Metal Fabrication

Last night I fabricated some metal brackets to allow me to attach my front Surly Nice Rack and rear Tubus Logo rack.

A Tourist is Born

Take a look at my 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite page for more pics and build info.

I had a great weekend riding and building my new bike. First the ride. It is amazing how much different a steel frame rides. First thing is first, a steel touring bike weighs a lot more than an aluminium/carbon fiber road bike. My days of averaging 16-17mph on a training ride are not realistic on this bike. Saturday's 44 mile ride averaged just under 14mph with a headwind the whole ride. My legs were hurting when I got done. I'll have to acclimate my legs to addtional weight of the bike and the lack aerodynamics. The nice thing is I'll get into better shape riding this heavier bike. With that said the combination of weight and flex of the steel gives it a ride like no other bike I've ever ridden. The bike just felt solid on the road. It kind of reminded me of a motorcycle. Just a solid ride, no feeling of insecurity.

The extra weight was nice on the downhills and it climbed very well also. The wind was my worst enemy, but the ride was nice. I felt fresh up until the end of the ride. My body didn't hurt as bad as normal. I could definitely tell that this bike was made for long haul touring. The only problem I had was with my hands. I'm used to riding with aero bars on my road bike. Getting down on my forearms would allow me to rest my hands. I'm also used to having a beefier handlebar wrap on my bars.

I still have some tweaking to do on the fit of the bike, but it was pretty close to perfect right out of the store. The new handlebar wrap will help my hands, and moving the seat around will dial in the fit.

Now the build. Most of this is detailed on my Jamis Aurora Elite page so I'll just highlight a few things. First, disc brakes on a touring bike is not a new thing, but it's not mainstream. Racks and fenders are not made to compensate for a brake caliper being in the way. I have a Tubus Logo rack that I can not put on mmy bike because the caliper is in the way. Tubus does make a conversion kit for disc brakes, but I'm not sold yet that it will work on my bike. So for now I'm keeping the stock Jamis rack. The front Surly Nice Rack is compatable with my front fork/disc caliper. Well almost, I had to mess with it for a few hours trying to get it just right. I did have to deviate from their instructions though. I may end up making my own custom bracket to get around the caliper. I generally won't have a lot of weight on the front rack anyway, so no worries. My Planet Bike fenders were a little easier, although again not made for disc brakes. Everything else went on pretty easy. It's starting to look like a touring machine.

Awesome!

Steel

Today is the day! Last weekend I ordered a 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite and it will be in today. I'm hoping to pick it up tonight or tomorrow.

I am really excited to get this bike out and test it on some rough spots I normally ride. I really want to see how it compares to my aluminium road bike. There are times when my bike just feels like it is going to fall apart underneath me. The test ride was great but just doesn't tell tell the story. I'm really hoping all the talk about steel being more forgiving is true. I'm also excited about the disc brakes. I have never liked cantilever brakes. I feel like I'm going to wear the pads out going down a big hill.

This bike will do everything. I'll take it on the city trails, roads, & rail trails. I'll be able to hook all 4 of my Ortlieb panniers on and do a multi day self supported tour. I'm really excited to use it in all sorts of rides this year to see how it performs.

fork fork fork

last night I started working on painting the fork on my Project SS bike. There were a couple scratches in the paint so instead of trying to sand and feather the paint back I decided to to apply stipper and take all the paint off. It worked out quite well. I got all the paint/primer off with ease and a lot less dust and mess had i tried to sand it off. I was able to get 2 coats of primer on it as well.

My frame is at the blaster and should be done next week sometime. He is actually using walnut chips instead of sand. Sand will eat away at the metal so walnut chips is the way to go I guess.

Paint will be mostly black with the lugs painted green. There are a few finishing touches I may put on it but I need to wait to see the bike before I decide to do more.

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.