A lowglide again,this time a Felt.

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Just a few days before the start of the FBI,
I've bought me a lowglide again.

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All the parts in the back of the car,a lowglide in one piece doesn't fit the trunk of a VW Polo.

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Once @ home took all the parts out of the car,and yes for those who don't know yet.
I've scored a Felt Classic Stretch.

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The frame has some minor scratches on it.
The tank plates and chainguard are in good condition.
The fenders are damaged a lot, they have scratches and some dents.

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The biggest problem with the frame is that the kickstand is broken of it, and there is a big hole in the frame.
That the kickstand is broken of the frame is not such a big problem, there are more Felts which have that problem.
It just needs some welding to fix that.
The guy who sold the bike didn't have the kickstand anymore, that was for me no reason to not buy the bike.
Just used it to lower the price. :lol:

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Together with the youngest building up the bike again.

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And it's build up again.
@ First sight it looks like the bike isn't used much.
Because there is almost no rust to find on the bike or the chrome parts.
I think the bike got more damaged from standing still, than it has from driving with it.
As i said before the frame has some scratches, and a little dent where the springer has touched the frame.
In the future it could use some new paint or powder.

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The leather bag thats on the bike, came also with the bike.
It's not in great condition,but it is a nice bonus.

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The front fender is bent and has some paint damage.

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The rear fender is bent also has a few dents and a lot of paint damage.
There also is mounted a rear light to the fender.
But with some paint repair, i think the fenders will look okay again.

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Because during the build up i had seen that the chainring wasn't fit tight to the crank.
The next day,i took the bottom bracket out of the frame.
Also gave the bearings an inspection.

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The bearings and the cups are in good condition.
But as with all my bikes that i've bought until now, the bearings could use some cleaning and new grease.
After i had fastened the chainring,cleaned the bearings and put new grease on them.
I've put the bottom bracket back in again.

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After that, washed the bike.
There is some more cleaning and polishing to do.
Special the polished alu parts can use some polishing.


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How the Classic looked after this treatment.
Made a little test ride and felt that the springer needs some adjustment.
Further the bike drove okay and everything works.

After 3 days of cruisin to and @ the FBI took the bike out the garage again.
Because i felt during the test drive that the springer could use some adjustment.

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Started to take the whole springer apart,and out of the frame.

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After cleaning all the parts,the springer building back in again.
Offcourse used grease where needed.

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Because the stem was loose @ this moment, i did some polishing @ once.
Here the front of the stem is already polished.

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The stem polished aswell.

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Because i didn't have to do anything better.
Also did some polishing to the rims.
Before polishing.


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After polishing.
The 8 ball valve-caps are gone,and i've put classic chrome valve-caps on.

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As on all my bikes,also fitted a leather saddle.
This time a brown Brooks B67 Pre Aged, to keep the original look of the brown seat.

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Shimano 333 grips that will come on the Felt.
Because i don't like the thick rubber and chrome grips.

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Placed Shimano 333 grips.
The shiftercable is a little bit to short,so i've ordered a longer one.

This could just be the next step.
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A pair of new Quick Bricks in this color. ;)
 
Re: A lowglide again.

Your dog matches your bike...maybe you should put a basket on it!
 
Re: A lowglide again.

KC so-cal said:
Great score and by the way I like your basman also, its one of my fovorite bikes of all time
Thanks KC, the Basman still is my favorite bike.
It's such a smooth and comfortable bike to ride.


RonK said:
Your dog matches your bike...maybe you should put a basket on it!
:lol: :lol: :lol:
But a basket is a no go for me Ronk. :wink:

tcb-1 said:
love the bike, especially those sick handlebars!!
Thanks tcb, do you mean the handlebar or the grips :?:
 
Re: A lowglide again.

Today i have been chopping.
:idea: Because i don't like rim brakes, i didn't put the frontbrake back on the bike.
And today i have cut the cantilever mounts of the forklegs.

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Forklegs with the canti mounts.

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The mounts cut of.

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The legs sanded and ready for new paint.

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In the primer.

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Black again.

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Back together again.

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It's just a small mod, but it looks much better for me. :D
 
Re: A lowglide again.

After some thinking about putting white parts on the bike,i have changed my plan.
Because i want to keep the leather saddle i've changed to go for brown parts.
Meaning the grips,saddle and tires.
I hope these changes will give the bike a more classic look.

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First have bought me new grips for the Classic.
Because i wanna go for all brown parts ,the white 333 grips have to go.
But the 333 shifter is gonna stay on.

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The 333 shifter,and the new grip.
Because the 333 grip is shorter, i'll have to shorten the new grip.


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First took the 333 grip of the shifter,and took the new grip apart.
Because the 333 Shifter is a few mm thicker then the handlebar,the aluminium rings didn't fit.
So i took the Dremel and some sandpaper,and after some time they did go on the shifter.
The black part didn't fit also,so i left that one out.
In between the aluminium rings,the grip has to become thicker to fit the leather rings.
I did that by wrapping some tape around the shifter untill it was thick enough.
Then i put the rings on and put the whole shifter together.
The left grip is cut off at the same length.

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Then put the grips on the handlebar.

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Close up, yes i think it will work. :D

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And a little red dot to show in wich gear it is. :wink:

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I would like to have this Brown Quick Bricks to put on.
But they are not for sale here in Europe.
I have been looking to buy them in the U.S. and have them shipped over,
but that's getting to expensive for a pair of tires. :cry:

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:idea: So now i think i will go for the Brown Schwalbe Fat Franks, as they are for sale overhere.
 
Re: A lowglide again.

I think it'll look great with the fenders repaired and reinstalled.
 
Re: A lowglide again.

@ Primestyle your Classic looks cool too,like the white walls.

@ the begin of September the front bracket for the chainguard came loose of the bottom bracket.
And because i wanted to do the surprise cruise on the Felt,there was some welding to do.
@ the same time a kickstand is welded back on.

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A big hole in the frame,there where the kickstand was used to be.
When i bought the bike the kickstand was missing.

Thanks to Remco from DHC,who gave me a kickstand that he didn't need anymore.
I did have allready a suitable kickstand for a while.
Now it was time to do the welding.
I don't have a welding equipment and don't have the skills,i've asked my friend to do the welding.

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Here the stand is spotwelded on the frame, so it's still possible to line it out to the frame.

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After it was lined out,welding it down to the frame.

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The raw weld.

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The bracket for the chainguard welded back in place also.

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Grinded the weld for a smoother look.

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The kickstand placed in the bracket.
With a brush put some black paint on it,to protect it from rust.

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There it's standing proudly on the kickstand. :lol:

Now finally there is a set of Brown Quick Brick tyres on their way to The Netherlands.

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The Fat Franks look good,but i think the Quick Brick will look even better. :lol:
 
Awesome thread!

I looked at the bike when you first assembled it, and thought that it looked pretty good, but it just got better and better with each small change you made, beautiful results, you have an awesome eye for detail!

Luke.
 
It's been a while but here the update.
I wanted to fit fat rims in the Felt,but also wanted to keep the Classic look.
For this reason my choice had fallen on polished 26"x 64 mm Classic cycle rims.
Because the availability of the Classic cycle rims was moved over a few times.
I finally picked up a pair of grey DHL 26" x 65 mm rims @ The Chopperdome.
With the intention of polishing the rims myself.

Because a lack of time,it took a while but @ this pic the first rim is polished.


Once the rim was polished,i was wondering how the new rim would look in the bike.
So i took the Felt rear wheel apart,and used these spokes to lace the new wheel.


Cross 3 ,laced behind the 3th spoke.
The Felt spokes where a few mm to long, so i crossed the spokes also from one side of the hub to the other side of the rim.
And still the spokes where a little to long.
That's why i did go for other, thicker spokes.


2nd Rim polished.


Also polished the front hub wich i'm gonna use.


A week later than expected, the spokes got in.


A loose spoke 12/13G butted. @ the hub 2,67 mm and than going to 2.34 mm.
Les thicker than was meant, this came trough the way of lacing the wheel.


Laced the rear wheel again, with the new spokes.
Before i could lace the front wheel.
I had to polish up that rim @ some spots, because i did make some scratches on it by lacing and unlacing it.


Laced the wheel the same way as with the Felt spokes.
Cross 3, laced behind the 3th spoke.
Right side of the hub to the left side of the rim, and left side of the hub to the right side of the rim


Polished up the other rim again, and laced the front wheel.
Than i brought the wheels to the lbs, for tensioning and truing them.


It took a few weeks more than intended, but last Saturday i picked them up again.
And Sunday i have put the Felt on his new wheels.


Because of the rainy weather, took some pics inbetween the showers.


In-between the fork legs there is only left a few mm.
Just enough clearance to turn the wheel around.


The rear wheel was a pain in the ..., it gave me some troubles to get it in the middle of the frame.
It took a while, but i think it was worth it.

 
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