Odachi
1983 Trek 400, 56cm, Silver sparkle
Scrounged 35 cm shallow drops on super-short Sunshine stem
Stock MN-MO
Mavic CXP-33 36h rim, DT Championship double-butted 14-15 spokes, 3c pattern, brass nipples, Ultegra 6500 hub
Mavic CXP-33 36h rim, DT double-butted 14-15 spokes, 3c pattern, brass nipples, Ultegra 6500 hub
Ultegra 6500 double crank 53/39, 105 5500 octalink bb- english thread
Terry Liberator Race saddle, stock fluted alloy seat post
Crank Bros Mallet pedals, 105 9-speed chain
LX 9-spd cassette 11-32, LX rear derailleur, Ultegra 6500 front derailleur, Suntour Barcon shifters
Tektro dual pivot callipers
Cane Creek Crosstop brake levers
Vittoria Open Pave tires (Rubino Pros pictured)
Michelin Airstop tubes
This is my daily rider. This frame went through a couple incarnations before settling into the current one. I bought it at a yard sale for peanuts. It was too big for me but it was so pretty and shiny I just couldn't resist. It originally came with Suntour 6-speed components. I did some research and found out this is a historically significant bike. It's from the first year that Trek started selling foreign-manufactured frames. Under that American paint job is Tange Mangaloy Japanese steel, (Similar in composition to Reynolds 531, but a little heavier.) lugged in the land of the rising sun. "Odachi" (kind of the katana version of a claymore) seemed like a natural name for a shiny, silver, oversized Japanese bike.
Anyway, about the current build: It all started with an Ultegra 6500 rear hub a mechanic sold me. I really like the euro-type styling of the older Ultegra components. The new futuristic direction Shimano's taken with its visuals really doesn't do anything for me. So I had fun hunting down the NOS and gently used parts for this build. This was my first drive train rebuild ever. I wanted this to be my all-in-one road bike. 36-spoke wheels and heavy duty rims for touring/cross durability. MTB cassette/rear der for loaded touring uphill. Double crank for easy shifting/maintenance. Friction shifters for some retro points (and more easy maintenance. And of course, plenty of lugged steel sparkle to convince the hipsters to forget that it's not a fixie. :-P
This was also my first handbuilt wheelset. I built them myself. (Twice, actually, manufacturer's defect in both rims.) And wow, just wow. I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out.
I know this bike is too big for me but I'm enjoying riding it until the ebay gods toss a Miyata touring frame my way. One of these days I'm going to buy racks, fenders and bags and ride these components across europe or something. Other projected upgrades include a pair of cross tires to change out and do some cross riding/racing, replacing the beat up "Trek" seat tube decal, some lighter, smaller pedals, (Maybe even Quattros) a seatpost with an integrated clamp, wider handlebars and maybe, just maybe, some dura ace indexed bar ends. Much as I love friction shifting, a 9-speed cassette may just be too much for it. But hey, if I never do anything else to this bike, I'll still be happy.