautiful (pretty and strong) pink Chris King, Sotto Voce headset and ...
a rather tasty looking quick-release skewer, by A2Z (in pink - of course!) and...
this nifty Salsa flip-lock seat-post clamp (possibly the best quick-release & certainly the sexiest seat-post clamp on the market, with a nice and smooth cam-lock action).

The more observant among you will no doubt have noticed that this was no mild flare-up of upgraditis. In the top picture you will see that the old black gear cables have been replaced with Clarkes pink gear cable kit, with cable oilers to help keep the full-length outers running smoothly.
The real biggy for me, however, has to be the pretty-in-pink and just damn-well awesome, Hope Pro II hubs on Stan's Crest tubeless rims.
 To say that I've been lucky to get these upgrades is an understatement. Yeah, Dave, I am not worthy (how many girls get treated to Chris King?)...but the Hope hubs on Stan's Crest rims...well, that's another story. Dave and I found a site; On Yer Bike Cycles that offered Hope hubs in pink, on Stan's Crest tubeless rims, and for a very reasonable sum too. Well, I couldn't order them quick enough! Not only was I finally changing out clunky wheels for some light, tubeless ones, but they were gonna be real beauties in pink! Fast-forward one week and I'd heard no news at all about my lovely wheels so we called On Yer Bikes Cycles...and get this...turns out Hope don't do this particular wheel build...fight back tears...wait a mo...but...after a day of wrangling with the guys at Hope, these heroes of mine only flippin managed to persuade them to build the wheels! One very grateful email and a week later and my bike was donning the blingest of bling wheels that I could have ever dreamed of and I was feeling very special with my one-off wheel-build. I know that a lot of people are already riding tubeless, but this was my first time and the difference has been like changing from square wheels to round!
I love my bike...but I could not have it half as sweet as this without the guys at On Yer Bike Cycles...oh, and Dave - the thoughtful, bike-bonkers bf ...cheers guys, love ya!!

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