Sunday, September 15, 2013

Stephs' bike - update


still well pleased with how this bike came out
with aforementioned saddle
the shimano deer-head derailleur set
later known as deore
the sugino 5-pin, tiny bcd crankset from my viscount
the white 35mm tyres and hammered mudguard
not to mention the suntour ratcheting thumb-shifters
and custom artisanal leather mudflap

it's just a shockingly stylish build

100 points to your house if you can correctly identify the car in the shot above





Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Dubbin fetish


almost as much as I love leather saddles
I love Joseph Lyddy's Dubbin
it took this gorgeous Lamplugh spring leather saddle from this
to this 
in a matter of minutes


the top pic is how she arrived
about 10min after the second pic was taken
she looked like the first pic again
probably used about 10 separate applications before she kept
the lustre you see above.
a hairdryer on low is excellent for melting the Dubbin into the leather

Saddle from my favourite French charity
for my niece's beautiful Shogun commuter
(must take some up to date pics)

At the jeweller's


I call him that because he's not really a frame-builder
yet
and he's not just a mechanic
he makes stuff to fix or enhance bikes 
and has the tolerances of a jeweller or horologist
+/- 0.01mm is his definition of
close enough for rock and roll
he's also got a bit of a tool fetish
which I can totally understand
there's nothing better
than having the right tool for the job.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Parts organisation on a grand scale



mrs feelofsteel 
was impressed with my storage solutions 
and labelling.
been doing so much searching on eBay in French
that the words were starting to get into my head.
was also interesting to see the stuff that I accumulate most of
definitely drivetrain stuff 
Composants de Transmission
but also surprisingly brake stuff too 
Etriers et Leviers de Freins
and pedals.



Accumulation of pedals

or pedales, if vous préférez