copperTNEZ's Blank 5

This bike looks really really nice. And I like how you used a lot of different companies in the parts. LOL. For me if a frame is black or raw it only looks good if there is some color elsewhere. You've got a good eye for what looks good. Hopefully it rides as nice as it looks. A local shop by me carries WTP bikes and I'm intrigued by how short they make their chainstays on a lot of their models. I think they're in the 12" range. Some people say that's too short and makes manuals hard too... I have no clue. Be nice to hear what you think about it.

Thanks for the kind words! I have been getting lots of compliments on my bike as of late, it means alot.

I am very happy to report it rides 10X nicer than it looks! I might make a change to 10/3 shadow bars to see if I like them better than 12/2 that the double space bars I have on now, probably not necessary tho. I came from a 13.3 backend and I am really loving 13.1" but I don't think I'd like much shorter. I ran it around 12.9 with a 28t when I first got it but I found manuals to be to finicky with my current stem & bar rise combo and the chain alignment was not optimal.

I always loved WTP's style & colorways. What model where you looking at specifically?

The local shop has a green Arcade that looks nice. But to me the bars are really short and I'm not sure I wanna try such an extremely short chainstay. They look like good bikes but I'm a bit of an anti German company person too. LOL. I shouldn't be but my Grandpa died in France fighting the Germans and I still carry a grudge. Although I have some German in my heritage on the other side of the family. I could go on and on about Germans I've met and German cars and I'm just not sure I wanna deal or buy from a German company.

I hear that, my friends give me tons of shit for anything not american made. Reminds me of this Norm McDonald bit lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdtafGdIVM

I'm not completely against buying stuff from somewhere else. It IS nice to buy American stuff but it's not really doable with a lot of stuff any longer. Plus we know most parts are being made overseas. I'm just prejudiced against German companies. LOL. Plus it's nice to buy from an American company, even if they manufacture stuff elsewhere. They still bring revenue and jobs to our country. It's a complete bonus if you're buying a product from an American Company that was made in America. But there is not a whole lot of that going on with consumer goods.

Just my 2 cents.

There is a flipside. I have been buying Fords lately and we've had Chevy's. If I were really supporting local businesses I'd buy a Jeep or Chrysler cuz they still make engines in a Factory really close to me. But man I've never had good luck with that brand and know too many people that haven't either. And the Americans can't just rest on their laurels. That's what happened in the 80's. American cars just sucked. And they got their come up ins by the Japanese showing them how it's done.