frankenbike's frankenbikes

I finally got around to flipping the bars on this thing. The MTB lever obviously fits fine but the drop bar lever doesn't because it wants to sit in line on a bend (i.e. at the bend in drop bars). So I can't rotate the left hand lever down far enough for it to sit in a sensible place. What do?

It also has no derailleur now as I had to steal it for my other bike. I'm not sure what I'm going to replace it with. My choice is essentially related to the bars:

• Drop bars. Magura lever won't fit on the bars.
  
• MTB bars. My various shifters don't fit nicely and the left-hand (rear) brake lever won't sit nicely.
  
  

If I go with drop-bars I can do 1x8 brifter/1x9 bar-end/1x10 SRAM with bent derailleur. If I stay with MTB bars I can only do 1x10 with a bent derailleur.

Sorry about the crappy cluttered photo.

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I'd stick with those bars, get a cheap LH flat bar lever and get a flat bar shifter for 1x whatever casette you've got on the back

As a result of my bent SRAm derailleur I've switched to 1×9 with friction shifters on the top tube and an old Microshift derailleur. I bought an AliExpress knock-off RoadLink and when that arrives I might try 1×10 with that 11-42 cassette. Pretty happy with this setup though. It also has V-brakes at the rear which feel pretty damn good with a full-length compressionless outer (the pink cable).

I would like to get the rack back on, fix the outers on more neatly and get some mudguards and then I think it'll be "finished".

Edit: forgot to say I destickered the rims for stealth (goodbye Redneck XC1, you'll be missed), and that the camera on this phone is awful compared to my old phone :(

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Toptube shifter is a neat idea, how does the Huret shifter work with the microshift cable pull?

Works great! The derailleur is standard 6- to (road) 10-speed Shimano pull ratio so this setup works perfectly as long as the shifter pulls enough cable to go through the whole cassette. I was a bit worried I might have got a 5-speed shifter or something which might have not had insufficient cable pull but it worked perfectly once I set it up. But it's just right - all the way back is lowest gear, all the way forward is top gear.

9-speed is alright on friction too. 10-speed is apparently just a little bit too difficult to be accurate but I'm curious to try it.

Edit: the downtube is too large for the shifter to clamp onto, but I think I like it better on the top tube anyway. I think the clamp might be the right size for the stem also so that's another option

I spy that you're in Edinburgh from the photo in the meadows?

I'll say hi if I see you... Or rather if I see the bike!

If you still want/need wheels let me know - I've some 26" mavic to deore in the bike cave that I'd pass on for a small sum.

Oh cool, there's a few of us on here then! I've seen a few people riding around on fixies/singlespeeds and always wondered whether they were on here or not...

I'll say hi if I see you... Or rather if I see the bike!

Yeah, in Edinburgh the bike stands out more than a mid-20s Englishman with a beard and a wooly jumper...

If you still want/need wheels let me know - I've some 26" mavic to deore in the bike cave that I'd pass on for a small sum.

The ones I have are doing the job and I'm currently working unpaid so not a lot of spare cash, but I might be interested if they're really cheap... No worries if not!

I've been following the thread about your new frame, who is this mysterious local framebuilder who's building it then? The only local(-ish) framebuilder I know of is the Shand guy out in Livingston. Downtube shifters and sliding dropouts are what I'd have on my ultimate go-anywhere bike, good choices!

Forgot to say, I nicked the top-tube shifter idea from this, the most rad frankenbike of all time (I post it constantly):

This one is 200% cooler than mine though by virtue of being welded on!

Long time no post. Bike looks different again; I got new bars, switched back to the old tyres and got a new front rack. Will get a picture at some point.

But anyway... Going a bit mad here but suggestions for easy frame modifications? I've found out there's place where I can borrow a welder nearby... and this frame is crap enough that I don't really care if I balls it up.

1. Top tube shifter boss and cable guides should be easy/cheap to do right? That's top of the list for now.

2. Disc brakes on the rear would be great as then I could optionally use 650b wheels but a) it might break the rack compatibility and b) it probably requires a lot more skill than I'll ever have.

3. Rewelding canti studs higher up for 700c would be nice too but would that break 26" canti compatibility?

Some long reach brakes mounted in the rack hole and rear bridge ought to let you ride 700c and keep the canti posts intact. There’s probably plenty of dia compe centerpulls and the like at that bike recycling place.

Interesting thought, cheers. I better check the clearance for 700c in the first instance. 650b might be a better fit though I can't ever imagine buying rim brake 650b wheel to be honest. Would be fun to be able to fit any old wheel though, both rim and disk, 26", 650b or 700c.

Yeah I can see the appeal. I feel you on the 650 rim brake wheels too, it’s basically impossible to find a pair that’s not ¥¥¥

Surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for frame modification...

Anyway, updates.

1. New bars and probably other stuff on Marin. Old ones were creaky which gave me the heebie jeebies. These are great. It also has a Metro Porteur front rack on (not pictured) which is doing an excellent job.
   
   

1. Bought a dynamo drum brake wheel for £20 - bargain! I think I'm going to rebuild this onto a 26" rim and put it on the Marin, which will become my Full Blown Functional with lights and stuff. Unfortunately this will mean losing the Maguras 😢 unless I go through the major faff of redoing the hose and switching it onto the rear.
   
   

1. Bought this other bike. It's 27" or whatever the old standard is so the brakes need to be really long drop. To get around the issue I'm going use a single speed coaster hub on the rear. Still not sure about the front, new fork is actually cheaper than long drop brakes so might go for that. Coaster hub will be built onto the 700c rim off that dynamo wheel. This one will be Absolutely Not Functional and just designed for skidding around on the way to the pub or wherever when I don't need full racks and dynamo and so on. Maybe cantis on the front as I have some sitting around.
   
   

Not got any further with welding as the person that I was told about who does DIY frame modding has disappeared. Will continue to investigate though.

Still one of my favourite rat builds in the forum. ;)

Thanks man! There is what looks like the exact same model on eBay right now which is in far better condition if you feel like buying one... shame I had to lose that fork :(

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-Marin-Bolinas-Mountain-Bike-Tange-Steel-19-21-speed-Hi-Vis-Yellow/312152605029?hash=item48adbec165:g:KLgAAOSws-tbFoVt

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Thanks for the link, but I am already in the middle of rebuilding my old Marin's components to a Diamond Back frame. Gonna be gud. :)

I remember, just checked the thread and you were supposed have built it two weeks ago! How's it progressing?

Didn't have time (nor bottom bracket / headset tools), so took it to the LBS, and they are very full with jobs, so yeah... Should be ready early next week. :)

Love a Marin.... here's what I did with mine 😁

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Noice! Get much use of the suspension forks?

Wish I had the time/money/whatever to get mine looking as nice! But it rides like a dream and so I'm not especially keen on changing anything...

I promise you, the whole build was parts bin and cost me about £50 for a donor bike from the tip, a set of cables, the 5700 shifters were a tenner at the boot sale and another tenner for the seatpost. The frame was £20 from the tip too ....and it is the nicest original 1995 team ti on the interwebz!

Left field suggestion:
Coaster brake rear hub, so rear brake, hub and freewheel sorted, no cables to the rear and you can fit any rim size to it, this is the recommended one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Velosteel-Singlespeed-Coaster-Brake-Hub-Classic-European-simplicity/200978518746?hash=item2ecb40d2da:m:mlyJbZpeVyztIClHH3SmEKQ
Now you only need to buy some spokes, e.g. https://www.jejamescycles.com/halo-ed-plain-gauge-spokes-14g-black-with-nipples.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzoGe57DI2wIVy7XtCh2rJACeEAYYAiABEgKQKvD_BwE spoke washers, 2 per spoke, as the steel hub flanges are very thin https://www.jejamescycles.com/sapim-spoke-washers-pcg2836.html and the rest, wheels, front brake and lever etc can be scavenged from dead MTBs on freecycle, the tip or your mates' back sheds or gardens, or off those half robbed abandoned bikes you find chained to railings lamp posts.

EDIT: you're already looking at coaster brake hubs, duh!

BTW I wanted gears for the old Specialized Hardrock frame I got hold of, but decided that 3 were enough so built a Sturmey Archer 3spd hub into the back wheel, came to £20 with the cable, toggle chain and a used trigger shifter and works perfectly. Had to cold set the rear end to 120mm.

I'd love to do something like that but one of the frames needs a decent gear range for Deliveroo duties (which admittedly I haven't done for weeks). The Marin has semi-horizontal dropouts but they're too short for chain tension unless I do magic gearing and half links or whatever, so that one needs a derailleur basically.

The coaster hub I've bought is a Shimano CB-E110 (I think) which is single speed. It solves my 27" woes but prevents the use of gearing. The drum brake hub would be great on the 27" frame as again I don't need to piss about with finding appropriate rim brakes, but that bike has no braze-ons, no hanger, no bottle cage mounts, etc. so it's really senseless to have a dynamo on it. Maybe I can find another drum brake hub and build that into a front wheel for the 27" bike.

The Specialized has the same short type horizontal dropouts. Chain tension is fine right now but only got about 1/4" of adjustment available, so eventually will need either a half link or I can just buy a new chain (1/8" KMC B1 chains are dirt cheap and long lasting anyway). Still much better than vertical dropouts.

Dibs on that Sturmey X-FDD drum brake/dynamo if you decide to sell it, PM sent....