Me and My Shadow

The run of bad luck continues…

   Removing the Pinarello decals from the Vuelta frame was fairly easy, since they were flaking badly in the first place. I also found a helpful tip to loosen the remaining material, using a liquid with which I was very familiar. MicroSol is a product used by modelers to soften decals so that they conform to details on molded plastic. I have used MicroSol many times on model railroad freight cars and locomotives that I have custom painted and decaled.

   Unfortunately attempts to smooth the clear coat lines that were left around the removed letters did not go well. The ScratchX product that had been recommended didn’t do much besides leave a nice shine – no complaints there, but the clear coat lines remained.

   My hope that the Velocals would line up in the letter “voids” and negate the problem didn’t work out either. I figured they would be historically accurate, but the spacing (or kerning, as some call it) between the letters was slightly different, which made each letter slightly off even more as you view them left to right.

   Putting the Velocals in the proper spot was complicated by the fact that the original decals weren’t exactly centered on each side of the downtube. In addition, the application process involves spraying water over the area to allow repositioning before the aggressive adhesives lock down the lettering, and when wet, the clear coat lines I was using as a general guide practically disappeared. Finally, the decal backing paper was opaque, so I couldn’t get a very good view of the results as I was working. As it stands, the lettering looks like a drop-shadow effect used in artistic fonts.

   At first I thought, “Well it looks a whole lot better than the flaking old decals, and someone would only notice when looking close up, “ but I am far more finicky than that to just let it go as-is. Having to buy another set of (not cheap) Velocals is a bit frustrating, but I want it to look right – and more appealing to a prospective buyer! I could apply the letters individually into each empty space, using painters tape in combination with some guide lines drawn on the backing paper, but that would take hours to do each side of the frame! I contacted Velocals about a possible re-print using the correct spacing dimensions (which I could provide), and I’m waiting for a reply.

   A local college student asked me to help him find a bicycle with the intent that he was going to get into racing soon. I had found on craigslist a Pinarello FP2 at a very good price, which included a wonderful extra wheelset and cassette. This bike was identical to mine, except with a different color scheme, and because I love mine, I was a bit shocked that my buyer was indecisive. He thought the bike was of a more recreational level, and I quickly pointed out that it was essentially the same design that Bradley Wiggins and Alejandro Valverde rode to Grand Tour victories, just with a lesser grade of carbon fiber and without the elite-level component groups. This is a RACING BICYCLE!

   Anyway, he ended up getting something else, but I wasn’t going to let the fantastic deal go, since I knew I could find a buyer. A friend of mine contacted me soon afterwards to buy the Pinarello, and the wheelset was used on a build for another friend, so I had made a nice profit. I couldn’t possibly get by that easy, could I?

   No. My friend Scott called after he had tried to move the saddle down slightly, and the seatpost wouldn’t budge. The FP2 has an aluminum sleeve in the seat tube, and the previous owner did not lubricate the aluminum seatpost before inserting it into the bike. Needless to say, the two like metal surfaces had oxidized and fused together!

   I won’t go into all the attempts made by me and my pals at Bikesport to free the post, but it seemed that I might be faced with shipping the problem to a carbon frame expert, who assured us he has handled this issue many times and could take care of it. However, the expense of the process, plus the shipping both ways, would put me into a deficit on this transaction.

   The brilliant Bikesport guys came up with a “Plan C” that involved cutting the seatpost flush with the seat tube and then buying a replacement post that has an outside diameter that will fit inside the part that is stuck in the frame. They will use the existing slot in the back of the seat tube as a guide to cut a matching slot in the back of the post to allow expansion/contraction, so the seat tube bolt can do its intended job as well.

   One recent positive for me is that the headset spacer arrived, fit perfectly and I was able to finish up the Schwinn Paramount bicycle. I like the look of this rather inexpensive build (now for sale):