Painted Frame Thanks @CRASH for the nudge on getting this into final paint. I'm pretty sure I would have settled on leaving it in primer without it
Glad you got the paint on there. Dig the seat but kind of miss seeing the cool bracing underneath. Look forward to seeing it back together.
I kind of miss the bracing too. Funny thing is that they were added without giving much design thought to it, purely functional.
Sure does, especially with the comparison photo! Just imagine it with a black or, black and yellow striped seat.
Driveline Final Assembly Haven't had a chance to ride it yet but, turned upside down the derailleur will run through all of the gears. Even after testing at the beginning of the build I wasn't completely sure that first gear would work without rubbing the rear tire. First test ride will prove if it will work right side up. I used eye-bolts to route the shifter and rear brake cables. The threaded end was cut off and the "eyes" welded to the bottom of the cantilever tubes.
Brake Final Assembly Again, no test ride yet but it looks like the brakes work front and back. On the back brakes I set the link wire as close to the rear tire as I could. My thinking was that that would pull the arms more towards each other creating greater force against the rim. Don't know if a skid will be possible but the back brakes will definitely help stop. The front disc still needs some adjustment. Not sure but it seems the old style levers have less pull travel then newer levers? I want to keep the old style levers if I can. I think if I adjust and position the caliper so the pads are as close to the disc as possible I should be fine.
This is true... Vintage levers, designed for calipers and/or canti brakes, do not pull nearly as far or nearly as quick as modern V-brake levers. This ought to present no problem on the rear brakes. On the disc, adjust carefully and eliminate as much cable slack as possible. If necessary, add a barrel adjuster for fine tuning.
Thanks for the info. A short test ride last night confirmed that the rear brakes and gear shifting are pretty much dialed in. The front brake still needs a little work. The pads are dragging a bit against the disc as I get them close enough for the lever to really work well. The alignment between the disc and caliper is just off a little. Unfortunately it is in a direction that the caliper and mounting bracket don't allow adjustment. Is it safe to assume that the pads will wear in to better align with the disc or should I consider making a shim? Like I say, its not a lot of drag but it does prevent the front wheel from just running free.
Great job! It's always a joy to watch your builds come together. Thanks for sharing your talent here!
You're in a better position than I to judge the degree of drag that misalignment is causing. Just an opinion, but such brake drag on bicycles is more annoying than it is detrimental. I'd be more concerned if they were drum brakes or a coaster, where heat could build up. Would the disc be better shimmed? You bet. But I think the biggest danger you're really facing is accelerated wear and squeaking.
SICK! Very sick... Outside the box, no, Outside the universe! Nice work throughout - Congratulations! Rat Royale REC Elsewhere
Wow, that's a heart and soul build bro, an engineering masterpiece, and a welding textbook all in one. I've been out of the loop for a bit, bought a house and it's a bona fide fixer upper so I've been back to my original trade of woodworking , roofing, painting, etc on the ol' money pit. BUT, this build tutorial makes me anxious to pull my little ol' flux welder out and get to work again. I got the bug here a couple years ago, and welded up two bikes for buildoffs...and I swear, the smoothing was the hardest work of all....nevermind all of the joints and bends and welds you had to contend with...your fingers must have been raw LOL CONGRATS on the build, the work, the inspiration... oh, and the win too. What a beautiful beautiful bike. franco
Congratulations for your bicycle. I have read almos the entire buiding process and i have no words. Perfecionist is what i think you are. Of course thank you to share all the process with us.