As is visible from my puffed up chest, I’m quite and entirely satisfied with myself in that the only parts I had to purchase in frankenshtein’ing El Naranja together was a set of crank bolts (and, yeah, that fantastically fantastic headset press tool I DIY’d if you wanna be picky). And the only reason I had to shell out money for the bolts is because I couldn’t remember where I’d stored the spares I know I have around here somewhere.
The one thing I didn’t buy despite a desperate need for it was handlebar tape, but I figured I’d make the excessively ratty and rapidly decomposing existing wrap work out for as long as I could.
Turns out there was a subconscious reason why I didn’t buy any either: I already had some. See, whilst making a an after-the-fact twelfth meaningless and futile rifle through the completely unorganized Box O’ Bike Stuff, where I could swear the crankbolts are supposed to be in (but still aren’t), I instead found something better: what’s easily a 4-year-old brand new package of bar tape purchased three bikes ago when The Phoenix still roamed this earth.
How do I know the completely forgotten wrap was for The Phoenix, and not Le Noir or 8Ball? Because of its color — coincidentally an absolutely ideal choice for El Naranja:
What hangs around goes around!
PS. I’m still on the hunt for those crankbolts, dammit!