Current Projects chat and miscellany

Not yet in my possession (ebay photo) but will be at the weekend and I'll get a nice ploughman's (pub) lunch in Bath to boot.

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Cool bike, are you stockpiling these nice old mtbs? You'll be well prepared for the zombie apocalypse :)

Sort of what my wife said only a lot swearier.

nu nu

my computer is so slow. i dont know if it uploaded.
iono nvm

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121818737303

thank you

New project, 2016 Bombtrack Arise. Will be a Bomb(track)proof commuter complete with guards and rack for the coming winter here in New Zealand. Maybe single speed, maybe 5 speed - the hub has a shortened freehub body so I think that is the max I can get on there if I use 7 speed spacing. Will use either bar-end, mtb thumbie or band-on downtube shifter. Completely flat commute but the wind can be a bitch and I have been using about 3 gears when using my road bike over the summer. Might need to change the mini-vs for cantis to get big tyres and guards in. Long term plan is 1x10 speed with different wheels for excursions/touring.

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If you don't want to fuck it up, take it to a shop with proper choppers.
Doing anything with a bread knife is a quick way to absolutely ruin it.

Made a little jig with a 2x4 and some nails so the cutting went fine, nice and square. Must have let a bit of air in though because there's way too much travel in the lever for my liking, so I'll be learning to bleed the system after all.

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Let the fun begin, if they're anything like the sram MTB brakes you're in for a treat.

Cool, like the copper colour

30mph on my first test ride yesterday took me by surprise. Great fun.

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Did you run into a businessman during that test ride?

Merci!

Hah! The satchel contains the battery, the motor is below the bottom bracket. It's an ebike, and the idea was for it not to scream ebike. You've just verified my theory, I guess.

Whats the fork?

That certainly is a...

...thing...

isn't it...

Looks like a eXotic

I unwittingly logged in as user74323 - here I am in my real persona. Yes, the fork is an exotic MTB fork I picked up off ebay - It was the cheapest fork I found with 1 inch steer and disc brake mounts. It's much longer than the original and hence the rake is increased and the steering made slower. With a long stem and straight bars it was absolutely terrible at slow speed. The swept back handlebars quickened up the steering and I'm surprised how nice it is to ride. Ultimately high speed stability was the priority. I am a bit worried that a carbon fork can fail suddenly and catastrophically - are these forks any good?

Also I will see how the leather satchel will hold up the test of time. If I could find something frame mount that would look good on a vintage road bike then I'll do it. I thought of ortlied dry bags, also the Specialized Burra Burra is on the radar.

This is my first ever ebike build, in fact first ever bike build, and third time ever on an ebike. My daily ride is a specialized langster steel with porteur handle bars. Nothing special, but dependable.

Thought so, just wondering if there was a cheaper version I didn't know about.

I'm pretty certain the fork was built to withstand more than you're going to throw at it on smooth roads.

At 60 quid, this fork was not exactly expensive! I live in hope that it's been made to last. I had a strange time with the Modus threadless headset. I made tools to press it in as well as to knock out the old bearing races.. The new headset clicked in without a press. There is no play and feel solid, so I'll leave the DIY press tool for future projects :)

If only the bars weren't flipped...

you think? that was the initial idea... it was just too tempting and given the power level I was feeling very sporty!

I've already changed the seat post to a black one since that photo, cabling has been tidied. Next I think it's a black brooks saddle.