Most recent activity
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- 11 comments
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All done!
In full commuter mode:
After a week riding it to work I was finding the bars too low so I put a riser stem on, which meant I had to re-cut the brake cables. While unwrapping I managed to rip the bar tape too so that had to be replaced, very annoying. I got some FWE gel cork bar tape which is much better quality than the Deda perforated tape which I ripped.
I might still change the bottom bracket as I had to put 3.5mm of spacers on the drive side to get the chain line right. That would be a 110mm BB by my calculation.
I'm really happy with the bike, it's buttery smooth and silent and I'm surprised that my ability to pull away from the lights and top speed have hardly been affected compared to my old geared bike.
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@Chad - Thanks, no problems so far with the cheapie hubs?
@jmf - I went to collect the frame, nice little shop
@V&N - My current bike has 27x1 1/4 tyres so I felt like trying something different. The frame and wheels can take up to 700x28 so if I find the ride too harsh I can always change over
@3v - I haven't ridden them yet but they're really nicely trued and they look good in the flesh. No play in the bearings and the hubs look well made. Weight is ~2.2kg
I decided to service the freewheel as it seems Shimano decided to use treacle rather than grease, the back wheel wouldn't even spin without turning the cranks. Around midnight after the work drinks night out -
Much smoother now and nice to see how well it's made from the inside.
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My build is starting to come together now, I struggled a bit with headset installation using the DIY threaded rod/nuts/washers/PVC pipe method but I'm happy with the final result.
Deda tape - £8
Cane Creek S2 - £17
NOS Shimano 333 freewheel 16T - £23
Tektro RL340 levers - £15
Shimano M520 SPDs - £22Vittoria Rubino 700x25 - £22
Tektro R359 brakes - £28
Raleigh 400mm seatpost - £10
RSP 80mm stem - £7
Deda big piega bars - £13
Tange 103mm cartridge bottom bracket - £20
Clarks brake cable kit - £7So far so good:
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Next up are the wheels and frame.
£65 from Graham Weigh, Mach1 Omega rims with unbranded flip flop hub:
£199 Byercycles 21" frameset, ~3.4kg if my bathroom scales are correct:
Doesn't show up in the photo but the paint is metallic, welds are nice and neat.
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Hi LFGSS,
I'm just getting going building my first single speed bike, a budget commuter with all new parts on a Byercycles steel frameset:
http://www.byercycles.co.uk/Bikes/014-Byercycles.single.gear.frames.html
I've ordered the frame and I'm getting everything else together in the mean time. First thing to arrive is the cheapo crankset £27 from ebay:
Spec here:
http://pro-wheel.com/prowheel/node/348
More to come as the rest of the parts arrive.
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I have my saddle set to about 43", would it go that high? I know seat posts were much shorter than they are now. Looks like this could work out!
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Yeah, think I need to post a couple more messages before I can use PM. How tall are you? At the moment I'm riding a shite 23" hybrid which fits pretty well. My inside leg is around 35.5" using the book method. I live in Camden Town but wouldn't mind a trip out to west London to collect. Are the tyres starting to perish or do they look in good nick?
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Hi Jay, I'm definitely interested in buying this beautiful bike, it's just what I'm looking for at 6'3" tall. I signed up to the forum just to contact you about it, hope that's OK with you. Is it still for sale?
Greg
You're probably right, I chose the frame size on the top tube length as I wanted to have a shorter reach than my last bike. I'm 6'3 with relatively short upper body so it's difficult to find the right compromise between seat tube length and top tube. Better start saving for that bespoke frame...