vp's Cogworks: The Marin and Beyond

Yo, love this set up

Ta!

35 km ride on the Marin today, the B17 definitely needs to be broken in, but it's already better than the C15 was.

The downtube shifter is ridiculously good in terms of performance, I don't recall ever having such swift gear changes. However, from an ergonomics standpoint... Well, I expected them to be fiddly and they are. I'll get some R2000 Claris STIs next year I guess, but I don't have to switch gears too much so it stays this way for now.

Changing jockey wheels has helped a ton, the drivetrain is now extremely smooth and quiet. 1x8 is more than adequate for the time being. The fit is really good too, very comfy, I really dig the Gravel100 bars.

Moving closer to work soon, which means I might commute when the weather's good, 22 km one way. Mudguards needed. But then with that I guess I'll go with narrower tyres. 32C Gravelkings maybe? Or might go with something that's even more tarmac-oriented. Lots of rambling. Minerva pics tomorrow.

Long overdue shots:

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Some more:

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And the purple/pink chainring bolts were so utterly crap that I just put the old ones back on...

Next project: commuter bike to leave at the station overnight

• 700C (?)
  
• Mudguards
  
• Rack (?)
  
• Dirt cheap
  
• Preferably ugly
  
  

To be used for roughly 35 mintues per day.
Shouldn't be hard finding something with the specs above, given this is the Netherlands and these bikes are literally everywhere...

yooo that's sick

Both the Marin and the Minerva are brilliant, great details!

roughly 35 mintues per day

Is over 5 hours per week if you're making the journey daily, so it's probably best to go for an 'inexpensive parts bin build' which will end up far too nice to be locked at the station... it's the bike nerd's eternal problem.

It's about 18 minutes one way, so technically only 3 hours (as for 5 days).
Original plan was using the Minerva for the purpose, but it's not too subtle, nor particularly functional. The dream would be catching a CrMo touring bike from the golden 1990-95 era for less than €50-ish, tossing a high rise stem and some comfy bars on and letting it rip.

+Heldring +zigbit
Thanks lads, appreciated!

So things have changed a bit, we moved a bit further away from work than I originally planned, which means I'm still commuting by car unfortunately. Haven't done much tinkering on bikes, instead I tinkered together a shitload of furniture, so it was a busy period. Now we've settled in, so time for projects.

First up, if all goes well, I'm picking up a Gazelle roadie that was turned into a fixie skidder. No real plans besides cleaning it up, repacking bearings and making it look nicer. I have a soft spot for Gazelles, never had one before, keen to finally get one.

So, some before shots.

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And some more.

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Dirty, grimy, rusty. Pretty light even with the rear rack on. So far nothing is frozen, I didn't try the stem and the bottom bracket though. Wheels turn well, frame looks straight. Need to source some brakes, levers and a bar...

So far so good, nothing is frozen. BB is still really really smooth, which is a huge surprise given how it looks. Never seen a BB like this before, but I dig it a lot.
This bike has been used a lot, the chain, freewheel and chainring are way beyond saving.

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So I had to order a new axle for the Primato rear hub, as the current one is ridiculously rusty and it lacks a cone locknut, so the whole rear end was a bit off center. Funny, because it worked really well, had no play in the hub and it was running smooth - magic or something.
But still nothing is frozen, stem and seatpost both move without issues.

I'm thinking risers, bmx pedals with straps, then skids on wet asphalt.

A tad better than initially, but still a long way to go...
Front fork is a bit bent, wheel is off-center, not extremely though, still rideable. Will probably try to find someone near Rotterdam to straighten it out. Or I'll just buy another fork if that's cheaper. Pedals were a bit frozen, but nothing a big mallet cannot fix.

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I actually am impressed by how shite this Gazelle is. But I'm even more impressed by my own patience, and that I still managed to keep the total costs at about 100 bucks. Which is a good thing, because I won't ever be able to sell this for more than 50.

Got some really cheap, suicide-quality pedal straps from AliExpress - along with grips, a single titanium bottle cage bolt (note to self: read product descriptions carefully), and some riser bars. Last position was stolen/slipped out from the package, hooray.

Managed to sort out the rear axle spacing and got a proper serrated washer for the cone nut.
Found either some old stem remnants, or some internal bracing in the headtube, which makes it impossible to slam this looong stem, might have to buy one that has a shorter insert.
Ordered some blue Gipiemme riser bars, simply because they were €5. This still needs to arrive, then it's rideable.
Removed the front brake, because it didn't work anyways. It needs overhauling and some new pads, then I'll put it back on.
Chainring has a massive wobble. I thought it was the chainring itself, but no, the crank arm has some issues actually. So right now setting the correct chain tension is tricky, but it works for now.

Not my best purchase, this bike. But I want to do sweet fixie skids.

Bars arrived, they are as rank as I imagined.
Will cut down to 2010 size.
New tool for my toolbox:

Well, 2012 called.
I swear these are the worst handlebars I've ever laid my hands on.

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Meanwhile I was/am having a blast with the maintenance of my girlfriend's Diamondback Apex. I will have to make a few new shots, as it has 26x1.5" slick tyres now, and different seat and cockpit.

I knew back in November that the BB's fixed cup was stuck, then the bike spent half the winter outside on the balcony due to lack of space. Now I gave it another go, knowing I had zero chance of getting it out.

I have a Park Tool HCW-4, needless to say it didn't quite hit the mark, so instead I used my trusty, huge ass adjustable wrench. Took it about 5 seconds to break loose.

So I went ahead and said to myself, hey, let's just buy a cartridge BB. Of course I didn't measure the BB shell, because it's a Diamondback and all, it should have standard BSA threading, what can possibly go wrong?

Well of course it's bloody 73mm wide, so I've thrown some money and time out of the window, but hey, it's life.
Thankfully I have found some new 1/4" ball bearings in my stash, so I could just repack the stock BB, which is actually a quite nice Tange model. The cups are a bit pitted, but it can run another season.

Next step is snatching a set of cheap dropout alignment tools, because somehow the left got bent a bit and now the wheel is not sitting straight.
Oh, and I sold the Minerva, it's just too nice to be my lock-up bike, I have no space and I'm never ever letting the Marin go.

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So, the voices in my head made sell the Gazelle. Then, on the same day I bought something more functional, that I can leave locked outside in this not too nice neighbourhood.

It's a double toptube, all-steel monstrosity, an absolute heavyweight champion. Front rack, beer crate, rear rack, mudguard, skirtguard, chainguard. Fully upright riding position. Absolutely unstoppable - quite literally though, the coaster brakes do next to nothing, as the whole thing weighs about 25 kilos if not more. No front brake either. It's ridiculous. I've never had a bike that felt remotely the same.
Picked it up very cheap, so it's not quite perfect. 2 spokes are broken out from the front wheel, will need to replace these. Also, none of the lights work, probably just need new batteries. Tyres are fully cracked but the tubes hold air thankfully.

It's mental. On Monday I went for a ride in the nice and calm 50 km/h breeze and it literally acted like a sailboat. I love it so far.
Needs some money shots, this one is from the ad.

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Unfortunately the weather doesn't let me take proper photos of this beast, but at least I was able to start working on the minor problems today. I ordered a few spokes, fixed the lights (=replaced the batteries), removed the broken ringlock (will buy a new one for sure) and fiddled with the skirtguard a bit.

I never understood these Dutch bikes, but man, they are so functional, it's just amazing. I'll get a step-through version for my girlfriend for sure. Hell I might sell this one and buy one for myself instead, they seem a tad more practical.

Stopping power is quite an issue though. This thing's a steamroller. Should install a front brake somehow, but it's quite problematic with these 635 rims that lack brake tracks. Drum brake wheels cost a fortune too. Maybe a 622 wheel could fit, will try that later on. Or, what's more likely is that I'll just man up and get used to it.

Enough boring stadsfiets talk. Let's get back to the one and only:

Didn't change a bit since September, mostly because I didn't ride it since September (besides a few short errand runs). But now, the bodging must go on.

The current shifter setup is objectively extremely good, it has very satisfying clicks, but hey, it's bloody far away. Although I don't shift a lot it would be still nice to be able to shift in my normal riding position.

Cannot really be arsed to spend 100+ on STIs. Looked into the parts bin, found a 31.8 front mech adapter and my frictionized SunRace thumbie. The plan is to saw off the original clamp, and just bolt that sucker right on. The bolt fits perfectly into the adapter's hole, so the process should be not much of a hassle altogether.

If all goes well I will have a quill stem for this bike sometime this year, and if the clamp bodge fails I'll just mount a thumbie on the quill like here: