Current Projects chat and miscellany

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I added a Planet X track to the family.

As the Planet X will be my track bike I've temporarily resigned the NJS frame to beater duty. It'll soon return to it's life as a fixed gear road bike but all my road time has been on the Giant recently so there's no rush.

Nothing has really changed on the Giant but it felt left out so here's a photo of it after a week in the Peak District.

Nice steeds.

I dream that one day my giant will look as nice as that!

How do the areas you took the decals off look close up?

The seatpost just looks like your standard 3k weeve, cranks have a patchwork ud look going on and the rear mech/shifters have a very uniform ud finish.

I'm mourning the loss of the NJS thing in fixed road mode. Sort it out!

Don't worry, I'll get fed up of the clips and straps soon and revert it back to road mode. I need to look out for another SLR C64 or something similar, there's far too much padding on the Arione.

Did you just sand down the red decals? Planning doing the same with
mine due to some crash damage, any advice?

Had it in the parts box, tried it upside down, but due to sloping top tube, the drops were too low. May go for a slightly shorter zero rise, but for now it's comfortable etc. need a job before buying any more parts!

and thanks :P

put the risers back on
don't be silly
trends come and go!

^^ I messed around with Carbolift, razor blades and sandpaper to remove the decals, but would have been much better off just wet sanding at varying grades. There are a few threads on WW which explain the process pretty well.
[URL="http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=83500&hilit=carbolift"][/URL]

Nearly done got my thomson x4

Would this work to cut my fork tube?

yes.

No, because that is not a real tool but a rendered graphic.

Not worth buying one, presumably once you've removed your Miche BB you'll be burning it anyway

It's not a Miche BB, it's a very nice Stronglight SBBA. Not only are they beautifully made to start with, but they can be rebuilt with new bearing cartridges, unlike most. Also, the tool required is one which every toolbox needs, so buying one won't be a waste.

Would this work to cut my fork tube?

No, although it can be used to mark a nice even cutting guide line on the steerer so that you have something to aim at with your hacksaw.

^^^^^ It depends if its a carbon/alu/steel steerer?

If its steel or alu, then yes, one of those would work pretty well as long as you take it slow, only tightening it half a turn or so each revolution.

If its carbon, you want a very fine hack saw blade, maybe a junior hack saw (which is what I used), making sure to tape it first with electrical tape or similar so that no fibers get frayed as you cut it which would weaken the steerer.

^^ this.

And UTFS.

^^^^^ It depends if its a carbon/alu/steel steerer?

If its steel or alu, then yes, one of those would work pretty well as long as you take it slow, only tightening it half a turn or so each revolution.

You're still going to get a cleaner cut if you move onto sawing after it's scored.

Best way to cut a steerer is with a hacksaw, and then tidy it up nicely with a file.

Real sense of satisfaction too...

yeah
if it's straight

(3500th post)

I forget that most people don't have the tool kit I do! if its alu I would still cut it with the pipe cutter to get a perfectly straight cut, but then I'd ream it out with a 40mm pipe reamer and file it with a bastard file to give it a perfect cut with no burs internal or external of the cut.

But, if its steel or in the absence of all those tools, just remember to mark it all round the steerer so that as you cut it you follow the mark making it straight (not easy to get perfect without), and try and find a file of some sort to take off any burs so as not to scratch up the inside of your stem clamp.[U][/U]

Was well pissed off when the guy who fitted my headset in other bike at my LBS cut the steerer totally on the piss, was about 1/4 inch out from one side to other, and he hadn't filled it either, so stem was scored. >_<

do you guys usually install brake levers above or below the bar tape? apparently the brake lever I got on the parts with which i started this project is too wide to fit without the tape on the handlebars...

dude

do you guys usually install brake levers above or below the bar tape? apparently the brake lever I got on the parts with which i started this project is too wide to fit without the tape on the handlebars...

Even google translate can't make sense of this....