The long Easter weekend presented the ideal opportunity to do a little snagging, some of those irksome little jobs around the fleet that were relatively straightforward but required what might be termed "quiet time" to perfect and the Holdsworth was a case in point. Being a summer build with regular component revisions, the inevitable nicks had cropped up around the otherwise flawless "old boots tough" finish. Capable of resiting a hammer blow, powder coating forms a supple, protective skin around the metal. However, in high stress areas such as the seat tube, compression of the ears caused by tightening and tweaking of the binder bolt can result in flaking, betraying the protective silver chromate beneath.
5012 is not an uncommon colour but getting the exact shade proved tricky so I laboriously mixed a perfect match from these tins and applied it lovingly to the affected areas in the gentle April sunlight. While the first coat cured, the post arrived bang on cue with these fixed lock rings. However, my sunshine turned shady upon discovering neither would come close to breezing aboard the corresponding hubs. This was frustrating as I’d timed these little jobs to coordinate-especially since the house and time were unusually very much my own. 
Research confirmed encroaching suspicions that Miche require a dedicated type so I dropped Company Z, their UK importer a quick email to see if they could recommend, or better still, supply me with a compatible unit. No sooner had I powered up the PC and sent the email, the touch up enamel had dried sufficiently for a second application. Pedants will note the brush just caught the binder bolt but being chrome, any excess will lift clean off courtesy of a quick scratch from my fingernail. Half an hour in the temperate spring sun and the second coat was two parts cured so I hung the Holdsworth safely on its rightful hook in the workshop. 
Easter Sunday’s twenty mile morning blast certainly made best use of our seasonably changeable climate and saw me questioning not only my very brave colour scheme but more importantly, handlebar positioning. Upon returning home and reflecting in the kitchen with a cup of diesel strength coffee, I slackened the stem clamp and rotated the pursuit bars downward, in a more aggressive stance which also falls more naturally to hand. 
A fair bit of scouring (virtually and in person) suggests the ITM Olympus aero bars are obsolete to the point where spares are literally non-existent so I’ve pandered to my urges and secured these from the helpful folk at Greyville. Elementary and moreover, secure fitting coupled with easy adjustability wins them brownie points and even the computer still works perfectly, despite being moved and now somewhat askew of the sensor. I may well bind inner tube around the arms for greater comfort and further refine positioning but they could prove the fastest 500g I’ve added to said beast. The package arrved complete with reducing rubber shims meaning they can be migrated to the Teenage Dream or indeed any other machine with standard road bars should need arise.
Some would argue there are plenty of broadly similar and therefore, ITM compatible brackets lolling about thanks to badge engineering where two, or indeed more brands are identical, save for the decals. Now, I’m a real lover of experimentation and rummaging through the spares bin can reap great reward but as the lock-ring saga demonstrates, this can be rather akin to looking for a ruby in the proverbial mountain of rocks. Reverting to the arguably beautiful Nitto combo would make good use of the Race-Stick Spinacci copies but I upgraded the cockpit in the interests of shorter reach and improved rigidity for no-compromise hammering.
Spring snagging also tackled the Teenage Dream’s rear brake housing which has always been a fraction to short, resulting in the rear calliper binding when turning the bars sharply, carving into swooping descents etc. This also presented an ideal opportunity to upgrade the bar wrap. In fairness, there wasn’t much wrong with the entry level stuff that coincided with the New Year rebirth but the measure of good quality tape, aside from the obvious comfort, abrasion resistance and style is how often it can be peeled back and reaffixed. 
You get what you pay for and sadly, said budget brand tore despite being very gently peeled from the bars. It now sports some curious, if strangely tactile rubberised Lizard Skins wrap. This requires slightly higher levels of concentration to apply but promises unparalleled grip-even in torrential rain and I’m really looking forward to putting it to the test. Proof of the pudding is in the next few hundred miles… 