The finishing straight has arrived. Day Nine is upon us – four builds remain in the Twelve Days, and we’re excited to roll this one out for your perusal. Crafted by the precision builders of Mosaic in Colorado, it’s a striking example of what happens when we’re given creative license by a client.
Mosaic’s RS-1 is, without shame, one of our favorite shop bikes. Built from True Temper’s S3 tubeset, it’s one of the lightest steel framesets available, able to compare favorably on the scale with modern carbon wunderbikes. Not only that – it’s stiff, too, whilst maintaining the legendary springy, liveliness of a steel bike. It’s the metal bike that converts even the most ardent of carbon-loving racers. This one, though, was special. Built not for a seasoned rider, it was assembled for someone new to serious cycling. The client demanded something modest, but with the special performance-induced touches that make a bike born of the creative forge of Above Category. We (enthusiastically) set to work.
A deep candy apple blue was chosen as the RS-1’s basecoat, using our Guards Red house RS-1 as inspiration. Golden yellow highlights reigned, with white fiz’i:k tape/saddle adding closure to the Mosaic logo’s panel background, while Vittoria’s brand-spanking-new skinwall Corsa tires balanced out the all-black Campagnolo Shamal Mille wheels nicely. Campy’s Chorus EPS group made the cut, ergonomically speaking, with the electric group offering more dependability and a much longer maintenance interval than a mechanical setup, as well as solid value. Barfly’s Garmin mount cleans up the EPS junction box nicely, and Garmin’s new 520 GPS unit has even the stodgiest of luddite diehards (including yours truly) convinced. Steel King cages and a brazed-on integrated seatclamp round out the extremely clean build.
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