Team Lope Tyre Clubbe » chain

Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – Natural Twenty

wrongrobot — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:34:48 +0000

Show me a [Self-Generated] problem
yo I’ll solve it

Here we have the big 20 tooth cog on there finally (well, again) thanks to a fresh chain, and after an admittedly unloaded ride test (that means different things, depending on where, and when, in the Team Lope enterprise, we’re talking) and yes, it is reassuring to have the 70.7 inchgear as intended.

Wish I was well enough to actually ride as planed today, but these are still the problems to have…

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – Over the Moon

wrongrobot — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:54:19 +0000

So, Ye Blacke Death has been ride-able for 24 hours now. I mean, it goes and it stops, both reliably.

So, while it’s not yet complete, I do have thoughts.

Test Ride 1 was the coffee run last weekend that saw most of my coffee land in and over the front rack, being unsecured, plus was the ride I learned I had both a high-gearing issue AND a baby seat clearance issue. Subsequently, I swapped out the Nitto moustache bars for big-ass moon bars. This provides the necessary clearance to ride with the baby up ON there. I also swapped out the vintage hood lever for a BMX lever and restrung the brake cable 33 more times.

Test Ride 2: Wraps Run

So the bars are on, the brake strung, seemed to be in order, so i headed out. First thing I noticed was that despite cinchin’ it, the bars still moved in the stem clamp. So I was carrying all my tools in me pockets as I do on test rides, so I was able to really muscle it more and get it tighter. Good. Second thing I noticed was that the brakes were still just a bit too soft. It’s hard to finesse center-pulls like this. You under-do it and they slip, and over-do it and the cable get s smashed and frayed. So I stopped and adjusted again. Little better, not perfect.

I also noticed that riding with moon bars is kind of awkward. It’s fun, but when you’re used to the drops or the bulls, pitched forward, this position is kind of strange. You’re pushing pedals differently too, with your body geometry changing in that position. But as far as the first real RAHHHDE of any distance, it worked. It’s smooth, cushy. LAID BACK.

I brought back some wraps and a salad using the front basket, and used my webbing to hold it down. Worked AWESOME.

Test Ride 3: Commute

So after the ride last night, this morning I was able to do some more brake adjustment (still not perfect) and a few other things, and I was good to go.

Lung warned that my gearing was still likely too high. He’s right. I came down from my accidental 300 inchgear or whatever, but my chain was broken too small now, so i couldn’t get it back up to the bigger ‘pie plate cogs’ because I don’t have enough chain. So I installed the biggest I could fit, which was an 18. That’s still a 78 inchgear. Not terribly comfortable int he upright. Doable certainly in drops, but this is different. Add the short hills to get to my house. Add 20+ pounds of Wee Z! So yep, need a new chain.

I also found that man, it’s hard to adjust to those wide hand-positions. I kept instinctively slipping down to the stem to ride more comfortably as I do on Crook, but of course with a baby seat installed that wouldn’t be possible, so I tried to force myself to stay in position. Overall, fun ride, but need to do more adjustments. Possibly a drainpipe post, as I’m feeling a little forward from where I want to be, just like with Fix-e back in the day. I just happen to have Fix-e’s old one, so we’ll see.

I headed over to the stoe to get some groceries, and to Peet’s to get my coffee. Again with the webbing, this time pushing more of the limits of the reach of the net. Worked great. My bag was about 20 pounds too, and the bike handled well. That’s a good sign. Coffee in there too, nice and snug.

Test Ride 4: Afternoon Coffee Run

Yes, that’s a lot of coffee, i know.
Anyway, this time I webbed the coffee cup vertically close to the stem-side of the basket, and it worked like a dream. Even better than my modified gimbal on wrongBike. Narry a drip spilled.
Little more used to the bars now.

Please note the sweet, sweet sticker I through on here, courtesy of TRDL R3 Lieutenant Akua!

All in all, good rides. I’m heading over to get yet another chain tonight and replacement grips. Don’t be fooled by that red wrap. That’s just the under-wrap to the cork grips. I had to break one off to get the moustache bars off, which was crumbling from some cracks anyway. So more to come.

Onward! Next ride, lower gear, proper grips, bell and BABY! If all goes well…

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Bike Build Process Log: Ye Blacke Death – Rubber Hits Road

wrongrobot — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:38:58 +0000

Well, Ye Blacke Death is finally finished! Finished in the since, of course, that it rolls and pedals and steers and mostly stops, not that there’s not much more to do. But this was the day that I was able to get it rolling and do some tests. Any build, I’m secretly relieved when it doesn’t explode on it’s maiden voyage. Weirder frames and pieces parts and I wonder a little more about that result. I wasn’t going to throw wee Z on here and hurtle down the hill, but I did want to get out and see what needed adjustment and how it held up.

As you can see, it came together pretty nicely. The bobike fits on a a bracket that seats on the quill, and is removable in under 7 seconds. You can pull the clamp off as well and it’s like it was never there, or leave the clamp on and use the cotter pin to remove the seat. Even on the bike, there’s no interference with the front rack.

The combination of matte black, laquered wood, leather and chrome work well together. It has an old timey vibe, but some new school details. More interestingly to me, it’s the most frankenbike build I’ve done, even more than Fix-e was, and it doesn’t LOOK like it. I think it looks like it rolled new off the assembly line of one of your vintagy commuter bike shops.
Most importantly, it came together how I envisioned it, with the black rims and knobbies, the little gleams on the chrome, the general geometry…

Wee Z even helped with spoke tension inspection. Not at speed.

So, what’s left: well, a lot. Some adjustments are required before it can really do what it was intended to do. See, I tried to hop on it and almost became a eunuch. The Bobike is low and back, so you cradle your precious cargo in your arms as you ride. But for most bikes, that means interference with your riding position. I could get between the seat and the Bobike, but I couldn’t get UP onto my seat. Absolutely no-go if there was a child up in there.

I was sort of resigned to the idea that maybe the seat wouldn’t work out (it was designed for upright commuters in Denmark with adjustable stems and that vertical clearance) and that I’d be putting the rear rack on. But I did some research last night and was reminded, thanks to www.longleafbicycles.com why i got my long quill stem in the first place. I was going about this the wrong way: I thought the clearance problem would be the seat being too much in my face, so I was pushing it farther and farther down the stem, to no avail. As it turns out, it needs to be HIGHER, which is counter-intuitive, I have to admit. That’s where the ginormous stem came in. So this morning, I raised the seat high on the stem (didn’t yet actually increase stem height) and equally-as-important, lowered the SEAT. It made all the difference, and it worked. AWESOME.

Another issue is the brake. I’m a mile from where I started: I have sticky salmon pads, a new center-pull caliper, and I spent a LOT of time stringing and restringing it, which is made more aggravating with this vintage of equipment because of having to use double- wrenches on the hanger nuts. I was too weak in stopping power on my test ride, which was after about three stringings already… and then I adjusted it and am now too tight, so i need to let out about 3mm of cable. But I’m close.

The cork handles, which were kind of an experiment anyway, were 50/50. One went on great, and one shredded like you’d expect thin, true cork to do. Wifebot(tm) suggested glue but i don’t think it’ll hold together very long, so if I keep using these, I’ll be replacing one.

The bars, which LOOK rad, once again may not work, just as has happened on my other rides.

The sweep brings you too far forward, and I think I’ll interfere with comfortable positioning when Z is on there. So i may have to switch to sway, or boulevard, bars. I’ll be looking at that tonight.

Lastly, when I set out on the test ride, I was like DAMN this is a bitch. What is UP. The gearing was higher than I anticipated. I discovered the culprit. Remember how I was messing around with different combinations of cranks and chainrings? I ended up going with a 53, not the 39 I started with. Makes a teeeny bit of difference.

I calculated the inchgear at a gruesome 101. GAH.

I’m putting a 20 on the back tonight, getting it back down to my comfortable low-70s.

All in all though, very exciting and satisfying day.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

branded

ironlung — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:49:54 +0000

i’ve been trying to decide for a long time now where to put my sick TLTC vinyl applique. i knew i wanted to use a black one, cause i have a matte black bike, so the only difference between the two "colors" would be textural. but i debated driveSide versus non-driveSide. had i put it on the driveSide, it would be possible to sort of see it in photos of the bike. that’s also the passing side, so while nobody would ever possibly see it, it would be a subtle TLTC rep to anyone i passed. but my natural style is a leftward lean, and driveSide application would mean that it would be obscured by the chainwheel. so, wanting it to be visible in full, and loving the left, i went non-driveSide.

i had to blow the brightness way out to get it visible without a flash, so this shot isn’t the greatest, but it’s a way more realistic idea of what the black on black looks like…

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Absolutely the Best Bikish Belt Ever

wrongrobot — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:21:11 +0000

But keep that chain CLEAN boy!

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2010/08/ … e_belt.php

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Best Bikish Pendant Ever

wrongrobot — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:55:27 +0000

My number-one good barrista at Peet’s was rockin a sweet, sweet pendant today that utilized a bike chain link in a clever way. Here we are, with her permission, so don’t get any ideas…she’ll CUT you.

Go Lora!

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Chain Gang Kits

wrongrobot — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:27:38 +0000

As seen on Team Hype, yes these faux-plaid kits are what they call the shit.

http://www.chaingangto.com/

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Another Arc Electric Bike

wrongrobot — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:24:45 +0000

Such a strange design. The two arc halves are aluminum, hollowed out and housing the battery chain. It is NOT regenerative, which is surprising. But in talking with the owner, I had to admit, it did what we want these kinds of vehicles to do: get drivers out of their cars. He was touting it’s ability to motor up the hill to SF, and I was thinking ‘or you could RIDE to work’… but then, you know, the whole POINT is getting them out of the car and into the air. Maybe pedaling the grade is the next step after they’re used to the idea. So far so good.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Team Lope Bike Bio: Crook Type 3

wrongrobot — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:03:35 +0000

Crook Type 3 is a transformed version of Crook, the Cinelli Mash I built up and rode on Aids Lifecycle 9, from SF to LA. The concept was simple, and absurd: after completing the 570 mile ride (if successful, which it was) I would swap out the gray frame that made that journey for the limited edition green/ white variant, celebrating the achievement. You can read about the build process for Crook Type 3 here. Suffice to say, I kept the bottom end from the original Crook, and replaced the top end, going with a silver dip theme above the frame line.

Cinelli Mash 09 Limited Edition Green/White Adidas-inspired variant
SRAM Courier 300 Cranks (48/165)
Shimano A520 pedals
Custom wheelset: Soma hubs laced to H+Son 43s
Sugino Track Cog system (17) (Currently 75 inchgear)
SRAM single chain
Dia Compe brake/ carbon fiber cable housing
Paul Comp cross lever, silver
Titanium spacers
Columbus headset and seatpost clamp
Thomson Elite post, silver
Thomson X2 stem, silver
Nitto RB-021 compact bullhorns
VO elkhide wrap
crankbolt wrap caps (!)
Brooks Swallow saddle, honey
Thomson stem cap
Continental Gatorskin Hardshells 25c
Awesomeness

Here’s the build in the wild…

Note the Paul Comp cross lever. That was a hard find, with a deceptively simple solution: Order direct from Paul Comp…
The elkhide is still stretching and getting comfy but it’s gorgeous. I miss gel padding, though. Crank bolts for bar ends. HA!

The gold hub works nicely with the color scheme, which was fortuitous. I’ll eventually have a brass bell on the front end too.

Sneaky inclusion of my Three-Pin rider logo under the chainring, for science.

On Crook 1.0 there was a quote here: ‘by hook or by crook’ which was my inspirational mantra for getting through ALC on a fixed-gear. Now that that was done, I elected to retire it, moving the bike name from the head tube to the usual position here. The cog decal moved from seatpost to seat stay. Oh, and there will be a pinup girl on the nose, it’s just not done. The other missing decals are a Type 3 lettering piece for the name, and a vinyl of our ALC logo used on our ride shirts.

Some adjustments will follow, in seat height and stem. But so far, it’s a greeeaaaaat rahde!

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Bike Build Process Log: Crook Type 3 Conversion

wrongrobot — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:46:48 +0000

As you have seen from previous posts, Crook was my Cinelli Mash fixie build, which had an expressed purpose: it was my ride for Aids Lifecycle. When I bought and built it, my vision was just to build the fixie I could do the MOST on… the longest days, the best climbs, the most agility, etc. So, it was done up with road drops, ridden for a few months before the ride (about 400 miles) and then on ALC 9 from SF to LA (another 570 miles)…

But something changed, along that preparation period before ALC. I found my initial rejection of the green limited edition version of this frame turning from dislike to interest. I couldn’t shake it. And then I had the idea: ride the gray ghost to LA, then have a metamorphosis to the green. So I took a risk on the green frame, site unseen, and ordered it before I left.

My initial plan was to come home, strip the bike, assemble the new one, then ride up to the city and meet Lung later that week with the surprise build. I had kept my plan a secret. The frame was shipped to my office while we were on the ride. All was well.

Until I got it home the day after we returned. The frame itself was gorgeous. The color is indescribable, and no pics do it justice. But the fork had carbon damage at the crown, painted over by the factory. Unacceptable! So I had to wait several weeks to get this resolved through my guys at City Grounds (zack is awesome, I say) and an understaffed Cinelli US crew. Ultimately, I got the replacement fork, and discovered the crown race was missing. We got that sorted, and I received the race in the mail last Friday, just in time to finish the build before Lung would arrive that Sunday for a birthday ride. The build was done from the back forward, but the front end was waiting on that race.

The ride is a dream, and you can see the Bio of the bike here.

Below are my process pics from the conversion, which involved using the original Crook bottom end, and a new top end.

:::

Unfortunately, the photos of the frame unboxing and the back end assembly were largely lost to a bad SD card. However, imagine me pulling a brilliant frame from the box and squeeing. The green is this iridescent color… not quite flaked, but shimmery. And more importantly, it’s a warm green, not a cold green. It’s paired with a creamy opaque white, a look I’ve always loved, going back to my one-time plans to white-paint-dip a stained-wood raw coffee table top for a project years ago. I love that look.

First, the original Crook was stripped to the bones, for sale to a fellow who was heading to San Diego fixed in a pursuit of folly similar to our fixed-gear Aids Lifecycle endeavors. How’s THAT for synchronicity! Last shot of Crook 1.0′s frame.

While waiting for the fork situation to be resolved, I dragged everything up to the deck for the extrusion shot (using the damaged fork, because hey.) and then decided to do the back end build work up there, while simultaneously BBQing and hanging out with wee Z. Here’s proof.

Here’s a close-up of that damage to the fork. Not a MASSIVE deal, but the concern I had was two-fold: one, the top surface of the crown is unpainted, so it’s visible in the gap between the frame and fork. This would be more obvious as a result. And two, it’s not like it was a sealed defect. That’s the EDGE of the paint. It’ll fray.

That was never fully resolved at the time of this writing. My boys at City Grounds took up the effort in dealing with Cinelli on that front, as weeks had gone by without any fruitful response from the manufacturer. It will be an argument over manufacturing damage vs shop damage. I believe manufacturing. In the meantime, as these weeks went by, my Crook parts hanging on the bikeBasement pegboards like those trophy skulls int he Predator ship, Lung was fast at acquiring and gleefully riding his new Cinelli cockpit. I was dying. I prayed he wouldn’t have a similar issue, like opening the box and finding his bars twisted into the shape of a rhombus or something. They weren’t. Gorgeous bars!

So as I mentioned, the bottom end was remaining from Crook 1.0. These were all new parts before ALC, right, so this transformation was to swap out frames, and the top end changes were largely cosmetic, except for the bars. So I kept my wheels, tyres, cranks, pedals, cog, brake… well, new chain, but other than that, same same. For the new stuff, the idea was to have chrome up top, black down below. I could have done all black, but the few green builds I see on the supernet go all black in the components or in one case all silver. So, in keeping with the ‘dipped’ theme of the white on the frame, the top end was dipped silver. Conceptually. Here wee Z is carefully scrutinizing some small gifts for manufacturing errors. That’s a shim set for the Nitto bars (unfortunately a necessity), a star nut and a special awesome Thomson solver stem cap. I used Nitto RB-021 compact bulls on this build, since the road drop necessity of ALC was over. I sourced a sweet silver cross lever directly from Paul Comp, too. Awesome. Same stem and seatpost, both Thomson, just now in silver. I used a shorty stem this time, feeling like going compact would get me into the bulls’ drop position easier. This is still pending final approval, as on the road it may be too close to me in this configuration, putting too much pressure on my arms. The saddle is one of my Brooks, already broken in, and the wrap is elkhide.

Here’s one Lung will like. Once I finally got my crown, I built my own crown race setter. And by built, I mean I had the hardware stoe cut me a big section of 1 1/2" black PVC. Tappity tap tap!
Look at that, saved $100 right there!

To me, the scariest step is cutting the steerer. On Crook 1.0, I left about 5mm extra, ringed with a final spacer above the stem, anticipating needing some height adjustment on ALC as I went. Didn’t end up needing it. Plus, this time, the bars are compact, so the taller the stem, the closer they are. Anyway, measure TWICE cut once, here at chez Wrongrobot.

Setting the star nut is actually kind of fun. Whamma bamma.

Here the bike is ready for wrapping. The Paul lever is installed on the thicker portion of the bars, as far over as possible to minimize cable housing scrape on the sharp curve of the X2 front end. This would be the slowest step, wrapping the bike up (literally) taking me from Friday night after getting back from Lung’s birthday party, through Saturday and into the next evening.

The elkhide is really interesting. It’s stretchier than calf hide, and is more porous, shows more defects. It’s really rad though. I had started with a lighter color that purported to match the Brooks honey color saddle, but was too tan, so i sent that back and got the darker brown, which matched perfectly. I used something close to a baseball glove stitch. I had no experience with this. You use one thick waxed cord with two stubby needles, and work from the stem outward. I’d get three good stitches and then a fail, distracted by my baby hurtling herself off of something or Anne Hathaway on film or whatever. But it wasn’t arduous. Just required time to get right. Go slowly, etc. In practice, on the road the wrap slips a bit as it’s stretchy and you apply so much force with your hands, so it pulled away a bit from the edges where they started, but still good. Will take some miles to settle in. Easily the most gorgeous bar covering I’ve ever had.

And with that, Crook Type 3 was born. We rode Paradise Loop under windy conditions, and it was a dream. I have some adjustments to make, reducing the inchgear down to the more universal 72 from 75, and some messing around with seat and stem position, but overall, love it. LOVE iot.

So that’s the story of how Crook became Crook Type 3 in a post-ALC transformation!

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!