i'm a stripper

...a paint stripper actually (photo by Cherrybomber). Now who in his/their right mind would want to apply StripSol to a brand new new mountain bike frame? We do! Here's the gist:

After taking stock at the amount of leftover bicycle parts we had lying around (that's what happens when you convert your geared bikes to singlespeed), me and Cherrybomber decided to build up a loaner bike with these parts:

Sun CR18 wheelset
Shimano Alivio groupset (cranks, cogs, mechs, etc)
Suntour XC75 fork
choice of 3 straight bars
stubby bar ends
Cane Creek headset
Azonic shorty stem
Tektro V-brakes
WTB Rocket V saddle
Panaracer Fire tires

The only brand new items we'd have to buy was a frame, a pair of grips and pedals that came in size Small. Why small? Turns out we know a few ladies who are curious about the sport, and would like to try it out. The frame can also fit an average (5'7") person with a stem swap. The smallest frame we could find was a GT Avalanche in size 13". So we dubbed it Project Ava. Frame came with a seatpost and seatclamp too.

We're stripping the paint coz we will be powdercoating the frame a nice baby blue hue.That paint stripper is nasty stuff!

Target date for the build is Christmas. Cherrybomber is putting the finishing touches (rather, scraping off the remaining paint), and it's off to the powdercoater for a few days. Seeing that all we need to do is have it powdercoated, we're way ahead of schedule!