Specialized Expedition Repaint #2
Summer 2005
These full-on prairie schooners sold for $600 or so at a time when you could buy a very serviceable touring bike for under $500 (we had Miyata 618s for around $450). They had built-in wiring running inside the down tube for a certain under-the-bottom bracket generator lighting system made by Sanyo, as well as all the brazed-on bits you'd want for low-rider racks up front and three bottles. They had Specialized's own proprietary sealed bearing hubs (alas, for thread-on freewheels) and Suntour Mountech gears whose tensioner springs have all snapped long years ago.
This bike was purchased secondhand some time ago for the express purpose of long-haul touring. I've lost track of how many times we've completely overhauled the drivetrain, but it has criscrossed the continent a couple of times both in one transcontinental haul and in little pieces thereof.
It's really hard to describe the sparkle effect of prismatics, but you begin to get the effect in the photos. The idea is like metal flake but uses tiny, laser-etched prisms instead of metal dust. You can see this used on several of the repaints in this gallery, but it really comes alive on the darker colors like this purple (It looks blue, but it really is deep purple). The bike has gotten lots of admiring praise from fellow tourists.
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