Current Projects chat and miscellany

Cheers Dammit, sounds good.

Current state of Cross Check touring project. Zipp Service Course bars and Time ATACs are in the post. Need to collect non-ripped SDG too.

OOHHH, I do love me a good Cross-Check.

I'm finally going to build my planet x this weekend. Has anyone got a torque wrench that I can borrow?

Digger has one built into his DNA

treat your self to a new saddle chris

Yep, better condition Bel Air on the way. Really wanted a Koobi PRS in Red/White/Black but looks like they're stopped selling that colour now. Also a nice Flite on eBay at the moment in Black/Red/Yellow which I thought would be highly appropriate for cycling to Hamburg:

I was hoping for a more DIY, sort it now and ride it to a shop tomorrow kind of bodge, but I think the Dirt Harry solution is as good as it's going to get for now.

Just took the bar-end lever off my 'TT' setup to see if that could be a temporary bodge; it didn't fit and in the process I have ruined the bar tape on my TT bars and split the end of my brake cable.

It's one of those evenings.

Those fucking grommets, what a shit system. Aero levers and modern components > retro bollocks.

Went to my LBS and got the cable stop and an outer of the right length for €2. It's a great shop as well, I will put it in the Berlin recommendations thread forthwith.

After putting my lever in the right place, fitting the magic grommet, and doing my usual appalling attempt at bar tape, I have this:

Not yet completely sold on the natural cork bar tape. It was supposed to look all golden and woody, instead it looks a bit like tubigrip or a support girdle. Needs to get dirty and I might appreciate it more.

The bars are class though, such fun to ride. The 'porteur' position has more reach than my old bars, and is really comfy, while the forward bit is good for a slightly racier position.

If/when I sell this bike, I think they're coming with.

I thought the germans were sticklers for all fixed gear bikes having two brakes

I'd heard that, but I've seen no evidence for it here whatsoever so far. I got stopped by the police as well, well riding a fixie biek that very obviously had only one brake, and just got told to get out of the dual carriageway.

I've seen a few here with brakeless fitted (including a fellow Englishman the other day with the slackest angles you can imagine, and the classic plastic toeclip/single nylon strap retention), and even a brakeless single-speeder, riding very gingerly along the pavement and using lampposts to brake. Also I did a ride to a velodrome with a group from the Keirin Cafe and a lot of the guys just rode there on their track setup.

maybe they've realised it was too much effort

They did have a crackdown not long ago on fixed wheel bicycles because they didn't like the thread of being brake less, even with one brake.

Might be worth double checking to make sure, but awesome looking bike though

Thanks Ed.

I have been in multiple bike shops with my bikes, and on rides with people riding brakeless as I said, and no-one has tried to warn me off it.

My flatmates said they occasionally do huge round-ups where they stop all bikes at certain junctions, but I think they mainly do that at night and check for lights. Which reminds me, I need new batteries.

I'm only here for another week, so hopefully I'll be alright. If not I'll always ride with Rodolfo, he doesn't even have any lights, and is normally drunk.

jinxes self

Konga, that does look very nice, loving the straight tapered forks with it too, although they do seem a mite slim!

So, where did you source the materials?

Know the last project was an old MTB, wasn't it?

But the tubes and dropouts on this look too clean to be transplants, the brazing is nice and very neat, the tubing looks well thought out and proportioned, all together a very different beast from the last one we saw!

De-sticker the rims, for that ultra clean, stripped down naked look and that really is something special, and it looks like its my size too! ;)

Some more pics of the stays and with the head tube straight on would be appreciated mate.

Thanks. I'm thinking carbon fork...

Tubes are new ones (Columbus Zona). Here you can find more info and pics about project: click and click (only in finnish, sorry).

none of you fuckers have bought my mkm so i am being forced to make it into a TT bike, i have a matching tub in the other toolbox so will dig that out tonight so need sram BB, short cage rear mech and saddle

photo.JPG by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

Thanks. I'm thinking carbon fork...

Tubes are new ones (Columbus Zona). Here you can find more info and pics about project: click and click (only in finnish, sorry).

Noooo!
I'm actually really starting to love that fork on that frame, its sharp and quirky and fits the overall character very well I think.
If you do get rid of it, can you send it to me, and I'll give it a loving home?!

^ Oh, and awesome build, really enjoyed looking through those pics.

Surprising (to me) how few "specialized" bike frame building tools you seem to have used, in fact it only seems to have been a basic rig, everything else is standard tools for even relatively basic metal working.

Which makes it all the more impressive how well its been completed.

And also has started me wondering what tubing I'd use...

Looks sick, but I have heard terrible things about low rider racks which do not have the cross brace that joins them to each other.

Considering their expertise in the field, I trust Thorn's judgement on the matter - plus it gives me more options for running fat mtb tyres at somepoint in the future

none of you fuckers have bought my mkm so i am being forced to make it into a TT bike

If it's any consolation, I would have bitten your arm off if I had enough of those monies things.

need short cage rear mech

How many gears? I haz RD-7402 & RD-1050

i am being forced to make it into a TT bike

Awww, I feel for you man :(

Still searching for a mint condition black campagnolo omega v rim in 36h.

photo.JPG by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

I have long admired this special little frame. But the longer the seatpost gets, the more it looks like a recumbent.

Zdrenka’s flatland race competition build

^ looks badass.