Slim Chance Completed!

[settemarche]

guess i never got around to taking or posting any of the completed pics of the Slim Chance. originally was the stock metallic magenta color. the original owner had it painted years later into Chameleon Fade by master builder and craftsman Tom Kellogg of Spectrum Cycles. Chameleon is one of my favorite paint schemes but the cable routing noodles under the bottom bracket needed some R & R.

i sent the bike back to Spectrum for an estimate. the noodles would have to be taken off with new ones added or removed and a new style plastic cable route added. i opted for the new style plastic router with a Ti mounting bolt. Spectrum ground off the rusted noodles and then tapped the bottom bracket - done.

with the work on the bottom bracket there was no way to save the paint. i really liked the Chameleon Fade - but the fade paint schemes are pretty pricey. Mr. Kellogg had just weeks prior painted a Chris Chance in Team Violet. he send me some pics and it looked great. the paint was on hand too so the turn around time would be less. i decided that the Slim would me my Team Violet Fat Chance!

Build List:
1992 Slim Chance - Team Violet: 56
King Sotto Voce Headset
Campy Chorus 10spd Drivetrain
Ultra Torque Crank
Skeleton Brakes
Fairwheel Bikes DT Swiss 240/ Kinlin XR300 wheelset
Salsa Stem
NOS 3T Forma SL Ergo bar
Selle Italia Flite Ti
Campy Athena Aero seat post - annodized black!
Continental Gatorskins 700x23

 

[colker]

beautifull... dow do you like those wheels? they give you a harsher ride than low profile rims.
also.. try a -17

 

[colker]

classy build...

 

[rthomer]

That's a nice bike....how's the fit and the ride?

 

[settemarche]

hey Colker,

great to hear from you. i am glad that you approve of the build.

with regard to the wheels... i am not sure if they are stiffer than regular - i have never ridden any other road wheels before. they do seem stiffer than my cross bike, but that has wider and softer tires. not a good comparo.

the wheels do catch air which really surprised me. i was riding down a steep hill close to the house and there was a pretty good wind blowing. it seems like the blade spokes and thick rim profile catch the wind! it really caught me off guard and almost blew me into the curb. other than that one issue the wheelset has been pretty good. i think the steel frame also takes the edge off as well.

and the bike fit - we are still sorting it all out. i did do a pro fit with a zero offset Thompson post and there was not enough set back to get me into the correct position. just recently i got the Campy post anodized black and i have not been back to finish the bike fit. so the seat position will change for sure.

ciao,

Sette

 

[rthomer]

I do think Colker's right about the wheels...

And it just so happens that I have a real sweet set of super light, low profile, Rolf Elan's (black) ready to go with a Campy freehub.

Just in case your considering.

 

[settemarche]

That's a nice bike....how's the fit and the ride?

RTH,

the bike is super cool. it seems really compliant over the bumps. i have a Lemond Poprad cross bike that is made of TrueTemper Ox Plat. so it is pretty comfy. but the Slim is better even with the deep dish wheels.

as for the fit... still working that out. i went to finalfit.com and got pretty dialed in, full motion capture, the whole nine yards - but tried to used the zero offset seat post. i could not get the correct positioning. now with the Campy set back i need to go back and fine tune everything.

Sette

 

[rthomer]

The saddle location (fore and aft) is critical of course, everything works around that (IMHO). The stem and reach looks out there, but of course I have no idea of your measurements.

I'm not a big fan of anatomic bars, a shorter reach bar may be helpful in combination with a stem with more angle (like Colker said).

Deda and Oval Concepts still make some nice "Classic" 26.0 bars in varying reaches and drops.

 

[colker]

borrow a pair of low profile rim wheels from your lbs and take it for a ride.
tall rims are good for speed. they keep momentum. climbing and all around riding are better suited w/ open pros laced to 32h hubs.

as far as fit... ride it a lot. if your muscles tell you to move the saddle then do it. fit is dynamic.
if you move your knees closer to pedal axle w/ your saddle forward, you will spin more. you may become more fluid on the bike. to me road riding is about being fluid and smooth.

i feel my road bike w/ steep angles and freaking 21"tires is more comfortable on bone jarring pavement than my wicked w/ fat 2.1 knobbies. those italians have perfected geometry on these machines to the point you can ride all day for 15 days striaght on every road you can find as long as you have the legs to push tall gears.

get a regal or turbo saddle and it's heaven.

 

[smittylube]

Nice Job Jeff. Looks great

Steve

 

[Spikes]

Amazing job. I really dig that color. Hope to find some decals too one day.....

 

[SLIMJOE]

Bellisimo

im in Love!:kissyface

 

[tvcreative]

tasty refurb

Got off the phone with spectrum...

he told me he had decals...for slim chance

expensive around $600 to do it up right with proper attention to paint, rust , and decals

I recently picked up a 54

will try to chronicle the journey with pix before and after....

 

[settemarche]

Hey T.V.,

hopefully Tom does have the "Slim" decals. when i was talking to him he had just done another Slim for a non FatCogs member but he only had the "Chris Chance" decals. so you might want to verify that he indeed has Slim decals. i was under the impression that YoKris in Germany had the only remaining set of original Slim decals.

on another note i would highly recommend adding the non painted nickle plated drop out option to your paint job. with the rear sliding drop outs you really need a super strong clamping force skewer. my drop outs are painted and i was running some Pinarello/MOST carbon skewers. they are feather light but made to be used in a socket style drop out. one day when i was climbing, i mashed the pedals down the rear wheel just shifted in the drop outs. super pissed. it tore up the paint on the drop out and skuffed the paint on the inside of the chain stay. new Campy skewers fixed the problem but, i think with out the paint on the drop out maybe there would not have been any shifting in the first place???

what color are you thinking about??? my second choice was the Imron blue from the 1992 catalog Slim. really good looking color.

keep us posted,

Sette

 

[tvcreative]

54 slim

I haven't gotten around to paint yet...I will double check with Spectrum again regarding Slim decals.

I will post pix tomorrow of bike before paint tomorrow