Sunday, March 15, 2009
His and hers
This weekend has seen a delightful pair of bikes in for a spruce up (or gutting as the case may be).
The Peugeot - been looking for one of these for a while. This one set me back $30! Planned to make a flat-bar fixy with it, but the missus has taken a shine to it, so it may become her 'second bike' instead.
The Sun ($10) doesn't actually have much on it to make use of. Nice bars, a vintage rear derailleur. Frame's not bad.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Father & Son
So here's Nick's (son) bike converted & Mick's (dad) bike preserved (see post Feb 3 'Return of the Bishop Part 1' for prelude).
Clutch??
I wasn't sure about the idea of riding a freewheel with only a front brake, but have to admit I like it. While taking it for a spin, it occurred to me that it would be an interesting option to have a fixed wheel bike - with a clutch. It could be a lever (like a brake lever) or even a set up on a gear lever like the old 3 speeds with a neutral.
Why? Well for a start, you could corner much faster. (If you've not ridden a fixy before, you have to watch the pedals hitting the ground when you corner). Riding over significant bumps on a fixy is also an acquired talent, being able to drop the drive out and coast now and again would help. Another thing: after stopping, you could align your pedals for take-off.
I know that for fixy purists it's an ethos thing -'commit'.
Drive conversion
It's not a fixy. Was lucky enough to pick up a pair of used Shimano wheels for bugger all. The rear is a standard road wheel with a cassette hub. I bought a $39 single speed conversion for it, reluctantly, but it looks pretty cool.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Meantime....
The goose neck on the pre-war Swansea I bought recently (post Feb 17th) has fused (rusted) to the steering column. My last resort is to apply heat.
The person who came up with 'Stuckness is a simply state of mind' is welcome around to my shed to have a go!
Steel wool is good
Mick's sons bike (identical model, post Feb 9th) has undergone surgery and will return tomorrow from the powder coaters. He's chosen French Blue - including the flat bars.
The Bishop reborn
Mick decided he didn't want a paint job for his bike (post Feb 3rd), so it came down to new spokes, cables, tires and tubes, a scrub and a spot of white nail polish to touch up the really bad spots.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Cecil Walker
Kerry's project from Jan 24 has hit a few snags, but he's just picked up this Cecil Walker roady for a song and will be ditching the superfluous guff and making a real bike!
Keep us up to date with progress Kerry.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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