I have been collecting parts for an year now, fully knowing that chances of getting a decent frame at an economic price to build a bike is bleak. A few items got accumulated in my garage because of minor upgrades to my existing bikes as well.
2.5 months back, i pursued an ad on cyclop (facebook group for used cycling parts) and got a steel frame and fork along with 2 brakes, a double crank with BB and a few items more. Finally i ended up using only the fork and the caliper brakes for my build, but it was a start.
My initial plan was to build on this frame, so i went to an LBS for a few parts, he had a frame with broken fork.
I tried to find some one local who can paint the frame, but failed. Found a shop who makes custom paint cans, bought a can of primer and a few cans of matt black paint. They did not have matt finish clear coat. Stripped the existing paint using a bottle of paint stripper, cleaned it, added a few coats of primer and a few coats of paint.
The next item in the list was decals, went to a shop with both font and the size measurements for the decals, got it printed. While applying had some minor issues, but overall it came out well.
One of the brake calipers from the steel frame had a missing quick release lever, so i bought a cheap caliper brake from ebay and swapped the lever. The brakes also needed cleaning so dismantled and cleaned both.
While these things were happening, i was collecting a few missing items in the background. Some things from paytm, some things from US, some things from LBS and some things from my bikes as well ;-)
Everything came together last week, used the weekend to finish the project.
Used a cheap derailleur as a chain tensioner, inserted a piece of brake cable in reverse and used it to roughly align the derailleur, then used the barrel adjuster to fine tune it (not my idea, saw this online).
The handle bar i had has a slightly tapered end and the brake levers were not going in, so i had to buy a new handler bar. Ended up wasting a brake cable trying to thread it through the brake level forcefully.
Apart from these the build was uneventful!
The bike is 10.4kg, a decent wait for a bike made this way!
That's all folks!
2.5 months back, i pursued an ad on cyclop (facebook group for used cycling parts) and got a steel frame and fork along with 2 brakes, a double crank with BB and a few items more. Finally i ended up using only the fork and the caliper brakes for my build, but it was a start.
My initial plan was to build on this frame, so i went to an LBS for a few parts, he had a frame with broken fork.
I tried to find some one local who can paint the frame, but failed. Found a shop who makes custom paint cans, bought a can of primer and a few cans of matt black paint. They did not have matt finish clear coat. Stripped the existing paint using a bottle of paint stripper, cleaned it, added a few coats of primer and a few coats of paint.
The next item in the list was decals, went to a shop with both font and the size measurements for the decals, got it printed. While applying had some minor issues, but overall it came out well.
One of the brake calipers from the steel frame had a missing quick release lever, so i bought a cheap caliper brake from ebay and swapped the lever. The brakes also needed cleaning so dismantled and cleaned both.
While these things were happening, i was collecting a few missing items in the background. Some things from paytm, some things from US, some things from LBS and some things from my bikes as well ;-)
Everything came together last week, used the weekend to finish the project.
Used a cheap derailleur as a chain tensioner, inserted a piece of brake cable in reverse and used it to roughly align the derailleur, then used the barrel adjuster to fine tune it (not my idea, saw this online).
The handle bar i had has a slightly tapered end and the brake levers were not going in, so i had to buy a new handler bar. Ended up wasting a brake cable trying to thread it through the brake level forcefully.
Apart from these the build was uneventful!
The bike is 10.4kg, a decent wait for a bike made this way!
That's all folks!
Looks really cool!!
ReplyDeleteNice! How does it ride compared to your Fuji?
ReplyDeleteI am yet to do a proper test ride, i just did a smoke test in my apartment parking. will let you know
DeleteRide is comparable to Fuji.
DeleteIts more supple because of the 28mm tires at lower pressure.
Its about 10% slower than fuji i think, because on a route which i have got 33kmph on Fuji, i got 30kmph on this for a similar or maybe a little harder effort.
awesome - do a feature on instructable.com
ReplyDeleteWonderfull done! The paint is beautiful! Congrats
ReplyDeleteSuperb stuff dude ... loved the whole process. Would like to read a follow up post on your experience riding it too.
ReplyDelete-Shiv
Fantastic!
DeleteGood one Vishnu..Looks cool. Senthil
ReplyDeleteExcellent work Vishnu. Keep building bikes
ReplyDeleteGre8 work vishnu etta :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!!