BrickManIndustries - Transport Division - 't3h anti-theft'

OK, had this 70s Raleigh gaspipe 'Ace' for about 18month now, maybe longer. It was found on freecycle and had already been stripped to ghetto SS, I shoved some old Suntour stuff on there and it was my city/train/shop bike for about a year. This year found a airlite double fixed on 27" in great shape for a few quid, and since winter has been fixed for commuting and spinning like crazy ready for summer.

So inspire by a hacked up french steel touring bike I saw in the rat thread..
I decided the best course of action was to order some dropouts, drink some wheat beer and make use of those new hacksaw blades...

Muchos paint stripper + power sander = anti theft, worked so far

bye bye dropouts

An accident waiting to happen. I've NEVER been a fan of this type of seat cluster with the 'stays just brazed on the outer sides of the lugs. And rightly so, after chopping the other end of the 'stay the left side just popped right off. A quick look at the braze shows its been like this for years. Raleigh build quality at its finest.

Mocked up for 27" + 28c. Then I realised the 27" wheel I'm planning on using is out of true, and 30 of the 40 spokes are rotted to their nipples. For the rebuild I'm going to go for a cheap/free semi-aero 700c rim (anyone?). Which also means chainstays can be cut further, much further.

GT triple triangle track copy. Why not?

Then er.. too much beer happened, and went a bid mad with the hacksaw. Was aiming for about 30-35% removal of tube, but ended up going to about 60% in one place, 40% the rest. Will just have to plate the fuck out of it next week.

Was going to attack the front end too, but really not sure how successful trying to remove tubes from lubs, shorten, re-align etc. Frame is a weird one, its 54 ST and 58 TT, and I prefer them the other way, 56/54 ideally.

Biggest concern is BB height. On 27" + 28/30c it rides 10.25" floor to BB shell. On 700c 23c it rides just under the 10" mark. So I figured with the cut in chainstay length, and on 700x23c I might just get back to 10.25" and hopefully 10.5" would be nice.

BUT. then fork is going to lower it again.... looking for a 700c crown grinder of a fork, something around the 325/330 axel to crown (right measurement?) with a moderate rake.

Geometry could work out OK, but more likely its going to gain a few degrees, ending up somewhere in the 72-74 ball park up front and bugger knows for the seatpost.

Anyway, aim of the project is to produce a super sketchy, scruffy, borderline free, street bike.

This is great. Well documented, look forward to seeing this pan out!

I have had quite a few beers, but have you done a home made cutout in the st too?

Haha this is really great, always wanted to do something like this. All the hipster will be like: 'wooaw, crazy trackframe'.

I have had quite a few beers, but have you done a home made cutout in the st too?

You can buy them like that I believe

Seriously ghetto, but I love it.

This is pretty awesome.Are you doing the welding yourself?

Mutants are very now.

Finally got around to doing a bit more, and some forks arrived, some pretty decent looking Dolan Alu TT jobs, clearance on a 23c tub is around 1.5-2mm lol and its drilled/crown for a brake.

Chainstays are having another 3/4"-1" taken off them for dropouts to slot into, and seattube will be cleaned up and plated this week.

weight is actually impressively low, even with a cassette hub rear + cast iron girder of a seatpost. Vegetarian turbo is surprisingly comfy and looks the part.. from a distance.

GT triple triangle rear is defo a go.
With these forks with no bearings in, and rear dropouts just slotted in, I'm getting just just shy of 10" under the BB shell. Will gain about 3/4" on rear when the dropouts are fitted in the right place which should give me just enough, not sure what 'track spec' is for a BB shell height, but 10.5" feels like it'll be enough to me, its certainly higher than the average road bike. geometry doesn't look like it'll be bad either.

I really like this haha!

Tripple Tri is ftw

Spotted this last night in Rats thread and asked if you were documenting it here, shoulda checked first!

Loving it mate, have wanted to do something similar for a long time myself, but have no experience with brazing, and almost the same with MIG (but would prefer to braze).

Really wish my Dad had been a welder instead of a mechanic/electronics + electrical engineer!

Looking good.

Those forks are 100% beef! Going up steep hills will be nice and easy

This is brilliant, I love it.

+1 on wishing I had the skills (or at least equipment and disregard for my own safety) to do something like this myself.

Cheers guys.

It'll look neat, briefly, once all paint is removed and brazes smoothed back. But then it'll spend the rest of its life outside chained to a lamppost/fence/immovable mammoth so will grow a decent coating of surface corrosion in no time.

What I do need, desperately, is a 40h 700c rim, ideally aero/semi aero with no braking surface, and filthy dirty cheap, and posted :)

Tripple Tri is ftw

+1. Mine:

Was not invented by GT though. Invented in England, although impossible to say by who. GT were very late to the party.

From a stress analysis point of view, the triple triangle arrangement of the seat stay IMO is much better than any other form of seat cluster arrangement. When coupled with a plate/ gusseted BB to chainstay arrangement, you have a very torsionally rigid rear end (by comparison).

Indeed, I reckon it works although many would disagree. Good job anyway!

You gonna be adding gussets to the stays on this project Brickman?

Even though its a totally different frame, my omnium is gusseted on both seat and chain stays and is stiff as hell.

Every time you add to this I get more intrigued to see to realized.

Triple Tri ya dun kno.

All the baddest bros have them.

Yeah I'm going to have to gusset it down between BB and the chainstays, might also TIG a plate in between brake bridge and seat tube intersection, will see when I get there.

That is gonna turn into a monster/beast of a ride when finished. Sweet!

Anymore updates yet, or has the wheat beer got in the way?!

are you planning on welding or brazing the dropouts/ seat stays?

Braze. I've made a few blocks up so everything can be aligned to where I want it to be. I'm just waiting for the setup table to be free so I can get on there.