All-City Mr. Pink Build, Day #1

I have always wanted a good steel bike, and in the past I admit to have struggled with bad decision making. Like the time I bought a Colnago steel frame and with down tube shifters and sold it off for half what I paid for it because I was too dumb to convert it over to a more ride-able bike.

I found myself with four bikes: two road, my cyclocross rig, and a new mountain bike. I also had a ton of old groupos and miscellaneous parts that were lying around making my porch look like a bike shop and making my wife want to kill me in my sleep. As I re-examined this set up, one thing bothered me...my nice Bontrager Aeolus wheels didn't fit my CAAD 10 frame. The crazy thought hit me that maybe this was time to get rid of the CAAD because as much as I loved it, I never rode it because I just couldn't bear to be off those sweet wheels!

When looking at eBay, I saw a bike I was always interested in, the All-City Mr. Pink. This would allow me to use up to 32 cm tires, so it would definitely work with the Aeolus wheels and also took fenders for riding in crappy weather. The Mr. Pink is touted as a great riding all surface bike, and it would fit the bill. It was so cheap, less than $500, but I just had no cash. I looked a few days later, and it had disappeared. Damn.

I sent all the spare parts and CAAD to the online Facebook swap, and sure enough things sold in a heartbeat. Unbeknownst to me, the Mr. Pink reappeared for sale, and now I was ready to pounce. I offered the seller a lower amount, and he took it! The frameset arrived in fantastic condition. In teh next few weeks I hope you will walk with me through the process of building out a bike.

These are only 23s, but there is room for gigantic tires.

The frame and fork had few if any scratches. I was shocked at the condition.