50 Shades of Blue AKA HellCamino

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Update 5/31/15
Finally made some more progress. I'll start with the roller pic and work my way back:



So that's where I'm heading. In addition to the blue parts I'm running a chopper fork and black/black wheelset. I never really liked the chopper setups, but I wanted something different than my cantilever Spitfire so I decided to give it a shot. I dig. Running a vintage fender with these forks is a challenge, but I think I've got it buttoned up. Since the steer tube is completely open on these forks I installed a star nut in the bottom to give me a threaded insert to run a fastener. That got the fender on, but I had to run my Shelby fender braces outside the fork legs since they are too wide to run inside. That meant swapping out the front axle from this:



To this:



Now I can bolt the wheel to the fork, run a spacer between the fender braces and the first nut, then add a second nut on the outside. Still need to get the spacing right and add a shim between the fork and fender, but I think it's going to work. :)

Speaking of wheels, I'm using a Nirve hub 26" front wheel with a black 2.125 Quick Brick on the front and a 24 x 2.35" Thick Brick on the rear. Since I want this to be a rider, I need some gears. So I took these:



And made this:





A 24" x 57mm double walled aluminum rim with black 14 gauge DT Swiss spokes and the Shimano Inter8 8-speed internal hub. I haven't finished the tensioning yet, but it's all laced up. Spread the drops today to accommodate this beast...


...and I'm happy to report it fits like a glove.

Hoping to put some paint down tomorrow and maybe get the fork chopped. I can't believe the BO is 1/3rd over!
 
Update 5/31/15
Finally made some more progress. I'll start with the roller pic and work my way back:



So that's where I'm heading. In addition to the blue parts I'm running a chopper fork and black/black wheelset. I never really liked the chopper setups, but I wanted something different than my cantilever Spitfire so I decided to give it a shot. I dig. Running a vintage fender with these forks is a challenge, but I think I've got it buttoned up. Since the steer tube is completely open on these forks I installed a star nut in the bottom to give me a threaded insert to run a fastener. That got the fender on, but I had to run my Shelby fender braces outside the fork legs since they are too wide to run inside. That meant swapping out the front axle from this:



To this:



Now I can bolt the wheel to the fork, run a spacer between the fender braces and the first nut, then add a second nut on the outside. Still need to get the spacing right and add a shim between the fork and fender, but I think it's going to work. :)

Speaking of wheels, I'm using a Nirve hub 26" front wheel with a black 2.125 Quick Brick on the front and a 24 x 2.35" Thick Brick on the rear. Since I want this to be a rider, I need some gears. So I took these:



And made this:





A 24" x 57mm double walled aluminum rim with black 14 gauge DT Swiss spokes and the Shimano Inter8 8-speed internal hub. I haven't finished the tensioning yet, but it's all laced up. Spread the drops today to accommodate this beast...


...and I'm happy to report it fits like a glove.

Hoping to put some paint down tomorrow and maybe get the fork chopped. I can't believe the BO is 1/3rd over!
This is a great combination of old and new school! Love the FAT rims and tires...black / blue has always been one of my fav color combos as well....once again, I marvel at the bicycle and it's customization possibilities! Nice work!
 
Looking pretty sweet! I'm certain it would make your father proud. Some of the best times I've had with my old man was in the garage building and fixing things. Love the parts.
 
Two steps forward, one step back seems to be my theme for this build. I made some progress this week including getting my rear wheel tensioned up and the Thick Brick mounted:



Looks fantastic, but it DOESN'T FIT! I had no idea how much a wider rim was going to change the width and height of the tire. Not only did it not fit the frame (rubbing on the chainstays), it didn't fit my Monark fender either. I took the tire back off and put it back on my narrower rim and while it's snug, it does fit. Decision time: either tear the wheel back down and rebuild it with the narrower rim or find a smaller tire. I couldn't bear the thought of tearing down two wheels, probably ordering more custom cut spokes, and rebuilding it all over again so I went with the path of less resistance and ordered a 24x2.5" Maxxis Hookworm. Fingers crossed that it fits a little bit better than the 3" TB.

I also got the fork cut down this week which allowed me to square away the front axle, firm up the fender placement, and install the stem and handlebar. My extra tall seatpost came on Saturday so I put the long-spring Troxel saddle on and did a quick "so far" mockup (with the tire/wheel combo that doesn't fit):





It's coming together, but I'm not out of the woods yet!
 
Two steps forward, one step back seems to be my theme for this build. I made some progress this week including getting my rear wheel tensioned up and the Thick Brick mounted:



Looks fantastic, but it DOESN'T FIT! I had no idea how much a wider rim was going to change the width and height of the tire. Not only did it not fit the frame (rubbing on the chainstays), it didn't fit my Monark fender either. I took the tire back off and put it back on my narrower rim and while it's snug, it does fit. Decision time: either tear the wheel back down and rebuild it with the narrower rim or find a smaller tire. I couldn't bear the thought of tearing down two wheels, probably ordering more custom cut spokes, and rebuilding it all over again so I went with the path of less resistance and ordered a 24x2.5" Maxxis Hookworm. Fingers crossed that it fits a little bit better than the 3" TB.

I also got the fork cut down this week which allowed me to square away the front axle, firm up the fender placement, and install the stem and handlebar. My extra tall seatpost came on Saturday so I put the long-spring Troxel saddle on and did a quick "so far" mockup (with the tire/wheel combo that doesn't fit):





It's coming together, but I'm not out of the woods yet!
Is looking sweet. I'm feeling your pain as well. I'm going the real hard route. ... news at 11.
I really dig the look of your bike. It has a real "pig bike" look about it with the apehangers ant tall seat post.


Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk
 
Got the Maxxis Hookworm installed--turns out at 2.5" it's still a pretty beefy tire. It's snug, but still better than the Thick Brick on either wheel:





Still digging the stance overall:


Today's progress was moving everything from the garage back to the basement. The heat and humidity are kicking up and it makes me grateful for my subterranean workspace. Next up is sorting out the drive-train and finishing the paint on the rear fender and rack!
 
Glad teh hookworm saved the day!!
The build is looking awesome!
 
Looking pretty sweet there Nate. Well balanced bike design. You're making it tough on the rest of us.

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk
 
Sweat bike like the mix of old frame & part but new fork & wheel the best of both worlds [emoji232][emoji232][emoji232]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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