Genesis half life weight loss and colour change.

Ultra lightweight Genesis Day 01.  Latest invisible wheels, forks, saddle, bars etc.

Over the last week or more, I've been bike hoping while the Genesis "has had work done."   Following the bike fit a couple of weeks ago, the Genesis had the realisation of "well, the seat pins stuck, so something is going to have to be sorted!"   

• Option 1: stick in the wrong position and slowly damage me; 
• Option 2: remove the seat pin, risk a fair bit of frame damage and possibly need respraying.

Option 2 was picked.   I contacted Mercian Cycles in Derby to see if they could do the work for me.   After a lot of muscle force, the pin didn't budge, but a blowtorch did the trick.  It also removed the paint.   Mercian gave the exposed steel an undercoat, but ultimately, the frame is going to have to be completely resprayed.  So while the frame is being touched, a few mods are in store too.

As a word on Mercian, they are a class act, steeped in history and famous links.  Their history page is worth a read and being a Derbyshire born lad, I've drooled over their frames a fair few times.   They have a distinctive style, and I love spotting their bikes around the Midlands - there's a cyclist around Loughborough I often see with a well used Mercian and I'd guess it has some stories to tell.   Standing in their workshop is an amazing experience - you get to see proper bikes being built, by hand by people with files, torches and hammers.   There's no CAAD, plastic moulds or CNC'ing here to pop out a cookie cutter bike.  And the frame builders know what they're doing and very supportive of your ideas and suggestions.  Top notch!

I've striped the frame (as seen in the pic), and the previously external Di2 is going to go internal.   As the seatpost is now destroyed, I have a new Kenesis seat pin ready to go along with an internal Di2 battery.   To do the cable routing, holes are going to be drilled for the runs front to back and up the seat tube.  Once all the drilling is done, the frame will be stripped of the orange, primed and resprayed.  I have picked a colour which will be revealed in a few weeks time.   Picking a colour has been one of the most contentious choices I can make and I've had a couple of weeks looking at cars, Pinterest, getting friends and families idea over what colour it should go.  I even flipped colour in the workshop.  It's going to look amazing.  My frame now is in their capable hands and expected to be with them for maybe 4 weeks or so before I can collect it.  I'm not going to push patience on this one, because I've heard how valuable their time is and how much attention they give to the finish - even Paul Smith had to wait his turn when he wanted a customer build.

For it's pre-stripped form, this is what the 46,254km bike looked like.

It'll return, but not in this colour/form!

Now that the bike is at 46,000km, I'm guessing it is maybe half life.  It'll go many more miles and Mercian will seal the frame internally to protect it and keep it going longer.  Part of me wants to get this frame over the 100,000km mark; while the other part of me would love to have a bespoke Mercian commissioned to replace it.   If it's going to be replaced, I better get riding those missing 53,746km's.