Time for another refurb.......! (Parlee Z3 content)

neil.s

I bought my Parlee Z3 frameset 2nd hand off eBay way back in Jan 2009.

This is what it looked like when I got it built up (just came over from many years mountain biking):
Feb 2009


Then, in Jan 2010 I sent it back to Parlee for a refurb as I was loving road cycling and knew I'd never return to mountain biking. This is what it looked like when I got the frame back:
Feb 2010


and built with the custom sprayed 3T Funda forks and new headset:
March 2013



Now, in December 2013 I once again returned the frame to Parlee for a refurb. I had originally wanted to have the paint stripped off and go back to bare carbon, with a matt finish, but after speaking with Tom at Parlee he told me it was such a labour intensive job stripping the paint off that it incurred a high cost (mainly man-hours), as they had to be certain they removed all of the paint from the carbon weave. So, after deciding that was a no go (from a cost point of view - $1000 minimum quoted :shock: :shock: :shock: !) I had to think of something else, and I decided to keep the same colour scheme but to 'play' with it a little.

Anyway, just before Christmas I received this computer generated image from Tom of what the finished refurb should look like (including new-to-me forks).

Needless to say I'm a little excited!
(no idea what the cost will be though - I was scared to ask).

What do you think?

Hopefully Jan 2014!!!!


Roll on the New Year

TakeTurns

That's awesome. I wish more bike firms did this.
Great way of 'recycling' as supposed to buying a new frame for some new excitement.
Now all you've got to do is complete the Enve look and buy the remaining components.

neil.s

I've got the bars and seatpost, can't stretch to wheels. Not sure about the stem, can't decide, but will probably go for another Tune Geiles Teil (like the one in the 1st pic - although for 31.8 bars as opposed 26mm)

michael_roadie

I like the current paint scheme. Don't like the CG one, prefer the clean lines of the current one.

wheelie-bin

Pretty cool

beetle1

Don't mean to be rude at all Neil but I don't like the CGI at all, far too much fuss going on IMHO. With these frames I believe little is more, clean lines etc but obviously its your choice and each to their own. Good to see you sticking with it. How much did the first refurb cost?

pippi_langsamer-2

I'm with the others I'm afraid- your current scheme is way cooler than the proposed one which I don't like at all.

carl_p

Sorry mate but Parlee's are meant to be understated - a bit like Rapha. I prefer the 2009 version. Great bike nonetheless.

MountainMonster

They are all damn sexy, but I think the flames are right on the border. I'd still ride the hell out of it though, the flames and red colours add 3kph to your average

Paul 8v

I like the polka dot bit around the chainstay. If I were being picky I would prefer a different more pointy flame but if you love it that's the main thing.

Cheshire Cat

michael_roadie wrote:

I like the current paint scheme. Don't like the CG one, prefer the clean lines of the current one.

I have to go with the above comment, the current scheme is far nicer...to me they don't look like flames at all, more like the paint has run.

A lovely looking machine all the same.

Big_Ring_Rider

Sorry, but I too agree with the comment above. Such a classy looking bike, but that paint scheme will cheapen it. Keep as is, or revert to original.

maxlite

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

I'm with the others I'm afraid- your current scheme is way cooler than the proposed one which I don't like at all.

Me too, cracking bike tho :-)

declan1

Am I the only person to like the new paint job? :P

It's unique and looks cool!

alihisgreat

declan1 wrote:

Am I the only person to like the new paint job? :P

It's unique and looks cool!

I think its nice too!

Its boring seeing the same dull paint on every bike. Especially the whole 'stealth' look.

Paul 8v

The stealth look is done!

neil.s

I appreciate your comments guys, it's nice to get a bit of feedback

I really wanted to go with the matt carbon finish but that wouldn't be possible, too costly stripping the paint off back to bare carbon. I needed something doing as I had a few chips in the paint, seeing as I couldn't go with my first choice I thought long and hard. I remembered seeing a mountain bike with a similar paint job years ago and thought then that it looked great and that one day my bike would have a similar paint job. It's not meant to look like flames, it's meant to look like running paint.

Like already said, everyone's tastes differ. I think it looks mint, unique, there won't be another like it that's for sure (is that a good thing? :oops: ). We don't to ride all the same bikes do we?

I already had a red polka dot panel on the chainstay, I just wanted to make it complete ring as opposed to the panel (my nod to the guys that can climb, I was hoping some of it might rub off on me - it hasn't happened - perhaps the bigger panel will work!)

Anyway, I'll bung up some pics when I get the frame back.

Cheers chaps

beetle1

Hi Neil, what did Parlee charge for the first paint job

neil.s

Hi beetle

I paid $1000 in total, that wasn't just for the paint though. $200 was return shipping. $250 was for a full frame inspection and transfer of the lifetime warranty to me, so what does that leave? Mmmm...............$550.

Bear in mind that at the time we were getting nearly two dollars to the quid so around £275 for the paint, which was excellent value IMHO. I don't think this one will that cheap, but you never know (I didn't ask for a price :shock: ).

beetle1

Very reasonable, keep your fingers crossed!

wiffachip

Are you off the lard now ?

FransJacques

Go with whatever makes you want to ride the bike more.

Since a lot of folks like the current colours why not strip them back from the gloss to make them matt and more muted? That's much less labour intensive then re-painting the bike b/c you're not stripping, re-spraying and clear coating - instead you're just stripping back then finishing with a matt coat. Might make your frame lighter too

You've gone from a Reynolds fork to the 3T - what can you tell me about the ride differences? Which do you like better?

neil.s

I would only have gone for a matt carbon finish, to match the ENVE bits I've collected to bolt on. When that was going to be too costly I decided to go for the 'running paint' finish. I was hoping that this wouldn't involve much work either, seeing as I thought they'd be able to rub done the edge of the painted panel and just do the 'running paint' bit. The forks would need a full on spray as they were unpainted to start with.
I remember getting the frame back the first time I sent it off, I could have sworn they had sent me a new frame in return! Such is the depth of the polished, laquered finish :shock:
Only the marks on the rear dropouts from the wheel QR reassured me it was my frame they had returned.

I can't wait to get it back, to take my time rebuilding it in time for spring.

And yes, I just know, looking at it once rebuilt that I'll want to ride it until my legs can't go round anymore and then do the same the very next day.........and the day after that.


As for changing the forks, to be honest I'm not that good of a rider to have noticed much difference. I only bought the 3T Funda's as I knew the guy selling them, and they were originally all white, and that they would match the white front end of the frame. That and the fact that they were straight bladed with carbon dropouts

neil.s

It's back!!!!!

And it looks fookin' lovely, exactly as I had hoped it would look. Sadly they couldn't do the red band around the top and bottom of the headtube as they were worried the red would crack?! :? (The white hasn't, is red more brittle? )

I ended up ordering an ENVE stem through Parlee (better paying in dollars than pounds), but the buggers took it upon themselves to paint it.....! :shock: :shock: wtf??!! :shock: :shock:
I never wanted it painted (they painted it black/graphite sort of colour), I wanted it original with the logo to match the bars and seatpost. So, it's now on the way back to Parlee to have a custom respray, free of charge (to hopefully match the frame now - not running paint effect, that would be too much ). A little p1ssed but what can you do? Tom said the guys just went ahead and painted it as they almost always do.

Hey-ho. That's going to scupper the build whilst I wait for them to do the stem.

Will post some 'nearly complete' pics when I get it 'almost' built this afternoon.

beetle1

Nice one Neil, looking forward to seeing it

neil.s

A couple of quick crap pics, will take better ones once I have the stem back and can finally finish it.

Please note, they're not meant to be flames. If they were then yes, they're crap. It's meant to look like running paint. I first saw something similar on a mountain bike many years ago and knew one day I'd have a bike with just such a paint job.

I can't tell you how much I freakin' love it, and at the end of the day that's all that counts

Here's crap pic number 1, in the 'Fred Whitton' build (Kysrium SLR's, Vittoria Open Pave's and 12-29 cassette):



Here we are in the 'summer' build, pic number 2 (Cosmic SLR's, Vittoria Open Corsa's and 12-25 cassette):




Think I prefer the 'summer' build. Here's pic number 3, a (crap)close up of the forks:

Iamnot Wiggins

Love it!

Paul 8v

Looks better here than the mockup. Looking good B-)

RideOnTime

yeah, that's cool...

neil.s

Wait till you see it in the flesh....... :shock:

Even better news, my painted stem is being shipped today
(Hope they've done it as requested )

Hopefully it'll be here by the weekend. Can't wait.

raistyraist

Nice looking paint job Neil.
Maybe see it out and about soon.