The Edinburgh Mini-Commuto-MTB-Conversion

In an exciting turn of events I've been given basically free reign and around £500 to build up a stellar all-purpose commuting bike for my housemate's girlfriend. Stipulations being she's moving to Edinburgh, is of average height and likes to wear skirts, so gears, reasonably lightweight and a healthy amount of standover room were the main points.

Given that the good steel is usually of the horizontal top tube variety, rather than mixtes or sloping, I thought an on-trend mid 90's MTB conversion might be ideal. Dirt cheap lightweight alu frame, lots of braze-ons, 1x9 gearing, 650x38c conversion, swept back bars, etc

So I did a mock-up in BikeCAD and I reckon we're in business.

Now I just need to find, well, everything. Missed out on a nice black 17" Orange O2 on the 'bay, but have a line on a 16" Orance C16 on retrobike.

Will build up some wheels myself (suggestions for suitable 650B rims and tyres?) and I haven't yet decided on rapidfire vs thumbies. Irritatingly I just sold the 9sp XT shifter and mech I had.

This is very much a blank sheet build, input appreciated!

That's a nice little project, But you could come in way under £500 with the right picks.

I would avoid 650B in this instance - Unless you go Disc, 650B rim brake rims are hard to find and pricey. Velocity do make some though; the Synergy(?) Also inner tubes and tyres are not as available.

The older orange frames do have low head tubes - You'd be better off with a Kona for a longer HT and plenty of stand over.

1x9 is a good idea as long as you put a decent guard on there - something like an alfine chain set with it's integrated guard

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kona-Ute-Cargo-Bicycle-Bike-18-Inch-/271554062898?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3f39e22a32

Or buy this.

I know Velo Orange do a 650B rim too, and Panaracer Col de la Vie tyres seem reasonable. Paging Scoble!

But yep, Alfine chainset was the plan, and I'm certainly hoping it comes under budget. Not too worried about the headtube, but I'll just have to see what turns up

Hah, I'm not sure that comes under the "lightweight" moniker!

The other problem with 650B is that to adapt a frame - you need to position the brake mounts higher - or else use something like Pauls Moto BMX brake to adjust the height of the pads - which increases mechanical advantage and reduces power.

Having a mini brainwave - I might be selling this frame / fork headset ...

Very lightweight Cannondale Killer V - Medium size 17" - Good standover & recently powdercoated at Armourtex - so pretty minty paint

Even has alfine chainset :-P

I think there are Tektro brakes that adjust enough too. Might yet go with discs too. Cool frame, but the low bit's in the wrong place, aha

Better off sticking with 26", cheap and cheerful, hell, I reckon you can pick up a decent MTB wheelset for a lots less than £100.

You can get Panaracer Pasela in 26" 1.75 (or 1.50 if you want to keep a lower BB).

There will be enough room to fit mudguard under all this too, a simple SKS Chromoplastic with big fuck-off mudflap does the job.

650b is for hipster with vanity.

Definitely 26" is cheaper. Just wondered if I could do something more interesting and ultimately great to ride with the budget. I think the braking power is the limiting factor though, so it will probably be 26"

In frameset news, I think I will likely pull the trigger on this '93 Orange Clockwork

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa242/HARDRAR/Clockwork009_zpsf70d76cc.jpg

But this Trek is just ridiculous and if it fits I might have to get it. I suspect it's too long though.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1055x791q90/910/GFuL9h.jpg

Orange gets my vote, from experience in Edinburgh, understated = better if locking bike in common stair/outside.

Sadly the Orange is actually a higher end frame than it was painted up as from the factory, and has no rack or guard eyelets. Back to square one

All right, this build is officially go. Now I just need everything else. Haven't even decided how many speeds yet..

If the aim is to have a single chainring up front, 10 speed would give her a good range of gear without having a large jump between each cog.

e.g.

11-34 with a 44t chainring, 32-100GI.

If she need a lower gearing, a 11-36 with a 42t cassette would work for the majority of ride, I would not recommend a wide 8 speed transmission as the jump is far greater with a 11-32.

True, but 10 speed stuff is vastly more expensive than 9 speed, and she won't be too concerned by a slightly gappy cassette as long as the range is there I think

A 9 speed 11-32t with a 42t chainring would be a good balance;

11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28, 32t

compare to a 11-36 10 speed, only difference is the additional 36t;

11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28, 32,** 36t**

A gappier 9 speed 11-34 would work if she doesn't mind it;

11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 23, 26, 30, 34t

Yep, that's what I was hoping, thanks. Almost identical range as an Alfine 8 by the looks of it too.

Much cheaper and lighter too, any old Deore/LX derailleur will handle it easily.

Have worked out a deal on components along with the frameset, much excite. XTR M900 crank, mech, brakes, levers, and hubs laced to polished mavic rims, along with an unramped 42T chainring, a ControlTech stem and some placeholder tyres and saddle, 11-34 cassette and chain. This is going to look filthy good.

Last few additional bits will be a 9sp shifter and suitable bars. Easy peasy. Now, just to decide on front or back rack.

Got a big box of retro bike in the post this morning, and my goodness it's so neon. I will be sad to see this one leave. On the plus side I'm also now the proud owner of Pace RC35 forks for my own silly 90s MTB

And all the rest of the bits I ordered arrived today! XT shifter, bars, mudguards, canti hanger, cables, pedals.

There is an issue with the original forks however, the seller found a crack near the top. Don't really know what's caused it, as far as he knows they haven't been crashed. Getting them checked over by a local framebuilder. In the meantime, he supplied another pair of forks, which kind of match the XTR blueygrey, but aren't as nice, so fingers crossed the others can be fixed.

Why you no v brake?

Better mudguard and rack compatibility. Plus XTR cantis are plenty powerful

But mostly I love how they look and the redundant canti hanger at the back would have made me sad

Fair enough. I can appreciate that. Looks good.

Pics n' issues.

Can't be many of these rings around; downhill specific single 44T. It's meant to be mounted on the inner position though, and it just won't go, so chain drops like nothing else. Some of the crankarm tabs actually look bent too. So I'm sending the whole lot back, and fitting an Alfine 39T chainset when it arrives, which has the added bonus that the chain will actually be long enough and I don't need to get a new one.

In better news, Pat at Limit Fabrications spot welded the proper fork for a tenner, while I waited. Top bloke. Checked the rest of the crown for any other cracks too. Just need to clearcoat it.

Mostly together now though.

Love the feel of the bar sweep, just right

seXTR

Not long now!