What have you fettled today?

[andytheflyer]

'As required'? You know you want Morgo barrels & pistons, a big valve conversion and twin Amal slides. Not foolin' anybody...

 

And nah.  It's non-matching numbers, so its ultimate value is limited.  But I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to give me something to fettle, and ride gently on sunny afternoons, and go to a few shows on (not to exhibit!).

It's a '73 Tiger in a '71 Bonnie frame - perhaps the original frame was damaged, or corroded away given that it lived its life in Toronto.  It still needs a new headlight shell as the one that's on is not correct, and  a new brake master cylinder and a lh handlebar switch, but everything else seems original.  It's been a bit of a survivor over the past 46 years!

I'll strip the motor next winter to see what condition it's in - but since the oil pressure is excellent, I think someone's been in there recently - and given the new gaskets in a few places.

[David Martin]

I haven't built it yet but I now have the parts for a stupidometer. This measures ambient CO2 and warns of cognitive impairment if the levels get too high (as they can after a relatively short time) Ambient is 0.4% - 1.2% is measurably impaired, 2% is positively stupid decision territory.

I have the option to have a needle dial which I am tempted to decorate with photos of politicians ranging from the Cherry and Cooper through to the Dorries and Leadsom though if it ever gets that far you probably need an ambulance.

[Kim]

It seemed like good weather to service my suspension fork.  So I did.

Could have done without breaking the threaded end off the tube of grease by treading on it (stupid-o-meter level: Gove).  It's still half full, and I can't put a lid on it.  The bike was unharmed.

[andrewc]

Ripped up a lot of rat contaminated fibreglass loft insulation, shoved it into bin bags & took it to the dump.  Removed the very dodgy 1cm fibreboard that was laid on top of the joists & made a working platform from 18mm tongue & groove chipboard in it's place.  Still haven't found the hole where the little rat bastards are getting in though.

[phantasmagoriana]

I've got the day off, and was going to clean the flat. However, I seem to be applying frame protection thingies to the shiny new bike instead. And admiring it. It's so pretty I don't even want to take it outside.

[Mrs Pingu]

I've got the day off, and was going to clean the flat. However, I seem to be applying frame protection thingies to the shiny new bike instead. And admiring it. It's so pretty I don't even want to take it outside.

Photies!

[rogerzilla]

I've built another fixie, not for me this time.  In fact, I can't even ride it because it has a 24 1/2" frame (the soon-to-be owner is 6'3").  It looks really fast; 700c wheels look tiny on such a big frame.

20190406_153420 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

Eclipse frame. Accounts vary as to whether they were built by Orbit or Holdsworthy.  Having a bare 1982 Holdsworth frame to compare it to, this one is Holdsworthy; the details are identical and frame numbering is in the Holdsworth 1980s  series, making this a 1983 frame.  Someone paid a fortune to have this re-enamelled and lined and then never built it up.  I got it for the starting bid on eBay.

20190406_153429 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

Miche track hub and quick-change 18T sprocket.  Both hubs, sprocket and lockring came to a total of £30 new!

20190406_153441 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

Sugino RD "Messenger" cranks and TA 49T ring.  The cranks give a rather MTB-like 48mm chainline even on a 103mm BB.

20190406_153450 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

Weinmann 999 brakes recycled from an old Holdsworth Mistral.

20190406_153509 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

Quite a bit of respacing and faffing to get the chainline millimetre-perfect (these hubs are designed for 42mm, but they're better when respaced as the wheel comes out just about dishless).  It's actually spaced at 126mm, which is unusual for a fixie but the Miche axles seem to be designed with 126mm in mind - they are far too long for 120mm, but the perfect length for 126mm.  Anyway, the frame has a super-stiff back end and I couldn't cold-set it without extra leverage.

20190406_153544 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Nice looking machine Mr 'zilla, despite the bumpy bars.

Replaced the front brake pads and lubed the gear cables on HK's Roberts but the dodgy Campag hub bearings will have to wait for some ball bearings to arrive.

Adjusted the headset on HK's Kinesis, belatedly put on some frame protection tape and replaced the tyre sealant. Six months is the longest interval I can get away with on a daily rider, right?

At some point I'll need to check minimum thicknesses for brake rotors and pads. I can feel a thickness difference between the swept path and elsewhere on the front rotor.

Replaced the cog, chainring and brake pads on my fixed. Back on 44/16 after last weekend's 42/17.

Bonded the loose brake lever pivot pins and Proofided the Rivet saddle on my Frezoni.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Gorgeous colour. Huuuuuuuuuuuuge!

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Replaced the wornout gear cable inners and outers, the munched Hope seat post clamp bolt and the undersized seatpost on a friend's bike. The replacement 2-bolt seatpost needed a shorter front bolt to avoid the low profile seat's soffit. Luckily we had everything needed in the garage.

Checked the wear on 4 rotors - OK for a bit longer, the thinnest was 1.6mm.

Started unpacking and refurbing my Moulton before next month's big rides. Disassembled the rumbly rear hub. Removed the damaged handlebar tape in preparation for replacing the gear cables and possibly the brake cables. Replaced missing O-rings on the cable connectors. Contemplated replacing the front Tektro brake with an orphan Shimano 57mm caliper.

[tiermat]

More wallpaper on the wall of the lounge, only two cock ups over length of paper, fortunately one was salvageable.

[Chris S]

More wallpaper on the wall of the lounge, only two cock ups over length of paper, fortunately one was salvageable.

Move the telly in front of the other one. Nobody will notice.

[Paul]

I cleaned a front mech that had dirt on it that was carbon-datable.

[T42]

New cleats on my 2001 Time SPD shoes.  Back then, knowing little about it, I got the cleat position wrong and got sore knees, so I put them away and pretty well forgot about them. I'm not fond of my current Mavic shoes so I hauled them out again.

Hmph. The "nuts" in the internal plates that came with the new cleats didn't extend far enough through the soles to contact the screws, so I had to use the old ones. Well played, Shimano.

Also swapped my chain for one with a few thousand fewer k on it.

[ElyDave]

Yesterday, swapped a rack from the 90's MTB to the Giant, current audax bike, to be able to use the rack pack and/or panniers for shopping. Only took me 15 mins so I'm wondering what I did wrong.

This morning, swapped out the 16-17 year old carburettor assembly on the lawn mower for a new on that arrived surprisingly quickly in the post. It definitely runs smoother, had started hunting, I'm assuming worn jet.  Might also see if I can get hold of new throttle springs as they are probably a bit floppy.

[Paul]

Replaced the 53/39 on Louis’ bike for a 46/34 I had in the box. This meant replacing the bottom bracket too.
Ordered an 11/30 cassette to replace the current 12/25. Should make the hills hereabouts a bit easier.
Replaced the spds with some pedals from the box that have a flat side.
Removed, stripped and cleaned the rear mech.

[andytheflyer]

New rear brake cable on the wife's Trek Navigator with an e-bike conversion.  She insisted on having a new bike about 5 years ago, and then an electric conversion 3 years ago. Last year it did about 3 miles in total.

Today ('cos it's sunny) "Is my bike OK to ride?"
Me: (in the middle of fettling the wobbly side stand on my Tiger 750) "I'll wash it and charge it and give it a once over".

Dug it out. Washed it.  Cleaned and oiled chain.  Rear brake solid.  Cable siezed.  Could not find sufficient bits in my 'bent stash to effect a new cable.  Drove 10 miles to nearest shop (well, not the nearest but I wanted s/s inners, not cheapo galvanised).  Nah, mate.  Unless you want a kit at £25.  Nah thx.

Drove to nearest Halfrauds and got tied up in the cinema matinee traffic queues, given that the little darlings are on holiday around here.  Why can't kids amuse themselves like ours did?  Why do they have to be loaded into cars and be taken somewhere to clog up the roads?

Bought a Clarkes kit at £9, and a centre stand.  The hub motor on her bike de-stabilisies the prop stand, and have been mulling changing to a centre stand for ages.

Drove home.  That excursion took a couple of hours. 

Made up and fitted new cable and centre stand in 30 mins.  Wife went out for a ride.  What?  She actually went out for a ride.  More than I've done in the past couple of weeks.

That's today gone....

[perpetual dan]

Tweaked the prop stand and cleats so that my heel doesn’t catch on the stand so much. A test ride will have to wait until tomorrow.

[T42]

Fiddled with the saddle position on the Ti Carthorse. I might take it for a test ride presently if I can banish the megrims. Or not. It 's bloody Sunday and the pâtisseries close early.

[rafletcher]

More a case of I haven’t managed to fettle  . After 3 attempts at re-taping a tubeless rim (which ran faultlessly for 18 months until I decided to refresh it...) and failing each time - there’s a leak past the tape somewhere and if coming out around the valve stem - I gave up and did the drive of shame to the LBS    Thoroughly recommend them, OTEC bikes in Halton, Wendover. Should be ready Tuesday. Then I failed to fit a chainset, because I’ve mislaid the NDS O-ring, so that’s been ordered. Then I failed to bleed the hydraulic brakes as I need a special Shimano adaptor for the 8070 levers.  Yep, you guessed it, that’s on order now.

I DID manage to swap the centre-lock front disc for an adaptor and 6 bolt disc. Manage to chew up one of the T15 sockets in the process though  Still it’ll be a couple of years before I need to attack it again.

Today I’ll probably have a play with a new pair of tubeless wheels for the “best” bike, ready for what looks to be a fine start to the Easter break. Wish me luck, I’ll need it!!! 

[hubner]

Eclipse frame. Accounts vary as to whether they were built by Orbit or Holdsworthy.  Having a bare 1982 Holdsworth frame to compare it to, this one is Holdsworthy; the details are identical and frame numbering is in the Holdsworth 1980s  series, making this a 1983 frame.  Someone paid a fortune to have this re-enamelled and lined and then never built it up.  I got it for the starting bid on eBay.


20190406_153441 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

The paint looks really thick, maybe it's powdercoat?

[Jurek]

Powdercoat rarely looks as glossy as that.

[rogerzilla]

It's definitely enamel, and pretty good.  They also tapped all the threads except (oddly) the M3 dropout adjuster ones.  This suits me as dropout adjusters on a fixie are like tits on a fish; they work the wrong way to be useful!

Today I am trying to put off cleaning the chain on the soot bike (hasn't EVER been cleaned but, then again, the bike is low mileage*, dry-use only and it's never squeaked).  I might compromise and take it off, dunk it in solvent and leave the rest until a weekday.  Not sure what make of chain it is, but I'm hoping a SRAM 10-speed Powerlink will work to rejoin it.

*bit boring to ride, although superlight

[perpetual dan]

Tweaked the prop stand and cleats so that my heel doesn’t catch on the stand so much. A test ride will have to wait until tomorrow.

My heel didn't catch, but the angle is too big. I spent most of the ride on the flats, where i could combine not catching with not feeling weirdly toes in.

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

[rafletcher]

Managed well enough to sort out the new wheels, and since they’re DT Swiss Dicut rims I swapped out the green brake blocks for the specific purple ones. Swapped the cassette over, and I’m nearly good to go, once Ive charged the Di2 battery, and checked the brake block alignment - the blocks had seen some light use on another bike.

Managed to get the bleed blocks into the calipers on the Domane build. Shimano seem to have gone overboard with safety circlips and pins, there was another small pin that had to be pushed back to get the blocks in.