[Note: If you are reading this out of sequence, this is the completed frame I built for myself in the course of Doug Fattic's framebuilding class. He's the first frame I've built. Accounts of his gestation can be found here and throughout the blog.]I was very surprised to wake up this morning and see Niles nearly completely built up. I went to bed thinking I had lots of work still ahead of me. As it turns out, I just had to put on his bar tape.
The thing I thought would take a long time was the following: his front wheel wasn't sitting straight in the fork, which I figured was because of a badly aligned fork. Sure, I didn't remember this being the case, but I also don't trust myself particularly. In a fit of tired haste last night, I even angrily did a bit of dropout filing to correct the issue, but had no effect. The plan was to do lots of filing today and get everything just right. I was not looking forward to it.
Luckily I thought to check that the wheel was itself properly centred before doing any filing. It wasn't. The wheels on Niles were the last ones I had built for me (before I learned to build them myself.) For an inexplicable reason, the front wheel is "dished" about a centimetre to one side. (Update: 1cm was an exaggeration, and now I have the wheel properly centred, and it's still a bit off. I shall consult experts before filing the dropout!)
Here is a complete built list, with many photos to follow below. I'm really pleased with him. I haven't done any serious riding on him yet to my lack of trust in his wheels, but will get on that soon. What limited riding I've done suggests that he fits me perfectly, that his BB drop is not as issue, that the Grand Bois tires are great, and that I want my handlebars a bit lower.
| Frame/Fork: | A.Hammond (hehehe), Mixed Deda/True Temper tubing (mostly 8/5/8), Henry James lugs, Richard Sachs Fork Crown, Kaisei fork blades, Campagnolo 1010A and Suntour GS dropouts (thanks to Dave Wages). 73 degree head tube angle, 73 degree seat tube angle, 53mm rake. | ||
| Finish: | Paint by Velocolour. Grey/blue with dark blue decals and pinstriping. Noah did a really, really nice job. Custom stainless headbadge by Suzanne Carlsen. | ||
| Headset: | Stronglight Delta, stripped of anodizing and polished. (I think the one black spacer looks cool.) | ||
| Hubs: | Phil Wood low flange. | ||
| Rims: | Mavic CXP33 | ||
| Spokes: | DT stainless | ||
| Tires: | Grand Bois Cerf 700x28 | ||
| Seatpost: | Campagnolo Nuovo Record 27.2 (thanks to Rudi Mayr and R.C. Broderick) | ||
| Saddle: | NOS Brooks Professional (thanks to Eric Ellman) | ||
| Rear Cog | Phil Wood 15 tooth | ||
| Chainring | Salsa 42 tooth | ||
| Chain: | SRAM PC68 | ||
| Crankset: | Shimano Dura Ace Track, stripped of anodizing and polished | ||
| Bottom bracket: | Shimano Dura Ace | ||
| Handlebar: | GB Randonneur | ||
| Stem: | Nitto Technomic "short quill" 10cm | ||
| Brakes: | Tektro R538 | ||
| Brake Levers: | Shimano Dura Ace | ||
| Pedals: | TA Track | ||
| Pedal Clips: | Christophe "Z" | ||
| Handlebar Tape | Tressostar Blue | ||
| Fenders: | Honjo | ||
| Bottle cage: | Nitto | ||
| Pump: | Lapize | ||
Time for some photos. Note how many different shades of blue he manages to be! Indoors, a very grey blue. Outside, brigher, blueyer.
It took lots of hammering of the fender directly underneath that front brake to allow the brake arms to open sufficiently to allow the brake to clear the inflated tire. But it now works.
I really like that crown! Try to note all the parts on the bike that have the "A" shape, and thus mirror my various logos. This is one!
This stay does its job, but I cut it too short. I'll likely do another one in the next few days. I just bent it in a vise...
My stainless headbadge, in all its glory. The subler seat tube decal hiding in the background.
The one detail I'm not 100% sold on is the brake levers. I wanted aero levers for this bike (I wanted it to stay reasonably "modern looking") and I really don't like the newer Shimano ones with the huge logo on them. These are nice, have that shiny band on them, but the grey doesn't really match. Well, they're staying. (The hood shape also mimics my "A" shape!) Also: it would be nice if the bar tape colour was a bit darker to match the box lining/decal/fender stripe colour — but I assume as it gets dirtier, it will naturally darken... [Update: I took some sage advice and clear-shellacqued the tape, and now it looks perfect, and will stay clean.]Yes: the randonneur-bend on the handlebars mirrors the logo shape. So does the shape of the Stronglight Delta.
The Nitto cage also incorporates "the shape." I really like the minimal contrast of the decals against the paint.
The pinstriping looks great around the bottom bracket! (Lug points: another "A" shape).
I ran out of time in class for cutting that slot. I was a bit nervous about doing it with my cheap Home Hardware hacksaw and files, but it worked out.
I made this mud flap from "rubber floor mat" stock from Honest Ed's. It cost $3.99 for a foot, and I'll likely be able to make 50 mud flaps from it. It's held in place by the rolled edges of the fenders. See instructions in Bicycle Quartlerly 5.2.
One of my favourite touches! This loop-and-stop system eliminates the need for a ferrule, and looks really nice. (Also: the brake action on the rear brake is as nice as any I've ever felt, so it must work!) Using a derailleur-type stop also keeps the cable nice and far away from the top tube and any possible scratches. Many other photos now follow of this detail.(I again note how nice Noah's pinstriping is!)
Note the beautiful box lining on the fork blades.
Very clean looking — everything is right where it should be! Also: all that lug filing paid off. They look nice.
Nice pinstripes on the seat and chainstays.
The polished Dura Ace track cranks fit in pretty well to the "classic but modern" look. They certainly look nicer than they did with their anodizing intact.
Little things like these make me very happy, and really distinguish handmade, purpose-built bikes from production ones. Mounting these fenders still took a long time, but it was made easier and certainly cleaner-looking by details like the threaded fender-mounting boss.
The Tektros angered me with all their "I won't open up sufficiently to get your tire out" business, but they're working now, and wrap around the Honjos without any problem. They also sort of resemble a winking toad. And the cutout is reasonably bell-shaped...
My "comically high-up" scallops don't look so bad in the end...
My "wrap-over" decals are quite obscured by the pump. But I know it's there... Also, I had to fight for the radius in the fork blades, but it looks just like I wanted.
In the process of taking these photos (outside my apartment, and down the street in the schoolyard) I was asked by five or so people about my bike. My upstairs neighbor offered to buy it outright! I consider these good signs.
