Back in Black

Rocket lasted about three days before I realised what a disaster the purple was and it got the good old rattle can treatment again but in a safer and more familiar matte black. Been a few tweaks since the last update including a little trial with the P2s from the Pompetamine to see how it’d fair with a 40mm drop up front.

Dropped the bottom bracket way too low but I’ve realised I need to be about half way between the two so I’m on the lookout for some Black Market Tech 9s now to get the geo where I want it.

Finally got a rear wheel sorted too, meaning I own the whole bike at last. Stoked!

If Steel Panther Made Trials Bikes

Came close to putting a dent in the frame I’ve been borrowing so I decided I needed to chuck some paint on my own frame just to get it built up. The purple really did look a lot darker in the shop and the beige looked a lot more, well, gumwall but hey at least it’s being ridden now.

Running two cogs on the back now, a 12 and a 16. No shifter yet so I have to switch it over by hand and adjust the mech with a screwdriver but I’ll get a shifter and a 14 in the middle there soon.

Patience it seems is not my strong point

Totally planned to take my time with this new build and do it right. Get all the right bits to make it as versatile as the Pompetamine but watching too many Danny MacAskill videos has got the better of me and I’ve ended up with a rush built, kinda bodged full on street/trials frankenbeast. Well kind of.

When I got the Rocket frame I already had another identical frame that I’d been lent by a mate. I’d already fitted the headset, bottom bracket, Profile cranks etc and It’s just been sitting around like that while I’ve been tinkering with my own frame. Today I just got the urge and grabbed anything I could to get it ridable so I could go out and play.

Some of the bits are destined to go on my frame. The Profile cranks, front wheel, forks, pivotal seat/post and a few other bits but some of the stuff I’ve built it with is shocking. The rear wheel is the worst bit and within half an hour I’d bent the rear axle. Fortunately Stu at Ye Olde Bike Shoppe was kind enough to provide me with another axle and let me use his facilities to fit it while we caught up over a cuppa. I’m pretty confident that this axle is going to last about as long as the last one but this bike is such a beast to ride, I’m gonna have to come up with some kind of plan to keep it rolling till I can get some decent bits together.

New Project – Ultimate Bike 2

Don’t get me wrong, the Pompetamine is definitely ticking all the boxes but I’ve come to realise that, in reality, I’m still going to need another bike for tackling more brutal terrain. Unfortunately in these difficult times and with a wedding on the horizon, there’s no spare dollar for another steed. The only option was to have another rearrange in the stable.

I built this bad boy about a year ago but never got round to putting it up on here. I’ve always been totally stoked on it and it rides like a total machine but It’s another one of those bikes that I just don’t ride enough to justify having it in the bike shed.

So the plan for the new steed is something that’ll swallow up a few off-road miles but at the same time, still be burly enough for a bit of street riding.

Got this on ebay for an absolute steal. Reynolds butted 4130. Geo is designed for trials with 395mm rigid forks so I’m gonna jack the front end up with a set of 435mm DMR OWs and it should be good to take on pretty much anything.

Also got a set of profile cranks and a new front wheel on the way but first there’s a few tweaks to be done to the frame.

I’m a bad person

I don’t know how I’ve done it but i’ve forgotten to thank Charlie Thompson and all the other boys from SFGFC who have posted updates of this project and a couple of others on their fine blog in the past. Cheers guys, it is much appreciated!

Ultimate Bike Project – Ready to Rock!

Wow, when I was putting this bad boy together I was starting to panic! I thought I’d got it all wrong. With the colour and the silver components it just didn’t look right. I was so close to shakin up some rattle can black in to sort it out. Then I put those wheels on with the grey rims and gum wall tyres and boom!

I’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who’s helped me out with this project your efforts are massively appreciated! Tristan Savage for hookin me up with the Strong Island logo, at super short notice, in the appropriate format, to get the custom head tube decal sorted in time. Captain Borneo Senior for the custom brake cable connector that you can hardly see in this shot but is essential for the cyclocross setup I’ve got planned for the near future. (more on that soon)

Massive shout out to Lee for putting in stupid hours drawing up the Croxton decals from scratch (with a little inspiration from a certain Brooklyn based bicycle company) and as if that wasn’t enough, for making the two layered decals and then also applying them all, with millimetre perfection, like the true pro he is. I’m not sure Lee hasn’t put in as much time as I have on this new steed. Cheers bud it’s much appreciated.

Thanks Stu at Ye Olde Bike Shoppe for putting me in touch with his powder coaters who did an excellent job on the frame and rims for a very reasonable price and also Pete Miles for his invaluable contributions to the build. As ever I’ve got to thank Amy for putting up with my insane bike geekin and the hours I’ve spent trawling the internet for the perfect components for every part of this build. Also got to thank Sheldon Brown from whom I have learnt so much and still have  so much to learn. Legend!

Fashion shot anyone?

Big pile o’ bits

Paints all done and all the other bits have all arrived. Never had the patience to collect everything for a bike without starting to put it together so it was really cool to be able to get this shot. Bit of a shame the light wasn’t that good. Hopefully I’ll get some better shots when the bikes built up that’ll really show up the colour of the frame.

I’ll be putting it together over the next couple of days and with any luck I’ll be able to ride it to the screening of the Portsmouth Alley Cat video at Little Johnny Russell’s on Sunday.

The painting process

Been pretty busy with the car of late so the bikes been takin a bit of a back seat. Just been chuckin on a coat of paint here and there when I’ve had time. First up I had to key up the clear coat and mask the bits that didn’t want to see any paint.

Next up was a couple of coats of white primer to make sure the green was gonna look as bright as possible.

Paint Plan

Frame and fork are back from the powder coaters all done in clear coat.

 

The original plan was always to go with a clear coat finish, with gold decals, untill I saw that battered neon green Brooklyn Gangsta Track. I could have had the bike done in neon green powder coat but I figured the finish would probably be more durable than I would like. Instead I’ve decided to stick with the clear coat as a protective layer and rattle can over the top, so as to speed up the process of acquiring some patina. I’ll key the surface of the clear coat and put on a couple of coats of matte white then a fair few coats of green to get a really intense colour! I’ve also got some really special decals on the way for this one, again taking some inspiration from the Brooklyn. My mate Lee has made me some awesome decals for some of my previous projects but these are the next level!

Putting some miles in

So in between building bikes, I do occasionally go out and ride em.

8am Sunday outside Danny Tonkin’s house with the Cia Battino. Yes, seriously, 8am on a Sunday! Danny genuinely seems to think this is reasonable.

Just did a blast out to Chi and back. about 33 miles.

Didn’t get much space from this tractor even with the road ahead clear for miles on both sides. Danny was not impressed.

All in a really good ride. Didn’t push it to hard. Average speed about 18 mph.