Old guy

[us56456712]

It went from -21F to 34F and it's raining like crazy. The old snow has turned to slush and the water has no place to go except inside my shop as the slush is higher than my doors. The floor is flooded with water turning to ice as the ground is cold and freezes the water coming in on the concrete slab. I moved some stuff but there is too much to move. Some is stuck to the floor already. The puddles on the driveway have ice under them and it is very treacherous on my brick walk. This did close everything up here, you can't drive on ice with an inch of water on top. Heck, you can hardly go outside as you have to take baby steps with your hands out like a tightrope walker. I'll never get my shop doors open as it is going to get to +5 tonight. They'll be frozen on both sides and underneath. I think I have almost everything inside that I need to build this bike. I will probably take it to the LBS for wheel truing, chain installation and Final tightening of all the nuts and bolts. My shop is unusable for this work. I should be able to assemble it all inside.

 

[us56456712]

Wheel sandwich. It sat over 70 years with loose spoks so I'm attempting to coax the wood a little truer.

 

[rev106]

I've built quite a few wood wheels in my time, the guy I got them from said he steamed them and pressed them flat as they could be before he handed them off to me to lace. Stretching a smaller sew up on there may be a bear just so you know...

 

[us56456712]

I've built quite a few wood wheels in my time, the guy I got them from said he steamed them and pressed them flat as they could be before he handed them off to me to lace. Stretching a smaller sew up on there may be a bear just so you know...

I used to bury my wood cross country racing skis in the snow for a day before I would use them after they sat over the summer. They were very fragile but buying them helped a lot, no early season shattering. I tossed the rims in the snow while they were tied to the alloy rims. I still haven't released them from the sandwich. The tires weren't too bad to put on, I did a test fit.

 

[us56456712]

The front wood wheel has been released from it's sandwich. I don't have access to my tools as my shop is pretty much frozen shut so I held the wood rim against a true alloy rim, noted where there was daylight and tightened/loosened the spoks in the daylight area. I flipped the wood rim and did it again, and again and again. It was pretty wobbly, but then it got pretty straight just sitting for a few hours. After sitting overnight it became straighter still. It's straight enough that I don't feel bad about taking it to the LBS to have them finish it on their truing stand. If I could have access to my stand I think I could get it true pretty easily, but it might take two or three days as they move around for awhile after spoke adjustment. Very different than metal rims.

 

[us56456712]

Front wheel is done.

 

[us56456712]

Quasimoto is almost done. The block chain needs shortening and the front tire needs re glueing and remounting. The front fork might be slightly bent, I'm not sure. It might need a little straightening this spring when I can get into my shop.

 

[us56456712]

Three chain lengths removed. A few things still to do.

 

[deven_science]

Looks great.