Mt Richmond

Saturday morning, I took my under-utilised cyclocross  bike for an outing.

Winterised

Front mounting bracket
Originally uploaded by bensondoc

When I got my Breakaway fixie frame, I chickened out on brazing on some mudguard fittings, with the excuse that mudguards on a bike with track dropouts would be a pain in the ass.
After a winter of riding with wet ass, I wish I'd made the effort.
Fortunately the humble ziptie makes a fine substitute for a mudguard eyelet, but the lack of a chainstay bridge called for some ingenuity. Inspired by the nifty seat tube widget that comes with the Berthoud Carbon mudguards,I adapted a Blackburn taillight bracket to secure the front part of the rear guard.

MORE MUDGUARD MOUNTING PHOTOS

Crash Diet

PA190365a
Originally uploaded by bensondoc

When the pressure is on, everyone becomes a weight weenie, and after the savage pasting I got in the Waitakeres yesterday, I'm pleased that I have wisely invested in a pair of fancy wheels to assist me at K2.
Lacking the power to get any advantage from aero wheels, I opted for low weight and minimal rolling resistance.
I horsetraded a set of Campag Record 28 hole hubs from Wellington's Capital Cycles, and loaded my credit card with a pair of IRD Cadence rims. Spokes are Wheelsmith- 1.8mm doublebutted on the front & lefthand rear, 2.0 double butted at the driveside.
With Gran Bois Cerf 700 x 28 tyres, the wheels are 620g lighter than my everyday 36 spoke Mavic MA3/Campag Veloce/Gatorskin 28 wheelset, and reduce the weight of my Breakaway to sub-20lb.
Despite the possibility that my scales may be a few decades past their best, I choose to believe that the Ritchey, with a Brooks saddle and no carbon, is no heavier than Oli's 8.76kg/19.31lb Hillbrick.

As I write, CT-B is no doubt parading his new Rapha Andy Hampsten Jersey around his batchelor quarters, and pining for a matching Pegoretti4Hampsten or a limited edition replica of Hampsten's 1988 Giro winning bike by Landshark.

Kate's Fixie

A quick and dirty repurposing of Kate Mullarkey's Foster track bike for street use.


Frame__________________Foster 48cm
Bottom bracket__________Shimano UN72 107mm
Crankset_______________Suntour Cyclone 160mm
Brake caliper____________Suntour Superbe
Brake levers____________Shimano 600
Front hub______________Campagnolo Chorus
Rear hub_______________Surly
Rims__________________Wolber GTX
Tyres__________________Conti Super Sport 700 x 28
Gearing________________46 x 19 (65.4")
Saddle_________________Fizik Vitesse
Seatpost_______________Easton EA50
Stem__________________Cinelli 1a
Handlebars_____________Cinelli 65/40
Pedals_________________Shimano by LOOK

Fiddling while Rome burns

Part 3 in the Procrastination Trilogy

True to my word, gentle reader, last night I put the Breakaway fixie together, without neglecting my domestic obligations.
Yes, the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, and the dogs got their walk.
I even took a shower.

The finished product already looks a bit dirty.
In my frenzy, I didn't bother to clean the wheels, which last saw duty on the broken Holdsworth, and the early 70's Sugino Mighty 171mm crankarms came from the bottom of one of my less-frequented parts bins when the intended Dura-Ace 7400 arms wouldn't allow a good chainline.
The chain is the first one I found in a mystery pile of chains deemed not awful enough to throw away.

I'm going to use the red Ritchey decal kit that came with the frame, which hopefully will look OK with the red Alex Singer style Cateye cotton bar tape. The white brake cables came from Simon at Multisport Bikes.


Frame_________________Ritchey Breakaway SS/Fixed 60cm
Fork___________________Surly Steamroller, 1"
Headset________________Ritchey WCS 1" in Wheels Mfg adapters
Bottom bracket__________Campagnolo Veloce 111mm
Crankset_______________Sugino Mighty 171mm
Brakes_________________Suntour Superbe
Brake levers____________Campagnolo Athena (early 90s)
Front hub______________Phil Wood tandem
Rear hub_______________Surly
Rims__________________Campagnolo Omicron
Tyres_________________Rivendell Ruffy Tuffy 700 x 27
Gearing________________47 x 20 (63.5")
Saddle_________________San Marco Rolls
Seatpost_______________Suntour XC Pro
Stem__________________Ritchey WCS 4-Axis 12cm
Handlebars_____________Nitto Model 176 Dream bar 44cm
Pedals_________________Crank Brothers Quattro SL

Procrastination is the mother of necessity.

On Friday I took the day off work, and decided to get my Breakaway fixie frame painted.
The plan was to paint it white, like the stock colour scheme, but after pondering the twenty different types of white in the DupliColour stand, I wigged out and went for the fixie-bogan default option of Metallic Black.

By Saturday afternoon the frame was looking pretty decent, so long as you were not strictly sober.
Most of the paint was smooth and sparkly, but there were a few rough, dullish patches. It seems that you need to spray a fairly thick layer of paint to get it to flow out smoothly instead of going orange-peely. Fortunately, the rough bits polished out with White Lightning Metal-Brite, which is not intended for use on paint, but is much gentler than automotive polishes which tend to destroy the gloss on DupliColor.

My masterplan was to leave the frame for a few days, to allow the paint to cure, but last night I fitted few components, in solidarity with CTB who had come round to finish off his Ron Kitching.
Needless to say, neither of us got finished, though Chris managed a test-ride.

Now, the challenge is whether I can get a rideable unit before bedtime.

Procrastination, sport of kings

The recent upsurge in workshop productivity, not to mention bloggage, has been in lieu of more important tasks that require real application, hopefully for real rewards.

Not to worry though.

As well as winterizing the Benson, I got the Ritchey Breakaway back together.
Without the mudguards that I had on it last year, its a fair weather Luxocruiser with Gran Bois Cypres 700 x 30s for a plush but fast ride.
Succumbing to the nagging voice of my inner racer-boy, I cut 2cm off the fork steerer- not totally irrevocable,as flipping the stem will raise the bars by the same amount.

It took a couple of rides to get comfortable.
I seemed to be sitting further to the rear, though the Brooks Swallow saddle was set in the same position as the Swift on the Benson.
After a couple of adjustments, my souplesse, such as it is, seems to be regained.

Frame_________________Ritchey Breakaway Road steel 60cm
Fork___________________Reynolds 531, Pacenti crown, 1"
Headset________________Ritchey WCS 1" in Wheels Mfg adapters
Bottom bracket__________Campagnolo Ultra-Torque
Crankset_______________Campagnolo Veloce CT 175 mm 34/48
Brakes_________________Cane Creek SCR-3L
Brake levers____________Campagnolo Cobalto
Shift levers_____________Campagnolo Record 10speed bar end
Front derailler___________Campagnolo Centaur QS
Rear derailler___________Campagnolo Veloce 10 speed medium cage
Hubs__________________Campagnolo Veloce 36h
Rims__________________Mavic MA3
Tyres_________________Gran Bois Cypres 700 x 30
Cassette_______________Campagnolo Veloce 10s 13-29
Saddle_________________Brooks Swallow Titanium
Seatpost_______________Ritchey WCS V2
Stem__________________Ritchey WCS 4-Axis 11cm
Handlebars_____________Nitto Model 177 Noodle bar, 44cm
Pedals_________________Crank Brothers Quattro SL

'Nice winter bike'

The last time I rode the event formerly known as the Pack'n'Pedal 100k, an English gent in our bunch described my 1995 Benson as a 'nice winter bike', which made me somewhat unreasonably defensive. I pointed out that Auckland is a rainy town, and that I thought it sensiblefor a non-racing person to ride year-round with mudguards. Then I blurted out that I had lighter, shinier bikes for more meteorologically auspicious days, which pretty much proved his point.

This year, I've stopped trying to deny it.
The Benson is back, in trad winter bike guise, with new Bluemels mudguards and the Schmidt dynamo and Bisy light.

Headset________________Ritchey WCS threaded
Bottom bracket__________Shimano UN72 107mm
Crankset_______________Ritchey Logic 175 mm 110bcd 34/50
Brakes_________________Cane Creek SCR-3L
Brake levers____________Cane Creek SCR-5
Shift levers_____________Campagnolo Record bar end
Front derailler___________Campagnolo Veloce CT
Rear derailler____________Campagnolo Veloce
Hub (front)_____________Schmidt SON28 hub dynamo
Hub (rear)______________Campagnolo Veloce
Cassette_______________Campagnolo Veloce 9s 13-26
Saddle_________________Brooks Swift Ti (Swallow pictured)
Seatpost_______________Nitto Jaguar
Stem__________________Nitto Pearl 12cm
Handlebars_____________Nitto Model 176, 42cm
Pedals_________________Crank Brothers Eggbeater (with short Ti spindle)

Delux Mixed Terrain sled

Check out Andy Hampsten's bike on cyclingnews.com

'No Record' Record

In anticipation this weekend's ride up Broomie's wall, I decided that the Hurlow needed some lightweight wheels. This proposition won't stand up to critical scrutiny, but the pair of 28h Fiamme Red Label wheels that I got last year from Cycle City have been preying on my conscience for 9 months, so I needed only the slightest excuse to disinter them.

The hubs are early Campagnolo Record, known in vintage bikenerd circles as 'No Record' because the hub shells are marked only with the Campagnolo logo.
From 1963 the hubs were also marked RECORD.

Rims are Fiamme Red Labels with the Cerchio Fiamme "helmet" logo.

To further enhance my hillclimbing, I swapped out the TA Cyclotouriste cranks for a set of Zeus 177.5s with 36/49 rings.
Combined with a 14-26 Suntour Ultra-6 freewheel, this is right on the limits of the Zeus Criterium derailler's meagre capacity.

A weekend in Rotorua

For most of the week I have been operating at about half speed, after an excellent couple of days riding in Rotorua, in the company of Kate Mullarkey and Gaz.

On Saturday Kate and I rode the Rotorua-Taupo 100k Flyer, while Gaz took care of the Nzo stand in the finish at the Taupo Events Centre.
My plan had been to ride Team McCall, the fair weather performance option; but a forecast for rain made me reconsider and refit the guards on the Hurlow. Needless to say the day dawned fine.
Although the course map promised a detour through the Whakarewarewa Forest, we barrelled straight out of town along Highway 5, over a series of draggy uphills that soon showed that I had started with a group that was too fast for me. Eventually I settled into a decent group, where I remained until they unloaded me about 5kms from the finish.
Retro Ride regular Mark Skelly made an appearance in the group somewhere before Reporoa. Despite his 81" fixed being a bit big on the climbs, and too small on some of the tailwind declines, he stayed in the bunch to finish a couple of minutes ahead of me.

With the NZSSC but three weeks away, it would have been madness not to ride in the Whakarewarewa Forest, so Sunday morning saw the three of us at the Waipa Mill carpark for a couple of hours singlespeeding.
We weren't alone- in the carpark we met Mike Metz, lately moved to Rotorua to start Bike Culture with Rob Smail, and Zib Campbell who for years kept Nzo on an even keel. Their posse had gears and were heading for the high ground, so we bid them adieu and made for singlespeed compatible territory.
Gaz took us through various Pondies and the Yellow Brick Road, while keeping up a running commentary on trail conditions and world affairs. The only time either of us got close was when I banged my front tyre squarely into his back tyre, tipping myself head first off the low side of the trail.

Adam's Breakaway Cross

Adam Lovell's Ritchey Breakaway Cross, hastily snapped on Friday afternoon as he hustled out the door with his just-finished new toy.
Intended as an allround commuter/tourer/cross sled, and built from a mix of new parts and drivetrain from his old BMC Streetfire.

Frame_________________Ritchey Breakaway Cross 56cm
Headset________________Ritchey WCS Logic
Bottom bracket__________Campagnolo AC-H
Crankset_______________Campagnolo Veloce CT 34/50
Brakes_________________Avid Single Digit
Brake levers____________Cane Creek Drop V
Shift levers_____________Campagnolo Record 10 speed bar end
Front derailler__________Campagnolo Veloce CT
Rear derailler___________Campagnolo Veloce
Wheels________________Fulcrum Racing 5
Tyres_________________Continental Contact Reflex 700 x 37
Sprockets______________Campagnolo Veloce 13-26
Saddle_________________Fi'zi:k Pave
Seatpost_______________Ritchey WCS 27.2mm
Stem__________________11cm, something we found
Handlebars_____________Ritchey BioMax 26.0mm

Toei 'British Lightweight Model'

Found during my daily websurfing routine:

A Toei British Lightweight model, on Mr Akuta's 'My Cycle Touring with Toei' website (here mangled by Babelfish).

As you can see from Mr Akuta's own steeds, and those of his friends, most Toeis are in the French style, so an English-inspired Toei is something of a departure.

This bike features the bilaminate construction and lug design of an early 50s Claud Butler Avant Coureur, with the 'Greatest Hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s' component choices that are almost compulsory on English frames.

More NAHBS

Rich Pinder has put the show catalog online: http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~rpinder/Show08.pdf

NAHBS 2008

Burn up a few hours of corporate broadband ogling some pix from the 08 North American Handmade Bicycle Show:

Bike Portland's Flickr album

Clockwork Bikes downloadable NAHBS album, is now also at Wooljersey

Alex Wetmore's photos

Pegoretti Luigino photo from Clockwork Bikes

Re-purposing

I thought that I had a done good job of reconfiguring my Ritchey Breakaway (here with a Schmidt Dynohub for the Summer Solstice Ride) from 19lb race-ready travel bike into an all weather commuter and credit card tourer, but CTB has blown me into the weeds with this quick and dirty touring bike conversion of his EMC.

The Fixers

An exhibition of fixed gear bikes at the very interesting Sydney motorcycle shop Deus ex Machina.

Some goodness from the Blogosphere

These will be old hat to dedicated internet sifters, but deserve a mention regardless:

Dylan's new bike by Curt Goodrich, would be the perfect fast road bike if it had mudguard eyelets, but maybe Dylan already has a rain bike.

Every 21st century household needs a town bike like this one by Ira Ryan.

At Cyclofiend, there is almost nothing to quibble about (except the wrongly positioned flint catchers) on Tom Truong's Della Santa fixie. This is perhaps the best fixed gear road bike that I have seen on the interweb.

Wellingtonian Steve Dorrington's Bob Jackson is damn cool too. The frame came from the same Christchurch bikeshop as Donna's Bob Jackson frame

Pre-Taupo fettling

Though I'm not doing Round Taupo on Saturday, there has been plenty of pre-Taupo action in the shed this week.
On Wednesday Chris Money brought his Salsa Casseroll for a tune up, and to fit a pair 700 x 30 Gran Bois Cypres tyres, which will decrease rolling resistance and increase his comfort.

Last night, Kate Mullarkey came by, washed her Fondriest and borrowed my race wheels for the womens criterium on Saturday morning.
This bit of grass will not need mowing again after being soaked with three years accumulation of toxic bike mung.