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

On one hand I think it's cool coz its the kind of bikes I love but on the other hand I find it a bit strange that people are sort of saying "Let's strip it back and go old school, fully rigid, just one gear, truss forks and that kinda stuff...but make sure it's also got a tapered headtube, boost spacing and t47 bottom bracket"

I also slightly worry people are going to think I'm a nahbs fanboy and built the Hummus on the back of it but i can deal with that.

Bit of work on the Hummus today.

Stripped it down a bit for taking to welding class, and took the opportunity to sand backsome of the surface rust.

I've also removed the nuts I brazed under the toptube and have proper cable guides to go on there now.

Disc mount welded at the rear.

Lacquering and rattle canning bits here and there hasn't really been too good a job of keeping the rust at bay. I do like a bit of rust but since I'm so keen on this bike I want it to last and to that end I've ordered a big tin of Hammerite hammered black. I didn't want to try and sand out all the paintchips and didn't think the brass headtube badge would take too kindly to being shotblasted if I took it for a powdercoat.

Triton have some lovely not-faux-retro titanium stuff.

Also, cool hats.

Where did tou find that disc mount? I want to do something similar to my pomp.

Ceeway

They have a £10 minimum order so you'll need to buy something else too. They sell framesaver, can of that should take you over the minimum.

Disc mount after a bit more tidying up,

Decided that all the bare metal patches were getting a bit rusty so treated it to a coat or two of hammerite,

Also got a new (to me) Hope headset on the way to replace the Pig and a can of framesaver to give the inside of the tubes some love.

Looking good!

Bullmoose bar welded up tonight, this is going on the 1x1.

Epic

so rad!

I realised yesterday that my effective stem length is huge, I haven't measured but it must be around 130mm+.

I had left the stem pieces long, intending to measure and cut them down a bit but in my excitement at welding class the other night I forgot to do so and filed the mitres in and welded them together at full length.

Luckily though, it fits!

Did about 35k mix of fire track, singletrack and road today and the bars held up and were a joy to ride. My position is definitely a bit more aggressive than it was with the traditional bar and stem but still well within the bounds of comfort.

Built the Hummus back up today, wasn't sure about the green when the bars were still yellow,

But once I stripped them back to raw I think it looks a lot better,

The bullmoose are fucking rad.

Wasn't loving the dropper post cable going along the toptube or the lever on the bars. I could have added proper routing for the cable alongside the brake cable but, nah.

Actually had the post pretty much sold on retrobike when I found a guy in america that was machining up his version of the illusive underseat lever. It arrived yesterday so I went out for a ride today and took the good camera with me too.

The green hammerite looks so great!

Cheers, there are quite a few runs and stuff in it but now that the bike has a coat of mud on it again you hardly notice it.

Just re-read this whole thread. Really good stuff. Easily one of my favourites.

My manager at work sent me on a Velotech course this week as I now need a qualification to do a job I've done for almost 5 years.

Anyway, I briefly discussed Flying Scots with the instructor and it prompted me to have a go at sorting mine again.

When I last left it I'd just scratched off some flaking paint on the underside of the chainstay which had revelaed a pretty sizeable hole. I also discovered the bottom bracket was seized and even my best efforts with the tool in the vice, massive cheater bars and even an impact wrench couldn't shift it. I reckoned the bb needed to come out before I did anything else.

Hit it with the mapp torch yesterday and finally got it out.

Reckon I'll take the frame to my welding class and see if I can just patch in the hole. I did think it'd need a new chainstay which I reckoned I could have a go at brazing in but I have no idea how I'd source a chainstay that fits the lugs and/or matches the other side.

Given that I'd now fucked the nice BJ paintjob, I decided I'd get rid of the rather unweildy lamp bracket from the fork. Some people will probably consider this puppy slaying (?) but I unbrazed it so haven't damaged anything and the mount could be reattached in the future if desired.

Not sure how to build it once I have it fixed up.

It takes 27" wheels and I have a pair of geared wheels with Tipo screw on hubs and another wheel with a track hub that's a pretty good match. I had previously fitted 38c World Tour tyres and they are still in good shape, the sidewalls nice and clean etc so will probably use them.

I have the original 'south of france' bars, drop levers, and Gran Sport mechs. The rear mech is badly worn though so wouldn't be much use. Front mech is what I think they call matchbox type and I think works well.

I think I fancy a kinda porteur type build but I remember using wide bars on it before and they made it feel flexy as an overcooked noodle.

Just re-read this whole thread. Really good stuff.

+1. This last thing looks like it could turn out nicely too! As I've mentioned in other threads, I've had a hole just like that welded and it held up fine. Remember to spray some frame saver or linseed oil inside the frame before you build it up later.

There's been a lot of rust rattling around the tube, dropping out into the bb shell etc. which is another reason I'm happy to take the easy route so to speak by just welding it up. Will definitely be spraying in a bit of framesaver before it get's built again.

I found a guy in america that was machining up his version of the illusive underseat lever

Do you have a photo of, and/or contact for that? I had wondered about using a Thomson with an underseat lever.

He's on Instagram as Yetiman01 and ebay as Yetiman_01. He's not got any levers for sale on ebay the now, dunno how hard youd have to plead for him to make another run of them.

Fwiw though, I wouldn't buy a Thomson. Mine was back and forth getting repaired and replaced under warranty quite a few times and they're not always quick about it.

For less than the lever will cost you you could buy this

and you'll actually be able to fix it yourself if it goes tits up as spares availability seems pretty decent, although, I haven't found the cartridge as a spare yet and that's what's gone and been replaced and seems to be going again in my Thomson.

I wouldn't buy a Thomson. Mine was back and forth getting repaired and replaced under warranty quite a few times and they're not always quick about it.

That's a pain, as Thomsons are one of the more 'reliable' droppers that I've heard of. They're a great idea, but there seems to be no consistency in how long any of them last and they sound more & more like a disposable item.

For now at least I think you need to head into dropper post ownership fully aware of the fact that at some point it will go wrong and either be happy to be sending your post off and potentially paying for repairs (mine is out of warranty now so will be about £60 for a new cartridge I think plus shipping which is about £20 due to the value) or go for one that you can work on yourself.

If you do decide that a Thomson is for you though, yetiman has just posted this morning that he's doing another run of levers.