It Continues

It's been about a week since my my previous post, and there have been two more build sessions.  This update deals with the build session on Thursday of this past week, Septermber 1, 2011.  Parts and comments will be added in roughly chronological order.

First, a little more background.  I am tired of leaning over when I ride, so I decided to give myself a more upright riding position by raising the handlebars up a bit.  The problem was twofold: the steerer tube on my bike was cut short; it is extremely difficult to find a 1" fork these days (it is next to impossible to find a 1" stem (I have been using a 1 1/8" stem with a shim)).  1" used to be the common size, but everything is 1 1/8" or larger now.  Thus, it made sense to me to get a new frame with a 1 1/8" head tube and get a new, uncut fork.

On to the build.

If you recall from the previous post (if not you can peruse it now to refresh your memory) I got as far as test fitting the fork and headset.  It seemed to me that the next logical next step was to install the stem and handlebar so that I could put on the wheels and get the bike standing on its own two feet, so to speak.  Before installing said stem and handlebar, however, I had to remove them from the donor bike.

The donor bike:

The left side

The right side

The donor bike was originally a 1994 Bridgestone MB4 (that was about the last year Bridgestone bikes were sold in the U.S.), purchased new for roughly $450.  Since its purchase so many years ago it has been basically rebuilt, one piece at a time.  The original parts include the frame, front derailur, bottom bracket, crankset, and some of the bolts.  It has served me well for a long time.

The first step of disassembly of the donor bike was to remove everything from the handlebars and then remove the handlebars.  The next step was to remove the top cap and the stem.  I also removed all cables at this time.

Time to test fit the stem and mark and cut the steerer tube.

The photo shows how things stacked up.  I marked and cut the steerer tube and called it a day.  It may not seem like much progress, but it's one step closer to the finished product.

The stem:

The stem is a 1 1/8" Easton stem.  I believe it is 9 degrees of rise, but I don't recall the length.







I brought Satchmo out to the garage with me again for this session, thinking that he might be more comfortable on a second visit, but it was much the same: he meowed for a while, then settled down behind a stack of boxes.

Disassembly is sometimes part of assembly.

bIsh