First fixed

Ulster sports transfer loosely copied (using Microsoft Paint and waterslide paper) from this original as featured on an ebay sale recently:

What was the flecked silver on the base coat?

Just fine glitter.

The paint looks great, I'm not sure about the decal though. I reckon it'd look much better straight on the red rather than having the white background.

I thought the same about the decals, however the limitations of my inkjet printer and the paper means that they don't show up on anything other than white. I did think about leaving it without decals but really it's just an experiment in a few painting ideas I wanted to try, also colnago use a similar transfer on white on some of their frames and they look passable so I thought it was worth a go. It'll look better when it's finished... Hopefully.

This is looking great! I love the paint and decals.

Good work!

And that, Ladies & Gentlemen, is what a *proper *workshop should look like!

Easy build? Any hitches?

Nothing major so far, it's only lashed together at the moment to get a few measurements so I can make a guesstimate at the handlebar stem length. It'll get finished next week and I'll take a better pic, I may get a more inclusive one of the garage as well, it's a bit cramped in there with 8 bikes 2 motorbikes a canoe and most of the bits of my project car... I like it though.

Sadly one of the tubs I'd lovingly repaired split it's sidewall under pressure so I had to buy a new one after all, also bought a funky looking seat tube bolt. Taken delivery of a reasonably priced handlebar stem sold by planet x via eBay, which pretty much means the bike could be together if I have a few minutes tomorrow. Fitted the chain but had to recruit a few links from my son's redundant baby bike as asda's 1/8 hasn't enough links, they're different colours but it's all character.

Hello,

At the base coat, color is exactly as you have applied or silver dots?

regards

• I used google translator, if some of the text is misspelled.
  

Hi Mende, base coat is plain yellow cellulose paint ("traffic yellow" I think). The silver dots are fine glitter in clear cellulose lacquer, the close-up of them is a bit misleading as the surface had a bit of bloom, once it was cut back the flecks looked a lot more sparkly and like glitter. Top coat was the clear lacquer again, tinted with crimson cellulose (approximately 2 parts lacquer, 1 part crimson, 3 parts thinners).

Bike is finished now and I did nip round the block on it but it was raining and generally unsuitable and I wasn't in my spd shoes. Bike felt good although fixed may take some getting used to; I have no flip to my flip-flop hub as spacings do not provide enough room for a freewheel, so it's fixed or nothing.

Picture tomorrow hopefully and then no more.

Ok, picture quality is not great and ignore the date in the corner (it's wrong). It may need some better brake blocks!

Oh yes, gearing's a bit low. I seem to remember my dad had a 54 tooth stronglight and therefore had a 20 tooth sprocket; I haven't got the chainwheel but I have got the sprocket.

Nice work: chapeau!

I love the chainring.

With a shorter stem you could move the saddle back a bit: how long is it and what size is the clamp?

Thanks.
I found the chainring whilst searching for a Royal Enfield bike for my daughter. I didn't get a bike but I couldn't resist the crank set. A Rudge one with the hand motif would be more suitable really but I'm going to waste money on other stuff for a while now, so won't be buying one yet.
The saddle is a very old Brooks that I had when I was a kid (it was old then too) and I've had to sew a new bit of leather on the front of it. The seatpost is not really suitable for it and I should have used an old style clamp and plain tube post. It won't move any further back as the rails bend in towards the front, even if I do change the post and clamp (which I might), I'd probably stick with the handlebar stem as the frame's top tube is pretty short, one day I'll buy a frame that fits!
The stem is 125mm reach (1" quill), I would have bought a 140mm one but it was £5 more and would have looked a bit daft. The saddle is quite long (not sure how long but longer than any of my modern ones). Many years ago my mum used to moan about the saddle leaving marks on my trousers (it's had a lot of dubbin over the years) so I made a cover for it out of an old bit of bed sheet. Unfortunately the sheet was pink and the front of the saddle appeared positively pornographic when I was riding it!