Prepped

Picked up the frame and fork from the LBS the other day. I dropped it off just to have the head tube and BB shell raced and faced, but immediately realized there was other work I needed them to do for me because I do not have the tools (or know-how for that matter) to do so. These tasks included reaming the seat tube, racing the fork crown, and installing the headset (and fork subsequently). After considering the time, effort and cost involved for me to apply frame saver I had the professionals do that as well. The assembly is coming along well so far. I've built the wheels and will have a forthcoming blog post on that process. I still need to true them though. A job I'm not looking forward to based on previous experiences with truing wheels. Little by little the Soma Smoothie is making its way to completion. I still have a few of odds and ends to secure - handlebar plugs, headset spacers and front derailleur clamp - that will hold up the assembly for a bit, but at the pace I'm going right now being short a few parts is only a minor bump in the road. The salmon pink color of the Chris King headset really pops out against the white frame. I like it. A lot.

Pretty, Strong: Chris King NoThreadset

Choosing a headset was not a very tough decision. I had already been wanting to get matching Chris King hubs and headset. Even though I decided to forgo the hubs for another brand I still had designs on the NoThreadSet. This headset has a solid reputation and a great selection of colors, perhaps the only manufacturer of headsets to offer pink. The bike is going to be white with black and chrome or alloy components. Having a little something colorful on it will be a nice touch.

This 2008 "Pretty and Strong" set was made in a darker shade than previous models. A change I see as an improvement. I prefer it over its lighter, pastel predecessor. It will be hard to match any other components in the same pink though. It might just have to be the only pink component on the bike, which could actually turn out to be a good thing. In design color is a good tool to individualize or assign significance. In a correspondence with a staffer at Chris King I inquired about the difference in shades. What I learned is that the variety is due sometimes to a conscientious choice and sometimes to "the nature of the science behind anodization." The current production was a decision to go with a bolder, "copper salmon" shade. Coincidently, or maybe not such a coincidence, the new copper salmon pink reflects the importance of its fishy namesake in the culture of Portland, Oregon (home of Chris King Precision Components) and the Pacific Northwest (home of me).