Felt Torch Chopper

[toro1978]

Wow, my crankset just arrived and I immediately bolted the pedals to it:

Sakae, for an amateur like me quite unknown. As you can see this crankset is 165 mm.
I got the BB and the chain ring bolts:

So I need to order the BB adapter and the chain ring. Not a lot of options with these particular specs. Most 144 chain rings are for 3/32 and/or too many teeth (48-53)... Probably will have to be ordered from the UK.

 

[Chainmaker2]

Wow, my crankset just arrived and I immediately bolted the pedals to it:
View attachment 142834View attachment 142835View attachment 142836
Sakae, for an amateur like me quite unknown. As you can see this crankset is 165 mm.
I got the BB and the chain ring bolts:
View attachment 142837
So I need to order the BB adapter and the chain ring. Not a lot of options with these particular specs. Most 144 chain rings are for 3/32 and/or too many teeth (48-53)... Probably will have to be ordered from the UK.

These guys are US and have a selection of bottom bracket adapters

Bottom Bracket Adapters

Motorized bicycle, motor bike, electric bike, ebike, pedal assist

sickbikeparts.com

 

[toro1978]

The adapter is not a problem, I can get it locally. The chain ring is the issue.
I am in Europe so US sellers are really a last resort.

 

[toro1978]

Ooook, last piece of the drivetrain puzzle, I got a good deal on adapter cups in silver, and a 1/8 46t track chainring, also in silver, all new. The catch is they come from Latvia. So in the meantime...

It should be worth the wait though. Picture it - the silver cranks go on the black axle and BB, which is surrounded by the silver adapter cups, which are surrounded by the red BB housing.

 

[toro1978]

And they arrived.

So this is the crankset:

And while I do have the chain ring bolts, I realized I lack the BB bolts.
I might have a pair, but finding it won't be easy...
I might use this seat because it sits quite low. I don't know if one of those cheap covers would be large enough to fit.

 

[Verrt]

Hot lamb, son

 

[FInnRat]

Now this is a really cool bike! There's a ton of chopper designs that just don't "speak" to me, but this one is awesome! Flame paint rarely works, not my cup of tea in general, but here it just has the magic.

What's interesting is the Sakae brand stuff, was it the crank? Because Sakae is the factory who used to make Yamaha Recording Custom drums before Yamaha moved RC to China... I wonder if that same Sakae factory build also bike stuff? Would make sense if Yamaha gets also motorcycle parts from them. (Sakae are selling the drums on their own brand these days.) Really curious thing as I've never seen anything else with Sakae branding other than drums.

 

[toro1978]

I don't know if it is the same company, but why not? Probably. Really light too, they are aluminum.
I found two pairs of bolts, but they won't work. One pair is too long and the shorter has one bolt with what looks like a damaged thread:

 

[toro1978]

I quite like the Nirve and Velor choppers too. But I like the Felts more because of the tanks.
My only complaint is that the headtube is way too high which prevents from using a different fork. A downhill fork would look awesome on this frame, for sure (but probably would probably only work on 29" wheels which would require extensions in the rear).
I like that the bike is designed to have enough bb clearance. Some guys drop them, cut the forks and end up with the bb being too low, even with 5" cranks. Felt chopper turned into a pedal scraper - it looks really cool, but it is not for me.
I am not into paint either, but this is a beautiful color. I would like to strip it to bare metal though. The chrome fork and that red paint are a little too "hotrod" for my taste.
I am considering a possibility of ordering clip on clamps for cheap from China. My forks measure 37 mm outside diameter. If I get just the clamps (15 $ for a pair) I could cut and use any 22 mm handlebars I have.

 

[RustyGold]

I wonder if that same Sakae factory build also bike stuff?

Two different Sakae, bike parts are made by Sakae Ringyo, also known as SR, and have owned SunTour for many decades.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Could you cut the long BB bolts to fit?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[toro1978]

To be honest I didn't even think about that. I already ordered a pair but still worth the try, to skip waiting.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

wow, that Bridgestone crank. That's fantastic. And pretty rare I'm thinking.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

in the 80s when we raced we pronounced Sakae "shakey". heh heh

 

[toro1978]

OK, I got the cranks on.

Ironically the seat might be too low. We will see about that.

 

[toro1978]

OK, first seat tests show a very cramped position. I have yet to ride it though.
While pumping the tires I noticed this:

The Cruzo tires take only 2,5 bar while the other 2,8. The Cruzo could be however ridden with 1.0 bar only while the other two need at least 2.1 bar.
This won't of course make any noticeable difference to me. As it turns out I have been riding years with tires between 0,9 and 1,5 bars. Now I have over 2.0 bar on every tire.
I have a new pump, some of you know from my other threads, and I have pumped nicely almost all tires. I need to pump the Carcass build off bike's tires. But I pumped the tires on the daily today and that was a great improvement.
I also added a little color. Before:

And after:

The Felt cap can go on the fully, which has a Felt stem, but an ugly neco cap.

 

[toro1978]

To my amazement my clip on clamps arrived today, from China.

The package was dispatched on the 16th. Pretty cool, less than 10 business days. I paid 15 bucks for the pair.
I installed them. I don't know if they are tight enough or would require shims yet.

As you see the bar mount is angled. They are left and right, you can change left and right of course, but you can't use two left clamps.

I had to make sure it is 22mm so I tried some bars just in case. Trust is good, but control is better.

I am thinking maybe something like this:

I need obviously plugs for the fork legs too. I will probably use the ends I cut off from the handlebars tubes so it should be something like 34mm plugs (if I am not mistaken you need the outside tube diameter when choosing the plug size).

 

[toro1978]

I found the original bar/legs end pieces and stuffed them in the wider fork legs upside down. They will probably go way lower in the end, I don't want them to look like Titanic's exhaust chimneys (or whatever they are called in ship English). I think I might be able to use 1 1/4" star nuts and ahead caps to close and finish the fork tubes.

Tried the bar "halves" I cut. They were 25mm originally.

Not bad, but a bit higher and wider than I wanted. I think I will cut off the first bend though.
The fork clamps have to be shimmed, it has become clear now. Can I use a coke can? Or do I need steel? And where do I get steel so thin?
I also got this Brooks B66 today and it is very nice for the 20 € I paid. No-one else bid so I lucked out and got it for start price. Obviously can't be perfect for that money, but it is still quite good and perfectly usable.

 

[hamppea]

Not bad, but a bit higher and wider than I wanted. I think I will cut off the first bend though.
The fork clamps have to be shimmed, it has become clear now. Can I use a coke can? Or do I need steel? And where do I get steel so thin?

Search for feeler gauges. Cans might work. Alloy compresses slightly.
Wide brass roll shim stock is great if you can get it.

Coiled balance springs for windows work wonders.

 

[toro1978]

Very possibly the final version...

I "borrowed" the bar ends from the Carcass bike. The cables have to be trimmed, obviously.
I connected the front brake. The bike is too long to get a good shot indoors.
I hope I can take it out tomorrow and test ride it.