vp's Cogworks: The Marin and Beyond

Thanks for the link! What I've been told was probably someone guessing then! I knew about Csepel island, cycled there with that very bike to take pictures of industrial landscape for a thing for school. The front brake is comical indeed! Found an old shop back then and bought 5/6 spares (for the sake of it, I never used it really) which should still now be in a plastic bag, inside the saddle bag if memory serves me right. Coaster brake was quite efficient though.
Sorry OP for polluting your thread!

Hey it's no pollution, I love reading stories like this. :)

After two weeks I must say, the folding bike works extremely well as a method of transportation. It also helps my peace of mind that I found a lovely route to and from the train station. It's very scenic.

On the technical side, the bike works quite well as is, but I will need some modifications. I ordered a set of cheap ergonomic grips, will see how they work out, I've never tried these before.

I am getting rid of the grip shift as well, ridiculously cheapo thumbie is on its way.

And needless to say the stock brake pads are absolute rock hard garbage, so they are going to be replaced. The brakes themselves are mega flexy, but that's another story, I don't think I'll actually change them if it isn't necessary.

Overall very happy with the purchase, but I am still drooling over Bromptons, I see so many of them it's incredible...

It's a fun bike alright. No, actually that's a lie, but it's a bike nonetheless.
Way better with the ergo grips, thumbie and brake pads upgrade. Lot more comfortable.

Meanwhile Marin got some oil slick chainring bolts - not entirely because of the color, more because I needed longer bolts.

And I started collecting/putting on stickers, should receive LFGSS and DBAD ones soon.

Shimergo vol. 2 coming up soon for the Marin. Hopefully these nice 10sp Veloce Ergos will arrive by the weekend.

Of course me being me, I first bought then read. Post #3 in this thread pointed out that these "Escape" Veloces can't shift multiple gears down. Not a big headache, but I had the 9 speed Veloce version before that could do this, and it was a cool feature.
Nonetheless, should still work fine.
I absolutely loved the previous Shimergo setup on this bike, have high hopes for this.

Next step will be ditching the the fugly stem and Ahead adapter combo.

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Nice, big approve, I think it will look way more sporty & elegant with quill stem

Thanks!

Well, probably not more sporty, maybe not even more elegant haha.
This is the one I ordered:

Had the same/very similar one on my Kästle before.

Also ordered this Decathlon 25.4 compact drop bar. Had this on my Koga-Miyata Prologue last year, it's pretty comfy.
Excited.

Also have one of these cheapo decathlon folders, changed nearly every part. Don't be tempted to upgrade the brakes too much, mine is now prone to throw me over the bar

The folder is cool! If you're drooling over Bromptons now definitely check the Eerder Metaal ones :)

I put some proper brake pads in them and now they are bitey, but not too strong - so just perfect!

Checked them out, proper rad stuff, will try to spot one out in the wild :)

Veloce brifters arrived today. Bit worse quality than the 9s version overall, but should work just fine. Needed a proper clean though as someone put a ton of grease inside the mechanism for some reason.

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Looks way better with quill stem. Logo can't be scratched off unfortunately.
Hoping the bars will also arrive soon now...

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Fit is great, aesthetics way better than with the threadless adapter. Tape job is a bit meh, I may or may not adjust later.
Indexing is 10/10, but the shifting is way less crisp than with my previous Veloce ergos from a while back. Front upshifting takes quite some force, even though the cables, housing, caps and everything is brand new and cut well (housing's a bit too long but that cannot be the cause). Probably the shifters are worn out a bit. Might fully disassemble them during the autumn/winter. Or the front mech could have also stiffed up significantly...
Bdhu enough?

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Some upgrades on the folding bike. Now it really weighs like 20 kilos. This bag is hella smart, clips on in a few seconds and I'm ready to go, and I can use it as a normal backpack too.

I hope to snap some proper pics of the Marin over the weekend, would be nice to find a nice neutral backdrop for a change.

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Agreed with the missus that she'll get a proper bike for the rest of the summer, as the Diamondback doesn't really fit her after all.
This means two projects in one go, which is a win if you ask me. These parts just came off the Marin and luckily I haven't sold them yet so... it's a go I guess. I already have a gravel bike that I barely use, why not build another one? It weighs 11.8 kilos as is, which is quite impressive for a retro MTB.
Kickstand will go, currently thinking about ditching the mudguards and fit in some 26x2.10" tyres.

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Couldn't find a good backdrop for shooting the bike, but at least I found some handsome deers.
Need to move the rack backwards a bit, my heel kept striking the panniers. Fit is spot on otherwise.
Might change saddles though, I don't ride nearly enough to break this one in properly.

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Clean. How do you like that saddle? Been thinking of trying one.

Just ninja edited my post. I think I'll actually ditch it. Since I got the B17 I didn't ride this bike too much so it's practically intact, not even close to being broken in. I think my ass is also rather small for this one.
Hit me up if you want a good deal on it. :P

Love it!

Cheers!

Meanwhile, my newest pickup. It's now in a cardboard box, patiently waiting to be picked up by my transporter guy.
It's a Puch Mistral, with Reynolds 531 tubing and a full 105 SC 2x7 groupset. Frame is fully chromed under the paint. Currently has 19mm tyres, which are absolutely ridiculous.
Will ditch the saddle, bar clip-ons, bars and pedals. Plan is to install some nice compact bars and just ride fast.
It's by far the nicest road bike I've ever had. I have a sweet spot for this brand. And this specific frame should be quite rare, it's a late 80s model I reckon.

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This one's coming together quite nicely too. This knock-off travel agent works okay-ish. Cheaper than a nice set of cantis at least.

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Rideable. Everything works really well. Bit on the small side for me, but usable.
Needs bigger tyres and more gear range. I will ditch the kickstand very soon.

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13-23T to 11-28T. Much better.

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