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Brakes and tyres done. Spacer found.
Cantis are stupid. I should have dug out the other mini-V.
Mislaid the grips somewhere.
Looking forward to taking it for a spin at lunch tomorrow.
Desperately need to tidy the outhouse and build a bench and sort the storage once and for all.
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The joy of children means I only managed to get out for a shakedown ride today.
Brakes needed a bit of fettling. Front took 5min. Rear took 20min. Standard. Although TBF the CR720 are well thought out.
One of the front bumpers is missing from the weeride, with a Lidl Croc strap as standin. I tried to put some weights in the weeride, but it quickly became apparent that the bumper isn't just to protect the bike. So although I couldn't try it fully laden it was a useful exercise to do without mini-H on board.
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Initial thoughts:
Great bike. I really like it.
Makes me a little sad I didn't have it setup with this fork and front brake when it was originally being ridden and that it couldn't come to NYC.
Realistically it's probably going to need gears. As is, it's spot on. With 12kg in the front after a bit of riding?... maybe less so.
The high riding position doesn't feel like it will be an issue, although as a child carrier a longer TT would be best as the weeride is chunky.
Also the Nitto Albatross are fucking great.
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That's an impressively ugly dad bike.
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Ha!
Yeah.
In its original guise it looked alright. The fork is hard to love aesthetically, but it utterly transforms the bike. Mainly by having functional brakes.
A saddle and a colour-consistent top tube would make a difference.
Unfortunately the saddle needs to be that low with the weeride. Otherwise mounting is a bit tricky.
But it does make me wonder why it's so much uglier than say this:
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Pretty much there.
Finally found the ali-x silicone grips! They're alright. Dare I say they remind me a bit of German campsite bike foam grips rather than anything special. Emperor's New Clothes? Maybe, but they are the best dirt cheap grips I've used.
PX sale supplied a knock-off VO Grand Cru Long Setback Seatpost which combined with a saddle C/O @lowbrows has improved the position and comfort hugely.
Still debating going 1x9. The gearing was set up for me riding around a city. Dropping a rear tooth might be a bit much and a front ring is a bit pricey. It's fairly hilly around me, but the actual route I'll be cycling is flat so we'll see. The simplicity of SS is also really enjoyable.
So for now it's just digging out my nicer pedals and waiting for the 6mm chainring bolts.
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You're probably right and I should stop being tight. But with everything going on I'm trying to not be too frivolous.
Currently running a 15t:38t on 32mm 700c, so need to work out whether to go 16t or something higher. I'd prefer to keep the 38t. 1) cause chainrings are more expensive, 2) I worked out that would be the best combo for 1x9 ages ago and cba to work it all out again.
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The slightest of low pro.
Ha!
It's because I had to flip the seat tube clamp on the weeride so it now angles down.
Funny reading back on the thread. That Charge CX would have been such a better choice. But then I probably would have sold it. Whereas this has so much sunk cost and so little resale, I'll probably keep it forever.
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Decided to go for 1x9.
There's a nice public trail that we mini-hiked at the weekend which requires going up a big grassy hill. I should just get a couple of smaller cogs to try, but then I need to adjust the chain length and by the time I've fucked about with that... Etc...
Step 1. resolve the issue with the downtube cable guides.
Problem: no ferals known to man nor LBS have fit.
Solution: drill and tap to M5 and use the internals from a barrel adjuster.
... Scary. Let's see if it works.
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0.8 according to my feeler gauge.
It was pretty nerve-wracking. I started on the front / left just in case I ballsed it up.
It needs tidying and there is too much free space at the top of the guide, which might be visable in the 2nd pic. The plan is to try and fill it with solder and re-tap.
As cool as it would be to use the springs and have them as fully adjustable barrel adjusters I think a flush fit would be more strong and stable. Then I'd probably trim the length so there's less thread on display.
That's the plan anyway.
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New 16T cog and shorter chainring bolts - both semi-fails.
Stupidly I didn't work out the ratio beforehand, so unsurprisingly one tooth on a 42T front ring didn't make the difference expected. I planned to buy a 17T at the same time, but it wasn't in stock. Lesson learned.
The shorter chainring bolts meant the ring can now be moved inside for a better chainline and to facilitate/improve 1x9 once the cable guides are finished. Unfortunately they're not short enough to account for the recess on the pretty machined side.
Took the bike and mini-H out for a longer ride to test the lower gear. Walked the bike up some of the steep field, which actually doesn't matter once you put your ego aside. But it has convinced me more of moving to gears. 700c x 32mm Bonti Racelites aren't the best for rough field tracks and overall I think an old MTB with a long TT and fat tyres would be a better dad bike, but overall it reminds me of the phrase; "the best [blank] is the one you have"
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No.1 is too big for the little Weeride. So Have upgraded to a BoBike on the rear. I was a bit unsure about the strength of mounting a heavy seat to a rack installed with p-clips, so went for the QR frame mounted fixing and set it so that it's supported by the rack. The only thing I wonder is if that will make it very bumpy for the kid.
Thankfully, it means I can put the saddle back to a normal position. Although I no longer need the super-duper set back.
It reminds me that this probably wasn't the best bike to start with. I've managed to get the childseat and my saddle far forward enough to stop the bike immediately wheelying, but it's still very rear heavy. Thanks to @mcJ78 's advice I've gone for some On-One OG's. Also loosing the front seat means I can drop the bars a bit. Shame to loose the Nitto's, but what can you do?
A little ride in the garden with No.1 on the seat has definitely convinced me that this bike is not going to be viable with a front and rear seat. Still tentatively on the look out for a better alternative, but can't quite bring myself to dropping the money in the current climate. Who knows, maybe no.1 will be on their own bike by the time no.2 get on it.
TDL:
- Swap seatpost for an inline one
- New bars and stem
- Finish modding the right/front cable stop
- Go 1x9
- new bottle cage (this one was borrowed from OH's bike)
- get some sort of pannier(s) as the bar bag is a bit limiting.
- Swap seatpost for an inline one
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About
Dawes CX
Posted by
@hugo7
Ahhh, misunderstood. I have threadless 1” spacers too.
I think the stem on there looks the nuts; I’d just acetone the logo off and say ‘done’!
I have a similar vintage beater/commuter Galaxy, that delights and bewilders equally. I went through three types of cantilever arm on the fork (Deore, Tektro, Kore) before using a file and bodging the v-brake pads with thinner spacers. I also used a Tektro doodad to prevent judder. It works but, as you say up thread - throwing that many pieces at a single brake that has such variable results if not set up correctly; it’s kind of bonkers. I’d go mini-V next time : )