I am getting close now to finalizing the parts, but it is amazing that every time I purchase something I find another item I covet 10 minutes later. Now I know why I typically get a new bike before I even need to change the tires on my wheels. Friends now just wait for me to move on to the next project and pick-up the stuff I'm bored of for cheap. Don't get me wrong, I don't give the stuff away but I hate dealing with the hassle of shipping bikes, etc and I value my time more than most so I'm usually willing to make an exceptionally good deal.

Enough about that - the next parts I received were some spectacular AX Lightness Perseus brakes. Man these things are gorgeous!! There are some cheaper brakes and there are some lighter brakes, but these just make me drool...

I believe this model was phased out by the Orion version but I couldn't pass up the deal. As much as I personally hate selling things on EBay I love buying stuff. If you wait long enough you can eventually find it. I will admit I could have probably saved about $200 and bought some Camillo Gravitas brakes at about the same weight but I'm a self confessed brand snob; so, any body could get those but not everyone can have the Perseus!

In my haste, I didn't review the auction that closely and failed to see that the brakes didn't have the cable clamps (potentially big issue). When I went to install the brakes on my frame that's when it became apparent that something wasn't right. I didn't even know what the part was but reached out to the Weight Weenie community which pointed me in the right direction.

I searched the Internet but couldn't find any retailers advertising the items I needed. I decided to write AX directly (didn't give that much hope based on other forum member's experience), reach out to some e-retailers in Germany (AX is a German brand so I thought that might be the best option) and also on a whim to Fairwheel Bikes. To my surprise all of them responded within 24-48 hours and were able to help - even AX Lightness!!

I ended up getting the parts from Fairwheel because it is located in the States and I thought it would be the easiest to deal with (I buy a lot of stuff from them). I was actually really lucky because they no longer carry a lot of AX stuff but happened to have two cable clamps left.

As I mentioned before - the Camillo Gravitas are about the same weight but definitely not as exclusive; these are going to look great on the finished bike.