Cold, raw, white-hot metal. Mixture of Track, ATB, Hybrid with aftermarket parts. a bike for 1%er. SNAFU

it was £307, anyway, clearly I am not good at budgeting.

had 27.2mm MTB seatpost lying around, frame did not take it, so i filed 2mm off and stuck it in.

Do you know what you would normally reinforce those holes with?

are you calling me fickle?

Seriously, a framebuilder would have reinforced them at the point of manufacture.

How did you thread the rear brake cable? That's quite impressive.

there must be rings like those in your picture but for metal application, or some sort of substance to pour in the holes. i will search online.
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threading rear cable was a nightmare, would not recommend it. basically you take a thin but strong and flexible piece of wire, make a u shape out of it, slide it in the hole then push the rear brake cable into it and pull the wire out of the hole.

At first I was like.....

I liked it at @ £214

I read a good trick...

Tie a piece of ribbon to the end of your wire, then thread it into your frame, use a Hoover at the other opening to suck it through then just tug on it to guide the wire through the other hole... Not tried it myself but sounded good!

that method sounds easier, next time will try that.

i read about my method at http://www.instructables.com/id/Internal-cable-on-any-bike-frame/

Get some washers. Bend them to fit the curve of the tube. Buy a blowtorch and silver solder. Solder washers over the holes. If you get a good braze it'll vastly increase the strength.
I don't think there is anything you can pour in that will help much.
Although the best thing you could've done is not done it.

I don't think that two 5mm holes in the TT will weaken a steel bike frame.. You'll be ok

I'm with kdregg ;-)

+1. It will be absolutely fine. Just try to stop water to get in

kdregg, mc, netakure thank you, I am trusting you with this.

tallsam, however much i would like to don't think will be able to learn how to use blowtorch and silver solder.
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i applied three coats of clear lacquer. got some of that sheen going on. also, found these really nice valve caps.

This ride is done for. all in all £310 spent. A part of me thinks i would be better off with this bike for £300. It has got gears and disc brakes.

But does it have two valve cap choices?

You've probably learnt more this way, and you can't put a value on that.

And yours has got tons of character

You've probably learnt more this way and you can't put a valve cap on that.

This looks like a lot of fun

As I started reading I was like "thats my kindof build", some of the latter decisions didnt suit me but hey we are all different. I can fully appreciate a bike that has had the time spent on it.

fizzy.bleach, you are right, presta valves have very boring cap selection online. it is also true putting together a bike yourself is more enlightening than buying retail one.
@MC thanking you.
@Golfwang. you, youself sound like a lot of fun, as a person.

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chanelling @wildstrawberries purple bike. found these bars in a skip on my street will find out if they are as comfy as it is believed.

saddle is a stripped saddle, it is plastic, will upholster it someday myself though it is comfortable as it is and sort of goes with the stripped frame theme.

All those valve caps and you're not currently using any?

Bars and stem look much better.

Are they V-brake levers?

Forgot to put them back on after tyre change. Actually I am in the market for new pair.

They are v brake levers. Do you object? personally would rather have something more fitting to the style of the bars. But vintage ones are not as sturdy as these.

this has transmogrified into quite a ride, could benefit from fatter tyres

Thanks.

700x28c + 47Tx18T and this thing rolls real easy, super fast

If I have fatter tyre 700x35c + 47Tx18T and this thing is hard to drive, slow.

slow