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

Family portrait

was sweeping out the back verandah

or patio, if you prefer

and had to move all the bikes.

so time for a group photo.

I counted 11.

Renovated saddle bag

Steph's bike - toe overlap

toe overlap is a bugger

but it's also easily avoided

e.g. stop pedalling when you need to turn the front wheel sharply.

still

it's a good thing to avoid.

toe clips help.

these VO clips needed bending

but now everything's ticketyboo.

for some reason the left crank comes closer than the right

?

Steph's bike - leather mudflap

homemade leather mudflap

ground clearance

leather off-cut from Leffler's Warehouse

$1.00/sq. foot

secured with two 10mm allen bolts

 soft focus poster for your bedroom wall

Steph's bike - new shifters and levers

shimano silver canti brake levers from hard rubbish.
suntour accushift levers from fleabay.
gear changes are now faster and quieter.

velo orange 'kraton' grips

there was a little ratchet problem with the bike's original set-up
it just wouldn't stay on the third rear cog.
problem solved with friction.
the beauty of these is if you have any problems with gear changes when riding
you can usually solve them without having to stop
let alone get off the bike or heaven forbid
enter a bike shop.

anyone want a pair of these in good nick?
from now on I know to steer clear of integrated shifter/brake combos

Steph's bike 3

steph's metro now has the deer-head derailleur

which was the precursor to the

deore, which became shimano's top-of-the-line

mtb gear system

it has partially resolved a sticky gear problem with the old

SIS/Altus rear derailleur

but part of the problem is in the indexing ratchet of the shifter.

so that will have to go.

been finding in my research that 

early mtb indexed shifters 

even of the deore group

-supposed quality-

were notoriously prone to not working properly.

and the integrated shifter/brake assemblies are also unreliable, 

expensive and rare (because so few survived in working order?)

anyways
a bit of soft focus for you to enjoy
inspired by the clement weather

Velo Orange half clips

velo orange deep half clips are nice

but a bit too open to be effective

so I recommend bending them back somewhat

this gives a better "wrap" around the toe 

for security and lift

and also can reduce toe-everlap

with the front wheel.

Steph's bike 2

nearing completion.

not one but two bike shops' owners

shot this bike today with

their eyephones.

the ride

and looks

significantly improved 

by my favourite 5 pin Maxy crankset

last thing

to add these bits so she has some derailleurs

that work.

Steph's new bike

putting together a commuter for my niece.

needed to be comfy but light enough to commute a good distance easily,

strong enough to carry panniers full of books

and cheap enough not mind the rough and tumble of the school bike shed.

I think it's turned out just right

so,

an ordinary (albeit very clean and neat) shogun metro before...

 

some new bars

tyres and 'guards

replace those awful plastic pedals and added MKS half-clips

new chain but kept the old 18 speed drive system

 

bell, on the stem a la constructeur! :D

et voila! 

the white tyres and extra silver components 

really darken the frame in a beautiful way.

it's really light and easy to ride too.

much lighter than gary :(

still to come -- rear rack.

bike from Jack at melbourne used bikes

bits from human powered