Current Projects chat and miscellany

i'm gonna change out the forks, make the front end tighter.
not going to run 29er tyres, maybe some big 700x48 or something

the geometry works for polo, very similar to my current steed a BMW gangsta, but the gangsta doesnt have rear brake fittings and cant run big tyres.

fair enough. Seems to make more sense than a nervous track bike!

Still though - take it offroad!

Please don't kill what is a lovely off-road machine by making it into a beat-up polo bike.

Also, I'm intrigued as mdcc. I thought polo bikes were all about maneuverability and quick acceleration. Isn't a slack angled, chunky tyred 29er be the antithesis of this?

I know people use 700c machines for polo, but will a '9er work?

Beat up polo bike? i'm sorry, but its not just shitty beaters anymore, it's bikes that are about durability and strength, and correct me if i'm wrong, that's exactly what this lovely off road machine is designed for? Gusseted DT and TT etc...

it's not too far off...

MAX, please let me know when you want rid of that front fork, just what I'm after :)

If you're going to start from an MTB frame, I would have thought a 26" frame would have been better. I've had 700x37 wheels in mine with room to spare, but it's more compact than a niner frame

MAX, please let me know when you want rid of that front fork, just what I'm after :)

the kona fork? if your ok paying postage from canada...

er, maybe not then

how do you remove cottered cranks? used the search but couldn't find anything (and on youtube). is it as obvious as just loosening the nuts and pulling them off or am i missing something?

Remove the nut.

Hammer out the cotter pin.

Slide off the crank.

Remove the nut.

Hammer out the cotter pin by hitting it harder than the hand of God possibly could.

Slide off the crank.

Fixed.

^^ Or take a saw to the crank in my case.

Yo, I'm going to build up a beater boike so that I don't nearly have a heart attack every time I return to my locked up bike, expecting it to not be there no mo'.

I have a frame, a chain, a cog and some handlebars. Has anyone done this on the mega-cheap? What's the cheapest?

Wohoo! Finally I found a fast touring tandem in Denmark!

Looks like this now:

Hopefully it's going to look more like this one here before summer.
http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/CV-6+Enterprises/LeJeune/Tucson+Tandem/LeJeune+Tandem+005res.jpg.html

Bought it based on photos alone, so hope it's all right when I get it, hopefully next week :)

Then I need to sort out gears, and matching dropbars and weird french sizes.. And I guess I'll need to sort out some real cranks as well.. :)

Painted my road bike frame & forks last night. One coat of primer (over most of the frame) followed 10 mins later by one coat of some maroon/burgundy car paint. Both cans and frame at nice garage/outside temperature. It looks the shit! er I mean it looks shit. Still it's all one colour now and better than the original paint job. I'll put some pics up later when it's built.

My soon-to-be road bike:

Unknown 531 French(?) frame with full chrome rear triangle, chrome forks.

Building it up with an Ultegra 6500 groupset, 9 speed. Wheels are Ultegra hubs on CXP22s which I got for a bargain. Ultegra mechs, older more classic Dura-Ace cranks.

I'm after a set of 9 speed shifters now though, I dont care if they're ultegra or not, I just need some on the cheapish. Can anyone help? Also need a 9 speed cassette and chain.

Also, rather annoyingly, the forks take a modern allen nut brake, but the rear needs a bolt brake. And they both need to be long drop (57mm). Anyone got any shimano brakes to fit the bill? Older 600/dura ace ones would be lovely.

think my mate has some 105 9-speed he might be willing to sell. would have to be posted though. i'll ask

think my mate has some 105 9-speed he might be willing to sell. would have to be posted though. i'll ask

Posted is fine, I'm in coventry. Cheers mate.

Is it my imagination or is your fork bent?

Your imagination. It's fine.

Is it my imagination or is your fork bent?

I was also thinking that...

I am looking at them now, they're perfect. It's the camera angle game again.

Thank God... :]

I know! I think I was almost as worried as you were for a second there. Heart skipped a beat, etc.

Yo, I'm going to build up a beater boike so that I don't nearly have a heart attack every time I return to my locked up bike, expecting it to not be there no mo'.

I have a frame, a chain, a cog and some handlebars. Has anyone done this on the mega-cheap? What's the cheapest?

Yep, I'm mega poor almost all of the time and my record on building a bike up is...

Free!

Beg, borrow, steal. It does depends on what you consider to be road worthy though. If you've got some shitty donor bike for free then you've got most of the stuff you need. The only things you might need to forks out for are the rear wheel (or in my case I just whip the freewheel off and suicide mount the cog) and maybe the bb/crank/chainring to line it all up.

Bought it looking like this.

Having to chuck it together for a couple of weeks to ride to work on so just a temporary paint job/build.

Hopefully have it finished tomorrow.

Why did you get rid of the original paintjob - it looked immense!!!!