Current Projects chat and miscellany

Totally out of interest, but how come Cycle-cross bikes don't have disc brakes?

I do a fair amount of off roading, and a friend of mine tagged along on his MB which had side pull brakes, and all they did was get clogged up with mud, and made us all wait whilst he de-clogged them with sticks.

Now I appreciate the difference between CX and a proper Off road, just a thought that was all.

Disc brakes were not allowed under UCI rules for CX races.
This has changed though.
Why this would effect nearly all XC bikes I dont know. Focus and Fixie inc both had disc braked CX bikes out when the ruling was in place. But there were'nt many others.

Also it sounds like your friend did'nt set their brakes up very well.

Got a new chain and grips for the pro winner today.
Tilted the saddle up a tiny bit from the photo

more pics here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57282370@N03/?saved=1

jesus. whats the clearance on those forks? if you can get a first class stamp under there you're doing well.

this is the rear clearance, the wheel is right at the front of the dropouts

i will check my stock today and let you know.

how did you make that bike man?

the wheel is right at the front of the dropouts

Are you not going to have to break the chain to get the wheel out? I could have gone with a link less on the Feather but I wouldn't have been able to get the chain off - didn't fancy breaking the chain to change a flat.

there's just enough slack so I can get a link off the sprocket or chainring, then spin the wheel and the chain comes off.

Ah, ok. There wasn't enough leeway for me to do that.

Just arrived:

Which is:

A "Fix and Mix" bundle, which seemed like a good deal. Will be assembled from parts taken off my Charge Plug Freestyler to begin with, as well as parts that came in the bundle. I chose to go with Midge bars as I've been considering them on my daily commute bike for a while but not gotten around to buying any.

got the exact same box sitting here...waiting for some parts and the action is go! didnt take the mix deal though...its gonna be all brown and gold...pics soon...

Really tempted by one of these - seems like a great price. Really interested in your plans on how they will be built up. Thinking V-brakes or Canti's? Look forward to some pics built up. Either of you go for the large size? would be great to see real life pics of that.

could fit QR mudguard and 5 lights on that seat tube

water bottle mount would be good there to i think? aerodynamics...

An aero bottle will improve the aerodynamics. Fact.
Make sure the shape and position are correct.
Doesn't matter it it's filled or with what.

actually, needs to be a welded metal flask not a water bottle!

Just arrived:

Which is:

A "Fix and Mix" bundle, which seemed like a good deal. Will be assembled from parts taken off my Charge Plug Freestyler to begin with, as well as parts that came in the bundle. I chose to go with Midge bars as I've been considering them on my daily commute bike for a while but not gotten around to buying any.

Also waiting for mine, it's been a week now :(

Right, i have a new project, i found a Peugeot carbolite frame in my size!

straight away i replaced the spindle(i think its called that?) in the bottom bracket so it don't have to ride it with cotterd cranks which is very handy, then luckaly found a seat post in the draw that fits! bingo wings!(its that anoying little french seat post) along with the stem to, none fit from the draw apart from one, that has a awkward size to!

eventually found bars that fit in the stem which is a relief, decent ones to, still in the process of choosing wheels

now its starting to turn it into a road bike, will need to buy everything else new to finish it

i'm building it all classy, i guess a semi restore? cant wait, think its going to look pretty snazzy when its done

Belgian novy mixte for the GF.

Ofmega cottared cranks.
Schwalbe road cruisers
peugeot black/silver mudguards.

needs a retro bell and a wald basket and done!

Have you got a better pic of the chainguard? what does it say on it?

Sorry, not at the minute, I'll take some next time im up at gf's gaff.

Burls Titanium fixed CX- v.happy!

Love it! What gear ratio are you running? Are you planning on racing it?

As to the disc brake question, disc brakes were banned in UCI categorised races up until last summer. For most people this had no impact as the vast majority of cross races in the UK are not UCI categorised, but it did mean the pros couldn't use discs. In my experience, road shift levers and mechanical disc brakes don't mix well so braking is nowhere near as good as hydraulic discs. With the rule changed I'd expect someone to bring out hydraulic discs that work with road shift levers in the next 12 months.

3rd bike in as many months...run over...stolen...thank fuck for insurance!

now has black grips and a front brake. finished except i am switching to a halo courier berlin hard compound as i wore thru the regular courier berlin in 3 weeks couriering brakeless and have got 3 punctures on it. but really like how they ride. also the charge bucket has been swapped for a charge spoon.

also the rear wheel needs to have some serious tensioning/truing going down due to crashing and jumping up and down curbs etc.

wore thru the regular courier berlin in 3 weeks couriering brakeless

You do know you can buy a brake for the price of a tyre, don't you?

Also waiting for mine, it's been a week now :(

They messed my order up somehow... Worth chasing them for it, especially as they're about to do a warehouse move this weekend!

Discussed mine and Zouo's delayed orders over here...

Really tempted by one of these - seems like a great price. Really interested in your plans on how they will be built up. Thinking V-brakes or Canti's? Look forward to some pics built up. Either of you go for the large size? would be great to see real life pics of that.

I'm going V-brakes at the moment, as that's what I have to hand. I have some road levers designed to work with Vs, although they're a bit tatty. Having looked at the pivotal saddle/seat post, I'm not impressed. They'll be on ebay soon no doubt...

You do know you can buy a brake for the price of a tyre, don't you?

the tires were an xmas gift and i was waiting for my mate to order in a SRAM apex front brake and to get a tube and brake cable cheaper, end up with £35 rrp of stuff for £14. some of us aren't loaded.

hmmmm...

about my peugoet above, if it had tan wall tires and brown pedal straps would brown/leather tape be to much?

I recon go for white bartape and black straps. Tan wall tyres would look alright too.