Roy's Groovy mod...

Gonna make this a quick post, as I'm really trying to get as much forward momentum in the shop as possible right now...the show draws near (yikes!)

One of the projects that has been in the shop awaiting some work is Roy's polka dot bike that I built back about 3 years ago.  This was originally built up with Magura Firm Tech brakes, 26" Rohloff wheels, and an old school bar stem combo. 

As this was the first frame built with the Firmtechs in the US, there was very little info available as to design, fabrication, performance, anticipated braking forces, etc...  At the time of the build spec, I tried to encourage Roy to go with Discs, as the experience would be worlds apart from his old school cantis... no dice.  So, long story short, the bike is back for some work; on the agenda is the removal of the Firm tech mounts, the addition of disc brakes, and a new disc friendly fork. 

Part way into the work, I realized that all things being equal, the bike could be significantly improved on.  I did not like the fatigue the Firmtechs placed on the stays over the last three years, determined a fixed dropout system would be cleaner, rationalized that Roy is a big guy on some little wheels, etc...Why not bring it up to date?

So some quick emails later, we had a plan. 

After some quick calculations, I determined the bike could be built back as a 650b with almost no perceptible change in the geometry, the calipers indicating the necessary increase in axle to crown...

The new wheel size and rigid fork would change up the angles only about a 1/2 degree...easily corrected to achieve the same trail as before, but with a larger surface contact patch, greater momentum, and roll over capability.

Emboldened with the new direction, I lopped off the rear end. "Eeegad, you did what?"  Yep, decided it would be quicker to just start fresh out of the gate. 

So long to put together,so little time to hack apart...

 

A view of the vent holes in the bottom bracket, placed high on the tube to allow the argon to push the oxygen out during purging if desired.

After some meticulous work with the 4.5" grinder, Dotco file, and finally hand files, she's smooth and ready to go...

I've got to get to fabricating a Rohloff compatible dropout, cutting up a new rear end, and who knows, may even have another surprise for Roy too ;)

While the paint on the frame was bubbling off, I ended the evening finishing off  a few more Ti bars...

Never alone in the shop, Frankie likes to sleep right under my feet while welding.  Comforting, but a bit of a problem when he gets up and steps on the pedal :)

 Catch y'all tomorrow,

rody

80's flashback...

Ok, some late night fun.  It's been at least 15 years since I last cleaned out my locker at the Fire Department.  Amongst the stacks of promotional and training  books I found a few folders that had been doodled on in highschool/college.

Looks like my mind wandered in the right direction at least :)

Always desired a fat tubed Klein Adroit with mission control and segmented fork.  The price these classic fuselages are fetching now and days it'll have to remain a fond memory.

Made me smile though.

cheers,

rody

Ti Luvs for show moving forward

Cold and nasty outside...warm and happy inside.  Love the new shop :)

Worked on Ti Luvs today. 

Kalten with his bleached shaggy mop on the mill drilling vent/purge holes.  Next week for swimming sectionals he'll be bald, quite the change.

A well purged end cap, so shiny and oxygen free, the colors you see on the edge are my reflection.

Gonna keep on chugging.

cheers,

rody

The ice is upon us...

The ice hit full force with between .750 and 1.000" of accumulation, taking down powerlines, trees, and causing general havoc.

Could not make it home this morning from the FD...had to park the car along the road and walk/post hole the rest of the way.

Here's a view of the frozen landscape as I trudged up where my driveway should be...

The good news is that we still have power to the house and shop, so I'll be comfortably welding the day away :)

Hope everyone is safe out there...

r

Back to rocking forward...

Sooooo happy to have the shop functional again, I decided to get to work and do something simple to begin break in the new space. 

With the paint booth finally ready, I wanted to get moving on Roy and Don's paint as they've been beyond humanly patient.  Into the blaster go the parts, the compressor chugs to a rythmic beat, and I press the pedal to flow some media...phhhht!  Hmmm, that's not right.  Phhhht.  Nope, not right at all. 

Now the blaster has been less than stellar the last couple of months, but I figured some of it was attributed to this...

Time and abrasives had burrowed a hole through the side of my gun, allowing air pressure and media to spew out the handle instead of the nozzle.  True to form, always a bit short on time, I've just been folding up some aluminum foil and duct taping it tightly over the hole to get by...yeah, I know, ghetto.  Today's issues seemed to be a little bit more serious though, as I was getting nada for flow.

A little more investigation showed me why...

The siphon tube had a huge hole worn through it and the gun barb on the other end was equally eaten away.  Gonna have to run to Bad Boy Blasters in Canton to pick up some new parts.

Stymied with my paint prep, I turned my energies to something else. 

I set to mitering, turning and welding together some bars to take along to Nahbs in Austin.  The bars are an integral part of my show, as it is a product that lends it's self to strong after market appeal and yields a fair bit of sales, effectively paying for my attendance costs.  Without the sales of bars, posts, and tee's, I don't know if I could justify the cost of attendance even though I feel very strongly that I must be there to support the growth and progression of the independent hand built bicycle.

I was able to get quite a few steelies done and began prepping for Ti's next, hopefully welding those up on Wednesday if we still have power during the "BIG ICE STORM" the national weather service is projecting.  To be honest, the loss of electricity right now has me very nervous, as I only have 16 build days before the show to get 4 bikes, 22 bars, 10 seatposts, a few cranks, and me ready...ughh.

Say a prayer if ya will, it's gonna be a rough ride

rody

all done...

Just a quick note, no fancy diatribe or pictures, to let y'all know that I finished up the last of the shop last night.

A push on the paint booth saw all the glass cut and installed with vapor proof gaskets, a new paint fixture fabricated and installed on the ceiling, and a pesky ballast that has been causing me issues replaced.  Finally all ready to move forward...whew.

Today I'll clean up and organize and start contacting customers and scheduling work to begin catching up.

It's been a long haul to get to this point, thanks for being patient.

rody