Greg Curnoe Bike Build, Day 3

Well, it's all it one piece. Here are some photos, with an entirely inappropriate brick background (first photo replaced—it made the colours look all wrong). Proper photos will follow next week.

I'm very happy with almost everything. The fender lines are almost perfect (any imperfections here are due to the angle more than anything.) All the important things are right.

Pretty close:

Here's the seat cluster—one of my favourite areas, with lots of decals, good reflections, lots of colour... (Curnoe routed the cable on the other side, but I decided to go left, for a number of not particularly interesting reasons...)

The rear brake (which works well) and the fender reinforcer.

The day's best view. Lots of triangles, and all the main colours...

The bottom bracket area looks nice. But, unfortunately, I'll probably need to swap the actual bottom bracket. This SKF 116mm JIS taper BB is too narrow by about a micrometer. With the driveside arm tightened almost enough, it's about to touch the overly-large driveside cup on the SKF BB. Another quarter turn and there would be creaking. I'm sure they're very nice BBs, but they're just not practical for use with TA cranks. I'll swap in a Shimano—after photos, for this red cup looks too good! (Maybe the red cup with fit on to a Shimano BB?) The good news is that all the clearances are right with a 116mm BB, and the chainline works...

RED CHAIN! Silly, perhaps—but one of the best details, I think. Note that the Chorus derailleur had no trouble shifting on to the large cog (24). We'll see if the reduced chain gap has any effect on shifting.

View from the front. The Nuovo Record headset was the right decision... Note also the red donuts, which look good. I'll lower the stem a bit.

So now I need a proper studio shot of Greg Curnoe Bike with a white background. Once I have that photo, from the same angle as the painting, Phase One of the project will be complete. 

Where Are You Little Shakespeare?

I spent the day looking in ditches and behind sheds in Port Credit for my girlfriend's lost 20-year-old cat. If you see her, let me know! Back to work tomorrow.

Greg Curnoe Bike Build, Day 2

Today was all about fenders. And any day spent with fenders is bound to be a pain. Indeed, even though I had pre-shaped these fenders, drilled all the holes, bent the stays, etc., it took a long time just to install them. (Getting the eyebolts centred was the main thing.) But they are now on—and they not only do they fit well around the wheel, but they look incredible colour-wise.

The first thing I did was put on the reinforcer for the rear fender, which Noah was kind enough to prime and paint. Here it is from the inside...

From the outside...

And on the bike.

The front fender was a lot more difficult to install. On the rear fender, you have two fixed points—but on the front only one. It took me at least an hour to get the front fender all ready. But here it is. (Look at how the Columbus [Italian for dove] decal lines up with the fender...)

After this I put on the brakes, without actually setting them up. Here is a photo from the same angle as yesterday's. Do the fenders not look like tires? Admittedly, more like fat Hetres than orange time trial tubulars...

Finally: I took some flak for insisting that Noah paint my cable guide orange, but this photo FULLY justifies my insistence!

Tomorrow I'll set up the brakes, install the bottom bracket and cranks, set up the drivetrain, etc. It should be more or less done by tomorrow night...

Greg Curnoe Bike Build, Day 1

I picked Greg Curnoe Bike up from Noah yesterday. He looks spectacular in person—the colours are really luminous, but less "neon" than they appear in photos. Of course it's been very rainy and dull in Toronto for the last few days, so that may account for GC's more subdued look. The paint job is really excellent—the only hitch is that, with all the layers of paint, it is a bit on the thick side, and some of the crispness of the lug edges is lost. Since the lugs are all masked, though, this is sort of a non-issue: it's pretty clear where they begin and end. As you can see below, I did decide to ask Noah to put on those Columbus decals on the fork blades.

I spent the day in the shop today getting paint out of places I didn't want it to be, which meant facing and reaming the head tube and crown race, filing out the binder slot, and sanding the Mafac bosses. After doing that I installed the gorgeous Nuovo Record headset and shortened the steerer to the proper length. Once I got home I glued the Dugast tubulars (which I sincerely hope I did correctly) and finished things off by using a bit of left-over tubular cement to glue an aluminum chainstay protector (it's wrapped in yellow electrical tape to hold it in place while the glue dries). Tomorrow I'll install the fenders (which are orange and incredible) and attach all the other parts. Then I'll take Thursday to cut housing, set up the brakes, etc. So the build should be complete by Friday, which, weather permitting, will be a photo day.

The weather has been awful, and I wasn't about to take photos of this bike in the rain, so I took these shots inside and with a flash, for which I apologize.

Update: By steadying my camera against the wall, I was able to get this excellent (though grainy) shot, from an interesting angle...

Greg Curnoe Bike Photo of the Day #6: From the Front

Here, in the last of our series, is Greg Curnoe Bike seen from the front, on the proper Curnoe-ian non-driveside. Over the weekend I'll glue the tubulars and get the rest ready. Then on Monday I'll pick up the frame and install the headset. Then I'll build everything up... I'm also hard at work on a lengthy, energetic, and theoretically thorough Statement of Artistic Intent that I will unleash on this blog when everything is ready. I can't wait.

Greg Curnoe Bike Photo of the Day #5: Drive Side

Here it is all together. I really couldn't be more pleased! I'll go pick it up from Velocolour soon, and then it's time for more fun. Remember that orange fenders are going on here. Things will only get more colourful.

ps: for those of you just joining us, read about the idea behind the project here, more about it here, and then skim at your leisure.

Greg Curnoe Bike Photo of the Day #4: Downtube

Good things do come in threes, apparently. In the last few days, I've handed in a big application for a fellowship, submitted my thesis, and gotten my first look at Greg Curnoe Bike's paint job. In the thesis vs. bike competition, I think the bike is winning. Here's a look at the downtube—with, again, incredible work by Noah.