My first Fixed/SS mini bike project (and other infmz projects)

Neither did I! I didn't read the description properly.

Thanks for all your input and interest.

Assuming you want to run 31.8mm bars with a 1in quill, something like this would do the trick: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004662534709.html

The same/similar stems are sold by a few retailers on eBay too: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126048308469

This is pretty cool. I bought a shim from Condor on my way home today. For now, that'll get a stem and some bars on. I do think the classic look will be cleaner though.

Quoting @walkmanman from my WANTED thread: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/17417419/

Glad to help. And it's good to hear toe overlap isn't an issue. Central London can be pretty hairy due to the craziness on the roads, so anything else (poor bike setup etc) to add to the risk is obvs not good.
As for your fork setup, I'm not sure what the nut could be rubbing against your tyre, I'd just have thought a bigger tyre would be catching against the underside of the brake caliper? Anyway, have a look at this link for a pretty standard TT specific brake: https://www.velobase.com/ViewComponent.a­spx?ID=646C7485-0C31-48D0-8FC9-4B48AD7FF­455&Enum=117&AbsPos=34
They might be designed to work with slightly wider tyres, although at the same time a lot of the guys at TTs back then were using tiny tyres like 20c and less, and they liked the clearance between brake and tyre to be low (as with rear wheel in relation to a bike's seat tube where they wanted 'fag paper' clearance between the two) so I'm not totally sure if the small drop will help. There might be some more info on the above Velobase site though.

Your input has been valuable, but I wanted to shift the convo here to one place if you don't mind. I'm attaching pics of the brakes - which look like the TT-style that you mentioned. It's not just the caliper bolt nut that is hitting the tyre, but the caliper body itself. I guess new forks are defo in order...

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Another thing, after faffing around with stems, shims and what have you, it's now clear that a slimmer stem would look a lot better, maybe even a quill.

I can see that there's not been any extra input from forumers re possible solutions to your fork problem, unfortunately. My idea was that possibly the TT calipers could be designed to get the calipers closer to the tyres fitted to wheels, and so would be curved on their undersides give extra room for tyres to pass without catching on them. But I've had a look at one of the TT brakes I own and the underside isn't designed any differently from any other caliper. The main advantage of the design is that they can be compact little items and so more aerodynamic and powerful, but only when used with tyres having a tiny width. For bigger tyres (like you'd like to use- 25c plus), and forks positioning the wheel/tyre more than, say, 1-2cm below the underside of the fork crown the calipers just won't work. It's unfortunate for you though, as this idea could have been the last possible 'save' for your problem. The calipers seem to make it clear that it's not just these calipers that wouldn't help with the issue of using wider tyres, but the basic design of all calipers must be one where the designers don't think about the issue some riders have of using a fork that only allows minimal tyre clearance. So I don't think any caliper invented will help you out. Basically, what it boils down to is getting a new fork (or the brake adapter mentioned previously), and even with this option making sure the new one is correct in it's measurements.

Thanks, yes I've been through very similar musings. I do agree that the fork has to go. For aesthetics, fit and personal preference it would have to be a chromium or black carbon fibre fork. I did measure from the inside of the fork crown down to the centre of the axle to around 34.5cm, while the steerer is 18.5cm long (approximates). But I'm not sure about the rake/curve and don't have a reliable way to measure it. I'm happy to sit out for a couple of weeks or even longer while I settle on a solution to the fork problem.

One thing I'm not keen on though is to get an off-colourfork and have it resprayed. Maybe if I had more time, money, passion, and spent more on the frame.

i think a keirin brake, as suggested previously in this thread is your best bet. or perhaps a 23c tyre? i've got a 23c gatorskin spare. i've got a keirin brake but will admit that it's more of an emergency stop than a reliable braking source - new fork would be the best option in case you want to actually use your brake regularly.

I can vouch for this product... Ive had no problems running it with my njs frame

Thanks @Mungbean. If I want to use the current forks, I think these are the only options. The price of a front brake though might be as much as or more than a 2nd hand fork. I've still got the adapter that a previous owner had made, but even that barely leaves any space for a 25c tire. By the way your name now has me hungry for dhal.

I spoke to Stayer (who are local to me) about some other frame stuff, so will probably take the bike down and see if they have any suggestions.

@skrtluv If the fork I use ends up being threadless, then I'll have to use an ahead, but good to hear it's working for you. I do like the quill look!

Hi. Good to the Dazzan progressing. Does look more elegant than that Fuji.

Good luck finding a fork. I reckon it's your best option for 25c.

Thank you. Yeah, the Fuji wasn't bad but far from elegant.

I'm still experimenting with component aesthetics. Right now it's in a 'Panda' state (something @Browndonneur taught me about), with some black and some silver components. I also wanted to keep things rather Italian, but it gets tricky when things are hard to source - especially with the likes of Condor and BrickLaneBikes not far from home/work. I feel Condor should get a free pass given their love for Italian brands and BLB for keeping classic-looking components adhering to older sizing standards in production.

I should have a fork by the end of the week hopefully. I've slowed down on the project while I wait for that.

And I forgot the picture...

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Playing around with things a bit more. At least it's now ridable; well on a track.

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Not to peer pressure you but I find the key to riding brakeless on road is to just stay conscious of all the obstacles and give yourself enough room for anything. I'm sure you can take that to the streets, just be sensible. Looking good

Looks sharp!

Agreed, looks good!

Sorry for the thread hijack but for anyone who has used those Keirin brakes - any risk of them damaging the fork blades?

Haha, I appreciate the tip. Outside of a few track rides, I've only ridden in fixed mode a handful of times. Once I'm more used to it, I'm sure I could (but probably wouldn't) pull it off.

Thanks everyone. So I've bought a carbon fork that's a tad longer so braking should finally be sorted. I couldn't find the numbers online, but it looks like it has more rake too, so hopefully less toe-overlap issues.

@16simon no problem, I've wondered this too and would probably use helicopter tape on the blades.

I've been wondering... Most of the forks I shorted-listed (including the one I've bought) for brake clearance were 5-10mm longer than what's on the bike. This will mean the horizontal top-tube might not be so horizontal, but tip upwards a bit. The forks I bought seem to have more rake (I sure hope they do), so the increase in effective length might not exaggerate the tilt. In any case, I've probably got enough clearance to run 28mm or bigger in the back. This should hopefully level things out a bit. Thoughts?

While I'm 'ere, I've returned to the BLB bullhorns so pics. Would probably need a slightly shorter stem if I plan on sticking with them.

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Having run bigger tires in the back and smaller tires up front I will try to lend some insight. The difference is quite minimal especially if you run uneven tire pressure either way

Good point. I didn't think about that. Thanks.

No new pics to share (yet) but progress is being made! Have been talking to Sam from Stayer Cycles here and there, and he's kindly offered to drill the rear bridge for running a brake, so the bike's with him now. The rear brake is more for confidence and preference (subject to terrain). I intend to run fixed but want to have the freewheel fallback option - especially for when I join road group rides or where there's a bit more ascents/descents.

Also received the carbon Look fork I got from here - it's beautiful (I mean it's Look). I did remove the tape and peeling deals from it though, to keep the minimal clean look. No issues running a 25c tyre with my Campag Mirage brakes either. Foolishly though, I forgot that with a threadless steerer, I need the extra tube length, and there's just about enough room on this Look one. Will probably need to use a lower stack headset just to have some wiggle room.

mine scratched mine to shit. but you can wrap some electrical tape around where you want to position them in order to avoid that. i now do that, i learned the hard way.

@infmz bike looks great!

Thanks for the comments and encouragement.

Right, I'm at a point where it's ready to be ridden. The Zaffiro tan-walls I had in my Merlin basket have sold out though they were in stock for aeons. Oh well. There are a few, small missing things like bar tape that I can deal with later too.

Since the last update I've acquired a Look NDS (Pro?) fork from @GideonPARANOID and the pink CK headset from @retrodicorsa - who was a tremendous help these past 24hrs. Thank you!

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