Toys

Everyone knows, half the reason we are into cycling is playing with the big boy toys. Its fun to buy gucci stuff, dream about riding it, talk about it and generally geek out about titanium, anodizing, carbon fiber, weld beads and fatigue life.

I fully admit, I am in this camp. I love bike parts. Art and function together, plus I get to ride the parts to some really cool places.

So part of the fun with this trip is getting the bike ready. Buying all the toys. Assembling the steed that will take me to these wonderful experiences.

The moving parts. These are what excite me the most. Its probably because there is such detail in the high end bike industry. We get parts of such precision that they should be on an F1 car or a rocketship. Think about it, if a car was built with all its parts being as precise as a King hub, that car would cost a million bucks. Because bicycles are relatively cheaper than cars, we can afford to invest more into high-end stuff.

King hubs. I have owned various sets of King hubs over the past 12 years, and I have never had a problem. They are a natural choice for this bike due to their durability, and of course, bling. Now they are offering them in all kinds of axle choices, so I can match them to my fork and use a stiffer QR in the rear.

Because of their reputation, I am also choosing the King BB. Never had one before, but it should work. And its blue. Gotta match.

Finally, for moving parts, there is the headset. The Cane Creek 110 is my choice. Why choose the CC over the full bike of King? The CC is clearly better with a compression ring to hold the fork in place without squeaks, and who can balk at a 110 year warranty? WOW.

All products I mentioned were purchased by me with no influence from the manufacturers.

Up next? Drivetrain!