REFURBS ON TOUR

Ever since I first saw the MASH Transit Authority video of them visiting Lance Armstrong, I have wanted to take my bike on a journey. The chance came when Refurbs was going to Berlin. Here in Copenhagen you don't want to leave a fixed gear bike at the Central Station for a week, so taking it along was good way of securing peace of mind.

The box I found behind a bicycle shop and cut it down to fit the dimensions of my bike, roughly 20x75x90 cm. I cut some slits in the cardboard to accomodate adjustable straps that would hold the frame and wheels in place during transport.

I only had to remove the wheels, the steer, pedals and chain to make the whole outfit sit comfortably in the box. Easy.

PACKING THE BIKE

PARTS & TOOLS

READY TO GO

REASSEMBLY

OUT & ABOUT

AMAZING DIY THREAD

Swede teaches himself the fine art of frame building in his home workshop.

Using relatively simple tools and a lot of hard work, he has managed to build himself a very elegant French-inspired porteur bicycle - an impressive accomplishment indeed. Most of the dialogue in the 13-page thread is in Swedish, but luckily he provides plenty of illustrative photos such as this work of art.

Makes you want to order a set of tubes and get to brazing, doesn't it?

Here

MORE FRAME BUILDING

Yet another frame building video out of Nippon. Exquisite workmanship by Mr. Nagazawa.

The rest of the series can be found here.

R.O.T.A.F.I.X!

Refurbs just tried the rotafix method for loosening a track cog. I haven't had occasion to try the technique before, but yesterday I discovered its virtues.

I was struggeling with a Miche track cog adapter that seemed to cling to the hub for its life. First I wrecked my admittedly flimsy chain whip, which had been enhanced with a 1 m steel pipe, and in the process I managed to cut out a chunk of skin from a knuckle that rubbed against a spoke as the whip gave in. Ouch. Then I tried backpedaling hard against a wall, but to no avail. Next option: violence. A hammer and a large screwdriver provided no result.

Then I thought of the rotafix method. I took an old frame and did as described in the link above, only with the chain wrapped around the bottom of the cog. I pulled the wheel firmly, and the adapter rolled off the threads with almost no resistance!

I liberated two other very tight cogs in the same way without any problems whatsoever.

Bye bye chain whip and bruised knuckles. And farewell to Miche adapters.

FRAME BUILDING

Did you ever wonder how a frame is built? Here's a brief video that gives you an idea.

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Here's the reason why a lot of DIY people, myself included, prefer to ride simpler bikes.

Source

RALEIGH TRACK BIKE IN BITS & PIECES

I just stumbled upon this drawing of an old Raleigh track bike with all its components exposed.

Source

THE ALLURE OF TRADITION: WOODEN RIMS

For a while I have been curious about wooden rims, but I never had the chance to see them in real life, much less try them out. But over at Wheel Fanatyk, everything is thoroughly explained. There's a lot of interesting expert tips on wheel building, as well as a selection of different wooden rims, all of which look very tempting and reek of fine craftmanship.

Link

A REFURBED DADDY'S BIKE

I just can't stop refurbing. This one went to my friend's dad. Equipped with a 3-speed coaster brake wheel, wood fenders, a Brooks saddle, and black suede bar tape.

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REFURB'D!

Originally set up as a fixie, this one was instead equipped with a coaster brake wheel.

It's a Tange steel frame that I spray painted with a splatter fade, put on some RX100 cranks, a San Marco saddle, leather bar tape and a vintage Shimano 105 headset. Nothing fancy, but my friend who rides it is very happy.

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FIXED GEARS!

Yes, it's possible to have gears on your fixie, either by obtaining one of these exceedingly rare and quite expensive Sturmey-Archer TF3 hubs, or by performing the DIY modification of a conventional SA 3 speed hub.

Go here for the beautifully illustrated 1935 catalogue, and here for the mod job.

DIY: DISC HUB TO FIXED GEAR

Wouldn't it be nice to have untold millions to spend on fancy, state-of-the art bicycle equipment? Perhaps have a team of researchers build you a bike from that indestructible stuff Wolverine's skeleton is made of? It might, but when you're on a tight budget, you need other ways to solve problems in the workshop. 

I'm the experimenting type, so I always try to come up with alternative applications. The idea of turning a disc brake hub into a fixed wheel I found here, and I had a set of incredibly smooth American Classic hubs that I wanted to convert. The rear hub was no problem: Away with the disc, on with the Velosolo cog, and off I went. Sweet.

The front hub, however, was another matter. The axle diameter is only 9mm, and I couldn't find one that was long enough to fit the 120mm spacing on my track frame and allow the use of axle nuts and proper screw-on spacers. 

What to do? Since the axle needed some spacers on both sides to fill up the frame width, why not use these to reinforce the QR axle? I shortened the QR axle and found a pair of nuts - one that would fit over the protruding part of the axle, and another into which I hammered a smaller nut so it would sit firmly around the QR axle. 

Their widths combined with the two chain tensioners (absolutely essential, as I'll explain below) make a perfect spacing for the frame. 

So now I have a fixed gear rear wheel that not only runs way more silently and smoothly than my Campy Pista and Dura Ace hubs, but is also extremely light. I have tried this setup on three different frames, and I found that on a normal road frame with sloping dropouts, plenty of force on the QR skewer is enough to keep the wheel in place. I suppose the slope of the dropout creates a horizontal resistance that prevents the wheel from slipping forward.

On a track frame, however, it's another matter. The horizontal track ends make it impossible to properly secure the wheel to resist the pull of the chain. The chain tensioners solved this problem for me. I first use the chain tensioners to tighten the chain, then close the QR skewer with a lot of force. A cut off handlebar end serves as a good tool for this. 

If the hollow axle has threads (my American Classic has none), a pair of bolts can be screwed on to serve as spacing. I may build this one into a wheel some day just to see how it works. More about that on a later occasion.

Please note: 

This is purely experimental, and not something that has been verified as safe or approved by anyone. The proper, safe way to do this can be found here. In fact, my friend Niki questioned the safety of this type of setup. If I find a longer 9mm axle, I'll post the result. Tinker at your own risk. 

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT BCD, WHATEVER THAT MAY BE

Did you ever wonder what's behind the term BCD, or what butted tubes are? Well, you need not speculate anymore. Check out this immensely useful bicycle glossary on Sheldon Brown's website.

DURA ACE SCHEMATICS

I just stumbled upon a couple of technical drawings of the Dura Ace track hubs. Front & rear can be seen here. 

GOT IT! ALMOST...

As I wrote yesterday, “I want that one!" 

And tonight, while I was riding around the streets of Copenhagen, I passed an old and deserted ladies' bike with the handlebar and stem dangling by the cables. Into the alley I went, and a minute later I had this little gem between my hands. It's not an adjustable Cinelli, I know, but it sure is a nice piece of Japanese steel from a company whose logo I can't quite figure out, but it seems to spell “Win." I gave it the good old rubbing with some tin foil and a bit of window cleaner, and this is how it looks now. This will be on one of my fixies soon.

MY HOMETOWN FIXIE - THE 20$ BIKE

This is what I ride when I go to visit my parents. The frame had been deserted for a year or so when I took it home. When I found it, the cranks were missing and the handlebar was bent, so I decided to give it a better life. 

The rear wheel is equipped with a Vuelta Pro flip flop hub that I found in the trash in Copenhagen. I painted the frame, which is very light - Columbus tubing, I suspect - and it had a vintage Campy Record seatpost, bottom bracket and headset, so it was quite a catch. 

The Selle Italia saddle I found in a trash pile and scrubbed off all the green, moldy stuff that had settled on it. The front wheel, tires and the lock (not pictured) all come from the dumpster behind a bike shop near my dad's house. 

It only cost me two cans of spray paint and a cheapo chain. $20 in all. Sweet. More photos here.

DIY: THE DIAMOND WEAVE

This wrapping method is called the diamond weave, and it looks classy as hell. Once it was a well-kept secret, but here's a detailed and easy to understand instruction.

DIY: SECURING A TRACK COG WITHOUT TOOLS

The chain whip is one of the most dreaded tools in any bicycle mechanic's workshop. Used for the sole purpose of loosening or securing track cogs, which are usually very tight, the chain whip has caused many bruised knuckles in it is time. But here's an easy solution that keeps your skin intact and eliminates the need for the tool itself. The basic idea is that you use the frame to tighten the chain, then use the leverage of the rear wheel to secure the cog. I haven't tested the method yet, but if it works as well as these Italians claim, it should make suicide hubs a lot safer.

DIY MAGIC: RESTORING YOUR CHROMED PARTS

Chromed forks are nice, but they loose much of their charm when that nasty surface rust begins to settle. Well, don't despair, here's an easy DIY solution that will restore the bling factor of your chrome in a few minutes. Hit the 'show info' button in the Flickr slideshow to see the instructions.