Project: BMX…… another bike
So my new job at RealEstate.com means a slightly more arduous commute requiring two trains and then a 2.1km walk to the office. All up time 60 minutes of which 20-25 minutes is walking. I like walking, the trees, the mountains, the odd bird but Richmond is mainly houses. To shorten the commute I tried my trusty longboard. I can't actually skateboard and the rutted streets and pavements of East Richmond meant it was just an accident waiting to ...
Project Not Fixed is Complete
Shes done. Finally. I'd say that this was a epic job certainly it took long enough, almost 16 months but in reality the job of frame papering was the main sticking point. Papering, was mind numbingly boring and extremely time consuming but the finish is a talking point, a couple of people even thought I got the bike like it! The final job was getting a front chain ring to match the gearing. I could have gone backwards and forwards to the ...
Almost Fixed
Theres a danger that this thing could be ready for Christmas. Maybe the end of the year can be seen as a real call to action.. yeah it probably has. So we have Headstem attached Bars, attached and wrapped with some cool looking bar end levers Brakes (hooked up and working) Wheels attached Seat and seat post all bolted up and adjusted Gear cable routing bracket (old skool from ebay.co.uk) The next item item is the chainring. The ...
Wrapping
A very slow process. Cut, stick and cut so theres no overlaps, let dry, then varnish and let that dry and only then can you stick the next piece in place. After doing the head stem I'm rather looking forward to doing the long areas of tubing at least then I might complete some surface area.
So that title might be a little inaccurate. Assembly is a little in the future. Since my last report I've added a few items to the parts inventory from a little place in Mordialloc. The owner of this little grotto of chaos managed to find me a new headset, brake and gear cable and a very dust laden set of brand new chrome forks for only $20 a good replacement as mine are pretty shot with rust. I've finally decided to wrap the frame and ...
New Parts Arrive
I finally managed a half day at the weekend to go and get some parts for the bike. Once again eBay and Gumtree were my first calls and from there I found cyclingdeal.com.au, an online place with their head office just down the road here in Melbourne a bonus as it meant I could take the frame in and ensure things would fit. My initial investigations into parts seem to have been mainly correct. With one an eye on the bank balance I left with the following stashed in the back of the car.
I'm pretty happy with most of the parts. The wheels at $100 are very cheap and cheerful but should do for a while. If the thing gets some use then maybe I'll upgrade them later. For now I'm intending on continuing the paint stripping and then loosely assembling in order to ensure everything lines up correctly, from there maybe the other parts and cables.
Project Not Fixed
Its been a few weeks but the intentions are still the same, build a semi-fixie. After some googling and measuring I'm rather pleased that the frame has a 126mm rear frame layout and squeezing in an eight speed mountain-bike cassette to a 44 tooth messenger style front chain-wheel looks a distinct possibility. With luck this should give some up-hill capability making it a little more usable for longer trips while reducing the amount of associated ...
Not Fixed
One of the projects on my list of 'to do' has been to build my own pushbike. I've got a mountain bike but these days all those hipster types seem to have created or rather reinvented, the urban cycle by means on the fixie. While I'd like a fixie the singularity of gears seems a little restricting.
