Adventures in Middle Earth, or building a Rivendell

This looks insane!

Though just looking at it and it looks like the chain may be a bit short by a few links??

Hm not sure. I've got it to shift all the way up to the biggest cog at the back. Haven't tried too much with the big cog at the front yet though.

Will keep an eye on it though. Ta.

Silver bits are the best.
+1

Really love this thread. Beautiful bike.

Yeah I feel its going to struggle in the lowest gears at the back when you're in the bigger ring...

:)

this is already lovely, can't wait to see it finished

I have a horrible feeling you're right. Well, of all parts to have to reorder I can live with a chain.

I can see I'm going to have to continue to update this thread once I start riding it. Not that I'm complaining...

yeh! wanna see some trips and a write up or two at least!

for future edification, you don't need that whole Paul brake adapter kit. You can remove the center m6 bolt and install and longer one for non-recessed mounts. I've done it.

They say somewhere it's "bonded" in place but then also mention loctite, presumably the "permament" kind. How hard is it to remove? Oven, blow torch or solvent?

Just a good allen key, and will power.

I'll give that a crack then before pulling out the drill. Don't have a vise though so hand tools only. I do have the will.

This is excellent knowledge. Glad I didn't either fork out or actually end up needing them.

Also, pleasantly easy Paul rear brake setup this evening. Bodged together a third hand with some cable ties, and loving the Forager Cycles cable cherries to finish it off.

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Tidy! Those pads sit lower than I thought looking at the arms, seems just right.

Lovely bit of machining on those brakes. I don't think I've seen them from as close an angle. This build is shaping up very nicely indeed.

Very impressed with the brakes so far. Easy to set up (provided you have three arms, a third hand or some cable ties) and excellent stopping power. To say nothing of having coincidentally been delivered with Kool Stop pads that match the frame.

Front brake sorted this morning. Ummed and aahhhed about bar tape and lights, but concluded I didn't have the time, so instead settled for pedals and saddle and a very short spin down the road.

Looking forward to getting it finished and out for a spin. Any minor concerns I had about sizing have, thankfully, been allayed.

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Very impressed with the brakes so far.

They are absolutely amazing

I guess they really should be.

Also, @Josh absolutely right on the chain. Swapped it for one 4 links longer and it's much happier. Still need to try and properly index the rear derailleur, which is about as fun as pulling teeth.

Still need to try and properly index the rear derailleur, which is about as fun as pulling teeth.

It's really not that bad. My method:

1) Screw the barrel adjuster all the way in;
2) Shift to the smallest cog;
3) Pull the cable untill there's no more slack (but not too hard) with your hand, and then tighten the bolt;
4) Shift down once. The chain will probably not jump to the next cog, or hesitate;
5) Increase cable tension with the barrel adjuster untill the chain jumps to the next cog;
6) Then repeat from step 4;
7) Once you're all the way to the biggest cog, check shifting up to the smaller cogs. If necessary, release a tiny bit of tension.

This definitely helped, thanks. I got somewhere with it, but definitely not as smooth as they need to be.

Will have to give it another go. I suspect the fact that I'm trying to use a short cage derailleur with a 12-32 cassette may be part of the issue. It can be done, but may just be beyond my skills.

Let me know how the drilling goes.

Easy peasy, though it'll be a while more before I can ride it. Seems like plenty of material on both sides of the crown so I'm confident in it.

Oh nice! Didn't realise this was going on a Florida Man. Love some Crust. And that looks like a really fun build.

Riv update - got as far as I could. Everything except bar tape and indexing done (thanks for the advice Tijs, but it remains mostly mysterious to me) and have taken it to the shop to finish up. Hoping to have it back next week or so.

Pictures of finished build and rides to follow.

Saw this in the shop earlier. Beautiful bike, the guards look so good in real life and the leather flaps are luxurious, the brakes are pretty and the cages also are nicer irl than they seem online. I saw the tape, that’ll look super.

Sweet! Jon was messaging me about it yesterday. Very psyched to get it back and get out riding.

The cages are the only bit I'm tempted to try and polish up a bit so they're shinier, but I'll see how I feel once I get it back.

Any beauty shots with bar tape?