Felt

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So, the new project. As some of you have already seen in the Fresh Finds subforum I got a Felt Haribo:
106494_308e0e426ae0d3ca1d8d7afe9b6b26da.jpg

Haribo is a candy producer. They make all sorts of candy, but they are most known for the gummy bears, hence that particular paint:
s-l300.jpg

They were made to celebrate some Haribo event, probably 90 years of Haribo, since the company was founded in 1920 and I think these bikes came out in 2010.
I only needed a frame, but couldn't find any. Anything available was gone before I could say "Felt".
This was a good price and once I got there I knew why - it was a small village with streets like San Francisco - two directions only, up and down. Obviously no-one there would want to buy a 3sp bike. And of course the paint is far from the cool paint of the Red Barons, or the Cafe 750s, or the 1903 and such.
I just want to reassemble it the way I like it, now the hadlebars are too low for my short arms, it doesn't have any suspension and I don't want ti with a coaster brake.
I chaged the rear wheel - I put another one with the same rim model, but with a freewheel and a roller brake. I put a Berm Master on, but it's not a final decision.
I have this wonderful fork, RockShoxx XC32 with air suspension:
20191003_173130.jpg

I tried to remove the Felt fork and of course it wasn't as quick and easy as I hoped. There is that centering cone and I tried to hold the frame and hammer the fork a bit out with a rubber mallet. No, I don't have a bike stand, as some of you already know I am not the smartest when it comes to bikes (it took me years to get tire levers).
From removing the BB cups from my Cafe I know that a rubber mallet wouldn't really do it since it absorbs much of the impact. Indeed 15 minutes of hammering was for nothing. I knew that a hammer will ruin the fork and I already learned not to ruin parts stupidly believeing I will never need them again.
So laugh all you want, but I put the frame part between the downtube and the headtube over the back of a chair and put an expendable stem on the fork. Then I used the metal hammer on the stem and after a few blows I had the fork out half an inch and the cone came out.
I have to remove that crown cone cause I used mine on the DH fork, I hope it will come out easy with the knife trick.
Now I can't use a Thick brick on the front wheel because the fork is too tight. I have a few other options:
1. Use the original 24" wheel with a narrower tire - 24x 2.0, 2,125, or 2,35.
2. Use a 26" front wheel I had built for the Cafe, Felt moped rim with a disk (180mm) - the problem is I don't really like the 24/26 combo. Also the hub has a quick release and I hate the look of it.
3. Use 26" front wheel with a narrower rim (30mm I think) and a drum brake I have. This will require a clamp for the brake arm on the fork leg.
 
The knife trick in case I am not the last person to have learned it:
20191005_151156.jpg

Get a thin knife, hammer it carefully between the fork and the cone, apply mild leverage, then remove the knife, go on the other side, repeat. This one took less than two minutes.
 
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OK, the fork is installed:
20191005_181431.jpg

As you see the Thick Brick cannot be used here:
20191005_181618.jpg

I considered using two Kenda Kiniptions tires, I like the look, but I would rather go with different tires and keep the rear one 3"wide.
I also forgot that the Haribo wheels have black spokes where my rear wheel has silver spokes. I could sand the black ones though.
 
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This probably won't fit with your build, but I love this solution by GuitarCarl.View attachment 106527
Oh, I love it! I love his style, my favorite of his bikes is the guitar amplifier bike with the guitar stand.
As good as the idea is I don't have the possibility of drilling metal parts.
 
I decided to keep it simple. I will keep the coaster brake rear wheel. I also installed the front 26" wheel with the disk and am waiting for a caliper to arrive.
I wanted to use a Ruff Cycles (the profile similar to the Street Hog tire) tire I had for the rear wheel, but it doesn't run straight.
20191009_192139.jpg

I have mounted it a few times and I am very disappointed with the result every time. It is also a huge pain to put on and off the rim. I have bruises on my hands. I managed to break one of my tire levers in the process. I was swimming in sweat.
I didn't have any trouble t all with the Thick Brick that was originally on that rim, it came off quickly and easily, even with just one tire lever. Because I have an extra Berm Master tire I decided to use it - I really love the look and I like fooling myself that because of the knobbies it rides softer :D. So I was curious how long would it take me to put the BM (plus the tube) on the rim - about 35 seconds, no problem at all, I could push the tire over the rim edge with two fingers.
20191009_191909.jpg
 
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It took me a while to find a missing part. I have a crown with two pipes I used to emulate the look of a double crown fork. I searched everywhere, or so I thought. Then I found it just yesterday in a bag under the table. :41:
I took it for a spin. I really dislike the seat. I will put a wide seat and set it lower, speed is not a priority anyway. I also feel it is geared a bit too low - the rear sprocket has 22 teeth. According to Sheldon Brown the 3rd should be the riding gear for a flat surface, but to me the cadence in 2nd is unnaturally high. So I might swap the rear 22t offset sprocket with a 20t offset one I have.
20191025_122032.jpg

Here a close up of the part in question:
20191025_122044.jpg

I had to cut the top of the left tube and am currently brainstorming on what to use as a cap. I am open for suggestions.
 
The internal diameter is around 28mm. The crown and the tubes are from the original Cafe750 fork that I destroyed - back when I got the Cafe I had no idea I could resell the fork so I destroyed it for my project. I am not really sorry though, because fun has no cost, only worth :)
The cafe750 with that same setup at the beginning of getting modified (same frontwheel too):
IMG_20171022_153613.jpg

Watching at this pic gets me thinking... I have that seat, that seat post and that stem still. I also have some moon handlebars with 22mm clamp I could use... Should I?
 
I mounted the old Lepper seat:
20191027_230948.jpg

Also a non functioning Tacho:
20191027_231010.jpg

The original crank is 175 mm if I am not mistaken, I think I will order a 6" in black (152 mm). I also swapped the rear 22t sprocket with a 20t I had. The Felt has such long dropouts I didn't even shorten the chain.
 
I played around with parts I have on hand:
20191028_215848.jpg

Mounting the headlight was challenging, but I used some brackets to attach to the stem...
20191028_215923.jpg

The bracket underneath the stem has a nut welded to it, I think it was a part of a front basket kit, so I was able to bolt the headlight bracket to it:
20191028_215947.jpg
 

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