M_V's multitude of bikes and adventures in the land of framebuilding

So I've been on and off the idea of an IGH recently and then the other day I picked up this from eBay,

Not received yet but not quite decided what it's going on either.

I don't see the point in running the Alfine in the Marin frame with a tensioner when I have 2 track ended frames (Surly 1x1 and Kona Cindercone) available. I haven't done the maths but I'm thinking that the 8 gears in the Alfine will be more of a range than the 8 speed cassette on the Marin so I'm guessing that whatever gets the Alfine is going to supercede the Marin to a degree anyway.

The Kona is currently set up as a rear brake only jump bike type thing but I'm thinking that it'd make a pretty nice singletrack muncher, probably more so than the Surly due to the frame being smaller so its more chuckable and I can sling the seat down for descending and stuff, and as much as it pains me to put gears on the 1x1, it'd be best suited to taking over camping/touring etc duties.

The Alfine is 36h so matches with the drillings on the rims from the Onza wheelsets I have. I'm already using the front wheel from the original, drilled, wheelset on my camping/touring bike so I figure I'll use the rear rim from that set with the Alfine. The drilled rim will keep the weight down a bit I guess.

So I think it'll be,

Surly 1x1

• Alfine hub
  
• Drilled rims
  
• Loop bars
  
• Outpost rack
  
  

Kona Cindercone

• Singlespeed
  
• Non drilled wheelset
  
• 1x1 Torsion bars (perhaps with a set of bar ends)
  
• 'Jey' seatpost extension.
  
  

Since I have all the parts I need for the Cindercone build I might do that tomorrow.

I just hope the 1x1 won't look too weird running the narrower, slicker tyres. Plenty room for full coverage guards if I wanted them now I guess.

This era of Cinder you are riding? http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rb41phMqqqY/SasIGAevF3I/AAAAAAAABV8/a6oFVSjhlXM/s1600-h/singlespeedcindercone2.jpg

Probably slightly later than that, the fork is ahead.

This morning the Kona looked like,

Now it looks like,

I swapped to the silver seatpost as its longer but despite being the same diameter (27.0) as the black one it just won't stay put no matter how tightly I do the clamp up.

I tried a couple of 27.2 Thomson posts from other bikes in the frame just out of curiosity and they fitted in fine so its got one of those fitted for just now but I'll need another long 27.2 post for it. Most annoying part is that the clamp on the top of the silver 27.0 slips so I just ordered a new 27.0 post the other day.

Got the Alfine built into one of the trials rims and commuted on it yesterday and today and seems to work as it should.

Input gearing is a bit low (for me, not below Shimano's recommendations) at 32:19 so I have an 18t on the way.

If is a shame my 1x1 isn't 1x1 anymore but I'm definitely going to get more use out of it like this.

And just to prove I still belong in this forum, a few pics of my Principia that I took tonight.

Loving the old school kona setup. Looks a lot of fun, as does the 1x1. Fixies are so over... Oh wait.

Kona actually now has the XT hub/D521 rim rear wheel that was on the Marin but with ss spacer kit and because the narrower rim allows it, I put a V on the rear. There's supposedly* a Hope hub/521 front wheel on the way from ebay that'll match it.

*Its 2 days overdue.

The current set up on the 1x1 is absolutely not as much 'fun' as the singlespeed, massive tyres and wide bars set up but like I say, it'll get heaps more use like this. I'm kind of attached to it because I ended up getting it so cheap, it needed a bit of love at first, it was what got me back into riding off road etc and so I will be happy to have it along on my camping and adventuring.

Danny Macaskill was at the velodrome doing the Drop n Roll thing on Sunday and whiloe watching that I realised I probably had almost enough parts left over from these builds to put together a trials frame that'd been sitting in my garage for ages and so,

There's no chain on it here as I didn't think I had a ring and freewheel that'd work together and also I thought that being able to coast in both directions might be fun. It is but building up speed just by pumping is hard work and I found a ring that'll work with the 17t WI freehweel I almost sold (but luckily didn't) last week.

I just need to find a decent tensioner now, I have robbed a cheapo one off my gfs bike but it is very cheap and nasty and there's so much slop in the pivot that the jockey wheel doesn't line up with the chain very well. Might make one out of a rear derailleur.

Oh, there's also no brakes on it in that image and it'll be staying like that. Since I've tried to sell the frame in the past and had no luck getting even a tenner for it I might go all 2006 and kill a puppy by hacksawing the brake mounts and cable guides off.

updates pls ;) Do the Tiramisus come completely open at the clamp?

all the bieks in this thread rock

kona is my fave

Cheers. Had the Kona out just the other day. Awesome bike.

As discussed in @7up Tourer thread, my Surly now wears the Marathon on the rear and a 2.4 knobbly up front. Rode almost 70km on it today and it wasn't too bad. I about 60psi in the front tyre I think so it rolls alright.

I think the Surly might be the bike I covet the most on the forum.
And also the time/ ability/ location to go and use it properly.
I've been staring at this for the entire time its been listed, for example:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENESIS-I0-26-SEMI-FAT-BIKE-BIKEPACKING-MOUNTAIN-BIKE-TOURER-BUY-IT-NOW-465-/131344657731?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item1e94c06d43

What Marathon are you using and on what surface, and how's it performing?

@eyebrows I spotted that the other day while looking for...something.

@busseynova I think it's called a marathon tour plus? It's not the cheapest one but one up from that. I've only ridden it on Tarmac on the rear, had it on the front before and rode it on tarred roads and fire track and once on muddy grass which it was terrible at but I knew it would be, otherwise performs as I expect it to. Rolls well, grip seems good though it did lock/slide a wee bit today on some steep greasy descending.

Been following this thread from the very start, really dig all the bikes and appreciate all the fiddling with different setups! Will be embarking on a 26" drop bar conversion soon and my 26" Mielec still awaits for sufficient funds for a NuVinci hub (current cheapest I found is zweiradnetz.de). Would you consider opening some kind of 26" monsters/ conversions thread in Bike&Bits and treat us with your pictures?

Think I'll try get some proper photos of it in its current state and use those to start such a thread.

Cool, don't forget to iclude Muddyfox and Marin!

Fucking dropped the 1x1 onto a bench at the train station today and have put a pretty big dent in the top tube.

I bet it is coz I thought about selling it recently. I'd been tempted by a Surly Instigator on ebay but after realising it was pretty much the same size as the 1x1 had decided against it.

I have however picked up this frame from retrobike

And these forks from ebay

I'll be using them to build a bike which will more capably do what the Kona does now. The Kona currently looks like this actually I don't have a very current pic but its this,

plus a set of Salsa Cromoto forks, this front brake and a pair of 2.3 Conti Verticals.

I've been using it on pump tracks, thrashing descents and jumps etc at local trails and stuff like that. Stuff I want to do more of this year.

The Fire Eye will be able to run the other half of that^ brakeset on the rear and with 150mm of travel up front is hopefully going to help with my ambition to ride the Fort William dh course this year.

The new bike will be sharing the Alfine wheel with the Surly to start with at least, I'll probably look to get it its own rear wheel to run ss once my bank balance recovers.

Hopefully I can justify keeping the Kona and I'll chuck the Racekings back on it and run it with just a rear brake for riding at the bmx track, pump tracks, cruising in the summer etc.

As always, your bikes continue to inspire with aq lot of head scratching and now I'm fucking trawling ebay for parts thinking of building another frankenride...
That Kona looks like a proper riot.

The Kona is so much fun. It spends most its time with the saddle down,

Its like a cool wee 4x or dual slalom build or something. I should probably just have chucked an 80mm travel fork on it and lived with the rear v brake but I do want to hit some bigger stuff this year, Fort Bill like I say, though even just Glentress and Innerleithen I think the Kona would struggle with and I'd be scared to put any bigger a fork on it incase I tore the headtube off and it'd screw up the geo anyway.

I'll be hoping for something like this with the new stuff,

Dropper post would be ace on that kind of bike!

It would, but frame takes 27.2 post so choice of dropper post restricted to either rubbish or over priced.