Calipers done...my first mod!

[Mad Ryan]

The problem with paint is that brake fluid can remove it in an instant, plus in a few years you will need to redo your calipers.

Powder coating costs a couple hundred (you also have to be without your calipers for a couple weeks) but the end result is a thousand times better.

You're getting ripped off! I have 3 places within 10 miles of my house that would do a set of calipers for under a hundered for the whole set and have them back in a few days at most. I may be getting the wheels done in black because there was a big scuff in one of them and the dealer is 200mi away. I talked to the dealer and they were happy to consider a partial deal where I get all 4 wheels Powder coated black (I like black better) which is cheaper than getting them prepped and painted the same silver that Mazda uses. I just may get the calipers done at the same time.

 

[Mad Ryan]

...Speaking of upgrades...I've been trying to get a Dean Colonel mountain bike for the last two years. I can never find the $3k to get it. Oh well, as Jimmy (Buffett) says, "Someday I will...."

I really dig the Dean bikes. I have a custom Ti bike (So does the wifey) and I really love it. It's the last hardtail I'll ever need or want. I have owned several bikes alond with it and they come and go but it's the one with soul that I always grab first when the opportunity arises for a ride. In fact, speaking of upgrades, I just scored a set of Avid Ultimates for it so I'm stoked! Talk about brakes!

 

[mcstark]

Yeah...Avid's are the s***! I had a pair of Tri-Aligns back in the day -- paid $120 a pair for them.

 

[Mad Ryan]

Here's the wifey's ride without the wheels...

 

[Mad Ryan]

Yeah...Avid's are the s***! I had a pair of Tri-Aligns back in the day -- paid $120 a pair for them.

Ya know... Jenson USA has some Jamis Dragon frames that are really nice. Reynolds 853, handbuilt, lifetime warranty, disc tabs, etc. You can score one for about $399 or so and build it up. Then when you have the scratch you can spring for the Dean frame and VIOLA! Custom Dean! Course, you might decide you like the Jamis so much that you keep it. It'd be my second choice for a XC platform. It's gonna ride the same as a good Ti bike but it's just not gonna have the resistance to corrosion and fatigue that one gets from Titanium.