Project Mania 2

Here's a quick progress report. I've been concentrating on the Lotus while I wait on the construction of a set of 700c wheels:

I replaced the narrow handlebars and brake levers that were originally mounted on the Lotus. The old Shimano 600 levers showed some battle scars.

I was going to remove the brake levers and throw them in my parts pile until I noticed that they were attached to the bars with a nut. There just wasn't enough space to get a socket in there. I threw them aside and moved on.

My package from Velo Orange arrived this afternoon with a pair of MKS Touring Pedals, a brass bell and a very nice replacement set of brake levers. I like the look of the non-aero brake levers.

Since I'll be switching from 27" wheels to 700c, I decided to replace the original Shimano 600 brakes with a pair of long reach Tektros.

I rode over to Half Priced Books this weekend and bought a few maintenance books. I was looking for old books because all I work on are old bikes. I struck gold with this 1986 book from Bicycling Magazine, the repair guide in the center was published in 1972. The Park Tool repair guide is practically brand new, it was printed in 2008.

Random Stuff 05-04-09

Here's a few random things I've run across over the last few days:

Mike Giant: Thanks to Inside the Rock Poster Frame (IRPF) for posting this incredible design by artist Mike Giant. Giant draws his stuff by hand with a Sharpie. According to IRPF this is going to be released as a limited edition poster by Cinelli. 

Violet Crown Cycles: There's a new bike builder in Austin, it's Violet Crown Cycles. They are building cutom fit city bikes built up with some very nice stuff from Velo-Orange.

Betty Foy: I've got a soft spot for mixtes. This is a Betty Foy by Rivendell. You can take a look at this one over at Velo Fellow.

Another Betty Foy at Let's Go Ride a Bike.

Asbestos Press: This is my latest Etsy purchase. It's a screenprinted poster by Asbestos Press. Laura, the artist, told me that the poster was made from a photo of her 59 Hawthorne cruiser. Pretty cool! Most of her posters are very affordable at around $10 each. 

Random Stuff 04-22-09

Here's some Wednesday randomness.

Velo Orange built up their prototype city bike. The frame is designed around 650b wheels, cantilever brakes, and has short horizontal dropouts to accept internally geared hubs without having to use a chain tensioner.

The Melo Velo blog has some nice photos of the authors easter bike tour along Hadrian's Wall in the Lake District of England.

Trucker in the mud!

I found these while searching for Wald panniers in Flickr. These panniers were handmade by Pilar Garza. I contacted her by email. She said that this is the only set of panniers that she has ever made. That's her personal bike in the photo. I think she did an excellent job, they seem to fit perfectly. She said she can make a pair of panniers using the same type of material for about $65. She can make a bag for a front basket for a little less. If you're interested contact Pilar through her Etsy shop or by email at garza.pilar@gmail.com.

Archival Clothing posted a link to a Flickr photostream with some fantastic photos from an 80's bike tour organized by the Bikecentennial.

It's Here- Surly Long Haul Trucker

Finally, after weeks of frustration I got the call from Rick at Colonel's Bike that my LHT had arrived, was built up and ready to go. I drove the bike home, put it on the stand and got to work.

I started off with the fender installation. Now, this job might have taken your average person a couple of hours to complete but not me. I won't say just how long it took me, it's embarrasing, but I spent the better part of the day trying to get them set up right and centered over the tires. I love Velo Orange but they really need to add a few more pictures to their online fender installation instructions.

I then set up the Nitto rack, using the bolt on the rack that goes through the fork crown to secure the front fender. I had to run down to Performance Bike Shop to find the right size nut to secure the rack and fender. The rack doesn't sit perfectly horizontal, it tilts up slightly, but it's going to be obscured by my Ostrich handlebar bag most of the time so it really doesn't matter.

Next thing to be installed was the decaleur and the bell which is attached to a headset spacer. This was fairly simple. I installed my Brooks saddle and then re-wrapped the handlebars with natural colored cork tape. Early this morning I applied a couple coats of shellac to the bar tape and took off for a shakedown ride.

I am really happy with the way this bike handles. Everything worked well with a few usual new bike problems, I had to turn one of the barrel adjusters to quiet down the rear deraileur, make saddle adjustments etc. The decaleur will shift from side to side when riding over bumps. I tightened things down but I'll have to find a way to fix that. The brakes are marginal, I knew this beforehand since I've been reading through the posts on the Google Surly LHT group and the stock brakes are the one thing that most people complain about. I'll probably get some Kool Stop pads and see how they work out. I had a problem with my right knee hitting the bar end shifter making unintentional shifts while climbing. I may end up switching to down tube shifters. After a few adjustments the remainder of my ride went smoothly.

New Fenders

My package from Velo Orange arrived the other day with fenders, decaleur, pedals, Ostrich bag, and a nice Japanese bell.



The fenders are the 48mm fluted version with a matte finish. I wanted to polish them up a bit but I wasn't real sure how to polish aluminum. Most of the info I came across described cleaning the surface with oven cleaner or other household cleaners and then wet sanding with very fine grit sand paper and steel wool. I wasn't looking for a mirrored finish, I just wanted to brighten them up a bit. One web site suggested cleaning the surface with a household cleaner and then scrubbing the surface with cream of tartar (used to make meringue). You then finish up with Brasso. A quick trip to Wal-Mart and I was ready to get started. I used some Mr. Clean wipes to clean the dust and aluminum shavings from the fenders before making a paste with the cream of tartar. It turns out that the cream of tartar is a fine abrasive, the website didn't really mention the reason for using this stuff. I scrubbed the fenders for a while and then wiped them clean. I applied the Brasso and was pretty happy with the results. I repeated the process and scrubbed a little longer with the tartar which improved the shine quite a bit.



Here's a picture of one the fenders after shining. I know, it doesn't look in any different in the photo, you have to see them in person to appreciate the difference.

Piece By Piece

The big brown truck pulled up to my house this afternoon delivering a few eagerly awaited parts for my Long Haul Trucker. The Brooks Flyer came from Wallingford Bicycle Parts. It's a beautiful saddle. I knew it was going to be heavy but I wasn't prepared for just how heavy it actually is. My recently surpressed roadie weight weenie attitude was trying to rear it's ugly head. Comfort is my new priority. The Nitto M-12 rack came from Milwaukee Bicycle Company. This is the version that has the dual eyelets on the stays for mounting lights. My order from Velo Orange should arrive tomorrow. All I need now is something to mount this stuff on.