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Been riding this rourke frame/fork with beater parts for a while now and have been wanting to get inspired.

The paint is pretty rad up close but looks like a gross brown in photos, I don't think I have plans to remove it any time soon… It hides the dents well too haha!

I really need some good insight (maybe from other lopro build wizards) about what usually goes into building a track correct lopro. Where to find parts for it would be a huge help as well, I'm also located in the U.S. and quality track parts are hard to find… Advice all around is appreciated, geometry, crank length, etc… Drop some knowledge on me!

Thanks LFGSS!

Its really not a flattering front wheel. When you are running a 700X23 tire in the back and you have a fairly wide 26" front. Building up a wheel soon enough to dodge this nightmare.

Looking for some good fitting lo pro/ pursuit bars, could use some advice on width sizing and links to where to find some quality made ones. Trying to avoid BLB…

Thanks as always LFGSS!

SPOONS! Worked swell, only damaged the bead of the tire surprisingly. Thank you!

Does soap/hot water help or sticking the tire next to a heater?

So I have this 26" Spin Tri Spoke wheel that was sold to me with a 650c tube, and 26" X 1.1 that is a nightmare to get off.

I can only get the tire bead half way up the inner sidewall of the wheel before it snapped all of my plastic tire levers. Im thinking a shop with metal lever might be able to do it but any other suggestions?

Ive changed a lot of tubes on different sizes and this one is on snug…

Any pro tips welcome

My jorts. Jean shorts haha

It doesn't snow here, just need to keep the cold off my legs.

Whats a typical -low- budget rainy season/winter urban starter kit? I want to be able to wear them under my shorts for 8+ hours on and off the bike.

I can't recall exactly, but the TT is 58cm.

Hoping I can remember to check back on this thread, tag me if you have a good answer for me!

Its the middle of winter and I'm just toying around with my bikes at the local "recycled cycles" swap shop. Im working on a pursuit bike currently. I would like to know what a good gear ratio for track riding/racing would be? Currently riding 52X18… I haven't learned how to calculate my gear inches yet… : (

Wish I could say I have already…

For $500 USD it seems like a great frame. But honestly I can almost tell by the photos generously posted Saarf (Thank you!) …it looks like the TT is just to big for me. Im already breaking my bike on my current pursuit lol. Don't want to go full superman!

Hows the price tag relate to this frame/fork kit in your guys opinion?

Rourke Custom in Seattle U.S.

Wish I could see it with out the kit, I don't know how in the world this frame ended up in Seattle, WA complete furthest side of the states from England ha!

Chances of the frame I found being the same one as you posted?

Probably a stupid question. Removed my clear coat on a raw frame, started to get some rust over summer. Mostly from sweating, and grabbing my frame with sweaty hands. It made a large surface rust patch i removed with (I think lighter fluid?…) It rubbed out most of the rust leaving only a discolored patch where it used to be. I knew I was ordering a new frame later so for now I sticker bombed the entire frame with run of the trade quality vinyl stickers.

Water can't penetrate the stickers but theres also no clear coat what so ever… What can I expect if I ever remove the stickers years down the road from sitting in storage? Does a vinyl sticker provide the same seal as clear coat?

Double post derp

The sales tag had the fork labeled as 650c. I really need a bike with gears and had been considering a pursuit time trial set up for a while. Unfortunately all the parts that would be going to this right now are single speed only for thats all I really have. Would love to get a disc wheel in the back and 650c tri spoke front. I have some sun tour hubs I'm going to use for now that I'm about to scalp off a tubular rim set come to think of it.

Thank you for the help, the first attempt actually has the ball bearings meeting the fork crown and actually rolls reasonably smooth but I thought it was up side down.

Im just going to layer a track of phils wood grease around the crown. Should I pack the bearing retainer with grease as well?

This is my second attempt, the bearing falls right into the crown but literally drags when inserted into the cup and actually gets wedged around the crown causing a lot of resistance in turning.

This is my first attempt at installing the bottom retainer, this seems wrong to me but the bearings are actually meeting/rolling on the fork crown when re assembled.

If I could wrap my head around how setting up a gears and a shifter smoothly I would do it in a heart beat. Might come in with my current frame and work out a deal on this. I love this frame…

Wish I would have wrote down the exact specs. I forget if it was ST or TT that was 58cm, I feel like usually im more comfortable on a standard 55cm but maybe thats just how they build lo pros?

Second picture

This turned up at my local shop quite to my surprise. They are asking $500 USD… I really shouldn't be building up a new bike but to find something like this local is insane. Im also wondering if running a single speed set up on this is a good idea or not? I don't think i have ever actually seen a wheel dismount from road bike drop outs… What do you guys think??? Love the tubing on this bad boy…

By just a hair smaller, I meant that when I was seeing if the Falcon/Levin Tange threaded headset was interchangeable. The replacement cage for the Falcon stem would wedge into the Levin cup. Like just a hairline over a flush fit more like wedged it.

So at the end of the day, I'm just going to forget I opened this pandoras box and keep the headsets the way they were. So,,, when I go to put my loose ball bearings into the bottom cup/crown of the fork/headset do I leave a 3-4 ball bearing gap or just pack it with bearings till its a full circle?

American bloke here, found this about 20 minutes away from me… Looks like a long top tube but I'm a sucker for a low pros and that price tag…
What do you think?

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/5382590483.html

So the two headsets I'm looking at on my bikes are the "tange falcon" in chrome which is better condition with no bearing wear but the the black Tange Levin Cd has bearing grooves in the bottom cup. I wanted to swap the chrome Falcon headset for the black Levin CD because its in better condition. I would imagine I need to remove the cups from both frames to keep everything in good fluent working order?

The worn Tange Levin Black headset is currently on my Rourke Low Pro Pursuit with 650c forks.

And the Chrome Falcon Tange Headset is on my regular track bike which has only seen track use which is why its in such great condition.

And gosh I hate to add to all these questions but the replacement cage bearings I went to pick up from the bottom cups all seem to wedge into place with out much room for movement. All this has me convinced you just need to keep the original headset bearings together with the original cups… Ugh but I'm already sold on running loose ball (which are the right size) for the bottom cups.

So long story short I guess I shouldn't have tried to fix something that wasn't actually broken. Seems like the benefits of running a lower loose ball set is greater than going for a sealed cartridge…