The Latest Advancements

Last night I started tinkering with truing my front wheel. The plan all along has been to build em, and take em to the LBS to get trued. However I figured what do I have to loose, if I mess it up the LBS will fix it. So after about 40 minutes or so I had the thing as true as any bike shop could get it. It took a while to get the hang of how to do it but over all it went well. I can't get the rear wheel on my front fork (makeshift sturing stand) so I'll have to wait to do it when I get the frame back from the blaster. I'm hoping to have it back by the end of the week.

New Pics

I finally got the last of my parts in last night. I sent my frame off to get blasted. I wrapped my handlebars and got some pics of my wheels. Once I get my frame back (hopefully this week) I'll start painting.

Rear wheel laced up.


Side shot of wheel showing flip/flop hub with both fixed sprocket and freewheel.



Bullhorn handlebars with green bar wrap.

Parts list for Project SS

Now that I have finally aquired all the parts needed to complete my project, I have finally decided to list everything out for historical preservation.

Handlebars - bullhorn style (not sure of brand)
Handlebar tape - green Deda wrap
Threded stem - nashbar comfort stem in black
Rims - Mavic Sport 36hole in black with black spokes and nipples
Hubs - Harris Cyclery front/rear flip flop hub
Tires - Vittoria Rubino Pro 700x28
Tubes - Giant 700x28-32
Bottom Bracket - Shimano UN54 68x103
Crankset - Origin8 46T Track/SS
Chain - Origin8 1/2" black teflon coated
Freewheel - ACS 22T
Fixed Cog - Surly 22T
Pedals - Wellgo platform pedals
Brakes - TBD

OEM Parts
Frame
Fork
Seat
Seat post

Wow, it doesn't seem like much once I list it out. That is the simplicity of a fixed gear/singlespeed.

Project SS Update

I've almost got all the parts I need for my SS project. I've had a hard time with some online retailers being out of stock or backordering parts after I order them. Frustrating! I'm still waiting for a couple parts but everything else has been received. After stimulating the economy at Harris Cyclery, I got a box of goodies promptly sent to me. These guys are fast at shipping your order! I proceeded to build my wheels. This was an educational experience to put it lightly. After several screw ups I got both wheels laced. I'll be taking them to my LBS to get trued and dished. I had to get few other specialty parts from other places online.

The frame is my big hold up at this point though. I need to get it stripped and painted. The paint scheme I'm working on should be pretty kick ass.

Condescending Flip Flopping

So after all the talk about getting a Surly Long Haul Trucker, I've changed my mind. I realized that the last time I bought a bike based on color, I ended up not liking the fit of the bike and lost my a lot of money when I sold it for half it's original purchase price. Lesson learned I thought, until today.

I met my dad today to help him buy his first "real" bike. He picked out a Jamis Coda Elite. Steele frame, carbon fork, XT components, and disc breaks. It's a nice bike, one he'll get years of use out of. While I was there I checked out the Jamis Aurora Elite, a bike I had considered second best to the LHT. The 2010 model has disc breaks as an upgrade from last years model. That is one huge drawback the LHT had, I really wanted disc breaks. I came back to work and got on the Jamis website and looked at Aurora Elite. I compared it to the LHT and made a ranking, component vs component. The Jamis came out on top by several points. In my mind this is where is beats the LHT: better breaks, steel, shifters, derailers, tires, rims, & cassette. Had I gone forward with the LHT I would have replaced the bar end shifters for STI's, swapped out the wheelset, and probably upgraded the derailers. Instead the Jamis will just need my laundry list of xmas items added to it. I'll replace the stock seat with my Brooks and re-wrap the bars with black tape to match the seat. Above all else I won't have to wait until July to get it like I would the Black LHT. I may have to order one in my size, but to wait a few weeks is better than a few months. I'm going to talk to the LBS on Saturday to get it ordered.

Project 74 is gone. Project SS is born.

Recently I decided to ditch my 1974 Schwinn Varsity project. The frame is too small for me and there is no point dumping time and money into a bike I can not ride. So I started searching for another bike that had a big enough frame that I could use. I was lucky enough to find a bike on cragislist for $50. It's a 1988 Panasonic Sport 500. There is not a ton of info out there on these bikes, but from what I could find they were well made Japanese bikes. This model was the bottom of the line bike for Panasonic. That is the bad news I guess...if I cared. I got a steel frame, double butted, for cheap.

My plan is to turn this into a single speed bike. I am looking into different ideas for components, and paint. I found several sites dedicated to fixed gear and single speed bikes. Some of the pictures of these bikes inspired my Project SS. They weren't just bikes, they were works of art. The clean lines, the vibrant paint, and simplicity of one gear.

I decided to order a set of Park tools (AK-37) so I can tear into this bike. Right now the project is on hold because I need a crank puller. It should be here Wednesday so just a couple more days. More to come...

Bike Build

My desire to build a bike from the ground up has not gone away and gotten the best of me. I am in the process of trying to buy a bike off craigslist to use to build up into a single speed. It's a $50 Panasonic Sport 500. The cost is ideal, but the steel frame is the key piece I want.

I found some neat sites dedicated to fixed gear and single speed bikes. Some of them look like pieces of art. The cleanliness of them just looks awesome. That got me thinking about what I wanted to do with my bike. I remembered seeing a site that allowed you to design a virtual bike. The site is bikeforest.com they have a Bike CAD program for you to use. So far so good, I haven't used it too much.

I've got most of the parts I need for a single speed picked out already, just waiting to see if this bike pans out. I'm going to use the Bike CAD to develop a color scheme that fits the artistic clean lines look that I'm going for.

More to come!

The final decision

After a long thoughtout debate (with myself) I've decided to buy the complete LHT and repalce a few things on it. The thought of building a bike from scratch was getting overwhelming. Too many things that are out of my skill level. Someday...I will build a bike from scratch. I want to be able to take my time and do it right. I'll have had time to research everything and buy all the tools I need.
The LHT as it comes is a solid bike. I'm just not a fan of the handlebar setup though. I want to remove the bar end shifter and put shifter/brakes on it and possibly cross brakes as well. I'd also wrap the bars with the Aztec Vibewrap system since I like the feel of it on my other bike now. I've heard complaints about the brake pads so I'll replace those as well.

The consideration of a build

One of my ongoing projects is complete strip down of an old Schwinn Varsity. I'm in the ready for paint stage but due to the cold weather (ie. cold garage) I'm at a stand still. I recently thought about modernizing it and putting a lot of new parts on it. After doing some research I realized that the expense was not worth it. Plus I liked the idea of reusing all the old parts and keeping it original. The researching of components got me thinging about my new Surly LHT. What if I bought the frame and did a custom build? I could have a one off custom bike like no other. I could have all the pieces and parts that I wanted, not what Surly gave me on a complete bike. This is a bike I want for multiple uses, why not make it the best bike I can. At roughtly $1100 the LHT is bargain. There is some definite room for improvement on the components. SO why not spend $430 for the frame and maybe $1000 on the compoments. The frame is the main reason people buy a LHT anyway, not the components that come on it.
The decision to want to do a custom build is two fold. The first part I just explained, the bonus of better components. The second part is actually doing the build. That is where I an on the fence. It's easy to get the credit card out and go on a spending spree online buying pieces and parts. The hard part is actually installing the parts and making sure you buy the right parts. I addition to all the parts I'll buy some specialty tools that not everyone has in their tool box. Now grated I could pay more money and have a local bike shop help me pick everything out and put it all together. But what's the fun in that. I do most of the work on my bike anyway, so why not know how it all works. My plan would be to go into my LBS (local bike shop) and have them help me with the questions I have and maybe ever order some parts for me, but I'll do all the work myself. I may bring the bike back in to have my work looked over.
That is the decision I'm facing. We'll see where my research leads me.

Truckin

As mentioned before I am buying a new bike this year. I've decided on the Surly Long Haul Trucker. It's steel frame, gearing, mounting points for racks and fenders, owner reviews, and color scheme all played a part in my decision to go with the Surly. The one thing keeping me from pullng the trigger is the color. Surly is releasing two new colors this year, blue and black. The blue is starting to hit the bike shops now, but the black will not be relased until mid year (June/July). The look of the bike is so important to me that I am willing to wait 4 to 5 more months. I'm going to miss having it now and riding most of my 2010 miles on it, but to get what I want I'll wait. I plan to use it as my primary bike. My Trek Pilot will be a training type bike used for speed work and other short distance type riding. The Surly will be my road bike, my rail trail bike, and my commuter bike. I bought a new wheel set for my Trek last year to try to make it my all around bike but the carbon front fork and alluminium frame just really concern me with my weight and carrying a load. It did perform well on my Wabash Tour last year, but from what I've heard about the ride quality of a steel frame I just have to try it. I'm planning on repeating the Wabash Tour this year and adding a tour to Lincoln via the MoPac Trail. I'll have the Surly by then to really get a feel for it as a loaded touring bike.

The Motherload

For xmas I went with a theme again this year. Bike accessories! I am going to buy a new bike this year so I decided to use xmas to pre accessorize it. Truly putting the cart before the horse. I'm getting a touring bike (more on that later) so I asked for and received the following:
Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus
Ortlieb Front Roller Plus
Tubus Logo Rear Rack
Surly Front Nice Rack
Planet Bike Hardcore Hybrid Fenders
Planet Bike 1W Headlight
Park Tool Dial Adjust Frame Pump

Not having the bike yet to put all this stuff on and test out I can't really give a review at this time. I'll do that once I am able to give a comprehensive review from a loaded tour. Stay tuned...

Back in the saddle

In an effort to get back to blogging I'm going to start blogging about my cycling miles. One of my goals is to complete BRAN (Bike Ride Across Nebraska) in June. My goal is to have at least 1000 miles by June 1st. I started training Feb 1 inside on my trainer. Winter here in Nebraska has been brutal this year so getting outside to ride has been impossible. Hopefully by March it will start to warm up and melt all this snow off. We had two blizzards roll through here in Dec and haven't had many days over freezing. My other goal is to get over 2000 miles on my bike this year. I'm sure I can get more, but 2000 is where I will start. Once I reach that, I'll bump it up. I think 3000 is attainable. So far I have set small goals of 50 miles a week on the trainer. 10 miles a day M-F. Although I got my 50 miles in last week I skipped a couple days and made up for it by doing a couple 15 mile rides. Although I didn't follow my plan (I rarely do) I did realize that 10 miles is too easy. So this week I'm doing 15 miles for a weekly goal of 75 miles. i can do 15 miles in under an hour so it doesn't take a huge amount of time and for now it's a good distance.

The Most Awesome Bike in the World

Isn't it?

Painted Kettlebell

As promised here is the pic of my newy painted kettlebell. I didn't end up painting it the way I wanted, but I like it anyway. The stencil I made didn't want to curve around the kettlebell. So I scrapped that idea and just left it plain red. I'm glad I took the paint off the handle too. It allows me to use chalk more effectively. I was doing some snatches with it the other night and it felt good in my hand.

Before:

After:

The Dude

Painting My Kettlebell

I've been looking at painting my kettlebell for a while. I got 3 more kettlebells for xmas so now I have a set of 35 pounds and a set of 53 pounds. Now I want to paint each pair in a different color scheme. It will be easier to differentiate them and will make them more aesthetically pleasing to look at. My initial thought was because they kick my ass so much I wanted to go with a "punisher" theme. I'm not a comic book junkie, but I did like the movie. So I found a Punisher skull picture online and printed it out, laid vinyl tape over the front and back of the logo, and then cut it out with an exacto knife. So that gives me a stencil to paint the logo on. That is as far as I have gotten. I need to get supplies before I go any further. I'm planning on painting the 53s red with the white Punisher logo. As for the 35s I have not figured out what I want to do with them yet. I have a few ideas but nothing that is really standing out at the moment. I'm leaning towards a camo pattern, but not sure due to the complexity. I'm hoping to get the 53s done this weekend. I'll post pics once I have them all done.

Cold Workout

The ice storm the rolled through on Thursday made for a good workout this weekend. I was out shovelling and scraping ice Friday night and Sunday. Sunday was the best, it was 0 degrees with -30 degree windchill. I lasted about an hour, but that was because I broke my scrapper. After fixing it I decided I was too sweaty (and tired) to go back out. I'll have to get back out again to finish up since we have family coming over Wednesday night.

The Dude

A New Day

My back pain and cold are nearly gone. So today I got up and did a kettlebell workout. I about threw up since I hadn't worked out for a couple weeks. I normally workout after work but usually I'm not in the mood to work out when I get home so I end up skipping it.

The Dude

On the DL

I hurt my back a couple weeks ago and have been on the mend since. My back is feeling better so going to try it tonight to see if I can get back on track.


The Dude

A New Start?

Deleted

Going Forward

After a long hiatus and a busy summer, I'm back.