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

Trying to limit the days I fire the torch up as I'm sure I'll run out of oxygen before the lockdown is over.

Feel like its more economic to build up a number of jobs and fire through them all at once.

Inspirational stuff as usual.

Already looks like a winner to me

Cycle truck is almost there. Just waiting on a chain, a used derailleur and shifter from ebay and some nuts and bolts to put the rack together but here's a sneak peak.

Painted the new metal with hammerite, should have maybe just done the full think but can always go over the rest if I feel like it. Got my dad to make me some wooden bungs to go in the open ends of tubes that my design had left (picked up contactlessly of course).

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And Mrs m_v is building me a website which has made me realise I've got bugger all photos (proper photos) of what I've been building lately so I took a good camera out with me when I took my exercise today and...

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Another couple...

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And another...

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Once I got back from my ride today I stripped the bike down and have started sanding and wire brushing to get rid of the rust and I'm going to paint it.

My plan was to keep it raw and take it to Bespoked in this rusty state but with that being pushed to October I figure unless I paint it it'll either have more holes than a teabag by the time it comes around or it'll be covered in dust and cobwebs as I'll never want to take it out.

Of course, being in lockdown means I can't just take it to a powdercoater* so I'll paint it myself. Got some zinc rich primer from ebay and then some Montana paint for the colour, gleaming pink base and gentian blue crackle over the top.

*Also I applied Dinitrol to the insides of all the tubes to prevent corrosion so not sure how well that'd play with powdercoating. Reckon the heat could cause it to flow out of the tubes and stuff.

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I will be gutted to see you paint that yellow tube. I bloody love it!

I know, will be sad to lose it but needs must.

These pics look straight out of the radavist and I don't mean that in a bad way! Shame it's going to lose it's raw finish but excited to see it painted, sounds cool.

photos look pro.
be interesting to see how the crackle finish looks - I had planned to use crackle over sick fadez on my retro functional build but never got around to stripping it down for paint after building it up as it was in regular use.

dibs cycletruck if you decide to sell!

photos look pro.

I do have an honours degree in taking photos!

From what I read the Montana paint won’t be the hardiest finish but I’ll lacquer over it and hopefully the nature of the finish means that it continues looking acceptable even as it picks up some damage.

Haha, no offence taken!

It’s easy to look at radavist and think that raw steel will be fine but then the reality of living and riding in such a wet environment kicks in!

looking acceptable

Some of the bikes at bespoked year before last, painted with spray.bike, looked crap

Thing is, I kinda like a crap paint job. I’m really not into high end, glossy stuff at all.

I like stuff like Ted James does with copper plating, makes a functional coating you know?

Nah, this was powdery and naff.

Don’t mind a slap dash job!

Yeah I’ve had experience of spray.bike leaving a shitty powdery paint job that rubs off like dust

yeah same

painted with spray.bike, looked crap

Doesn't really surprise me, the ones I've seen in the flesh (not at bespoked, mind) have looked rather bad as well.

Let’s hope this Montana paint is better then. I’ve painted bikes with graffiti paint before and remember it being a bit like hammerite, thick and gooey and needs a while to dry and cure.

Got two coats of zinc primer down today anyway.

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Also chucked the main 5 cog block of a 7 speed cassette onto the Hope trials hub which fitted nicely.

Just one wee spacer needed and reckoned it was best to put it on the outside as if I put it on behind the block the smallest cog wasn’t being supported by the splines on the freehub, only the 3 rivets. Hope the mech doesn’t hit the spokes when it’s in the largest cog.

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Thing is, I kinda like a crap paint job. I’m really not into high end, glossy stuff at all.

my man! I'm the same but extend that to all aspects of a bike. new and shiny is just weird. it's expensive to buy brand new parts and a pain to keep them looking like that, so start scruffy.

bloody love that cellulite green hammerite job

any updates? the people wanna see crackle!
well I do anyway...

He cheated on his own thread and posted it in the new fixed off road thread, unbelievable