2 new bikes from bit's I already had!
Discussion
Ever thought about putting together all those bits of bikes you've accumulated over the years to make a new bike?
I have twin 12 year old brothers who are starting to get really into bikes, but there really isn't much on the market that i deemed suitable- everyone is convinced that they need full sus and disc brakes on a £150 bike which really isn't my cup of tea.
Cleaning out an old shed they found two of my old frames; a GT Timberline and a Merlin £50 chromo jump frame, both of which I had changed to horizontal dropouts for single speeds. They where crazing me to build them up into bikes. At this point I was convinced I didn't have anywhere near enough parts but their insistence meant that last weekend we started bolting together whatever bits we could find.
By sunday afternoon we had two part built bikes and a list of parts we needed to complete them- a few wheels, brakes and some niggly bits like a headset, handlebar shims and grips.
Raiding their pocket money jars they stumped up the cash for the new bits, I ordered them all from Chain Reaction and Merlin (£25 for a full deore v-brake kit, bargain!) and this weekend we finished the bikes off.
So the results- 2 sturdy, light, single speed bikes for them to learn to ride properly on, a good lesson in how to put a bike together, and 2 new riding buddies for me!
Three gears between them! The muddy white one is mine.
Chromo merlin jump frame, Kona P2 forks, Middleburn RS7 cranks (tapers where worn so I've glued them on with epoxy stuff- no idea how long it will last though!), Tioga DH 2.3 tyres. 28lbs
GT Timberline frame, On-one forks, Shimano LX chainset and 22t-12t compact drivetrain! Only 27lbs!
And one of mine while I'm here, On-one imbred, Bomber Z5 flylights, DMR wheelset, FSA X-treme splined cranks, WTB Velociraptors, a few Gusset and DMR bits to finish it off.
I have twin 12 year old brothers who are starting to get really into bikes, but there really isn't much on the market that i deemed suitable- everyone is convinced that they need full sus and disc brakes on a £150 bike which really isn't my cup of tea.
Cleaning out an old shed they found two of my old frames; a GT Timberline and a Merlin £50 chromo jump frame, both of which I had changed to horizontal dropouts for single speeds. They where crazing me to build them up into bikes. At this point I was convinced I didn't have anywhere near enough parts but their insistence meant that last weekend we started bolting together whatever bits we could find.
By sunday afternoon we had two part built bikes and a list of parts we needed to complete them- a few wheels, brakes and some niggly bits like a headset, handlebar shims and grips.
Raiding their pocket money jars they stumped up the cash for the new bits, I ordered them all from Chain Reaction and Merlin (£25 for a full deore v-brake kit, bargain!) and this weekend we finished the bikes off.
So the results- 2 sturdy, light, single speed bikes for them to learn to ride properly on, a good lesson in how to put a bike together, and 2 new riding buddies for me!
Three gears between them! The muddy white one is mine.
Chromo merlin jump frame, Kona P2 forks, Middleburn RS7 cranks (tapers where worn so I've glued them on with epoxy stuff- no idea how long it will last though!), Tioga DH 2.3 tyres. 28lbs
GT Timberline frame, On-one forks, Shimano LX chainset and 22t-12t compact drivetrain! Only 27lbs!
And one of mine while I'm here, On-one imbred, Bomber Z5 flylights, DMR wheelset, FSA X-treme splined cranks, WTB Velociraptors, a few Gusset and DMR bits to finish it off.
Dave^ said:
Cool...
How many arguments/brawls were there between the pair of them to decide who got what?
They where remarkably good actually, although I had to be a bit creative putting good points forward for both bikes when they did get heated. The GT frame is a bit big, but other than that they seem chuffed to bits with them.How many arguments/brawls were there between the pair of them to decide who got what?
I'm actually loving the mix-match grips!
There's a LOT to say for simple, low maintenance bikes....
I 'stole' my mates Enduro at the weekend and I've spent all day working on it.
Front brake, pistons stuck fast with crap, fluid BLACK, pads cracked.
Chainset: Bash incorrectly fitted so ring bent, teeth missing, cacked in crap. BB mullered. Chain device seized fast. Chain a curious mixed of heavy gunk (lubed with motorbike lube) and rusty.
Rear derailer so gunked lower jockey wont turn, teeth missing, bearings shot.
Pedals, more play than Jordon's clackdash.
Front derailer incorrectly fitted so rubbing on the frame, caked in crap, been 'shifting' with liberal use of foot.
That's a far as I've got so far, he doesn't know I'm doing it. He's not lazy, he's been working 12/7 weeks for a bit and has two kids to look after. Providing a don't find any other nightmares tomorrow I'm going to fit some new cable inners, have another go of washing off the baked-on-hard 6-month-old mud and drop it back to him. Doubt he'll notice for months.
There's a LOT to say for simple, low maintenance bikes....
I 'stole' my mates Enduro at the weekend and I've spent all day working on it.
Front brake, pistons stuck fast with crap, fluid BLACK, pads cracked.
Chainset: Bash incorrectly fitted so ring bent, teeth missing, cacked in crap. BB mullered. Chain device seized fast. Chain a curious mixed of heavy gunk (lubed with motorbike lube) and rusty.
Rear derailer so gunked lower jockey wont turn, teeth missing, bearings shot.
Pedals, more play than Jordon's clackdash.
Front derailer incorrectly fitted so rubbing on the frame, caked in crap, been 'shifting' with liberal use of foot.
That's a far as I've got so far, he doesn't know I'm doing it. He's not lazy, he's been working 12/7 weeks for a bit and has two kids to look after. Providing a don't find any other nightmares tomorrow I'm going to fit some new cable inners, have another go of washing off the baked-on-hard 6-month-old mud and drop it back to him. Doubt he'll notice for months.
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