Mystery All-Rad Metallurgical Masterpiece And Other Projects

Sounds like a plan. It’s nice to have friends like that.

Six months! Alright, lots of shit has happened between then and now so here are some updates. It's been really good to spend time watching the process unfold, and I've been having a noodle with brazing and filing myself.

The geometry has changed slightly, and now sports a sloping top tube after seeing some sense.

Toobs up in the jig and the shaping begins. The true fatness of a T47 BB becomes clear.

Always hydrate with smug Euro liquid. Oh, and here are the lovely Martir head badges.

Scientifically aligned bottle boss testing...

Time for some fucking tacks!

Hunger strikes early and often after inhaling fumes, and sometimes only the Lebanese bakery will suffice.

Annnnnd it's starting to look like a bike!

Brazing photo-dump.

Now I need to work out what fenders I'll be running with it, and as such which wheel size I'll opt for when it's first built up. Swaying towards 700c wheels for now. Anyone got recommendations for tasty gravel fenders which play nice with a Columbus Futura Grav Grav fork?

This is looking pretty similar to what I'm planning and after a bit of a play in rattlecad last night it looks like I might have to give up on a horizontal TT too.

Out of curiosity what's your reasoning for abandoning a horizontal TT also?

this looks sweet! followed for sure.

Sorry, I didn't see this - I was trying to get a good stand over for off road but I'm all legs and arms with a short torso so I need a longish HT. I really wanted the look of a horizontal TT though so I might put up with less clearance. I'm not going to be doing any full on trails so it should be ok. A bit more playing on Rattlecad this week then I need to bite the bullet and fire off a few emails and see who is going to build it.

I've now started a slow build of my very own frame, so I'll plonk some pictures in here because nobody needs more than two threads done by me. The brief is an off-road bikepacking monster trukk, foregoing 27.5 wheels in favour of 29ers with modest 2.6 inch rubbeur. She'll be:

Columbus Zona Tubeset
Konga Bikes Deep Kustom Yokeyboy Yoke
Paragon Thru-Axl Rose Dropouts
Unicrown Reynolds Toobing Fork w/ Paragon Steerer
44mm Head Toob
73mm BSA BB Boi
Bosses Out the Wazoo
Boost Spacing
Handle Bars
Probably A Saddle

Toobs arrived and I had finally had a chance to start shaping. This was my first time working with ones which would actually become a bike, which really set the balls a tinglin'. I was very excited about the first one.

Set the Anvil jig up with all those tasty angles and she's looking just about like a bike...

Must be fucking Christmas as I had the near complete gravel boi and forthcoming bouncy friend in one glorious shot.

Home renovations in Tasmania will keep things snail pace as per all projects, but that doesn't stop me being so fucking excited about..

Fuckin yeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Hell yeah!

Subbed. Looks rad

If you're excited I must be doing it right ;)

SO - sporadic visits to the workshop when I'm back from Tasmania have resulted in a bit of progress. After a balls up featuring an old Bike CAD setup which didn't accommodate for 29 inch wheels or some bullshit, I shaped a beautiful downtube only to find out it was too fucking short. The price you pay for drinking Stone IPA's while working on the first frame you've ever made. Assured by Willy that making mistakes is all part of the process, I forged (brazed really) on.

Fitting the seat-tube and down tube was a pain in the arse, but an extremely satisfying result.

Time for some fart holes to let all those nasty fumes out, and any water that decides it wants to be a prick.

Then time for more decorative fart holes. A triple threat on the down-tube for water carrying capacity, but no inner triangle bosses as I'll be going with a full frame bag.

It's about now that we thought we'd make a pan-flute instead.

After some fiddling with the top tube which ended up slotting in without much fanfare, it was time to get tacky.

There's something about this stage that starts to make everything feel a bit real. I mean, its most of a fucking bike frame, almost, and all my own work. I spend a lot of time walking around it and beaming at its shininess.

All that was left to do was bend some tiny handlebars with the Swagelock and see what they looked like on the bike, and she's ready to ride...

no inner triangle bosses as I'll be going with a full frame bag.

Not tempted to do a bolt-on frame bag then? they look super clean

Yeah we tossed that up, and I agree they look great, but the custom bag maker I'm going with put me off it a bit. Gonna use a big canvas looking roll-top which will look plenty boss

Bump

Ba-dump

@t-v

@russmeyer

That made me smile - and reminds me I do have a lot to share about this project. And now I have the time to do it. Let me upload some pictures and get it going :)

Please, please, please

We need tales from the land beyond as well please.
These are dark times.

Tis true

That's also a nice thing to read! I've been sadly absent from the world of bikepacking, but I'd been thinking of doing a bit of writing about our experience since buying a house in the middle of nowhere in Tasmania. There would be plenty of swearing..

Would read that!

You could write a diary of your bowel movements and I’d read it. I’ve recently felt that something has been missing in my life and now I realise, it’s updates from your threads.