Current Projects chat and miscellany

Brooks tape on the Mercian? Nice bike!

Prendas tools and a bike stand. I'm a bit jealous.

I think lots of people here had a Pug as a 1st singlespeed. Mine is still going strong (with a different owner). There are a few threads like this one about the particulars of old Peugeots. Although It looks like your doing alright with it so far.

+1, just this minute freecycled one exactly like that. Lively, light frame.

mercian with new bars and stem. stem feels too long so will have to swap it for something else.

The reach on Noodle bars is super long (even with the bit of sweep on the tops factored in). That caught me out too. The hoods end up 1.5cm - 2cm further away than with a more conventional bar.

I finally found a silver compact-shape road bar with a 26mm clamp, which I would have had on the Bob if I'd known about it (I think Ed Scoble was looking for the same thing a while back):

http://www.alexscycle.com/handlebars/road-1-2/nitto-neat-m106-nas.html

Pretty expensive though. I'm waiting to hear from Tokyo Fixed on whether they can bring it in on special order.

Willpalmer, you're doing it the right way. Just get stuck in.
Btw, some carbon forks will made a load of difference to the Visp. Defo look at getting some.

The reach on Noodle bars is super long (even with the bit of sweep on the tops factored in). That caught me out too. The hoods end up 1.5cm - 2cm further away than with a more conventional bar.

I finally found a silver compact-shape road bar with a 26mm clamp, which I would have had on the Bob if I'd known about it (I think Ed Scoble was looking for the same thing a while back):

http://www.alexscycle.com/handlebars/road-1-2/nitto-neat-m106-nas.html

Pretty expensive though. I'm waiting to hear from Tokyo Fixed on whether they can bring it in on special order.

Not the same colour but otherwise similar are these.

how long before you realised a ball bearing from the headset was stuck to your top lip with a dab of grease?

lol. :)

Prendas tools and a bike stand. I'm a bit jealous.

I think lots of people here had a Pug as a 1st singlespeed. Mine is still going strong (with a different owner). There are a few threads like this one about the particulars of old Peugeots. Although It looks like your doing alright with it so far.

I must admit, it's great to be able to work on it so easily, with everything I need right there.

I got this frame from someone off the forum. Hopefully it serves me well! Though I'm pretty sure once the bits start to wear.. i'll start something new. :)

I must admit, it's great to be able to work on it so easily, with everything I need right there.

I got this frame from someone off the forum. Hopefully it serves me well! Though I'm pretty sure once the bits start to wear.. i'll start something new. :)

very lucky indeed! Good luck with it!

Not the same colour but otherwise similar are these.

They seem to be a "Tour de France" curve, i.e. less drop than a Maes bar but not like a modern compact. The M106 has a curve like this:

I.e., not a round bend, it curves sharply at the top and then has a shallow curve down to the bottom.

Here it is (in silver) compared to the Deda RHM (in black) which is a typical oversize compact bar.

Re the bars, I got some old second hand 3t roubaix bars from BLB for £5. Pretty sure you should be able to pick up similar on ebay or the parts bin of a bike shop.

Also PX has some nos 3t's which I think have a shallow reach/drop.

PX has loads of bars in their sale at the mo.

mercian with new bars and stem. stem feels too long so will have to swap it for something else. Still have to order the grand bois 28 tyres and install the mudgurads.

These photos are a really good illustration of your reach.

Regal. thanks for the suggestion. I dont want to swap bars. Ill try a shorter stem.I think I will just swap the 100mm with an 85mm stem and see how that goes . 26.4 clamp with a coke can shim fits the 26.0 bars. If it's still too long I'll try a 75mm. anything less then 70 looks silly IMO. I love the noodle bar. had it on my moulton with the technomic stem Im selling and it was a great combo. the criterium bars are so much sorter then the noodle. Plus on the roberts I ride on the drops most but on the mercian on the hoods.

@WILLPALMER
I too bought a VISP and don't really have any complaints.
However, make sure you buy BIG because they are small IMHO. My 58cm feels like a 56cm compared with other bikes I have tried.

Also, it is really tough to build one of these up on a "budget". By that I mean buying a second hand OTP is almost invariably cheaper.

For example, the frameset, forks and seatpost costs you say £150.
Then you need a wheelset which is going to be AT LEAST another £100.
At which point you could have bought plenty of the Langsters/Plugs off scumtree.

At one point I even considered buying a very cheap second hand bike and just harvesting it for parts: wheelset, saddle, bars, stem, chainset etc...

If you are looking to "learn about building a bike" or whatever, I just don't believe the hype.

Putting mine together was like following the most straightforward lego instructions. (Not technic-lego, possibly more like duplo to be honest...)
If you can change a tyre, you can build a bike.
I would have probably learned more buying second hand, taking it to pieces and then putting it back together.

Plus, I just changed my stock fork because the original is made of the most hand-jangling material known to man.

thats absolutly treasured advice being 6 foot 2, thanks.
and yeh your right about bikes being easy to do, i built myself a new mtb out of discount internet parts, easy peasy as long as you make sure you get compatible parts. the only thing i am worried about is chainline, as with mountainbikes you can just change spacers round on the back cog and in the bottem bracket, but dunno how fixed gear chainline works and how you know what frame/back hub/BB and cranks is compatible?
thanks

you dont really have to quote, like, the whole post, you know?

That point about them coming up small is true. I think they're measured C t T rather than C t C. I'm 6'1 and managed with the biggest size, you might need to have a few spacers though.
Don't worry about the chainline, just buy a track or single speed chainset and you'll be fine. If you use a road one get a 107 BB and maybe put the chainring on the inside of the spider if it looks a bit off.
My new visp build should come in at under £500 and have decent parts.

My new visp build should come in at under £500 and have decent parts.[/QUOTE]

just practicing the ability to not quote the whole lot.
and i'm trying exactly the same maybe trying to squeeze down to about 450£

Thinkin I might sell my Dawes Super Galaxy (going on picnics with the missus bike) and my Langster (all round winter hack) to fund something that will do the job of both. I'm thinkin single speed/fixed with discs. Swap the rear disc for a bolt on cog when I want to run fixed. Been lookin at Halo XCD front hub and XCS rear maybe laced onto Mavic 317 disc rims. For frame/fork I'm thinking Pompetamine with Kona Project 2s. Any one got any experience with any of these bits or got any good alternative suggestions?

My new visp build should come in at under £500 and have decent parts.

just practicing the ability to not quote the whole lot.
and i'm trying exactly the same maybe trying to squeeze down to about 450£[/QUOTE]

my build list is going
frame- £140
bars+stem- £30
crankset+bb- £115
wheels- £100
saddle- £60
carbon forks- £40
brake levers- £20
total- £505

Although I've just realised I haven't accounted for tyres, tubes, a brake, the cable and bar tape. So it might be £550 overall.
It would be easy to save money on things like the cranks, forks and saddle though.

for £500 you can get a way better bike then the visp with your specs. my Duell up there was way below that amount and it has a good mix of parts. I know its a conversion and not a track frame but for road use it would be way better.
or just get a charge plug. they were clearing them out at 399 a while back. prob gone by now.
ps
you got to leave the head and tail quotes in

My new visp build should come in at under £500 and have decent parts.

just practicing the ability to not quote the whole lot.
and i'm trying exactly the same maybe trying to squeeze down to about 450£[/QUOTE]

Thinkin I might sell my Dawes Super Galaxy (going on picnics with the missus bike) and my Langster (all round winter hack) to fund something that will do the job of both. I'm thinkin single speed/fixed with discs. Swap the rear disc for a bolt on cog when I want to run fixed. Been lookin at Halo XCD front hub and XCS rear maybe laced onto Mavic 317 disc rims. For frame/fork I'm thinking Pompetamine with Kona Project 2s. Any one got any experience with any of these bits or got any good alternative suggestions?

I believe Tester has a Pompentine in his fleet. I think it's in the Pompino thread?

I think the Pompentine fork has disc tabs.

Also have a look at these frames. Pretty reasonable for Reynolds 725.

Visp is the way to go, keeping in mind that you're on a budget. Note that some people will advise you against getting a Visp, these people are either a. pretentious bellends or b. from the stone age and wary of any aluminium frame. Either way for the money these are handsome frames:


You know, I think I'd rather select a frame based on the quality and longevity rather than how it looks!

for £500 you can get a way better bike then the visp with your specs. my Duell up there was way below that amount and it has a good mix of parts. I know its a conversion and not a track frame but for road use it would be way better.

I'm building up a Ciocc built Concorde I bought from (forumenger) Sash for less than a Visp frame. It's a road frame with more 'track' geo than a Visp has.

Should be pretty 'flickable'.

:D

just starting ciocc fixie conversion too :) will get some pics up soon, wish me luck!