My trusty commuter/street bike is over 17 years old now, so it seems like a good time for an upgrade. Instead of simply buying a bike, however, I've decided to build one from scratch - that is to say, starting from a bare frame. This bike will be a combination of new and old parts (primarily for budget reasons). The old parts include the wheels (including tires and tubes), pedals, cassette, rear derailur, seatpost, saddle, stem, handlebar, brakes and levers, shifters, and as much cabling as I can reuse. Everything else will be brand-spanking new. I will be doing all of the work myself, except for installing the crown race.
This blog will be a journal of my build over the coming days and weeks. This entry is also the first update.
Yesterday I installed the first components - the headset (using my own homemade headcup press), the bottom bracket, seatpost collar, and the derailur hanger.
The frame:
The headset:
The headset is a Cane Creek 40 - 1 1/8" in size.
The bottom bracket:
The seatpost collar:
The fork:
The fork is a rigid 1 1/8" Surly. It is black. As this will be a mostly on-road bike I opted not to spend the extra money on a suspension fork.
I decided to bring Satchmo into the garage with me for this first build session, thinking that he would like to explore in the garage, but it wasn't as fun for him as I had hoped. He was quite meowy at first, and he assumed a defensive/scared/submissive posture as he sniffed around for a bit. Eventually he settled down and hung out behind a pile of boxes. I may take Daisy out to the garage for the next build session.
Remember to always
bIsh
