Current Projects chat and miscellany

Just bought from JD.

Things to do:
-tape the bars
-probably switch out front wheel (currently tub)
-probably get a clamp on brake

*It will get on the track but I'd like to ride it on the road too

That's exactly my cup of tea, absolutely lovely.

That's exactly my cup of tea, absolutely lovely.

I agree!

thanks very much guys!

your plaudits in terms of how it looks now though must go to JD who it was slightly too big for.

@ Scott does the 'saddle saver' rattle when you ride at all or do you put innertube around the links touching the rails / frame as well?

heres my current project - old Carlton frame

my wheels arrived today - have filled the forks so axle fits - got the rear drop outs to do but im doing this in our basement at work and bloody hot down there at the moment. Hopefully next week will be cooler for some filling action

awaiting brake cables and tyres now

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samwillard/sets/72157620536062928/

@ Scott does the 'saddle saver' rattle when you ride at all or do you put innertube around the links touching the rails / frame as well?

Mine was set pretty tight so hardly any noise...but you can wrap the ends too to limit that if it bothers you.
Mine's not on there now though as i won't be using this as my day to day bike anymore.

What do you all do with your old projects? I mean, if these are current projects, presumably you have a shed load of old projects, or else you dismatle them and use the bits for other things, or you sell them, or what?

Tell me, because I want to have a new project, but my beloved thinks four bikes is too many as it is. In fact I'm going to have to sell the old 1991 Marin Sausalito so she can put gardening stuff in the shed.

Make your new project building a bike for her.

Make your new project building a bike for her.

She never rides the one she's got.

(scott) as said on numerous occasions i love it.
and if you ever produce a saddle bag, well i'll be having one, cheers.

me too, would be a great alternative to the Carradice saddlebag.

On it now :)

Will be about as far from a carradice style as you can get...
Think more like 'Turd torpedo' :)

get on with it then, or you'll be danging tesco bags of the handlebars on saturday night

Will be about as far from a carradice style as you can get...
Think more like 'Turd torpedo' :)

are you going to dress like a turd for the DD in full matching outfit?

ooooooooo wibble the girls are all over you

get on with it then, or you'll be danging tesco bags of the handlebars on saturday night

That may not be far from the truth :)

@Ed....i might be wearing SOME brown ;)

2 projects not really finished, but it will do for the time being.
I placed this already in another thread, but couldn't resist to post it again in "current projects".
Both bikes are for my kids. My 7 years old son is perhaps the 1st user, my daughter, now 5, may get them afterwards (I hope they like it).

The MTB 24" was finished some weeks ago. That means rideable, because my bikes are never finished. Needs some finetuning, like a 22T inner chain ring, lighter tyres, larger cogs in the rear. But it's good enough to get used to the bike. Still a bit big though, a nice 20" race BMX would be a better option at this moment, but rare and too expensive.

The road bike (SS) is just finished today, because I was waiting for a 40mm Truvativ Holzfeller oversized stem. It arrived today, so I could finish the bike. But again, tuning is required. Shorter reach brake levers (does someone has a good tip for short reach levers for drop bars, no brifters..., or even wants to get rid of them?), find the right gear, nice pedals, perhaps with toeclips and straps.
But check out that Concor jr. saddle and Campag. Record carbon levers w/o internals (borrowed from former pro team Liberty Seguros or Once)!
Bike is still to big (saddle too high, t/t too long), but it's nice for next year.

report comment

that giant is awesome, your son will be the coolest kid in town

Mr Cheese. how does your son get on with the forks? All te ones i have seen/tested have been far too heavy an offer very little in the way of usable suspension for one so small.

Top work though, i'm sure thay will both love them.

To be honest, he has 4 Giants, these are just 2.
And then there is another 26" road frame and a small Cadex frameset for future.

Coolest kid? Dunno. Girl in his class has a celeste Bianchi road bike... But that's not a custom built.

Mr Cheese. how does your son get on with the forks? All te ones i have seen/tested have been far too heavy an offer very little in the way of usable suspension for one so small.

Top work though, i'm sure thay will both love them.

You're right. But there is not much I can do. It came with the frame. Perhaps I can look for a rigid fork, but that's all gas pipe quality steel. Maybe a carbon BMX fork, but hey, let's get real.
But with this poor equipment, he can train his skills, so he may know how to handle a bike when he (and she) is 16 or so. Another good reason to start racing BMX.

You're right. But there is not much I can do. It came with the frame. Perhaps I can look for a rigid fork, but that's all gas pipe quality steel. Maybe a carbon BMX fork, but hey, let's get real.
But with this poor equipment, he can train his skills, so he may know how to handle a bike when he (and she) is 16 or so. Another good reason to start racing BMX.

Any reason is a good reason to start BMX racing!Especially for kids, keeps them out of trouble....at least it did for me!
For 24' forks, try SE Racing landng gears, not amazingly heavy.....and a damn sight cheaper than carbon BMX ones!

It's sometimes possible to remove the air or coil spring (dependant on fork type) from one fork leg to make them softer for extremely light riders.

@ Dutch Cheese - thanks, My little one is a while away yet but loves cycling. Just gathering info for a few years time. Isla bikes fit a rock Shox recon air fork tuneable for rider weight. Not sure if its available this tuneable as an aftermarket product. + 1 on the BMX racing. my daughter goes twice a month, one is training and one a race (ish).

@ Scot - As always a wealth of useful info. Notes taken. cheers.

@ Andy W:

Yeah, but the Isla with a Recon is a 26" and far too big for a 7 year old.
They classify it as a 9+ but even that is questionnable.

As far as air forks are concerned, at least the cheaper ones: they are air ASSIST, not pure air.
Means that the biggest portion of "boing boing" has to be covered by coil springs.
If these are lousy, the whole fork is.

I rode such forks from RockShox ans Manitou. I had to admit that the Manitou was much more sensible.

Further: I know that fork experts can easity convert 26" forks to a 24" or even smaller. They just cut the stanchions. But prolly it's a lot easier for disc brakes than for V's. For V's you also have to modify the lower castings. Too costy. Discs do make the bike havier and more expensive again.

@ Scott:

I used to put a wooden stick (from a broom) inside a cheap susp fork, just to have a rigid fork on my MTB (when there were no ridig MTB forks for disc brakes yet).
Some racers do the same to limit the travel to 35mm or 50mm instead of the standard 80 or 100mm.
And as you wrote: most times it's posible to remove the coil or elastomere from 1 fork leg (mostly cheaper forks).
Many (expensive) forks have the suspension mechanism in just 1 fork leg. The damping mechanism in the other.
So, it's okay to have a coil spring in just 1 fork leg.
Just be careful if these is oil inside the fork.